Category: Books Read-2018

Title: GRACE AND FURY
Author: Tracy Banghart
Pub. Date: July 31, 2018
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Formats: Hardcover, eBook
Pages: 320

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, iBooks, TBD

In a world where women have no rights, sisters Serina and Nomi Tessaro face two very different fates: one in the palace, the other in prison.

Serina has been groomed her whole life to become a Grace–someone to stand by the heir to the throne as a shining, subjugated example of the perfect woman. But when her headstrong and rebellious younger sister, Nomi, catches the heir’s eye, it’s Serina who takes the fall for the dangerous secret that Nomi has been hiding.

Now trapped in a life she never wanted, Nomi has only one way to save Serina: surrender to her role as a Grace until she can use her position to release her sister. This is easier said than done. A traitor walks the halls of the palace, and deception lurks in every corner. But Serina is running out of time, imprisoned on an island where she must fight to the death to survive and one wrong move could cost her everything.

I quickly have to thank HBG for sending me a arc copy of Grace & Fury a little while ago and to Jaime at Rockstar Book Tour for allowing me to take part in the blog tour for the book.

When I first heard about Grace & Fury I knew this would be a book I would have to read in 2018 preferably as soon as it came out because  something about the synopsis intrigued me about it. I mean when it starts out “In a world where women have no rights,” doesn’t that peek your interest?

I have to say I enjoyed the beginning of the book but as I got to the half way point I was instantly sucked into the book and had a hard time to put it down. There was a night or two that I stayed up longer then I should have to read the book and its all good because it was well worth it in the end especially with the action happening towards the very end. Can we say cliff hanger? I need to second book asap!

Grace & Fury is about two sisters Serina and Nomi.  Serina is the older sister who has been groomed her whole life to be a Grace (exactly like Royality) and well Nomi is the head strong, rebellious girl who is going to end up in trouble but has been trained to be Serina’s handmaid.

Things are going according to plan as Serina has been picked as one of the three girls who will represent their village to the Heir in hopes of being selected. Serina is excited to be leaving her dingy grey village of Lanos with Nomi but Nomi doesn’t feel the same way and would rather stay home but in the end goes with her sister. Serina is hoping she will be selected because she knows this could be the change her family needs to a better life.

In this world women have no rights, they can’t read books (this is what intrigued me about the book, Why can’t women read books and what happens if they do?) or go to school. The only thing they are allowed to do is become servants, work in factories and marry. Girls are taught to obey the men and basically do what they tell them to do (submissive) and this is where Nomi is different she doesn’t want that kind of life and rebels as much as she can and she does push the limit.

Back to the review… The night the Graces are to meet the Heir for final selection, Nomi wanders off to find the bathroom but stumbles upon the beautiful library a place that is forbidden for women. One the way out she grabs a book but quickly has to hid it before she is caught with it. As she is slipping out of the room she meets the Heir and his brother, Asa, being Nomi she isn’t very polite to them. This can either be a good thing or a bad thing for her.

As the evening progresses Serina soon finds out that she is not selected but Nomi. Both sisters are shocked but decide to make the best of it for their family. Once this was discovered you knew this was the first of many twist and turns in the book. I have to say I actually liked this twist and was curious to read where this was going. Could Nomi follow the rules and behave or would her wild street be the death of her? Plus why was she selected as a Grace instead of her sister?

Without going to further into the book you can tell even though both girls are completely different they are there for each other and will do anything to protect them and no matter how hurt Seina was when not selected she took the fall for her sister and I think this says a lot about the girls and how far they will go for each other. Even to the end both sisters were doing things for the better of them.

Grace & Fury is told in dual points of view from Serina and Nomi which I love because you get both perspectives of the story and a chance to get to know both girls.

This is Tracy’s debut novel and I am really excited to read her future books. Not sure if there is anything in the works right now but from the way this ended I am sure there will be a book 2 in this hopefully series,  I will definitely be keeping my eyes peeled.

The Right Fit
Daphne Dubois
Publication date: April 12th 2017
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

She’s sworn off love, he’s sworn off sex, but together they’ll score the goal of a lifetime.

When Maxine Nicholls discovers her fiancé is cheating, she turns to fast food and nighttime soap operas, but her sister has a plan—unbridled rebound sex with a stranger.

As one of Toronto’s hottest players, Antony Laurent tallies scores on and off the ice, but when the chiseled defense man hits a slump, rumors of a trade to the minor league send him to ambush a managers meeting at a posh club.

That night a chance encounter ends up as an unforgettable evening of passion. But Maxine and Antony are about to discover a game of casual hook ups can lead to something neither one of them thought they deserved—the right fit.

One of my favorite things about doing blog tours is discovering new books and authors that I honestly might not have known about and today’s book The Right Fit by Daphne Dubois is a prime example. When I saw the request for this book it sounded really interesting so I figured why not try it out.

I do enjoy reading romance and I don’t read and review enough of it especially ones that include sports. In this case its hockey although its not my favorite team Toronto Maple Leafs (I do have to say that when Tomáš Plekanec was traded briefly to the team I was following because I am a huge Plekanec fan)  it was still a fun and enjoyable read.

As I was getting ready to do this post I discovered that Daphne is a east coast author from Nova Scotia. She also writes under the name B.R. Myers and has several YA books out. The Right Fit is her second romance book. After reading this I am curious and excited to read more by Daphne. This is a stand alone book.

I think this is probably a first time in quite some time that I absolutely fell in love with both of the main characters in the book. Its been a few days since reading the book but I am still sitting here thinking about Maxine and Anthony. I need more Maxine and Anthony.

Like I said our main characters are Maxine and Anthony. Both come from different worlds. Maxine has decided to put herself back out there after a devastating break up with her boyfriend. She caught him cheating and as the story progresses you realize that she was more invested in the relationship then he was and that she was seeing things of it going further then he ever wanted. She agrees to this blind date with a guy and they arrange to meet at a local park. While she is sitting waiting, Anthony spots her and is intrigued by her. He later describes her as one of those early pin up girls. Through a chance encounter Maxine and Anthony accidentally  bump into each other and so starts this wild ride.

I was quite happy to discover that Anthony is from a little town here in Quebec so I instantly feel in love with him and his broken English. Anthony is kind of the guy every girl is looking for except at first he tells a little white lie about who he really is but I think that is probably due to the fact he is a hockey player and he wants to make sure she lives him for him and not who he is. Although he hasn’t been so lucky on the ice and rumors are beginning to spread that if something doesn’t change he could be sent to the minors and that is not a good thing so Anthony needs to change that and he thinks that Maxine might be his good luck charm because since meeting her things are falling into place or are they?

Will Anthony finally reveal who he really is and how will Maxine take it? This was one of the things I thought was a little flawed, how did Maxine not google who he was when she found out his name? I know if it was me I would have been googling that boys name to find out who he was.

I definitely enjoyed reading this. Once I started I did not want to put the book down. I was hooked my the growing romance of Maxine and Anthony. I needed to find out who this would all work out and if there was that happy ever after in the end.

Definitely going to check out Daphen’s other books in the near future.

Title: A COWBOY’S SWEETHEART (Rodeo Academy #1)
Author: Crista McHugh
Pub. Date: June 25, 2018
Publisher: Crista McHugh

Formats: Paperback, eBook
Pages: 164

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, iBooks, TBD

Pampered New York Socialite and dressage rider, Kensington Pope, has been exiled by her jet-setting parents to her aunt’s Rodeo Academy in Wyoming. She wants nothing to do with the rough and tumble students there, especially one particularly handsome cowboy, Javier.

But she won’t be there for long. She has a plan in place to break out after her next international competition.

Javier Cruz takes one look at the spoiled city girl and instantly dismisses her. The school of tough knocks has already educated him on what the important things in life are, and he has bigger things on his plate. He’s counting down the days until his eighteenth birthday when he can pull his younger siblings from the foster care program and reunite his family. But as he gets to know Kensi, he sees a kindred spirit and discovers there’s more to her than meets the eye.

Kensi begins to question her desire to flee the ranch as her relationship to Javier deepens and she learns
the importance of family. But when he discovers her escape plan, will he be able to trust her again? And when tragedy comes to the ranch, will Kensi be able to step up and take her place in the family?

I quickly have to thank RockStar Book Tour for allowing me to be a part of the book tour for this book. This was such a fun and cute read that I really enjoyed it and I am looking forward to where this series will go. This was super fast and a quick read. I was hooked right from the beginning and read it in one sitting.

I have to say that at first Kensi rubbed me the wrong way because she came off as this person who thinks they are better then everyone else and I hate those kind of people, but as the story progressed I could see that she was actually just a girl who was in dire need of attention and she got that from Javier and you could see he broke down her walls and she ended up being a character I liked. He knew that deep down that the Kensi she was portraying wasn’t the real Kensi and it actually takes something to happen to make Kensi realize that she wanted to be a better person.

I loved the connection between Javier and Kensi it was sweet and tender and not rushed. There are so many books that I find rush relationships between characters that it makes it so predicatable but not here.

I also loved Javier right off the bat he was that bad boy but you knew that there was a reason and you wanted to know more. My heart broke hearing his story but its left me wanting more of it so I can’t wait for the next book to come out to find out if he and Kensi end up together and if he wins his legal battle.

Sadly upon searching I don’t see a next one yet. Hoping it will be out soon.

Title: NOT FOR ME (The Windy City Chronicles Book 1)
Author: Kat de Falla
Pub. Date: May 24, 2018
Publisher: Kat de Falla
Formats: Paperback, eBook
Pages: 40

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, iBooks, Kobo

Manda Wolfgram is a struggling literary agent who is looking for the perfect manuscript to land in her lap and the perfect man to land in her bed. When the sixth-floor hottie finally asks her out, she gets more than she bargained for. How can a girl wrap her brain around a Shakespearean actor who writes erotica?

Harry Sackes leads a double life: making a career as an author by day and dipping into the dark underworld of criminals at night. The moment he sees Manda in his twin brother’s arms, his whole life becomes his personal Shakespearean trag-comedy of mistaken identity and unrequited love in this fast-paced chick lit romance.

Before I get into my review for Not For Me by Kat de Falla I quickly have to thank Rockstar Booktour for allowing me to be a part of the book tour for this. I was graciously provided with an eArc of the book for my participation in the blog tour.

This is the first book in a brand new series and one that I am excited to continue plus this is the first time I am reading Kat’s books. I am curious about her other books now.

This was a super quick addictive read. I literally read this in one sitting. This was a super quick read that sucked you in right away and held your attention right until the end and left you wanting more.  The pace was perfect and not once did I ever think there was to much of this and that. This had just the right amount of everything that left you wanting more. The action starts right from the get go and holds you until the very end. You had no idea what was going to happen and even when I finished I was like what the heck just happened and had to go back and reread it because I didn’t see it coming.

Manda is our main character. She is an up and coming literary agent with a publishing company. She is beyond thrilled because her favorite author/client just made the New York best sellers list and she is frantically trying to get a hold of her but to no avail only to later to find out some bad news.

Being pressured by her boss to continue what the author started out and her family she needs to come up with a plan asap. Will she be able to pull it off or will it blow up in her face?

Our other man character is Harry. A guy who lives in the same building as Manda and she just happens to have a crush on him but little does Manda know there is more to the him then meets the eye. Harry has a few of his own secrets that no one knows about.

At first Manda is not sure what to make of him and has no clue that there is two of him because he has a twin bother Dane. I have to admit at first I really liked Harry but then he came off as weird and when he was with her he was one way and then when he wasn’t it was a different way. Picture a sweet guy and then picture the bad boy kind of guy. I wasn’t quite sure what he was up to but as the story was coming to an end it was all revealed and I was left shaking my head because I did not see that coming.

After reading this I am curious to see where this will go. I can’t wait to dig into this serious. Hopefully it won’t be long before more books come out.