Dog-Eared Daydreams

I originally read Wethering the Storm by Samantha Towle on 21 August 2013 and posted my review the very same day. And here's the second Flashback Friday Review Re-Post... Wethering the Storm is the sequel to Samantha Towle's successful The Mighty Storm and continues the love story of music journalist Tru Bennett and rock star Jake Wethers.  The conflicts that occur in this second book in The Storm series are resolved rather quickly, which is both a good and a bad thing because it seemed that once one conflict is resolved, a new one crops up. There's usually one or two conflicts throughout an entire book and then you wait 'til the end for it to be resolved or until the second book is released. See? Good and bad. There were a couple of times where you end up wondering why a character is brought in to spark conflict and then...nothing. It isn't pursued too lengthily and then dropped altogether. The sweetness and steam from book one is carried over to

With my review on Samantha Towle's Taming the Storm  up on the blog, I decided to re-post my Goodreads reviews on the first two books in The Storm series.  Now, I don't know if I'm going to keep up the whole Flashback Friday Review Re-Post thing since I've already got the Throwback Thursday one but I didn't want to wait until next week to re-post the first two reviews.  ^.^ I originally read The Mighty Storm on 10 June 2013 and posted my review the very same day. So, here you go, the first of two Flashback Friday Review Re-Posts... Let me begin by saying that I've had this book on my hard drive for quite some time already and only got around to reading it today so I have no idea if it's been re-edited. If it has, then suffice it to say that my review is based on the first edition I have. So with that being said, on to my review... I'm giving The Mighty Storm by Samantha Towle a solid four out of a possible five stars. I would have given

Taming the Storm is the third and final book in The Storm series by Samantha Towle and begins with events found in the last few chapters of the second book, Wethering the Storm , and continues its own story thereafter. So, there are some shared moments between both books but it's interesting to get the different perspectives. Tom Carter is as known for being a womanizer as he is for being a rock star and bassist of The Mighty Storm and makes no apologies for any of it. The only female to have ever turned him down (not just once but twice) is Lyla Summers, lead singer of up and coming band Vintage. When Tom temporarily takes over as Vintage's manager during their very first tour, he and Lyla are forced to be together in close quarters.   Lyla has sworn off men after a devastating betrayal and refuses to have anything to do with anyone she considers a "mut" (man slut). Tom just happens to be the poster child for muts all over. Hahaha! On the other hand, Tom

This is a re-post of my original Goodreads review for Ruin by Rachel Van Dyken. This is the first book in the Ruin series. I originally read Ruin on 22 August 2013 and posted my review the very same day. ^.^ "Maybe it's not in the perfection of life that things make sense, but in the chaos."  Oh. My. Goodness. This book... Just... Wow. I had no idea what I was expecting when I started reading this book today but I got sucked into the whole story and there was just no putting my tablet down. Ruin by Rachel Van Dyken is a gem and was truly an inspiring read. I loved the story and while I have read a couple of other books that have tackled the main story line (male lead character has a potentially life-ending sickness then meets the female lead character who turns out to be the love of his life) and did quite well conveying their respective tales, Ruin was able to stand on its own very admirably. Maybe it was because this story had an aspect of hope and faith

I was supposed to post this review last week but with Typhoon Glenda (international name Rammasun) hitting us straight on and having a days-long power outage, I'm only getting around to posting this tonight.  I ended up writing the review on legal pad in the middle of the power outage so at least I kept busy.  Hehe. Without further ado... "When I see Kiersten. My heart is the opposite of broken--it's full." Fearless is a novella that comes after Toxic and is the third release in the Ruin series. If you didn't get enough of Wes and Kiersten in book one, Ruin , this sweet novella continues their love story in the swoon-worthy manner that author Rachel Van Dyken is known for. ^.^ "And every touch would remind me, that blood flowed through his veins, that his heart beat strong, that it beat in perfect cadence with mine." I'm not going to spoil the story for those who have yet to read it or the series by telling you what it's

"All we had were moments strung together. Each one is over in a blink of an eye." There are books that capture your attention from cover to cover, and then there are those extraordinary books that stay with you long after you've put them back on your shelves or turned off your e-reader. Toxic by Rachel Van Dyken definitely falls into the latter group. ^.^ Toxic is the second book in the Ruin  series and turns the spotlight on Gabe Hyde, recovering manwhore with a heart of gold and best friend of Weston Michels, male lead character of Ruin and all-around good guy. He certainly made his mark in the first book and I was thrilled that readers finally get to know his story...and what a story it is! "A guy's gotta wonder if it's just in his destiny to never be found." Gabe has a secret and he goes to whatever lengths necessary to make sure it stays a secret. He has a past and is reminded of and confronted by the consequences of his acti

This is a re-post of my original Goodreads review for All of You by Christina Lee. This is the first book in her Between Breaths series. I originally read All of You on 06 October 2013 and posted my review the very same day. ^.^ I went into All of You blind, meaning I couldn't, for the life of me, remember the synopsis when I first came across the title. A couple of pages into the first chapter, I found myself thinking, "This is one slutty girl." Thank goodness I didn't let my first impression get to me. I read the book in one sitting and LOVED it to bits! ^.^ All of You had an original premise and characters that were not one-dimensional. This wasn't merely a story about a girl who's been with her fair share of guys and a guy who's saving himself for his true love. There was depth in their personal stories and you find yourself wanting to know more and have them overcome their inner demons.  After my initial impression of her, female le

I'm going to say this right off the bat: The books in this series, Between Breaths , just keep getting better and better! ♥ First there, were Avery and Bennett in All of You . Then, we got Ella and Quinn in Before You Break . Now, we have Rachel Mattson and Kai Nakos in Whisper to Me but they were the ones who had me from the first page 'til I put my e-reader down with a huge grin on my face. ^.^ Rachel was part of the triumvirate we met and got to know better in the first two books. She always appeared to be the one who didn't have a care in the world, not wanting to be hassled by romantic entanglements but not letting that stop her from being with the opposite sex. But behind the smile and carefree attitude, Rachel was hiding a secret from her college friends... Kai has always been one of Rachel's closest and dearest friends from her youth and while he may not be the poster child for "the boy next door", he was the one with her when she faced

Oh. Wow. When I was done reading Before You Break , the follow-up novel to All of Me , I was at a loss for words (which is a rare thing for me!). This book was hauntingly beautiful and had such heart and soul to it. The topic of suicide plays a very major part in what goes on from the beginning of the book 'til close to the end and it was handled with sensitivity and awareness of just how serious an issue it is. Gabriella and Daniel meet over the phone. She's a counselor for the campus suicide hotline and he's a caller needing to talk to someone. They form a relationship of sorts, one based on trust and understanding, Gabriella needing to help and Daniel needing the help. Ella and Quinn know each other...sort of. Her boyfriend is part of the same fraternity Quinn belongs to. They've exchanged pleasantries in the past but all it takes is one unexpected encounter for things to start changing between them. Gabriella and Daniel. Ella and Quinn. Goodness, the

After what felt like forever, Grant and Harlow FINALLY get their chance to tell their story with the Chance series. ^.^ Book one is Take a Chance and after I was done reading it, I simply knew that this is now my new favorite book in the Rosemary Beach book series universe. ♥ Grant Carter was first introduced to fans of all things Rosemary Beach in Fallen Too Far and he's been a constant in the books that followed. Grant has always come off as being a good guy who seems unable to say "no" to Nan (wait...is she still Nan Finlay or is she now Nan Manning?)...that is, until he meets Harlow Manning, Nan's half-sister and the favorite child of their father, Kiro Manning. Harlow and Nan are as different as night and day and there's a mutual dislike that exists between the two.  When Harlow and Grant meet, she refuses to have anything to do with him, turned off by the idea of this guy being with Nan. However, Grant refuses to give up on this girl who'

Since this is a fairly new book blog and all my past book reviews were originally posted via my  Goodreads  account, I thought it would be a cute idea to re-post an old one here every Thursday.  ^.^ And, because one of my top favorite authors is Tammara Webber (love her!), I simply had to make my first Throwback Thursday Review Re-Post one of her earlier works (because you can never go wrong with a Tammara Webber book!). Drumroll, please...It's none other than Easy , the first book in the Contour of the Heart series!  I originally read this on 16 March 2013 and posted my Goodreads review the very same day.  ^.^  The book (trade paperback) was a gift from one of my dearest friends, Philip Mateo, during his visit to Manila from Hawaii.  ♥ Now, on to the review: Easy by  Tammara Webber  was an easy read. ^.^ I loved Webber's Between the Lines series and this stand-alone was just as good as the books in that series and I appreciated that it tackled a serious issue t

I have more than 20 reviews that I still need to get down on virtual paper but I simply had to put all of those on hold because of a book I read in one sitting today. The book had me from the prologue all the way to the last word in the epilogue. There were moments I found myself smiling as the lead character tried to continue living her life as the persona she created years ago but failing not-so-miserably, thanks to her roommate and to her re-discovered childhood best friend. Then there are those times where I actually cried when the lead character finally faced her deepest fears. The book that's gotten me to set aside my carefully structured (okay, not really all that structured) review writing schedule is The Resurrection of Aubrey Miller by L.B. Simmons and I feel that this is Ms. Simmons' best work to date! ^.^ "Death becomes me." This was such a beautifully written story about Aubrey Miller, an 18-year-old college freshman who endured such devastat