Cristina's Book Reviews

From goodreads: He’s arrogant, domineering, and… To. Die. For.

Hunter is a ruthless killer. And the Department of Defense has him firmly in their grasp, which usually doesn’t chafe too badly because he gets to kill bad guys. Most of the time he enjoys his job. That is, until he’s saddled with something he’s never had to do before: protect a human from his mortal enemy.

Serena Cross didn’t believe her best friend when she claimed to have seen the son of a powerful senator turn into something… unnatural. Who would? But then she witnesses her friend’s murder at the hands of what can only be an alien, thrusting her into a world that will kill to protect their secret.

Hunter stirs Serena’s temper and her lust despite their differences. Soon he’s doing the unthinkable—breaking the rules he’s lived by, going against the government to keep Serena safe. But are the aliens and the government the biggest threats to Serena’s life… or is it Hunter?

I will admit, the start of this book seemed a bit slow and I felt as though I was reading the adult book version of Katy and Daemon BUT…as I kept reading it, I started loving it and I became emotionally invested in the story, Serena and Hunter.  There is absolutely nothing YA about this book and it is very adult which I appreciated immensely.

“I smiled then—a big, toothy idiotic smile— and Serena didn’t see it. Her eyes were closed, which was good, because I was turning into one big vagina.” 

This book needs to be read, especially if you’ve read the Lux series as it will give you the much-needed insight about the Arum.  What I learned is that there is no good side or bad side but simply very bad people and I thought I should hate the Arum, I don’t and it’s quite the contrary.

“If I continued, I would kill her. Stopping would be going against my nature. Arum were killers. And I didn’t hide from what I truly was, even if I was the DOD’s bitch boy.” 

Serena is a feisty character that I came to love and she doesn’t take what Hunter dishes and I love that.  And Hunter is arrogant but not in a nauseating way which I absolutely appreciated.  Hunter and Serena balance each other in ways that make sense and their chemistry is absolutely intense!!!

“Even with all the crazy stuff happening recently, beneath the sorrow and the anger, I was still a red-blooded, twenty-three-year-old woman sitting in front of a man, who may not be a hundred percent human but had to have caused a panty-dropping crisis across the universe.” 

I think one of the many things I liked about this book is understanding who the Arum are and their struggles which was an eye-opening for me.  I’m hoping that more books will follow Obsession and that a major cross-over between the series will happen!

“Never in my life had I been more frustrated. Go figure it wouldn’t be with a human but a freaking alien. At least I now knew that the male species were asses no matter what planet they hailed from.” 

This book is fantastic companion novel to the Lux Series but if you haven’t that series, you are missing out!!!  Happy reading!!!

From goodreads: This new adult retelling of Wuthering Heights is intended for mature readers due to explicit sexual content and coarse language.

Instead of storms tearing through Yorkshire moors, the sounds of ’90s grunge rock whisper through backwoods American cornfields…

And give new life to the Bronte characters you love to hate.

A gypsy orphan, Heath Galloway adores Cathy Earnshaw, his childhood sweetheart. He would do anything to protect her from her drunken, abusive father–even push the man down a flight of stairs to stop him hitting her.

But with her father dead, Cathy’s older brother Matt runs the Earnshaw farm and both of their lives. And Matt despises Heath. Forced to drop out of school and work the fields, Heath is separated from Cathy and the two begin to drift apart.

When Cathy meets the rich, blond, and suave Eli Linton, she finds herself torn between Eli’s charm and Heath’s brute potency.

Fiercely proud and stubborn, Heath doesn’t take well to being brushed aside. He’ll get what he wants, or he’ll get revenge. No matter how long it takes.

This story is inspired from the book, Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. I wish I could say I’ve read but I haven’t, so I don’t have anything to compare it to.  However, I can tell you that I loved this twisted and dark story; it’s an absolute page turner and will keep you up all night long! Yes, it’s that good!!

I had no idea what to expect from this story and I stumbled onto this book purely by accident on Amazon;  I’m not sure if it was the blurb, the cover or both that attracted me to this book but this is a love triangle that will make you throw your e-reader out the window Bradley Cooper style!!!

We are a product of our environment and it’s up to us to figure out if we will remain that way or change.  This is that story and the majority of pivotal characters are deeply flawed.  The most complicated of love-triangles exists in this very book and it stressed me out the entire time!!

Cathy is the heroine and in the beginning I wasn’t sure how I felt about her but as her character slowly developed, I liked her less and less because I found her to be quite selfish.  I wasn’t clear about why she did the things she did and I suppose if I understood that more I could have felt more empathy for her but I didn’t.  Eli, the kind and generous soul was too good for his own good and he was competing for Cathy’s affections but he was no contender, in my eyes, against the dark and brooding Heath.

The only time we saw good come from Heath was in his affections for Cathy and it’s as if the light began to overpower his darkness making him very lovable.  On the flip-side of that he does things which are so heinous and calculated that it gives you a certain amount of heartburn!  I absolutely loved Eli but the poor guy needed to grow a steel pair because he was being taken advantage of in a way I’ve never seen happen in a book before.

“Heath and me are forever,” she whispered. “I think that whatever souls are made of, his and mine are made of the same stuff.  We’re the same.”

The story is weaved with the past and present and the writing is absolutely fantastic.  There’s romance, mystery, a sociopath and so many twists and turns that this book will render you absolutely speechless.  My review is touching on just a few of the characters but there are so many more that are worth getting to know and I’m not fond of re-telling what the story is about because that’s in the blurb but what’s important to know is…this is a must read!  If you want something dark, edgy and twisted…this is it!  ;)

I’m so excited to share this cover reveal of Without You by Reylynn Purdue.  Reylynn had me at the blurb; this is a story that I simply cannot wait to read and I have no doubt I will love it!!!

Expected release date: Fall 2013

Cover Design: Okay Creations

From goodreads: Roxanne Daniels life is as close to perfect as it can get. Her loving boyfriend, of the past four years and her two best friends, make life fun, what more could a girl want? Oh yeah, to attend Julliard and become a Prima-Ballerina. Check! She is headed to New York in the fall. Life doesn’t get any better than this.

Her outstanding, mother reminds her of these facts after her high school graduation, it was once again her mother’s way of side stepping the fact that her father wasn’t there. But he’s never there for her,why let it bother her now. Oh that’s right, because it DOES. But it shouldnt because her life is amazing; she didn’t need her father’s love to be happy. She has her mom, and life is perfect. Well, life was perfect. After a graduation party Roxy gets home to find, her perfect life crumble to piece right before her.

Just when Roxy thought her life couldn’t possibly get any worse, it does. She walks in on her boyfriend in bed with someone else. Who would have known one person could withstand such heart wrenching pain and survive? Roxy knows one thing for sure, she could care less if she survives.

But life goes on whether you want it to or not. After weeks of seclusion Roxy starts living again. It’s painful and scary, but she has the love of her brother, his best friend and an amazing best friends of her own to help her get back up on her feet.

Then one day she is by herself, and every girl’s nightmare is becoming her reality. Roxy request the help of a stranger to get through it. An ungodly beautiful Stranger, This man not only helps Roxy, he completely turns her life upside down and back around. He is everything she know she should stay away from. The last thing she wants is to chance falling in love. Because love doesn’t last, and she knows that now. She has to protect herself from ever feeling pain. She knows if her heart gets broken again, she won’t survive it.

Author Bio:

Reylynn Purdue lives in California, with her loving husband and two beautiful kids. A lover of books, she reads like crazy. She has also always enjoyed writing, but one day decided to take it to the next level. She started writing her debut novel  WITHOUT YOU mid-way through 2012. To say she had no clue what she was doing is an understatement. As of today, she still has no clue what she is doing when it comes to publishing a book, but she’s learning as she goes. She loves her story and hopes you will as well. She also finds talking about herself in third person very strange and kind of hates it. Hope you are all having a beautiful day, don’t forget to smile. To find out more about Reylynn just ask.

Author links:

FB | Twitter | GoodReads | Blog

From goodreads: I have the perfect life.

I’ve finally found my happy ending. 

I fought through the loss of one husband, lucky enough to be given a second chance at a lifetime of happiness.  Settling into our new lives, however, may not be as easy as it seems. 

What really happens after the fairytale ending?  What happens after the prince rescues the princess?  After he sweeps her off her feet and carries her off into the sunset? Do they truly live happily ever after?

Well…

This is our story.

This novella was an absolute treat!!! To me, it was like the epilogue I needed for Running on Empty and if I enjoyed that book…I absolutely adored Recovery.

Alex, her daughters and Blake are baaaaaaaaaaaaaack! I love them all because all these characters have the ability to make me feel good and make me believe in the power of happily ever after.  Recovery starts with the next chapter of their life together, their wedding day plus some major news which is a bonus surprise and I love that!

With all relationships, new or old, they take work and communication is key and we get to witness firsthand what can happen when we aren’t open with our feelings.  That hiccup in their relationship felt real and incredibly relatable.  Alex had so much going on in this novella that it was no wonder that she was stressed out the entire time, hence the issue between her and Blake.

Just when I thought I knew exactly what was going on in this story, L.B. delivers an impactful amount of angst that I did not see coming and I almost did the happy dance while reading.  It was perfect and there’s so much emotion in that scene that I felt myself getting choked up because it was beyond touching and heartbreaking.

There was something different about this book that I connected with and I’m not sure if it was all the life-lessons learned or the spirituality that was faintly in the backdrop of this story but there was something about it that moved me.

“As soon as the thought crosses my mind, I feel the air shift and a familiar sensation surrounds me.  It’s indescribable, but I know that I’ve felt it before, and something about it eases my soul.  I can’t put my finger on it, but I know I have experienced it and it’s telling me something.”

L.B. Simmons knows how to write a heartwarming story, one that will make you laugh, cry and simply make you feel good.  If you haven’t read this series, treat yourself today! 

About the Author:

L.B. Simmons is a graduate of Texas A&M University and holds a degree in Biomedical Science.  She has been a practicing Chemist for the last 11 years.  She lives with her husband and three daughters in Texas and writes every chance she gets.

Follow L.B. Simmons:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

GIVEAWAY:

Click the image below for a chance to win one set of autographed paperbacks of Running on Empty and Recovery with bookmarks and charms! Good luck!

Please join us on the Facebook Event (Click Here to join) to make sure you don’t miss out on more giveaways going on during the tour!

From goodreads: Drew Evans is a winner. Handsome and arrogant, he makes multimillion dollar business deals and seduces New York’s most beautiful women with just a smile. He has loyal friends and an indulgent family. So why has he been shuttered in his apartment for seven days, miserable and depressed? 

He’ll tell you he has the flu.

But we all know that’s not really true.

Katherine Brooks is brilliant, beautiful and ambitious. She refuses to let anything – or anyone – derail her path to success. When Kate is hired as the new associate at Drew’s father’s investment banking firm, every aspect of the dashing playboy’s life is thrown into a tailspin. The professional competition she brings is unnerving, his attraction to her is distracting, his failure to entice her into his bed is exasperating. 

Then, just when Drew is on the cusp of having everything he wants, his overblown confidence threatens to ruin it all. Will he be able untangle his feelings of lust and tenderness, frustration and fulfillment? Will he rise to the most important challenge of his life? 

Can Drew Evans win at love? 

Tangled is not your mother’s romance novel. It is an outrageous, passionate, witty narrative about a man who knows a lot about women…just not as much as he thinks he knows. As he tells his story, Drew learns the one thing he never wanted in life, is the only thing he can’t live without.

This is a quick review for a book that I enjoyed immensely.  It’s fun, light and absolutely hilarious.  If you need a break from the dark and angsty novels we love…then read this book because it’ll give you the break you need.

Drew is an absolute pig and so full of himself that it was a little hard for me to like him right away but he was so funny that I could overlook his epic douche-like qualities.  Tangled is told from his POV which I found absolutely refreshing and it felt completely conversational the entire time, almost as if I was sitting on his couch and he’s telling me about his love for Kate.

The banter between Drew and Kate was hilarious and I couldn’t seem to get enough, I thought I might tire of it but I didn’t.  And Kate is one of those heroines you will absolutely love because she’s smart, fierce and isn’t a push-over.  Can I get an AMEN for strong female characters?? AMEN!!!

“For God’s sake, don’t let her watch Cinderella. What kind of example is that? A mindless twit who can’t even remember where she left her damn shoe, so she has to wait for some douchebag in tights to bring it to her? Give me a frigging break!”

Why the five stars? Five because it delivered in writing style, unique male character perspective the entire time and it was hilarious.  I’m totally looking forward to the second book in the series!!!