Muses & Melodies by Rebecca Yarros

 Thank you for Rebecca Yarros and Kandi Cane PR for giving me an ARC to review.

Muses & Melodies is a part of Hush Notes -series. The other two books are written by Sarina Bowen and Devney Perry. I have not read the other two books and I believe that Muses & Melodies is the third book of the series. 

In Muses & Melodies we meet Nixon, the bad boy rocker with tattoos all over him. (Swoon! Honestly, that's all I needed to know, I was going to read this book. You just got to love these bad boys.) Nixon is fresh out of a rehab and this time he's determined to stay sober. There are demons in his past that are trying to drag him down. The bands manager orders his employee, Zoe, to stay and babysit Nixon.

Zoe is a professional and she's determined to keep things official with Nixon. It doesn't matter how good-looking or how beautifully he plays guitar, she will be professional. She needs to get through this job.

But what can you expect when you're constantly together? These two live together and they travel together. They learn things about each other that no one else knows about. Slowly the lines between them fade away.

I love the way Rebecca Yarros writes. This is a solid book with lovable characters. I loved how there were some familiar places from other books by her. Fast and easy read, but still some serious content to give some depth to this book. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Muses & Melodie by Rebecca Yarros

2020

When You Come Back To Me by Emma Scott

Thank you for Emma Scott and Valentine PR for giving me an ARC to read and review.

When You Come Back To Me is a second book of the Lost Boys -series. It can be read as a standalone, but you will get so much more out of this book if you've read The Girl in the Love Song (and Someday, Someday). 

I was lucky enough to score an ARC of both of the books in this series. I can't thank enough for Emma Scott and Valentine PR for giving me a chance to read this book beforehand! What an amazing opportunity 💜 

The cover of this book is gorgeous. I am absolutely in love with it. 

We meet both of the main characters in The Girl in the Love Song. And in that book I was very curious about both of them, but especially of Holden. The vibes he gives you are something else, something I can not describe. River was left a bit distant, but that works, because in this book we get to see the reasons behind it. 

Holden is the new guy in the school. He's polished, he's smart and a bit reckless. He drinks and asks someone to stab him. He feels like he's constantly drowning in his memories. He doesn't know whether he wants to drown in them or not. He feels like no one can really love him. Every time someone does or says something good to him, his demons shout for him to not to listen. 

River is the star of the school. He's the good guy, who doesn't brag about being with the girls. He's the quarterback of the team and he has a bright future ahead of him. He's way smarter than he lets people to assume. But his life isn't what he wants it to be. His mom is sick and can die at any giving moment. His dad is trying to live his missed life through River. He's just acting his way through the life.

These boys meet and nothing is like it used to be. They struggle to keep away from each other and they struggle to be together. Nothing is easy. River likes to put everyone around him on first place. He thinks about his mom, he thinks about his dad, he thinks about the NFL and how there's no way for him to love another boy if he wants to play football. Holden doesn't really have anyone. I was totally livid with the way his parents had treated him. I can not believe that this is really something that exist in our time. Holden loves the warmth that River can provide him. River loves how he can be absolutely himself around Holden. One of the things Holden says is "You can be okay and completely fucked up at the same. I'm living proof." It hit home. That's how I feel most of the days. And in some way this sentence is the best way to describe both of these young men.

This is coming of age book, like the last book of the series was. I would consider this more NA than YA, mainly because there are some heavy issues on this book. There's a warning of that in the beginning of the book. The feelings that these two young man go through in this book are very true. They feel sad, happy, overwhelmed, depressed, joyful. You name and they have felt it. They struggle with the expectations of their parents. They are trying to decide whether they try to reach goals they are setting for themselves or just listen their parents.  

I liked how they struggled with their feelings towards each other and how their feelings had an influence on their actions. That it's like when you're not so sure about what to do or say or even feel. When all the expectations are weighing you down. When all that has happened on the past are screaming inside of your head that you don't deserve to be happy.

I haven't read many M/M -books and that's mainly because I haven't found ones that feel right. But Emma Scott knows how to write M/M -romance. I adored Someday, Someday and I can honestly say that both of these books are in top two in this genre. 

The way Emma Scott builds the world around her characters is amazing. She keeps the story going on without any problems. There's no way you want to put the book down unless you need to find a tissue to cry on. This book made me cry on so many occasions. I cried, because I was angry. I cried, because I was heartbroken and I cried, because I was happy. 

If you want to read a great, touching, heart breaking and the most beautiful romance there's right now then this is your book. I really understand why everyone talks about this book. 

I believe that this book was supposed to be under a different name, but the title makes so much sense. Amazing story from an amazing author. I can't wait to read the Ronan's story!

Remember that love is love. And believe me, you deserve to be happy!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

When You Come Back To Me by Emma Scott

2020

Heart Bones by Colleen Hoover

Once again a great book by Colleen Hoover!

Colleen Hoover is an automatic one-click author to me. Actually her books are what started my love to go in blind. I think I have been doing that more or less since 2015 when November 9 came out. It's a best way to start reading. I think that I have something around 20 books by her in my actual book shelf, some of them are even signed 💜 I can safely say that she's the reason why I love romance novels. 

Whether you like Colleen's online persona or the things she shares online, you have to admit that she knows how to write. She has really unique style to write. I like how her writing seems "depressing", I don't know if this is a correct word to describe her writing, but I don't know how else to say it. She is very skilled author and she writes books with heavy subjects, such as depression, domestic abuse, cancer, loss of love, family and so on. Those are hard subjects to write about and maybe that's the thing what makes her style heavy. It's like you can feel the heaviness of the words. Like you're carrying the same weight on your shoulders as protagonist does. 

Heart Bones is contemporary romance. I would say it's a NA book. Beyah's world crumples around her so she decides that change of scenery is great before she starts a college at the end of the summer. She leaves her home and heads to Texas to stay with her father, whom she hasn't seen in years. She's determined to keep her head down and just try to survive until the college starts. 

Things rarely goes as planned. Beyah meets the cute next door neighbor, Samson, and even if they have some really big differences as background and wealthiness they both seem to be sad. That sadness is the thing that draws them towards each other. They make plans to spend time together during summer. They are firm about the fact that they keep their summer fling "in shallow end", but as we know you can drown in shallow water, too.

I loved how the title is explained in book. It all makes sense. I loved how content Beyah and Samson were together. I loved the amount of sunrises and sunset in this book. I loved how it took time from Beyah (and Samson) to learn new things about themselves. 

This might not be my favorite book by Colleen Hoover, but this still was a really amazing book. One of the best books I've read this year. I am going to keep reading CoHo books in future, too. When you pick up a book by Colleen Hoover you know that you get a quality book. You get a book with story that goes forward, you get a book that's written really wonderfully and thoroughly edited. You get to meet exciting  characters and sometimes you even get new songs to listen.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Heart Bones by Colleen Hoover

Independently Published

2020

The Duplicate Bride by Ginny Braid

Thank you for NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for giving me an ARC to review!

The Duplicate Bride is a contemporary romance novel written by Ginny Braid. It's written in third POV, which always takes some time from me to get used to. The view switches between Brent and Hope, the main characters and I enjoyed that fact. 

Hope and Jackie are twin sisters. Jackie is getting married, but she has problems at work so she asks Hope to swap places with her and go play Jackie on her pre-wedding festivities. It was supposed to be only for a day, but one day turns to another and then another one.

As soon as Hope arrives to meet Brent and his family, she realizes that everything isn't okay between Brent and Jackie. Brent also sees there's something not right with his fiancee. She used to love jogging and had a strict diet, now she doesn't want to get up early to run and loves to eat everything she doesn't usually eat. Brent struggles with his personal life and it seems that being with Hope helps him to understand himself more. 

All these small changes he notices on his fiancee makes him want to win her over. He really wants to try to make this relationship work. He wants to love her and wants her to love him. They spend a lot of time together and somewhere along the way Hope realizes that she's developing too warm feelings towards his sister's soon-to-be husband.

I especially liked Brent's family. There were multiple fun characters. I wouldn't mind being a part of family like that. The writing is beautiful! I liked that this was a clean romance. The connection between Brent and Hope felt real.

The things I struggled with this book were Jackie (didn't like her at all) and how long the things went on before the secret of twins swapping places comes out. 

⭐⭐⭐½

The Duplicate Bride by Ginny Braid

Entangled Publishing

2020

The Reality of Everything by Rebecca Yarros

Thank for Entangled Publishing, Candi Kane PR and Rebecca Yarros for giving me an ARC to read and review. 

The Reality of Everything is the fifth (and final) book in Flight & Glory -series. I read the first book Full Measures few years ago. It's Ember and Josh's book. Their story continues on book nr. 4, Hallowed Ground, so naturally I read that book soon after finishing the first book of the series. Then there are books nr. 2, Eyes Turned Skyward and nr. 3, Beyond What's Given. Those two books I read last week. I started reading The Reality of Everything right after finishing book nr. 3. I realized that I had forgotten what happened in Hallowed Ground so I did a quick reread and got back to this fifth book. 

It's not necessarily to read the earlier books, but I would strongly recommend it. We get to meet again the couples from other books, they have a role in this book, too. And I can honestly say that it was a good that I had just read all the twists and turns that happened in before this story takes place. It gives you so much more, when you know the background. Sure, you pick something along the way, but if you have time, please read the other parts first. 

In The Reality of Everything we get to meet Morgan again. She has been a side character in earlier books. She seemed this fun character, who always knew what to say and wasn't afraid saying what she thinks. In the beginning of this book we learn that Morgan isn't what she used to be and it's totally fine, since she has been through a lot. She moved to a new town, bought a house on her own and is trying her absolute best to keep up with life. She tries to keep her anxiety attacks at bay, she tries to repair her broken heart. 

Jackson is the next door neighbor. He is gorgeous, single and a awesome daddy to his 5 years-old daughter. There's something in his past, too. He works as coast guard pilot. And he is afraid to reveal this to Morgan.

These two meet and there's this pull. They gravitate towards each other. Sometimes it just happens, you have no power over your own feelings. Heart wants what it wants. It isn't always easy to fall in love. Your heart might already be in there, but your head tries it best to make you think things through.

There are so many beautiful and meaningful moments in this book. I think that this was the perfect ending for the series. This book wraps everything up so beautifully. And once again Rebecca Yarros writes military romances really well, she knows what's she is writing about. This book is all about family, love and friends. This book tells you to trust your friends even when it's hard. They can't help you if you don't tell them what's wrong. Family, whether it's made from friends or relatives, is everything.

I think that my favorite quote from the book was "I'll rip the world apart to keep her safe". I thought it was very well said. I can certainly say that I feel like that towards certain people in my life. Once again Rebecca Yarros' words made me think about my own life. 

You can count on Rebecca Yarros writing a book that will rip your heart out of your chest. Her books will absolutely destroy your heart. But, you can also count on her fixing your heart. She has this amazing talent to put the pieces of your heart back on, she glues the parts together with her writing. And even after you feel that nothing is going to be okay ever again; she has managed to make everything right again. She makes your pieced-together-heart beat again with the rhythm on love. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Reality of Everything by Rebecca Yarros

Entangled Publishing

2020

Beach Read by Emily Henry

This is one of my new paperbacks, which arrived few weeks ago. 

I can't remember who recommended Beach Read for me, but she said something like, the book is perfect for summer reading, easy and funny. The cover of the book implies that, too. But for me this was so much more.

Beach Read is so much more than a funny love story. Sure, it's a love story and maybe it's a traditional love story in some way, but it's so much more. I can recommend this book to almost anyone I know. 

January has it all until his father passed away. She had her career as an romance author. She had her perfect boyfriend and perfect parents. At her father's funeral the secret comes out and she feels that all she has known has been a lie. How she can write about true love and happily-ever-afters, when she doesn't believe those anymore? She's desperate to write a new book, but it's hard, harder than it has ever been. She comes to stay at her dads beach house, well it kind of is hers now. 

Augustus Everett owns the house next to hers. They are of with a bad start. As the time goes on they learn that they know each other already. They used to be in the same college and had the same writing classes. Augustus is also having a problems to write his next book. 

Augustus and January make a deal. Augustus will write a romance novel and January will write "a next Great American Novel". They'll spend Fridays and Saturdays together taking turns to teach other about perks of their genres. No one is going to fall in love. As in the time goes on and summer is about to end it's not easy to not to fall in love. 

The chemistry between main characters is awesome. I really like how they keep each other on their toes. I like the bickering, I like the sweet moments. I like they are able to see the good in each other. They trust each other, that's what everyone wants for their relationship, right?

This is a book about love, obviously. But this is also a book about friends, family, forgiveness, loyalty, lust, adventures and determination. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Beach Read by Emily Henry

Berkley

2020

You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle

I bought few paperbacks for my summer vacation and this was one of them. Read it really fast.

When I started to put this book as "read" in my Goodreads account I found out that I had already added this in my "want to read" shelf back in August 2019. I had no memory of it. That's how unorganized my tbr pile is. 🤣

Love is a mysterious thing. You never know what's going to happen when you let yourself fall in love. Most of the time you don't have a choice. You just fall in love with someone. My best friend just told me that loss is the price of the love. It sounds kind of sad, but I believe it's true. You can't have everything, you lost something and then you find something. 

Naomi hasn't many months before she's marrying the love of her life, expect that it doesn't feel like it. It doesn't feel that Nicholas is the love of her life. It feels like she's pretending. She's pretending to be perfect. She counts her love towards Nicholas on percentages. She believes that Nicholas is perfectly happy with the way things are in their relationship. It isn't until one day they're having a fight that she learns that Nicholas isn't happy either.

This book made me laugh out loud so many times. But then I got frustrated with characters too. Why they just don't talk with each other? Like I stated my previous post; it's important to learn to speak with your partner. Maybe this book is realistic in a way, because it sure isn't easy to start talking about hard topics. The book is told by Naomi's POV so we don't get to see inside of Nicholas' head. I think it would have made this book different. Now we only see things from Naomi's POV and that's kind of the whole point in this book. This book is all about troubles in relationship. We only know our POV in real life too, unless the other tells their POV to us. Now we get to see all Naomi's insecurities, hardships and all those good things. I could see a lot of myself in Naomi. 

What it's to like fall in love again with the person you're going to marry? How hard will it be? How does it feel to let other one see you as in whole? You're deciding to show all of you, not just good parts. How should you act towards your partner when you're feeling down? How you show them you're happy?

This book was a really good read. I enjoyed the funny moments, I felt anxious and happy. This is great summer read, but it sure got me thinking about my own relationship. I believe in true love. I think that there can be more than one true love. I believe in working to make your relationship better. My favorite line from the book was "Being in love is frantic. Fluttery. Falling. It's nervous sweats and pounding heartbeats and a feeling of tremendous rightness.". Because love is that and so many other things. What a great debut novel from Sarah Hogle!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle

G.P. Putnam's Sons

2020