Dog-Eared Daydreams

"Shame always comes." Shame is the third book and fourth release in the Ruin series by bestselling author Rachel Van Dyken. If you've read my reviews for the three previous books, you'll know how much of a fan I am of the series and that I've been anxiously waiting for the release of this fourth one ever since the release date was announced. I was so excited I finally had the book that I broke my no-starting-a-new-book-in-the-wee-hours-of-the-morning rule. Once I started, there was no putting my e-reader down. ♥ A bit of a preview of what female lead character Lisa faces in this installment is provided in the novella Fearless and while she's always been a part of the lives of the other characters in the series, finally learning her whole story and what led her to make the drastic changes that she did was both satisfying and heartbreaking. Satisfying because her story is actually one filled with such pain and torment yet shines with hope and redempt...

I've been a fan of author Tara Sivec's from the time I read the first two books in her Playing with Fire  series. When I was introduced to her Chocolate Lovers series, I was hooked. That and the spin-off Chocoholics series have had me anywhere from giggling to snickering to outright snorting with laughter, what with its off-the-wall characters and stories that seem so silly that you can't help but wonder if they're based on actual events. ^.^ "...through thick and thin and all the years in between, nothing could tear us apart." But let's focus our attention on Tattoos & TaTas , a special novella in the Chocoholics series. Veering away from their children, whose love stories have been the focus of the series, the spotlight is back on best friends Claire and Liz ,  with the latter serving as the narrator for the book. Claire has just found out that she has stage 2 breast cancer and Liz is having difficulty dealing with her best friend's ...

Forget Me is a young adult (YA) novel with a romantic suspense twist to it. Written by Kim Harrington under her pen name K.A. Harrington, this book centers around a high school junior named Morgan Tulley who, while commemorating the three-month anniversary of her ex-boyfriend's death, inadvertently finds a FriendShare profile of a boy who looks exactly like him.  Readers follow her search for answers regarding her late ex-boyfriend, Flynn Parkman, the circumstances of his untimely death, and the identity of his virtual twin, Evan Murphy. In the process, she enlists the help of her best friend, Toni Klane, Toni's brother, Cooper, and a mutual friend she shares with Evan, Reece Childs. This was a fairly interesting story that had a teen sleuth feel to it. Morgan uncovers lies and secrets, not just about Flynn but even about her own parents, who seem to be desperately trying to hide pertinent information from her. Getting to the bottom of whether Flynn and Evan are one an...

Note: This ebook was provided by Riptide Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Sand and Ruin and Gold is a short story by Alexis Hall and what it may lack in the number of pages, it more than makes up for in a rich and engaging story. Actually, I think the length of the book isn't even a hindrance, though there are probably people out there who will clamor for it to have been a full-length novel. Some stories don't need hundreds of pages in order to convey what they want. The really good ones stand out because of the quality of the work presented, not the quantity of pages to flip through. I'm happy to say that Sand and Ruin and Gold is one of the best I've ever had the honor of reading. ^.^ We never learn the name of the narrator or any of the other humans in the story but we do know who the merfolk are, especially Nerites, the lone adult merman in Cirque de la Mer who commands the narrator's attention and affection. The writing it...

Note: This ebook was provided by Riptide Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. They say that patience is a virtue...and it is one that I am know not to have. When I finished reading and reviewing the first book in the Song of the Fallen duet by Rachel Haimowitz, Counterpoint , I immediately had to put in a request on NetGalley to read and review the sequel. And so I waited...FIVE DAYS. Yes, for someone lacking in patience, that's a long time. When I got the email saying my request was approved, I immediately went on NetGalley and clicked "Download". I ended up not following my self-imposed rule of not starting a new book in the wee hours of the morning. So, from 3am 'til 5:25am, I became absorbed with all things Freyrík and Ayden and what a glorious nearly two and a half hours they were! ♥ Crescendo picks up soon after the events of Counterpoint and we find Freyrík and Ayden making the journey to see the Aegis after being summoned t...

Note: This ARC was provided by Carina Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. In the Raw is the first book in the In the Kitchen series by authors Eileen Griffin and Nikka Michaels. Readers are introduced to Ethan Martin and Jamie Lassiter, two culinary arts students who are both considered the best in their class but have different approaches, not just in terms of cooking, but in the way they carry themselves and deal with life. You would think two polar opposites would have nothing in common other than their love for cooking, but they're both hiding an attraction they've had for each other from the time they first met three years ago. Ethan Martin hasn't had it easy but he carries with him a confidence that most would probably label cockiness when it comes to cooking in the kitchen. However, this talented student seems to have his own personal Waterloo in the form of baking...and when it comes to his feelings for his fellow student, the equally ...

Note: This ARC was provided by Carina Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Pitch Imperfect is a standalone contemporary romance novel from Elise Alden and is about two people who were once very much in love and engaged to be married...until the bride leaves her groom waiting at the altar. Will eight years apart be enough for them to work together on something they both have fond memories of or is the pain of abandonment and betrayal still too much to overcome? Anjuli Carver loved Rob Douglas enough to say "yes" to his marriage proposal but decided to jilt him on the day of their wedding to pursue her dream of becoming a singer. She achieved fame and fortune only to find herself, eight years later, nearly out of both and carrying a burden that made her give up her true passion--singing. With a dilapidated manor desperately needing to be renovated, Anjuli knows that the only person who can help her is the same one whose heart she broke eight years ...