Sweet Fall

Sweet Fall by Tillie Cole

My rating (out of 5 stars):

3 stars—I liked it.

My Thoughts:

Wow. This book was very heavy on the angst. There was more drama and dysfunction than romance. It actually made me super sad, instead of the usual feeling of fluffy comfort I get from a good romance. I liked it, but definitely outside my normal romance zone.

Description from Goodreads.com:

“Lexington "Lexi" Hart is a senior at the University of Alabama. Surrounded by her best friends, her loving family and having fulfilled her life-long dream of making the Crimson Tide cheer squad, everything is going exactly as she always dreamed it would. But beneath her happy exterior, demons lurk, threatening to jeopardize everything Lexi has worked to achieve. When events in her life become too much to cope with, Lexi finds herself spiraling down into the realm of her biggest fear. Lexi falls hard, victim once again to the only thing that can destroy her and, on the way, finds herself falling straight into the dangerous tattooed arms of a guy from the wrong side of the tracks.

Austin Carillo, starting Wide Receiver for the Alabama Crimson Tide, must get picked in this year's NFL draft. He needs it. His brothers need it. Most importantly, his mother desperately needs it. Brought up in a world where the poor are forgotten, the sick are left to fend for themselves and no hero miraculously appears to pull you out of hell, Austin had no other choice but to make a living on the wrong side of the law—until football offered Austin the break to get his life back on track. But when a family tragedy drags him back into the clutches of the gang he believed he had left far behind, Austin finds himself falling. Falling back into criminal ways and falling deep into a suffocating darkness. Until a troubled yet kindred spirit stumbles across his path, where Austin quickly finds he is falling for a young woman, a young woman who might just have the power to save him from his worst enemy: himself.

Can two troubled souls find a lasting peace together? Or will they finally succumb to the demons threatening to destroy them?”

Me & Emma

Me & Emma by Elizabeth Flock

My rating (out of 5 stars):

3 stars—I liked it.

My Thoughts:

Flock gives us a child narrator that is coping with child abuse. Parts of this book were very moving, even hard to read because it made me intensely sad. The only criticism I have is the pace of the book. The beginning is very slow and then there seems to be a rush to resolution, leaving the reader with an abrupt ending.

Description from Goodreads.com:

“The title characters in Me & Emma are very nearly photographic opposites--8-year-old Carrie, the raven-haired narrator, is timid and introverted, while her little sister Emma is a tow-headed powerhouse with no sense of fear. The girls live in a terrible situation: they depend on an unstable mother that has never recovered from her husband's murder, their stepfather beats them regularly, and they must forage on their own for food.

Stop here and you have a story told many times before, as fiction and nonfiction in tales like Ellen Foster, or I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings --stories in which a young girl reveals the horrors of her childhood. Me & Emma differentiates itself with a spectacular finish, shocking the reader and turning the entire story on its head. Through several twists and turns the reader learns that things are not quite the way our narrator led us to believe and everything crescendos in a way that (like all good thrillers) immediately makes you want to go back and read the whole book again from the start.”

That Night

That Night by Chevy Stevens

My rating (out of 5 stars):

3 stars—I liked it.

My Thoughts:

I like Chevy Stevens. This wasn’t my favorite book of hers, but it was a decent mystery. This plot is one that I can't seem to engage in.

Mystery readers--if you haven’t tried Chevy Stevens, I recommend “Still Missing.”

Description from Goodreads.com:

“They said she was a murderer.

They said she killed her sister.

But they lied.

As a teenager, Toni Murphy had a life full of typical adolescent complications: a boyfriend she adored, a younger sister she couldn’t relate to, a strained relationship with her parents, and classmates who seemed hell-bent on making her life miserable. Things weren’t easy, but Toni could never have predicted how horrific they would become until her younger sister was brutally murdered one summer night.

Toni and her boyfriend, Ryan, were convicted of the murder and sent to prison.

Now thirty-four, Toni is out on parole and back in her hometown, struggling to adjust to a new life on the outside. Prison changed her, hardened her, and she’s doing everything in her power to avoid violating her parole and going back. This means having absolutely no contact with Ryan, avoiding fellow parolees looking to pick fights, and steering clear of trouble in all its forms. But nothing is making that easy—not Ryan, who is convinced he can figure out the truth; not her mother, who doubts Toni’s innocence; and certainly not the group of women who made Toni’s life hell in high school and may have darker secrets than anyone realizes. No matter how hard she tries, ignoring her old life to start a new one is impossible. Before Toni can truly move on, she must risk everything to find out what really happened that night.

But the truth might be the most terrifying thing of all.”

Alex

Alex by Sawyer Bennett

My rating (out of 5 stars):

3 stars—I liked it.

My Thoughts:

I have read several books by Sawyer Bennett and I really like her stuff. I loved the heat and emotion of these characters.

Why only 3 stars you ask? Two things… There were useless characters thrown into scenes and then the book just moved on. What’s the point of building up and introducing a character only to have them disappear without a trace? And, also, the end was mega cheesy.

Overall, a recommend for my romance reader friends. I’m definitely reading the rest of this series!

Description from Goodreads.com:

“Hockey star Alexander Crossman has a reputation as a cold-hearted player on and off the rink. Pushed into the sport by an alcoholic father, Alex isn't afraid to give fans the proverbial middle finger, relishing his role as the MVP they love to hate. Management, however, isn't so amused. Now Alex has a choice: fix his public image through community service or ride the bench. But Alex refuses to be molded into the Carolina Cold Fury poster boy . . . not even by a tempting redhead with killer curves.

As a social worker, Sutton Price is accustomed to difficult people--like Alex, who's been assigned to help her create a drug-abuse awareness program for at-risk youth as part of the team's effort to clean up his image. What she doesn't expect is the arrogant smirk from his perfect lips to stir her most heated fantasies. But Sutton isn't one to cross professional boundaries--and besides, Alex doesn't do relationships . . . or does he? The more she sees behind Alex's bad-boy facade, the more Sutton craves the man she uncovers."

Her Russian Protector

Her Russian Protector Series (first 3) by Roxie Rivera

My rating (out of 5 stars):

I gave all three of these 3 stars. I liked them.

My Thoughts:

This is a series of 11 (as of right now) books, each that features a hot Russian mobster type. I found them on accident and read the first three as a set--Ivan, Yuri and Dimitri. Complete dysfunction and violence and somewhat nonsense, but for some reason I was sucked in. The plots were outrageous, but I enjoyed overall.










Not sure if I will read any farther into the series as the storyline was getting a bit too ludicrous.

Description from Goodreads.com (for Ivan):

“Desperate to find her sister, Erin goes to the only man in Houston who can help her--Ivan Markovic. The intimidating, tattooed Russian operates one of the most elite mixed-martial arts training centers in the world but it’s his shadowy past and reputed connections with Houston’s underworld that interest her most.

To find her sister, she’ll need the help of her big, scary Russian protector—but asking for help from a man like Ivan carries a steep price, one that might just include her heart.”

Call Me Irresistible

Call Me Irresistible by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

My rating (out of 5 stars):

3 stars—I liked it.

My Thoughts:

I’m a huge fan of Susan Elizabeth Phillips. This wasn’t one of my favorites, but I did enjoy it. The issue I had was the contrived plot--Lucy cancels her wedding, but then is completely fine with her best friend becoming involved with her ex. I always struggle with plots like this.

Overall, I loved the characters, as I always do with Phillips. It’s worth reading, for sure!

Goodreads.com Description:

“R.S.V.P. to the most riotous wedding of the year . . .

Lucy Jorik is the daughter of a former president of the United States.

Meg Koranda is the offspring of legends.

One of them is about to marry Mr. Irresistible—Ted Beaudine—the favorite son of Wynette, Texas. The other is not happy about it and is determined to save her friend from a mess of heartache.

But even though Meg knows that breaking up her best friend's wedding is the right thing to do, no one else seems to agree. Faster than Lucy can say "I don't," Meg becomes the most hated woman in town—a town she's stuck in with a dead car, an empty wallet, and a very angry bridegroom. Broke, stranded, and without her famous parents at her back, Meg is sure she can survive on her own wits. What's the worst that can happen? Lose her heart to the one and only Mr. Irresistible? Not likely. Not likely at all.”