Barely Breathing by Rebecca Donovan

5+ Stars
(The Breathing Series book 2)


Emma’s struggle with an abusive home life came to a heart pounding conclusion in the final chapters of "Reason to Breathe". Now everyone in Weslyn knows Emma’s secret, but Carol can’t hurt Emma anymore. Some are still haunted by the horror of that night, and some must face the repercussions of their choices. Fans of Rebecca Donovan’s debut novel will discover there’s still much to learn about Emma’s life.




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7/26/12
My thoughts before reading; I know you all may not believe me when I say this but I really do hate to read the back of a book that is part of a series. After book one I feel as though, if I read the back then it may give away something huge. So as I type this I have just copied and pasted the description above and I am trying like mad not to read it. I read the first word and I read the last because I needed to know I highlighted it all but I am in shambles after the end of Reason to Breathe and the only thing stopping me from reading this book at this moment is  the fact that I am typing this blog post.......

Reason to Breathe by Rebecca Donovan

5 Stars


"No one tried to get involved with me, and I kept to myself. This was the place where everything was supposed to be safe and easy. How could Evan Mathews unravel my constant universe in just one day?"
He knows there’s something more to the girl sitting in the back of the class the moment he sees her. She’s beautiful, intelligent, and athletic – but she slips quietly through the crowded halls, trying not to exist. Determined to get to know the elusive girl, Evan soon discovers…
Emma Thomas is hiding a terrible a secret. 


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7/23/12
My thoughts before reading; This was a goodreads suggestion. It has been on my TBR list for a little while so I figured it was time to dive on in.......

Waiting On........

Onyx (Lux book 2)

Expected publication: August 14th 2012 by Entangled Teen

Being connected to Daemon Black sucks…

Daemon’s determined to prove what he feels for me is more than a product of our bizarre connection. I’ve sworn him off even though he’s running more hot than cold these days. But against all common sense, I’m falling for him. Hard.

Our relationship issues aren’t out biggest problem…

The Department of Defense is here. If they ever find out what Daemon can do and that we’re linked, I’m a goner. So is he. And when a new boy shows up a school with a secret of his own, things get complicated fast. I need to choose between my own instincts and Daemon’s.

But then everything changes…

I’ve seen someone who shouldn’t be alive. Daemon’s never going to stop searching until gets the truth. What happened to his brother? Who betrayed him? And what does the DOD want from them—from me?

No one is who they seem. And not everyone will survive the lies.

Sweet Gum Tree by Katherine Allred

5 Stars

Sweet tea, corn bread, and soup beans-everyday fare for eight-year-old Alix French, the precocious darling of a respected southern family. But nothing was ordinary about the day she met ten-year-old Nick Anderson, a boy from the wrong side of town. Armed with only a tin of bee balm and steely determination, Alix treats the raw evidence of a recent beating that mars his back, an act that changes both of their lives forever. Through childhood disasters and teenage woes they cling together as friendship turns to love. The future looks rosy until the fateful night when Frank Anderson, Nick's abusive father, is shot to death in his filthy trailer. Suddenly, Nick is gone-leaving Alix alone, confused and pregnant. For the next fifteen years she wrestles with the pain of Nick's abandonment, a bad marriage, her family and friends. But finally, she's starting to get her life back together. Her divorce is almost final, her business is booming, and she's content if not happy -- until the day she looks up and sees Nick standing across the counter. He's back...and he's not alone. Once again Alix is plunged into turmoil and pain as Nick tries to win her love, something she resists with all her strength. Only one thing might break the protective wall she's built around her emotions-the truth about Frank Anderson's death. But when that truth comes out and those walls crumble, neither Alix nor Nick is prepared for the emotional explosion that could destroy as well as heal.


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7/21/12
My thoughts before reading: This was another recommendation from one of my best girls. I always seem to love the books she recommends so I bumped it to the top of my TBR. I will add this. I absolutely HATE overly informative descriptions. I dont want to feel as if I have read the book before I ever open it and start the first page. I read the first half of the Amazon description shown above and looked away. Do you know how hard it is to cut and paste and try NOT to see what something says. Let me tell you, it is not easy......

Masters of the Shadowlands Series by Cherise Sinclaire

  So I began reading this series last week. To be completely honest this was a series I wasn't really all that interested in. I have mentioned before that BDSM weirds me out a little. Well, maybe weirds is the wrong word, lets use scares. Yes, that is much better. I have read a couple of BDSM books and they were all pretty great but it just isn't a genre that I am drawn too.

My online book group had the opportunity to have the author stop by for a chat. Not wanting to be left out I said I would read the first one and see how I felt about it before continuing.

  So I set out to find Club Shadowlands (book 1) aka Master Z. After reading book one I was hooked and I immediately started Dark Citadel (book 2) aka Master Dan and there was no turning back. I read each consecutive book back to back to back. *see complete series list below


  My emotions were all over the place reading this series. It challenged me to have an open mind, it surprised me with some of the things that I found ... er, interesting. Even when I was reading with one eye closed or cringing at the thought of something I still couldn't stop. I have heard excellent things about other book by Sinclaire, and I can't wait to try them out.

 I will also be impatiently waiting for more from this series. 

Here is this series in order;
Club Shadowlands -- Master Z
Dark Citadel -- Master Dan
Breaking Free -- Master Nolan
Lean on Me -- Master Cullen
Make me, Sir -- Master Marcus
To Command and Collar -- MINE....er, I mean... Master Raoul *bashful grin*

Each book is linked to its goodreads page. Click to read a detail description of each book.

I really hope you enjoy this series but please remember this is an erotic series and it is definitely hardcore. If you would have a problem with that I would not recommend. But if you are a brave little subbie and would like to venture into a little bit of fantasy. I am going to strongly suggest you give this one a try.

Was that me who Squeeee'd???

I want to take a few minutes and tell you all a little story.

Once upon a time in a land far far away.......

   Wait!! Not that kind of story!! I do need to take you back in time a few weeks but I promise the trip will be quick. On June 27th I was feeling a little blue, that particular day marked 6 months since my Father passed away so I decided to make myself a little comfort food for lunch. I didn't really put much thought into it. we had just went grocery shopping and I had a taste for pot pie so I bought a couple for the freezer. Again, didn't really think much of it. I was sitting down going through my regular pot pie eating routine. 

(Yes, I do have a routine for eating pot pie. I am a weird individual, get over it. lol) 

   I had finished eating the top crust and was proceeding on to the filling when all of a sudden it hit me. I had to stop and have a little moment. Looking back, I think my sub-conscience knew that pot pie was exactly what I needed that day. (I will explain in a second)

  A few days earlier I had finished the book Slammed by Colleen Hoover. It touched my heart in a way that I would never be able to put into words and it just so happened that on that same day Colleen made a blog post called;

A BIG FAT THANK YOU and a tiny little giveaway

  I read the blog and did as I was asked. I posted my sweet. My particular sweet was a bitter sweet but a sweet just the same. I would like to share it with you........

****

It is funny how the most insignificant thing can bring back such bitter sweet memories. I am having a Marie Callendar’s chicken pot pie for lunch. As I am eating and picking out the carrots as I go, it occurs to me the last time I had one of these was with Daddy. When he started losing his appetite toward the end the only thing I could get him to eat, and eat every last bite, was a Marie Callendar’s chicken pot pie. I would sit down at the table and pick out all out the English peas from him because he hated peas which I love, and I would pick out all of my carrots because I hate the carrots which he loved. And we would trade. I would eat his peas and he would eat my carrots. And we would jokingly fuss at each other for not eating all of our veggies. So while I sit here with tears of remembrance in my eyes, looking at the neat little pile of carrots on the side of my plate, I am so glad I cooked this Marie Callendar’s chicken pot pie for lunch today. And you wanna know what else? 


I’m STILL not going to eat my carrots.

****

Currently Reading.....

I am in the process of reading the Shadowland series by Cherise Sinclaire. I have decided to do a series review as opposed to a book by book review. When I read a series back to back to back I always feel as though I repeat the same thing over and over. I am currently on book five "Make Me, Sir", which is centered around Master Marcus. I have, up to this point loved every single book. Even when I have been shaking in my boots I am still in love. I don't think Master Marcus is going to let me down. I am really starting to think he could become my favorite Dom.

Check out http://cherisesinclair.com/ for more on Shadowlands and her other series' She can also be found on Goodreads

**This is an erotic series based in a BDSM club. It features very explicit sex. I would not recommend to anyone who is freaked out by such things. But if you would not mind a little variety with your fantasy I definitely recommend jumping in with both feet.  My review will be up next week.


Happy Reading!! :-)

Point of Retreat by Colleen Hoover

5+ Stars
(Slammed Book 2)

Layken and Will's relationship persevered through hardships, heartache and a cruel twist of fate, further solidifying the fact that they belong together.  What they don't expect is that the things that brought them together may ultimately be the very things that tear them apart.

 Layken is left questioning the very foundation on which their relationship was built.

Will is left questioning how to prove his love for a girl who can't seem to stop "carving pumpkins."

Once they find answers, the couple faces an even greater challenge.  One that could change not only their lives, but the lives of everyone who depend on them.
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7/3/12
My thoughts before reading;  Squeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!! Ok.... yeah.... I think that sums it up quite nicely

Before I Wake by Rachel Vincent

4.5 Stars
(Soul Screamers book 6)

I died on a Thursday—killed by a monster intent on stealing my soul.
The good news? He didn't get it.
The bad news? Turns out even death can't get you out of high school.
Covering up her own murder was one thing, but faking life is much harder than Kaylee Cavanaugh expected. After weeks spent "recovering," she's back in school, fighting to stay visible to the human world, struggling to fit in with her friends and planning time alone with her new reaper boyfriend.

But to earn her keep in the human world, Kaylee must reclaim stolen souls, and when her first assignment brings her face-to-face with an old foe, she knows the game has changed. Her immortal status won't keep her safe. And this time Kaylee isn't just gambling with her own life….

Amazon.com description


6/27/12
My thoughts before reading; This is another one I have been waiting on for what seems like forever. I was late coming to the Soul Screamers party. I had the most awful luck finding all of the books. But finally I had them and once I read them I was hooked. And who would have guess that I would have switched teams during the last two books, I mean how did, Nash that swoon worthy boy I fell in such like with suddenly lose all of my affections..... well I am not going to tell you! What if you haven't read the books? I would have spoiled the whole story............................

Once Burned by Jeaniene Frost

4 Stars
(Night Prince book 1)

After a tragic accident scarred her body and destroyed her dreams, Leila never imagined that the worst was still to come: terrifying powers that let her channel electricity and learn a person's darkest secrets through a single touch. Leila is doomed to a life of solitude...until creatures of the night kidnap her, forcing her to reach out with a telepathic distress call to the world's most infamous vampire...

Vlad Tepesh inspired the greatest vampire legend of all--but whatever you do, don't call him Dracula. Vlad's ability to control fire makes him one of the most feared vampires in existence, but his enemies have found a new weapon against him - a beautiful mortal with powers to match his own. When Vlad and Leila meet, however, passion ignites between them, threatening to consume them both. It will take everything that they are to stop an enemy intent on bringing them down in flames.

Amazon.com description

6/26/12
My thoughts before reading; Ah, Vlad Tepesh how I have waited for your book release.......

Yeah that pretty much sums up how I am feeling about reading this book. Ok gotta go *squeeee*

Slammed by Colleen Hoover

5+ Stars

(Slammed book 1)

Following the unexpected death of her father, 18-year-old Layken is forced to be the rock for both her mother and younger brother. Outwardly, she appears resilient and tenacious, but inwardly, she's losing hope. 

Enter Will Cooper: The attractive, 21-year-old new neighbor with an intriguing passion for slam poetry. Within days of their introduction, Will and Layken form an intense emotional connection, leaving Layken with a renewed sense of hope.
Not long after a heart-stopping first date, they are slammed to the core when a shocking revelation forces their new relationship to a sudden halt. Daily interactions become impossibly painful as they struggle to find a balance between the feelings that pull them together, and the force that keeps them apart. 


Amazon.com description


6/24/12
My thoughts before reading; I am once again trusting my girls. This has been recommended by several, and if I am keeping my recommendations straight, I do believe I was promised butterflies..... 

****

6/26/12

  My After thoughts; No questions asked, I have the best girlfriends on the planet! This is hands down one of the best YA books I have read all year. And quite frankly it could be one of the best overall books of the year.

  This book had all the angst I love, it had all the heartache I adore, it even had some of the catty teenage drama I am quite fond of, albeit very little. But most of all it has a beautiful story. I was so drawn to the characters. Both are grown up and coping with their lives quite well. Neither are the total hot mess that most angsty dramas have. The only thing in the way of these two and their happily ever after, is life itself.

You find yourself reading along and then, BAM!, your jaw drops and you are suddenly having a 'out loud WTF conversation' with your ereader. Yes, the conversation is somewhat one-sided but you are having it just the same. You are fumbling for your cell phone so you can text that girlfriend who has already read it because unlike the a fore mentioned ereader, she will respond.

Now, about the Slam. I loved it! I have never really been a poetry girl. I have seen the 'slam poetry' in a few movie but never knew what it was called. It is so awsome.

The Opportunist by Tarryn Fisher

3.5 Stars

Olivia Kaspen has just discovered that her ex -boyfriend, Caleb Drake, has lost his memory. With a bad reputation for taking advantage of situations, Olivia must decide how far she is willing to go to get Caleb back. Wrestling to keep her true identity and their sordid past under wraps, Olivia’s greatest obstacle is Caleb’s wicked, new girlfriend; Leah. It’s a race to the finish as these two vipers engage in a vicious tug of war to possess a man who no longer remembers them. But, soon enough Olivia must face the consequences of her lies, and in the process discover that sometimes love falls short of redemption.


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