The Not-Outcast by Tijan

Thank you for Social Butterfly PR and Tijan for giving me an ARC to read and review.

Wow. This might actually be the first book by Tijan that I am actually reviewing on my blog. How odd, because I have read and loved multiple books by her. One of my all time favorites is Ryan's Bed, everyone should read that book.

I didn't know what to expect when I started reading this; all I knew is that I get to read Tijan's writing. I like the way she writes and builds the world in her books. You will recognize her writing. She has a very unique style to write, most of her characters have very unique names, too.

The Not-Outcast is a contemporary romance. At first we get to know a little about Cheyenne's past. It was very eye-opening. Throughout the book we learn more about Cheyenne and her condition. I have not read the blurb so I don't know what's revealed in there, but I won't say much. All I am going to say is that I lovelovelove, LOVE, how Tijan writes about hard subjects in this book. 

Cheyenne has loved Cut since the first time she saw him. Now years later they meet officially and nothing has changed. I liked how Cut got a feeling that Cheyenne is his, when he saw her first time. It's like a love at first sight. He felt the need to protect her, which is always a good thing in my books.

The characters had so much chemistry between them, so you could feel the electricity vibrating through your Kindle. I read this book in one sitting. I got so hooked up on it that it's unreal.  This book is really a worth of reading. It tells you story of love and friendship. You don't need much else. But also; this book tells you about the daily struggles that some people go through in their head without anyone knowing. And that's really worth of knowing and understanding. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Not-Outcast by Tijan

2020

Say Hello, Kiss Goodbye by Jacquelyn Middleton

Thank you for Grey's Promotions and Jacquelyn Middleton for giving me an ARC to read and review.

At first I want to say I am sorry that my review is late, but here it finally is. 

I wanted to like this book more than I actually did. There were some awesome things in this book, but then there were few things that wasn't for me. 

The things I liked in this book were the names of the characters; just think about the names; Leia and Tarquin (What awesome names!), how their story begins; in black out at Ikea. It truly shows that you always get something you weren't supposed to get when you shop in Ikea 😁 I liked Leia's profession, she's a fashion designer. I haven't read many books with a character that works in fashion industry. I liked the secondary characters also. I liked how London and New York city played a huge part in this story. London is one of my favorite cities in the world. It was wonderful to read about! 

The things I didn't like so much. The third person POV, I like dual POV, but the third person POV is always a hard for me. Sex, I don't like to read about sex, but hey! Some of us likes to read about that so this might work just great for them. The book was quite slow from time to time and I had to make myself to keep reading.

This book contains many very hard subjects like anxiety issues, depression, alcoholism and few others. For that reason some people might need a trigger warning. The way this book deals with mental health issues was great. A huge thank you for that! You can never talk enough about mental health issues. We need to remove the stigma and this book sure helps to do that. 

These two meet and have a fling. Things happen and time goes on. I don't want to spoil this book, so I won't write anything more. Buy it and read yourself.

⭐⭐⭐½

Say Hello, Kiss Goodbye by Jacquelyn Middleton

2020

Every Sweet Regret by Lexi Ryan

Thank you for Grey's Promotions and Lexi Ryan for giving me an ARC to read and review!

This was my first book by Lexi Ryan. I have heard so many good things about her books that I wanted to read one myself. 

Every Sweet Regret is a second book in Orchid Valley -series. It's possible to read this book without reading the first book of the series. I surely did so. But I think you would benefit for reading the first book before reading this one. 

I rarely read blurbs, but this one I read and I instantly liked the idea of this book. The idea of falling in love without knowing how the other person looks like is ideal. In these days people put so much value to the looks that it feels unreal sometimes. With this way you actually need to get to know each other. You can  never put too much value on good communication. I liked how Kace was forced to get to know other things than just focusing on how Stella looks like. 

I really liked how the story went forward. The pace was steady and it felt like the author hadn't had any problems with her story. Just the way I like 😊

This was a friends-to-lovers and brothers best friend -book. One of my favorite tropes! 

For my liking there was pretty much sex. That's purely on me and is in no way authors fault! I also didn't understand why characters acted the way they did in some points, but that's on me, too. 

Over all, I liked this book. I really liked the way this book is written. Fun and fast read that made you miss summer, sun and pool 🍸 

⭐⭐⭐½

Every Sweet Regret by Lexi Ryan

2020

Varsity Rulebreaker by Ginger Scott

Thank you for Ginger Scott and WordSmith Publicity for giving me an ARC to read and review.

Varsity Rulebreaker is the third and final book in Varsity-series by Ginger Scott. I read the first book, Varsity Heartbreaker, when it came out. Somehow I missed the second book, but I'll read it as soon as possible. 

Once I got into reading I couldn't put this book down. This book has some content in it that makes you think. It explores what's it to be like a woman and play with men. You might get a glimpse  if it's even possible to play a sport that is considered for a sport for men. I really wanted to read this and know how it all will end. 

Hollis is a senior in high school and she loves to play baseball. She is new in Indiana, but in there she can just maybe show that she's more than a coaches daughter and she can earn her spot in team. 

Cannon is a new in Indiana, too. He's there to play ball with his cousin, Zack. It is implied that they play well together. At first it seems that his relationship to his cousin is easy and good, but as the book goes on we get to see more Cannon's thoughts and maybe he's growing a bit, too.

Cannon and Hollis meet and there's attraction between them. A New Years kiss is all it takes from them to be imprinted in each others mind. Too bad that they didn't know they'll be playing ball together.

Zack isn't taking it well that he now needs to prove how good he is. He doesn't like competing against Hollis. Stuff happens, as always. Cannon needs to decide what matters most; love, friendship, family bonds, doing what is right or loyalty? All equally good things, so it might be hard for him to be in between Hollis an Zacks mess.

I really liked the chemistry between Hollis and Cannon. I liked the dual POV. I liked how the sport really was a part of the story, not just a some thing a hero did. I liked how the story went forward. It was easy and happy read with little drama. I can for sure recommend it for everyone who likes YA sports romance-books. A great end for the series, loved the epilogue!

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Varsity Rulebreaker by Ginger Scott

2020

Escaping Eleven by Jerri Chisholm

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

Escaping Eleven brings a whole new world to you. It's the world of violence, order and dreams. It's a world where those dreams usually die. The hierarchy is everything in this world.

Eve lives in compound eleven. Four generations ago the earth became to dangerous to live on. They decided to move underground. Now the life underground is all Eve knows. She loves to read and has read everything about life before the ground got uninhabited. Eve lives in the floor nr. 2. In her floor they fight and she's good with it. She needs to decide a profession soon and she's thinking about going pro.

Her latest fight is different, though. Her opponent isn't some punk from same floor. He's a kid from top floor with eyes that show every emotion he has. These two fight, meet, spend time together. Eve is determined to make chances on her life, she wants so much more than the compound eleven can offer to her. Maybe this kid with amazing eyes can change her life.

This is your typical YA dystopian novel, but this label takes nothing away from this story. If you have read The Hunger Games, Uglies, Under the Never Sky or Matched  you'll love this book, too. I have read YA dystopian as long as I can remember, some of those books are better than others, but this is still one of my favorite genres. 

I loved the chemistry between characters, I loved how the story went forward. I loved how this was written. Amazing debut novel!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Escaping Eleven by Jerri Chisholm

Entangled Publishing

2020

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