Review: Warning! You Might Fall In Love With Me by Kate Evangelista

Title: Warning! You Might Fall In Love With Me
Author: Kate Evangelista
Read on: Swoon Reads 
Genre: Young Adult ~ Contemporary Romance
Rating: 5/5

Didi. A girl from the other side of the tracks.

Caleb. A rich boy in desperate need of a fake girlfriend.

They meet after he saves her from jumping off a cliff.

The proposal: Accompany him to all the parties he must attend for the summer. He is willing to pay her for her time.

The condition: She must not, under any circumstances, fall in love with him or their relationship ends.

She accepts, but with a stern warning for him: “You might fall in love with me.”

This story took me kind of by surprise. To be honest, I didn't expect to love it this much. I've read only one other contemporary book by Kate Evangelista, which I wasn't such a fan of. The others that I have read were all paranormal and I usually tend to dislike contemporary stories more but this one? I love it and it might just be my favorite book by this author!

This is the story of Caleb and Diana a.k.a. Didi. Caleb is a rich guy that needs a fake girlfriend to attend parties and other events with so that his father will let him attend college far away. This is where Didi comes in. There's only one rule: she can't fall in love with him. Little did he know that he'd have trouble with following that rule. 

I absolutely loved Didi. She was funny, spoke her mind, creative and didn't let people walk all over her. But at the same time there was mystery surrounding her because she takes pills. For what, we don't actually find out until close to the end. I also adored Caleb. Even though he's this rich guy who doesn't believe in love he was easy to like. I thought it was simply adorable the way he was taken with Didi because it's not something he or even myself as a reader expected. 

The story made me laugh a lot, it was really funny but there was also a serious side to it because of Didi's condition. I really liked that. The romance was incredible. Caleb and Didi have crazy good chemistry and I rooted for them through the whole book. I wasn't even sure if it was going to end well so I couldn't read those last pages fast enough.

There was also a great set of secondary characters. Nathan was my favorite, of course. And I'm so thrilled that he's going to get his own story too. *cheers* I can't wait for it. I also liked Nathan's sister Natasha a lot and I was even amused by Amber because Didi kept saying her name wrong on purpose to tick her off. 

Overall, Warning! You Might Fall In Love With Me by Kate Evangelista was the perfect YA contemporary romance for me. It had humor, romance, awesome characters and great writing. Pretty much everything I want in a book like this. Totally recommended!

About the Author:

Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter

When Kate Evangelista was told she had a knack for writing stories, she did the next best thing: entered medical school. After realizing she wasn't going to be the next Doogie Howser, M.D., Kate wandered into the Literature department and never looked back. Today, she is a graduate of De La Salle University - Manila with a Bachelor of Arts in Literature. She taught high school English for three years and was an essay consultant for two. Currently she writes full-time and is based in the Philippines.

Review: If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Title: If I Stay
Author: Gayle Forman
Series: If I Stay #1
Publication: April 2nd 2009 by Speak
Genre: Young Adult ~ Contemporary
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Kobo
Rating: 3/5

A critically acclaimed novel that will change the way you look at life, love, and family.

In the blink of an eye everything changes. Seventeen ­year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall what happened afterwards, watching her own damaged body being taken from the wreck. Little by little she struggles to put together the pieces- to figure out what she has lost, what she has left, and the very difficult choice she must make. Heartwrenchingly beautiful, Mia's story will stay with you for a long, long time.

“Sometimes you make choices in life and sometimes choices make you.”

I had some mixed feelings about If I Stay. It's a pretty short book of less than 200 pages and I did like it but it wasn't as good as I expected it to be so I kind of think that it has a bit too much hype due to the movie. Also, at first I had a hard time getting into the story because of the way it was written with a pretty unique but detached style of writing, though sometimes it was quite beautiful.

I was most taken by Mia's grandparents. They seemed like amazing people.Those scene were the hardest for me to read probably and where I cried a couple of times. 

I wasn't too fond of the main character, Mia, though. But I think this mostly was because of the writing style that I couldn't seem to get into really. But I absolutely loved her relationship with Adam because it seemed so real. They didn't have a perfect relationship at all and had flaws but that was what I loved about them together.

Did I love the story? No, unfortunately I didn't, though I liked it for sure. Although I had these mixed feelings, I did think the story was emotional and compelling. I even cried a few times, which is a big deal for me because I almost never cry with books. 
Will I read the second book? I really, really want to because If I Stay ended pretty abrubtly and it's killing me to see what the next book is going to be like. 

I would recommend If I Stay because it's one of those books you just have to read at least once in your life or at least before you see the movie, which is what I'm going to do soon for sure!

About the Author:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Gayle Forman is an award-winning author and journalist whose articles have appeared in numerous publications, including Seventeen, Cosmopolitan and Elle in the US. She lives in Brooklyn with her family.

Review: Queen of Someday by Sherry D. Ficklin

Title: Queen of Someday
Author: Sherry D. Ficklin
Series: Stolen Empire #1
Publication: October 7th 2014 by Clean Teen Publishing
Genre: Young Adult ~ Historical Fiction
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository
Rating: 3/5

Review copy provided in exchange for an honest review.

ONE GIRL WILL BRING AN EMPIRE TO ITS KNEES...

Before she can become the greatest empress in history, fifteen-year-old Sophie will have to survive her social-climbing mother’s quest to put her on the throne of Russia—at any cost.

Imperial Court holds dangers like nothing Sophie has ever faced before. In the heart of St. Petersburg, surviving means navigating the political, romantic, and religious demands of the bitter Empress Elizabeth and her handsome, but sadistic nephew, Peter. Determined to save her impoverished family—and herself—Sophie vows to do whatever is necessary to thrive in her new surroundings. But an attempt on her life and an unexpected attraction threatens to derail her plans.

Alone in a new and dangerous world, learning who to trust and who to charm may mean the difference between becoming queen and being sent home in shame to marry her lecherous uncle. With traitors and murderers lurking around every corner, her very life hangs in the balance. Betrothed to one man but falling in love with another, Sophie will need to decide how much she’s willing to sacrifice in order to become the empress she is destined to be.

In a battle for the soul of a nation, will love or destiny reign supreme?

 I'm a bit of a history buff, so this was a pretty great book for me. I don't know that much about Russian history, though but even so I did like reading Queen of Someday. It was a fast read full of intrigue and romance. Also, the writing was excellent!

The only thing that I disliked about it was the love square (not kidding), the insta-love and how all the guys in the book all seemed to be so handsome and want Sophie. In the overall picture I didn't mind a lot because the rest of this book was enjoyable. And you know, I love me some good romance with dramatical twists.

I liked Sophie as a main character but I felt at some points she came over as a bit whiny, not to mention she made some questionable decisions that made me cringe. But then again, she's only fifteen at this point so it's easier to forgive, in my opinion.

I have really different opinion on the love interests of Sophie. Sergei was my favorite and the only guy in the book that I really liked. I liked how as Sophie mentions a few times, that he's the only one she can trust. I can't wait to see what happens with him next.

Alexander on the other hand was just an okay character. He's obviously Sophie's big love but I was just not a fan of them together. I just didn't see it I guess because I thought Alexander was quite boring. But I did feel bad for them when they were caught. That was pretty awful for them.

Then there's Peter. What can I say about him without resorting to foul language. Let me just say that he's one of the biggest bastards I have ever read about. He was manipulative, obsessive and just plain crazy. 

Like I said before, the writing was excellent and it really was. The author's way of writing really took me to a different time and age. I loved it. The ending was just the best ever. I was so shocked by it because I hadn't seen it coming at all. I can't wait to find out what's going to happen next. Wowza!

Amazing writing, romantic intrigue and full of betrayals, Queen of Someday was a great historical fiction. It had some minor flaws but overall, I can really overlook them because it was a fast read and I loved the drama and twists in this captivating novel about Catherine the Great!

About the Author:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Sherry D. Ficklin is a full time writer from Colorado where she lives with her husband, four kids, two dogs, and a fluctuating number of chickens and house guests. A former military brat, she loves to travel and meet new people. She can often be found browsing her local bookstore with a large white hot chocolate in one hand and a towering stack of books in the other. That is, unless she’s on deadline at which time she, like the Loch Ness monster, is only seen in blurry photographs.

She is the author of The Gods of Fate Trilogy now available from Dragonfly Publishing. Her previously self-published novel After Burn: Military Brats has been acquired by Harlequin and will be released in 2014 with a second book in that series to follow. Her YA steampunk novel, EXTRACTED: The Lost Imperials book 1, co-written with Tyler H. Jolley is now available everywhere books are sold and her newest YA novel, Losing Logan, is due for release in 2014 from Clean Teen Publishing.

Review: Supernaturally by Kiersten White

Title: Supernaturally
Author: Kiersten White
Series: Paranormalcy #2
Publication: July 26th 2011 by HarperTeen
Genre: Young Adult ~ Paranormal
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository
Rating: 2/5

 

Evie finally has the normal life she’s always longed for. But she’s shocked to discover that being ordinary can be...kind of boring. Just when Evie starts to long for her days at the International Paranormal Containment Agency, she’s given a chance to work for them again. Desperate for a break from all the normalcy, she agrees.

But as one disastrous mission leads to another, Evie starts to wonder if she made the right choice. And when Evie’s faerie ex-boyfriend Reth appears with devastating revelations about her past, she discovers that there’s a battle brewing between the faerie courts that could throw the whole supernatural world into chaos. The prize in question? Evie herself.

So much for normal.

First of all, I have to say that I'm a huge Kiersten White fan and I loved Paranormalcy  so it really pains me to have to write a rather negative review for Supernaturally. I just thought the book fell a little flat for me. It was just okay for me and nothing more.

So like I said I loved the first book. I really did. The reason why I didn't like this one was that it was rather boring (I'm so sorry, Kiersten!). I hate to say this but it's just the way I felt. I felt like nothing really happened. Nothing too major anyway. And maybe it was just me but I felt that Evie was so freaking whiny in this book and if there's one thing I can't stand it's whiny heroines. The sad thing is, I liked her a lot in Paranormalcy. *sad face*

There were a few good points though that I think I should mention. One of these points are all the unique paranormal creatures. This book is full of them and that was probably the thing I liked best. I always love books that have several creatures that are either unique or unknown to me. So bonus points for that. Also, I love the faeries. I know they're kind of shady in this series but I can't help myself, I love faeries. And Reth, I love him too. Don't judge me. 

The other characters weren't too eye-catching, however. I used to think Lend was adorable but now I'm rather "meh" about him. Jack, though, was pretty interesting. At first he seemed like this real happy-go-lucky guy but turns out he had a hidden agenda. I can't say I blame him, though. He went through pretty shitty things with the faeries. 

Supernaturally was not a good sequel to Paranormalcy in my eyes. It was pretty dull with a very whiny main character and nothing too major happening. I did read it super fast, however and it's easy to get into a book by Kiersten White. I really like her writing, even in this book. Will I read the final book? Probably but I'm not in any hurry to buy it right away. 

About the Author:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Kiersten White is the New York Times bestselling author of the Paranormalcy trilogy, The Chaos of Stars, and the psychological thriller Mind Games. Kiersten lives with her family in San Diego, California.

Waiting On Wednesday: The Ruby Circle by Richelle Mead

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking The Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

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The Ruby Circle
Bloodlines #6
February 10th 2015 by Razorbill

The epic conclusion to Richelle Mead's New York Times bestselling Bloodlines series is finally here...

Sydney Sage is an Alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets—and human lives.

After their secret romance is exposed, Sydney and Adrian find themselves facing the wrath of both the Alchemists and the Moroi in this electrifying conclusion to Richelle Mead’s New York Times bestselling Bloodlines series. When the life of someone they both love is put on the line, Sydney risks everything to hunt down a deadly former nemesis. Meanwhile, Adrian becomes enmeshed in a puzzle that could hold the key to a shocking secret about spirit magic, a secret that could shake the entire Moroi world.

This book is going to be hard to read for me. It's the very end. How could I possibly say goodbye to the Adrian Ivashkov? I'll never be ready for this. And who knows what's going to happen in this last one. You never know what evil things authors plan for their characters.
And this cover? I hate to say it, but it's kinda ugly.

What's your WOW pick of the week?

Leave me links to your post so I can stop by!

Sales Blitz: Gypsy Brothers series by Lili St. Germain

Seven Sons (Book One) *See where it all began*

*Please note this book is dark romance and deals with serious themes including rape, violence and murder.*

This story unfolds over seven volumes approx. 25 - 30,000 words each.

My father was most certainly NOT an innocent man. As the leader of the Gypsy Brothers MC, he was guilty of many things. But he died for a crime that he didn’t commit, framed by an enemy within who then stole his club and everything he had ever worked to protect.

Including my innocence.

When Dornan Ross framed my father, he set into motion a series of events that could never be undone. My father was murdered by Dornan Ross and his sons when I was fifteen years old.

Before my father died, Dornan and his sons stole my innocence, branded my skin and in doing so, ensured that their lives would be prematurely cut short. That they would suffer.

I’ve just turned twenty-one, and I’m out for blood. I'm out for revenge.

But I didn't expect to fall for Jase, the youngest brother in the club.

I didn't expect that he would turn my world upside down, yank my heart out of my chest and ride away into the sunset with it.

Now, I'm faced with an impossible choice - Jase, or avenging my fathers death?

Gypsy Brothers Series by Lili Saint Germain

Seven Sons (Gypsy Brothers, Book One) FREE

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One Love (Gypsy Brothers, Book Seven) RELEASING December 2014

Amazon:  tbd

B & N:  http://bit.ly/1utEZPg

iTunes: http://bit.ly/1rPgZFW

View an amazing fan made trailer here: http://vimeo.com/105638465

Teasers!

About the Author:

Lili Saint Germain

Lili writes dark romance, suspense and paranormal stories. Her serial novel, Seven Sons, was released in early 2014, with the following books in the series to be released in quick succession. Lili quit corporate life to focus on writing and so far is loving every minute of it. Her other loves in life include her gorgeous husband and beautiful daughter, good coffee, Tarantino movies and spending hours on Pinterest.

She loves to read almost as much as she loves to write.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Pinterest

Review: Captive in the Dark by C.J. Roberts

Title: Captive in the Dark
Author: C.J. Roberts
Series: The Dark Duet #1
Publication: August 29th 2011
Genre: Adult ~ Dark Romance/Erotica
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository
Rating: 3/5

Caleb is a man with a singular interest in revenge. Kidnapped as a young boy and sold into slavery by a power-hungry mobster, he has thought of nothing but vengeance. For twelve years he has immersed himself in the world of pleasure slaves searching for the one man he holds ultimately responsible. Finally, the architect of his suffering has emerged with a new identity, but not a new nature. If Caleb is to get close enough to strike, he must become the very thing he abhors and kidnap a beautiful girl to train her to be all that he once was.

Eighteen-year-old Olivia Ruiz has just woken up in a strange place. Blindfolded and bound, there is only a calm male voice to welcome her. His name is Caleb, though he demands to be called Master. Olivia is young, beautiful, naïve and willful to a fault. She has a dark sensuality that cannot be hidden or denied, though she tries to accomplish both. Although she is frightened by the strong, sadistic, and arrogant man who holds her prisoner, what keeps Olivia awake in the dark is her unwelcome attraction to him.

WARNING: This book contains very disturbing situations, dubious consent, strong language, and graphic violence.

He was my tormentor and my solace; the creator of the dark and the light within.

Captive in the Dark started out as one of the best dark erotica books I had ever read. However... after the first 50% it was slowing down noticeably and I started liking it far less. I did still enjoy it but was a little frustrated by some of the actions of the characters and the way the story went.

What I liked the most about this book was the writing. Well, that and Caleb. ;) It was extremely well-written, something you don't see too much with this genre. I couldn't get enough of it. 

And Caleb? What can I say about him that hasn't been said before by others? He was immensely captivating, seductive and had a very dark side about him. He has a very tragic backstory. The things that were revealed about him were simply heartbreaking. But I felt like all those things made him that more interesting and believable. I loved him. At least in the first half of the book. 

Olivia on the other hand wasn't a favorite character of mine at all. Sure, I felt sorry for the girl and the things she went through but I couldn't like her. I wanted to, trust me, but she was a bit irritating to read about. I did like the scenes between her and Caleb most of the time but their relationship started bugging me because eventually Caleb fell too fast for her and started being too enarmored with her. I wanted the story and their relationship to be a bit darker and not all lovey dovey like it was in the end. 

Captive in the Dark was partly enjoyable and partly kind of frustrating. I'm not sure what it says about me but I had expected to to be a lot darker and it may have started out like that but it sure went downhill after the first half of the book. Still, it's a good book, in my opinion and I do want to read the second book, but I'm just not sure where it will go next with how it ended, which is causing me to be a bit uncertain about buying it... 

So I loved the writing, it was perfection and Caleb was an amazing character but the rest of the book left me a bit unsure. It's a quick story, though. I read it in less than 24 hours I think because I almost wasn't able to put it down. Definitely recommended!

About the Author:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

CJ Roberts sucks at referring to herself in the third person, but she will try. She was born and raised in Southern California. Following high school, she joined the U.S. Air Force in 1998, served ten years and traveled the world. Her favorite part of traveling is seeking out the seedy underbelly of the city.

She is married to an amazing and talented man who never stops impressing her; they have one beautiful daughter.

She also writes under the name Jennifer Roberts.