Book Review and Giveaway for Reclaim by Aly Martinez

RECLAIM

by ALY MARTINEZ

Choices. Everyone makes them. From mundane to unimaginable, one choice can change the trajectory of your entire life.

My mother’s choice was to abandon us with our abusive father.

My brother’s choice was to go to prison for killing the boy who assaulted his soulmate.

Camden Cole’s choice was to fall in love with a shattered girl who had absolutely nothing to offer him but heartbreak.

It was one summer beneath the trees, but with Camden, I had a place where I belonged.

A friend who was always waiting for me.

A boy who I caught staring at me more often than not.

He was mine, but when the world closed in and secrets exploded all around us, it was my choice to let him go.

Choices. Everyone makes them.

But mine would ruin us all.

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REVIEW: 3.5 STARS

"Consequences come in all colors."

I'M ALWAYS EXCITED for a book by Aly Martinez. Always. There has not been one book that I haven't wanted to devour, and knowing how much I enjoyed Release, Reclaim was going to be another puzzle piece added to this story and a natural must read for me. If you are looking for an easy read, one with a love that spanned years and showed true strength when it would have been easier to let go - this is your book. 

This book focused on Nora‘s childhood and what unfortunately happened. We know what happened based on Release, but we got to revisit this storyline which allowed it to be read as a standalone. It was a good catch up, but it also added a lot of lip-service. If you read Release, you know Nora's story growing up. You know what she went through, and you know Ramsey's big secret. And oh boy, did it get heavy in this book. Like, we honestly went down a fairly dark path in Nora's heart and mind, and she dealt with some nasty stuff. However, as heavy as it got with everything going on in Nora’s life, it kind of.... just went away. And quickly. While I was glad for the reprieve, it was almost too quick.

But, if the prize in this game of life is Camden, I think she made out in the end. I love love love him so very much!!! He was a super sweet softie with a heart of gold that no man will ever live up to. My gosh, he was the light at the end of the tunnel. He was so understanding and so giving and just absolutely perfect. He wasn't your typical alpha, well - he wasn't an alpha at all, but he was a man true to his word and that was the sexiest part about him. He and Nora grew up together - not in your typical way, so to watch their relationship evolve the way it did added some sweet layers to it.

"He knew all the dirty and broken parts of me and still came back, holding me as though he could keep me together."

REVENGE IS A DISH BEST SERVED COLD, and no one wanted it more than I did. Seriously, reading this book had me angry at times!!! I hate when people get away with stuff and things never seem to catch up with them. But with that came the chance for some outside interference, and boy did Aly excite me!! The Easter egg she dropped in here was smile inducing to say the least! Oh my gosh, I smiled the minute I started seeing some names I knew from her GP Series! Once again, she's got me all excited for her Guardian Protection series to restart because that series is amazing. So much action and strong, gnarly, smart men walking around that Agency. Yumminess in literal form. 

So, my overall issue I had was that it felt linear and didn’t differentiate much from one emotion to the next, from one page to the next. It was pretty even from start to finish without much of a climax to anticipate or come down from, and I feel like that's one of the many things I look forward to with Aly's writing. I always get a journey and a ride, and I just felt like this one stayed pretty chill. 

Before anyone misunderstands my rating or thinks it's bad, please understand that it is NOT. This was a good book, a great book - and it was good for a wonderful smile. But what I didn't get from it was the rush, the excitement of a chase for a love that was destined to be. Aly Martinez is easily one of my go-to authors, still is - don't question that - and I will continue to brag about and pick up and read and gift out her books as often as she releases them. She has never ever done me wrong on a book. She's always worth the read. This one just sat in a very calm mode and never really had highs or lows. It was just very even keeled. 

I think what I'm trying to say, and I'm almost too scared to say was this felt anticlimactic and lacked any real flair. For an author I absolutely love and enjoy, that hurts me to say. It was a great story, but it just didn't move me like she usually does. The writing? Brilliant, of course, and she flowed. I never felt a hiccup in the storyline. It just felt the storyline was lacking a little something. It felt like it was more of a placeholder book, with the anticipation of more GPA coming out, but it was a really cute story by the time it was all said and done. Worth the read. 

"Our story was a tangled tale of time and distance."

~BEE

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My review for Release: http://bit.ly/35wn27v

~MEET ALY MARTINEZ~

Born and raised in Savannah, Georgia, Aly Martinez is a stay-at-home mom to four crazy kids under the age of five- including a set of twins. Currently living in Chicago, she passes what little free time she has reading anything and everything she can get her hands on, preferably with a glass of wine at her side.

After some encouragement from her friends, Aly decided to add “Author” to her ever-growing list of job titles. So grab a glass of Chardonnay, or a bottle if you’re hanging out with Aly, and join her aboard the crazy train she calls life.

~CONNECT WITH ALY~

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Book Review and Giveaway for Tramp by Mary Elizabeth

TRAMP

by MARY ELIZABETH

Lydia Montgomery is a Tramp.

After fleeing a tragic past, Lydia’s determined never to go back to the life she left behind at any price. She lands in Grand Haven, California—a city booming with billion-dollar corporations and tech money—and everything changes.

Armed with the only lesson she learned from her mother, Lydia builds a life of routine, solitude, and success.

Nothing is out of reach when you’re beautiful.

Nearly a decade after her arrival, Lydia's the highest paid escort in the city, and only the most influential people in Grand Haven can get near her. She's a goddess among her clients, and out of reach to everyone else. Lydia's created the perfect illusion, and no one will take it from her again.

Until a misunderstanding lands her in the office of the city’s most eligible bachelor. 

Talent Ridge is Grand Haven royalty. Despite running in the same circles as Lydia’s clients, he’s scandal-free and on his way to being the most powerful man in the area.

Their chemistry is undeniable, but a relationship has the potential to destroy everything they’ve worked for. Especially when Lydia is running from her past, and Talent is running toward a future she can never be a part of.

Beauty and money can’t save them this time.

Are Lydia and Talent willing to give it all up for each other, or will their differences cost too much?

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REVIEW: 4.5 STARS

"Talent Ridge is pure, unadulterated masculinity."

It's always fun being able to jump back into an old favorite. I have read many of Mary Elizabeth's books but she hasn't released in over two years, but if this is her comeback book, then watch out!! I will say, given the content of this book and the subject, it may turn off a few readers. If you are one of those readers, please understand that this book is more about the love between two people that is forbidden and very difficult to navigate given the circumstances. But with a strong willed man who is soooo good at being the alpha he is, and a very determined young lady that is very independent - almost stubbornly so, this was a story that I will happily and heartily recommend. 

Mary Elizabeth has always been a go-to for me for a very welcome dose of heavy angst. She can tear my heart out, mishandle it, but she gives it back forever altered because I'm not sure I ever leave her characters. I love that she not only tells a story, but she has a flow with her words that many don't have. She has an amazing ability to manipulate words and add more visual and depth to the storyline. 

"His enjoyment is my favorite sound."

These characters I was introduced to have definitely left a mark. Talent always paid attention to the little things, the almost unsaid truths that Lydia liked to hide and that is my favorite thing to see in a man. I also feel he had an unabused position of power, so he was strong in his own self and convictions - even though he may have had something to hide. I liked that he was who he was, because watching him saunter with serious swagger throughout this book was definitely a treat. Between his confidence, an attractive mind and serious sex appeal, he was delicious!!

Lydia, on the other hand; I wanted to hold her and love her, but knowing her - she would push me away. She was so strong and stubborn, so determined to take care of herself and not need anyone, but I also saw there was a little girl inside screaming to get out. I felt for her, but I admired her strength and her ability to maneuver life, given the hand she was dealt.

"Turning my gaze to him, my lips part and I exhale. He stops time."

I'm smiling just thinking about the dynamic between these two. While they both exude their own version of confidence, my favorite part was their chemistry. I know one of my favorite things to do is fall in love with the characters as they are falling in love....sounds trivial in the whole scheme of things being a romance novel and all, I know - but when I can FEEL the allure, the fascination these characters have with each other, and the fact that they can't stay away from each other no matter the odds stacked against them, that tells me all I need to know. This whole book was amazing. I loved every part of it. 

This will easily go down as one of my favorite books of the year. I loved the headiness and the desire that coursed through the characters. Lydia and Talent had my heart in a chokehold while watching them fight for what was one reality versus what was conceivable to the other. I loved that push and pull because going back and forth and grappling with a truth neither wanted to accept made this book go entirely too fast. I was completely swallowed up in their world. I was able to follow their emotions as everything was happening, so that certainly allowed me to connect on a more intimate level with them as well. I just loved their story.

And surprise!!! This is a standalone. I thought it was the first book in a trilogy - when in fact it is the first standalone in the series. So now, the next book in this series has me super excited to read it because the mystery alone is tantalizing!!! Gimme more, Mary Elizabeth!!

"You're the fucking devil."

~BEE

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~MEET MARY ELIZABETH~

Mary Elizabeth was born and raised in Southern California. She is a wife, mother of four beautiful children, and dog tamer to one enthusiastic Pit Bull and a prissy Chihuahua. She's a hairstylist by day but contemporary fiction, new adult author by night.

Mary can often be found finger twirling her hair and chewing on a stick of licorice while writing and rewriting a sentence over and over until it's perfect. She discovered her talent for tale-telling accidentally, but literature is in her chokehold. And she's not letting go until every story is told.

~CONNECT WITH MARY~

 

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Book Review and Giveaway for When the Stars Fall by Emery Rose

WHEN THE STARS FALL
by EMERY ROSE

Growing up, Jude McCallister was the bane of my existence.
My best friend. Fiercest ally. The most annoying boy in the world.
At eighteen, the boy I loved to hate became the man I couldn’t live without.

We were young. Madly in love. Invincible.
Strong enough to weather any storm.
Cocky enough to believe that no amount of time or distance could destroy us.

When Jude finally returned home from overseas, it should have been cause for celebration. But the man I’d fallen in love with was gone, and in his place was someone I no longer recognized.

𝐼 𝑐𝑎𝑛’𝑡 𝑑𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑡𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑖𝑑. 𝐼’𝑚 𝑠𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑦.

Now, after six long years he’s back. Only my heart ... it doesn’t beat just for him anymore.

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REVIEW: 4+ STARS

"He was my summertime. My childhood memories."

OH!! I read a new to me author and I get to shout about it!! I love when this happens because not only do I have a new author to follow, but I have something to look forward to - MORE BOOKS! When the Stars Fall was my first book by Emery Rose and knowing that I have more to follow in this standalone series, that just makes the anticipation more exciting. The journey I was taken on in this book wasn't one I was expecting to traverse, but it was definitely one that took me on a path that I so desperately enjoyed going down. I questioned myself when I originally saw this synopsis, wondering if it was a trope I wanted to attempt - and while I was wrong in that aspect, thank gosh, I am so very thankful I jumped into it. What a pleasant surprise, I might add. Oh, and that cover is knuckle-biting delicious, is it not??

"I'd rather get angry and argue than deal with with the heartache and misery. Anger was so much easier. The cut was cleaner. Sharper."

Growing up with Jude and Lila was so fun to watch. I really enjoyed the reminder of young love from an adolescent point of view, but also coming into a grown love with hardened hearts - because as much as we like to avoid it, it happens and they make for some amazingly emotional stories. Rose did an amazing job showing the emotional war within both minds. Their souls were intrinsically connected, and no matter how hard they tried - the tether never broke. I loved the pain she shared with me and pulled me through, because that exploration allowed me to grow with her characters and feel their pain right along with them.

You could feel and see the emotions arguing with the mental side of the heart! If there is one thing I seek in a new author, it's the ability to give me a story worth clinging to. To project the emotions of the characters and the truth behind their actions while allowing me to feel everything they're going through? That is exactly what this book did for me. Not only did I get caught up in a very young love, I fell in love and felt the heartbreak that came with everything happening. The truth behind teenagers being selfish and vindictive - that really happens. The anger that comes with hurt feelings when those actions come out in full force? That's legit and viable anger. Is it pretty? No. We've all been there....we've felt first hand what heartache at a tender age can do, and I really cannot say enough about how that heartache propelled the story even farther for me. I fell deeply in love with these characters, this story, and this author's writing.

"Thoughts without action mean nothing."

I appreciate that there was no sugarcoating of the ugly truths. It wasn’t a walk in the park for a second chance at love. There were things said, actions taken, anger thrown, and pain harbored. But it was real. It was honest. It was all so heartbreakingly authentic and true to the circumstance. I could not appreciate that more.

To be fair and honest, this had all the makings of a five star read for me. The drama was on point, the emotions were true to what was happening, and the characters were relatable and real. Unfortunately, the end started to feel like more inner monologue was taking place, and less like forward moving action in many parts, so it started to slow and drag for me even though it ended on a high. Overall, a wonderful story, very much worth the read - but seriously, the only major issue I had with this book so I can't really complain. 

I can't wait to read more by this author. THIS book is seriously the reason I read new authors. Her voice was smooth. Her characters had palpable chemistry. The story was animated and it moved while it was building. It just worked out so well for me.

If you haven't caught on by now, this was an emotional book and it was oh so good. 

This book is the reason why I read new to me authors. For every five mediocre ones, there’s one that sticks out as this one did, and blew me away. I will read more by Emery Rose, and I will seek out her back catalog. She engaged my emotions, she took me on a journey that I could envision, and she gave me a story to think about long after it’s over. I can't wait for the next book in this series, When the Storm Breaks. I will be the first in line to read it because I know Brody has a lot to say....

"I inhale her exhales. I live and breathe her."

~BEE

"What happens when the stars fall, Jude?"

"I'll put them back in the sky for you."

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~MEET EMERY ROSE~

Emery Rose has been known to indulge in good red wine, strong coffee, and a healthy dose of sarcasm.

When she’s not writing, you can find her binge-watching Netflix, trotting the globe in search of sunshine, or immersed in a good book. A former New Yorker, she currently lives in London with her two beautiful daughters and one grumpy but lovable Border Terrier.

~CONNECT WITH EMERY ROSE~

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