Stacking the Shelves (19)

 
Stacking The Shelves, hosted by Tynga's Reviews, is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!
 

Purchased:

    

   
 

Sweet Peril by Wendy Higgins (loved! review soon)

Flat-Out Matt by Jessica Park (my review)

Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

The Essence by Kimberly Derting

Let The Sky Fall by Shannon Messenger

Gifted:
 

 

The Raven Boys by Maggie Steifvater
Fragments by Dan Wells
Wounded by Jasinda Wilder (my review)
Wilson Mooney Almost Eighteen by Gretchen de la O (e-book)

Won:


Dead Silence by Kimberly Derting

Used Book Finds:
 

Going Bovine by Libba Bray
The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen

For Review:
 

Allure by Nina Lane
Don't Hate the Player...Hate the Game by Katie Ashley

Kindle Purchases:
   

 

True Love Story by Willow Aster
Just Breathe by Kendall Grey
The Space Between by Kristie Cook
Fade by Kate Dawes
Renegade by Cambria Hebert
 

Novella Review: Flat-Out Matt

Flat-Out Matt by Jessica Park
March 25, 2013
158 pages
Source: Personal purchase

Summary:

Matt is a junior at MIT. He’s geeky, he's witty, he's brilliant.

And he’s also very, very stupid.

When beautiful, cool, insightful Julie moves in with Matt’s family, why (oh why!) does he pretend to be his absent brother Finn for her alleged benefit?

It seems harmless enough until her short-term stay becomes permanent. And until it snowballs into heart-squeezing insanity. And until he falls in love with Julie, and Julie falls in love with Finn.

But … Matt is the right one for her. If only he can make Julie see it. Without telling her the truth, without shattering them all. Particularly his fragile sister Celeste, who may need Julie the most.

You saw Matt through Julie’s eyes in FLAT-OUT LOVE. Now go deeper into Matt’s world in this FLAT-OUT MATT novella. Live his side of the story, break when his heart breaks, and fall for the unlikely hero all over again.

Take an emotional skydive for two prequel chapters and seven Flat-Out Love chapters retold from his perspective, and then land with a brand-new steamy finale chapter from Julie.

My Review:

If you haven't read Flat-Out Love, then do not read Flat-Out Matt until you have. This is the retelling of parts of Flat-Out Love from Matt's perspective, plus a couple of bonus chapters before and after, including a steamy final chapter (much steamier than FOL). If you haven't read Flat-Out Love, then run out and get yourself a copy, because I absolutely loved it. Don't read this review if you haven't read FOL because it may contain spoilers. You have been warned.

I was so happy when I heard about this novella. I loved FOL and I loved geeky, endearing, and heartbroken Matt. So Jessica Park wants to give me more Matt? Well, you don't have to tell me twice. Of course, this is a novella, so it is short, and not all the parts of FOL are included, but that was okay with me (even though I would have read an entire book from Matt). She warned us going into the novella. I re-read FOL before reading FOM and was very glad I did. Not only did I love FOL all over again, but it prepared me for the FOM chapters. I recommend a FOL re-read before FOM if you want to get the full benefit of the read and Matt's POV. Though Jessica does reference which chapters are being re-told, so you could also have FOL beside you while you read FOM if you want to refer to it.

What I didn't totally expect was how heart-breaking reading Matt's POV would be. He's had to endure so much from the neglect of his family, but he doesn't complain. Not really. He loves his family. He loves Celeste. He loved Finn. He will do anything for them, including sacrifice his own happiness. And then we see how much he loves Julie. The chapters were the perfect mix of bitter and sweet, heartbreak and hope. I could see and feel their love developing, particularly his for her. It was beautiful.

The bonus chapters were amazing. My heart broke over the loss of his wonderful relationship with his big brother and best friend, Finn. I love those brothers. And Matt's willingness to be the responsible one for his broken sister, Celeste, was admirable. I loved the extra glimpses Jessica gave us into Matt's life and thought process. Then the bonus material at the end, with the sky dive and the start of their relationship. I loved seeing Matt and Julie finally able to be completely real and free with each other, without any barriers between them.

Jessica Park did an amazing job giving her readers what we wanted and asked for. This novella was exactly what I needed to feel complete in Matt and Julie's world. I loved Matt's POV and Jessica wrapped it all up beautifully. Well done, Ms. Park!

5 STARS

ADD TO-READ ON GOODREADS  |  BUY FROM AMAZON

Book Review & Tour: Arouse by Nina Lane

 




Arouse (Spiral of Bliss #1) by Nina Lane
January 2, 2013
406 pages
Snow Queen Publishing
Source: e-ARC for honest review
Genre: Contemporary Romance with a very sexy married couple


Book Blurb:

"One day I'm going to touch you in a thousand different ways and show you how to touch me," he said.

And he did.

Struggling with a tormented past, undergraduate Olivia Winter once led a practical but isolated life. Then she met Professor Dean West, a brilliant scholar of medieval history who melted Liv's inhibitions and taught her the meaning of both love and erotic pleasure. But after three years of a blissful, lusty marriage, Liv and Dean now face a crisis that threatens everything they believe about each other...and sex might not be enough to save them.

Review (Revised on 1/15/14):

What appealed to me initially about this book was that it involved a married couple. I didn't know the direction the author would take this book, but a storyline with an already established couple really intrigued me. Fortunately, we not only get to look at the current state and progressing state of their relationship, but additionally follow along into their backstory and how their couplehood came about.  Maybe I'm dense, but it took me a few chapters to get that when the chapters are headed with a date, this time period is both for the present and the past. Once I figured that out, I really liked this style and the cohesion of the time periods. And yes, both in present and past, they are a very sexy couple.

I admit that I struggled with the first 40% of the book and almost gave up. I just wasn't sure how I was feeling about everything, especially the wife, Liv. The author does a good job, maybe too good of a job, making some of the couple's actions mysterious and questionable. I found some things Liv did odd and, honestly, there were a couple scenes with her that I didn't appreciate (ex, porn), though it was a small instance. But that's a personal thing that perhaps other readers do not have an issue with.

The second half of the book, however, was my favorite. I felt that's where more clarity came to me and I could understand Liv and Dean's actions, and empathize with their struggles. I've been married for 16 years, and though my circumstances are not theirs, I can still empathize with the myriad of emotions and struggles that go along with marriage. Even in ideal circumstances, there are still challenges and times of testing. For Liv and Dean, their challenges really hit during their marriage, not their courtship, and I appreciated all the thought and honesty that the author put into making their marriage feel real. I came to really appreciate Liv and Dean. They truly love each other. But now they have to take it to the next level, and this is the same for everyone. There are stages to every marriage and relationship, and those stages bring out new depths and heights for those willing to take each of those steps together. I look forward to continuing on the journey with Liv and Dean.

A couple of issues: I will say that the time period and even scene transitions were not always clear to me or smooth. I've also never read about people taking so many showers. The word "shower" is used 44 times according to my kindle. Yes, I get that these people like to be clean, but I just found it odd that they had to take a shower practically every time they walked in the front door.

Updated to 4 STARS

Giveaway:

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/44c31a6/"

About the Author:


Nina Lane is a multi-published author of elegant, romantic and often raunchy erotica.
Her recent release AROUSE is the first book in the Spiral of Bliss series, and her novel
THE EROTIC DARK is a #1 Amazon erotica bestseller.

Nina used to write novels under the name Natasha Rostova and has published stories
in anthologies such as “Best Women’s Erotica” and “Erotic Travel Tales.” Her work has
been translated into both German and Japanese. In addition to writing, she's an avid
reader who loves popcorn and has recently joined a workout boot-camp that is kicking
her rear end.

Connect with Nina Lane:

FACEBOOK | WEBSITE| GOODREADS| TWITTER

Book Links:

Purchase on Amazon
Purchase on Barnes & Noble
Add To-Read on Goodreads  

Stacking the Shelves (18)

Stacking The Shelves, hosted by Tynga's Reviews, is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

This is a two week list because last weekend I was too busy having a great time at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books with my eldest son, and didn't have the energy to post. I will have a bigger post of all that we did there coming soon, but below contains a few of the purchases we made the week before or at the festival. Plus, we got some free goodies from the Harlequin booth, which was awesome. This also contains my catch-up posting for my ebooks.

PHYSICAL BOOKS:

 

Purchased (and now signed):

   

 

   

 

Just One Day by Gayle Forman

Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs

Uprising by Jessica Therrien

Dead To You by Lisa McMann

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Fearless by Cornelia Funke

Purchased (not signed):

 

Quintana of Charyn by Melina Marchetta

From Harlequin:

   

 

   

 

The Goddess Inheritance by Aimee Carter (signed arc x2)

What Tears Us Apart by Deborah Cloyed (signed)

The Returned by Jason Mott (signed arc)

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry (paperback) (my review)

I'll Be Seeing You by Suzanne Hayes/Loretta Nyhan (arc)

The Apple Orchard by Susan Wiggs (arc)

 Used Book Finds:

 

 

Thoughtless by SC Stephens

Fever by Lauren DeStefano

ELECTRONIC BOOKS:

Won or Gifted:
   



Sweet Thing by Renee Carlino
Survivor Roundup by Angela Scott
Consequences by Aleatha Romig
Mr. Mysterious in Black by S. Ann Cole
 
NetGalley Goodies:
    

The Collector by Victoria Scott (my review)
True by Erin McCarthy (my review)
Claim Me by J. Kenner (my review)
 
For Review:
  

Light in the Shadows by A, Meredith Walters (my review)
Arouse by Nina Lane

Kindle Purchases:
     

   

   

   

Wait For You by J. Lynn
Forever My Girl by Heidi McLaughlin
Beauty From Pain by Georgia Cates
Dirty Red by Tarryn Fisher (my review)
Cloud Walking by A. Meredith Walters (my review)
Wide Awake by Shelly Crane (my review)
Picture Perfect by Alessandra Thomas
A Beautiful Lie by Tara Sivec
Relentless by Cassia Leo
Release Me by J. Kenner (my review)
Rule by Jay Crownover
Suddenly Royal by Nicole Chase