Taking the Ice by Jennifer Comeaux (Blog Tour Review + Giveaway)

Taking the Ice by Jennifer Comeaux
Release Date: August 17, 2015
Publisher: Self-Published
Pages: 166
Series: Ice #3
Review Source: eARC for review through Itching for Books Tours

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)

Olympic rings and an engagement ring.

Courtney Carlton is ready for both.

She and her boyfriend Josh have skated together and dated for four years, and they’ve reached a critical point in their partnership both on and off the ice. With the Winter Games coming up and their career nearing an end, they are fighting to win a spot on the Olympic team, something Courtney has dreamed of since she was ten years old.

She also has another wish she hopes comes true soon. She’s waiting for a marriage proposal from Josh that she expected to happen by now. Will she realize either dream or will her heart be broken from disappointment?

My Thoughts:
I really enjoyed Taking the Ice and found it to be a very sweet end to Courtney and Josh's story. These two characters make me smile so much and I had a blast reading about their journey over the past three books. What I really enjoyed about this book is how Courtney and Josh have learned to stick together as a couple. There's a real progression in the series, so it's beautiful to watch them working so well together on and off the ice.

By no means does this book show complete perfection in our characters' lives, because Courtney and Josh face challenges and work hard to achieve what they have, but I did think of this book as a Happily Ever After fete. There's still hard stuff going on in their lives, but it was awesome to read about Courtney and Josh going strong as a couple.

Taking the Ice features great skating scenes, great friendship scenes, and a lovely romance. This novella is a great celebration of two careers and a toast to what the future will hold. As this is the third and final book in a series, you'll definitely want to start at the beginning of Courtney and Josh's story with Crossing the Ice. If you wanted, you could go even further back and start with Life on the Edge, which starts off the story of Courtney and Josh's coaches, Emily and Sergei.

Taking the Ice is sweet, fun, and lovely: exactly what you'd expect from Jennifer Comeaux.

The Cover:
Like!

Rating:
[4/5]

Purchase Links:
Amazon.com | Amazon.ca

About Jennifer:
Jennifer Comeaux is a tax accountant by day, writer by night. There aren’t any ice rinks near her home in south Louisiana, but she’s a die-hard figure skating fan and loves to write stories of romance set in the world of competitive skating. One of her favorite pastimes is traveling to competitions, where she can experience all the glitz and drama that inspire her writing.

Where to find Jennifer:
Website & Blog | Facebook | Twitter

GIVEAWAY:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow along with the tour schedule here for more reviews, interviews, and guest posts.

All Played Out by Cora Carmack (Tour Review, Excerpt, & Giveaway)

All Played Out by Cora Carmack
Release Date: May 12, 2015
Publisher: William Morrow & Company
Pages: 320
Series: Rusk University #3
Review Source: Edelweiss

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)

First person in her family to go to college? CHECK.
Straight A’s? CHECK.
On track to graduate early? CHECK.
Social life? …..yeah, about that….

With just a few weeks until she graduates, Antonella DeLuca’s beginning to worry that maybe she hasn’t had the full college experience. (Okay... Scratch that. She knows she hasn't had the full college experience).

So Nell does what a smart, dedicated girl like herself does best. She makes a "to do" list of normal college activities.

Item #1? Hook up with a jock.

Rusk University wide receiver Mateo Torres practically wrote the playbook for normal college living. When he’s not on the field, he excels at partying, girls, and more partying. As long as he keeps things light and easy, it's impossible to get hurt... again. But something about the quiet, shy, sexy-as-hell Nell gets under his skin, and when he learns about her list, he makes it his mission to help her complete it.

Torres is the definition of confident (And sexy. And wild), and he opens up a side of Nell that she's never known. But as they begin to check off each crazy, exciting, normal item, Nell finds that her frivolous list leads to something more serious than she bargained for. And while Torres is used to taking risks on the field, he has to decide if he's willing to take the chance when it's more than just a game.

Together they will have to decide if what they have is just part of the experiment or a chance at something real.

My Thoughts:
All Played Out is an entertaining novel featuring a very sweet romance. Nell and Mateo don't make a lot of sense at first glance and yet they make absolute sense: they balance each other out perfectly. Nell grounds Torres, opening him up to his real self, and Torres lets Nell get outside herself, focusing on something besides school and rigid plans. I loved how the romance grew between these two characters. I liked their flirting and how they worked together on Nell's list. One of my favourite parts of a romance novel is seeing the two love interests grow together by spending time with one another, and those scenes in All Played Out were truly lovely.

This is a very easy, fun read, but an emotionally satisfying one as well. I liked that even though there were hurdles and issues it wasn't super angsty or drawn out. Basically, All Played Out is a super enjoyable, sexy read. This is a very addictive series, and I'm excited to see where things go next with Stella's book.

The Cover:
So sweet!

Rating:
[4/5]

Purchase Links:
Kobo | Amazon.ca | Amazon.com | Chapters-Indigo | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | iTunes

Excerpt from All Played Out --

I groan, and flip the page in my spiral so I won’t have to look at the words anymore. Starting small with the alcohol had been a wise decision. Perhaps I should do the same with other big items on my list. But how did one get smaller than sex and hooking up? I couldn’t just put “kiss.” I’d done that before, and a few more kisses weren’t going to make any difference in my confidence when it came to sex.

Really, it’s the unknown that bothers me. Not just on this list, but in everything. So maybe that’s what I need to get used to.

I skip to the bottom of my list and add …

17. Kiss a stranger

I tap my pen against the page, surveying the words, and decide that kissing a stranger is a good stepping-stone. Then a voice comes from over my shoulder, making me jump up and drop my spiral in shock.

“Do I count as a stranger?”

I press my hand over my thundering heart and turn to face the subject my rumination.

“You scared me.”

“My bad.” Contrary to his words, Torres doesn’t look the least bit sorry.

He bends to pick up the spiral, and I lunge forward to stop him. “Wait! Stop!”

It’s too late. He already has ahold of it, and lifts it up above his head, completely out of my reach. He’s got nearly a foot on me in height, and when I try to jump, I barely get my unathletic self a few inches off the ground.

“Give that back.”

“Hold up, sweetheart. I just want to take a little peek.”

“Don’t you dare! It’s private.”

Frantically, I try to recall what was written on that page as he holds it above his head in an attempt to read.

“‘Go skinny-dipping’?” he says, his eyes dancing suggestively. “Whatever this is ... I like it.”

I step toward him, and he angles his body to the side so that the spiral is farther away, but we’re still close.

“‘Pull an all-nighter.’ ‘Sing karaoke.’ ‘Flash someone.’ Oh, sweetheart, tell me this is a list of things you want to do. Please, God.”

“It’s none of your business. That’s what it is.”

“Unlucky for you, I’m a nosy person.”

He starts to turn the page back, and my heart tumbles in fear. He cannot see the first page. Not ever. I hurl myself at him, practically climbing up his body in an attempt to retrieve my list. And all he does is laugh, and stand there as if there isn’t a whole person hanging on to him.

“Asshole!” I say, pushing at his chest.

“Come on, you can do better than that.”

“Nosy bastard.”

He rolls his eyes. “Well, if that’s all you’ve got ...” He starts to turn the page again, and there’s thunder in my ears, and my lungs feel all twisted up inside my chest.

“Fuck you,” I say once, quietly. Then I repeat it, louder, my voice raspy from fear and exertion. “Fuck you, Mateo Torres.”

And I resign myself to the fact that I’m not going to get my spiral back until he’s had his fill of humiliating me. But to my shock, he bends and picks up my pen from where I’d dropped it when he surprised me. Then he draws a line through something on the paper.

“Congratulations. You’ve officially completed number sixteen. ‘Cuss someone out and mean it.’”

He hands me the spiral, then the pen, before folding his arms over his chest and meeting my eyes with a carefully blank expression. I glance down at the item on the list that he’s crossed out, and I don’t know whether I want to laugh or stab him with my pen. Maybe both.

About Cora:
Cora Carmack is a twenty-something New York Times bestselling author who likes to write about twenty-something characters. She's done a multitude of things in her life-- boring jobs (like working retail), Fun jobs (like working in a theatre), stressful jobs (like teaching), and dream jobs (like writing). She now splits her time between Austin, TX and New York City and spends her days writing, traveling, and spending way too much time on the internet. In her books, you can expect to find humor, heart, and a whole lot of awkward. Because let’s face it . . . awkward people need love, too.

Where to find Cora:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

GIVEAWAY:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow along with the rest of the InkSlinger PR tour here.

Click on the graphic above or this link to read Cora's announcement about Book #4 in the Rusk University series.

The Royal We by Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan

The Royal We by Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan
Release Date: April 7, 2015
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Pages: 464
Series: n/a
Review Source: Netgalley

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)

"I might be Cinderella today, but I dread who they'll think I am tomorrow. I guess it depends on what I do next."

American Rebecca Porter was never one for fairy tales. Her twin sister, Lacey, has always been the romantic who fantasized about glamour and royalty, fame and fortune. Yet it's Bex who seeks adventure at Oxford and finds herself living down the hall from Prince Nicholas, Great Britain's future king. And when Bex can't resist falling for Nick, the person behind the prince, it propels her into a world she did not expect to inhabit, under a spotlight she is not prepared to face.

Dating Nick immerses Bex in ritzy society, dazzling ski trips, and dinners at Kensington Palace with him and his charming, troublesome brother, Freddie. But the relationship also comes with unimaginable baggage: hysterical tabloids, Nick's sparkling and far more suitable ex-girlfriends, and a royal family whose private life is much thornier and more tragic than anyone on the outside knows. The pressures are almost too much to bear, as Bex struggles to reconcile the man she loves with the monarch he's fated to become.

Which is how she gets into trouble.

Now, on the eve of the wedding of the century, Bex is faced with whether everything she's sacrificed for love-her career, her home, her family, maybe even herself-will have been for nothing.

My Thoughts:
Oh my word!!!! This book was epically good. It put me through the ringer, made me a complete emotional mess. The Royal We took me from giddy to butterflies in the stomach to anxious to angry to heartbroken to hopeful to happy and everywhere in between. I can honestly say this is the best book I've ever read involving royalty and involving dealing with the press and paparazzi.

What surprised me most about this book is that it has some serious weight to it. Just based on the genre you’d expect a story like this to be on the shorter side, but nope, this is an extremely long book. Despite the length I could not set it down: I just kept reading and reading, which shows you how involved with the book I was.

The Royal We is a linear story with five different sections, set at different times. The story starts with Bex meeting Nick at Oxford and their friendship that becomes more. We see different stages of their courtship and all the aspects that come with that. I loved Bex and Nick together but this book made me question whether being with him was worth it for Bex: the expectations, the judgment, the ceremony, the never having a normal life. This is really the big question of the novel: is it worth giving up so much to be with someone you love? & Can you make it through the horrible and still have something worthwhile left?

This book does such a good job at showing us a royal family that we can easily identify as a version of our own, while equally making the characters different and truly themselves. It has some incredibly amazing secondary characters, some you'll love (Freddie!!! Oh gosh, I could go on and on about Freddie), some you'll loathe (Richard!! aka Evil Prince Dad), and some it's so complicated you're not even sure (Bex’s sister, Lacey). I mean, these characters are totally layered and complicated. Even Richard you can feel a twinge of sympathy for at times, though mostly he's just Prince Dick.

If I had one complaint about this book it would be that I wanted more cute Bex/Nick scenes to make up for the angst and/or a longer ending so we could see people’s reactions and how everything went down (do these things missing mean there'll be a sequel? *optimistic*). However, the way it ended was perfect too. It felt like a very Nick and Bex ending, instead of an ending for HRH and Future Duchess Rebecca.

By now it’s clear that this book made me feel So Many Feelings. I just loved every bit of it, even when I was so tense it made my stomach upset or when tears were continually streaming down my face. This is the first book in a while where I've felt SO strongly about loving it. The Royal We is an AMAZING read, one I would highly recommend to all contemporary romance fans, New Adult fans (after all, this book is truly about growing up and finding yourself, making those tough decisions), and to fans of books about royalty and/or celebs. I honestly can’t recommend this book highly enough.

The Cover:
Amazing!!

Rating:
[5/5]

Purchase Links:
Kobo | Amazon.ca | Amazon.com | Chapters-Indigo | Barnes & Noble

A Perfect Ten by Linda Kage (Tour Review, Giveaway, & Playlist)

A Perfect Ten by Linda Kage
Release Date: March 30, 2015
Publisher: Self-Published
Pages: 426
Series: Forbidden Men #5
Review Source: eARC from Tasty Book Tours

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)

Let your hair down, Caroline, they said. It'll be fun, they said.

I know I've closed myself off in a major way in the past year, ever since “the incident” where I messed up my life completely. It's past time I try to live again or just give up completely. But this is quite possibly the craziest thing I've ever done. In a last ditch effort to invigorate myself, I'm standing outside Oren Tenning's bedroom, I just peeled off the sexiest pair of underwear I own, and my hand is already raised to knock. My brother would disown me for doing anything with his best friend, and he'd probably kill Oren. But if I play my cards right, no one will ever know about this. Not even Ten.

Maybe after tonight, I’ll finally get over this stupid, irrational crush I hate having on the biggest jerk I’ve ever met. Or maybe I’ll just end up falling for him even harder. Maybe I’ll discover there’s so much more to my crude, carefree hunk than meets the eye.

My Thoughts:
I definitely enjoyed this book, but I have to admit that my first thought upon finishing it was that the book is a little bit long for the story that it tells. It definitely could have been condensed a bit. That being said, there are tons of great scenes and great characters, and if you’ve been following the series you’ve probably been waiting and waiting for a Ten/Caroline book, and A Perfect Ten was a lot of fun in that regard.

I liked that we get to see behind Ten's mask here. He’s still the Ten you know from previous books (more than a bit crude, tons of swearing, etc), but he’s also a sweet guy, a very loyal guy. We’ve seen glimpses of this before, but it really comes out when he’s around Caroline. You can tell how much he cares about her. Caroline is a character we’ve seen around the periphery of the series, her being Noel Gamble’s little sister. Caroline is super outgoing and a bit crazy, which makes her the perfect match for Ten (or Oren as only she can call him).

I liked this book a lot, but it wasn’t without its issues. There’s the length issue that I mentioned above (okay I really feel like Ten would interrupt here and say “that’s what she said”), but I also felt like the reason for Ten and Caroline staying a secret was a bit overdone (or maybe it just went on for too long?). I think this is because I also found it hard to identify with Noel's reaction to them as a couple, as if Ten wasn't a totally loyal friend to him. It felt a bit out of character for Noel to be such an asshat. On the other hand, I liked seeing a different side to a hero from a previous book.

While I didn’t like this book as much as some of the others in the Forbidden Men series, I still loved the dynamics of it enough to rate it 4 stars. Linda does such an amazing job of writing group scenes and adding in mentions of previous couples. I especially loved following up on Quinn and Zoey (or Zwinn as they become to be known) from With Every Heartbeat. While this wasn't a perfect read, I still enjoyed it quite a bit. It's a very decent New Adult book. I highly recommend the series in general, and I know if you start reading these books you’ll be dying to read this addition to the series.

The Cover:
Like. :)

Rating:
[4/5]

Purchase Links:
Kobo | Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Barnes & Noble | iTunes

About Linda:
Linda grew up on a dairy farm in the Midwest as the youngest of eight children. Now she lives in Kansas with her husband, daughter, and nine cuckoo clocks. Her life's been blessed with lots of people to learn from and love. Writing's always been a major part of her world, and she is so happy to finally share some of her stories with other romance lovers.

Where to find Linda:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

GIVEAWAY:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Linda Kage's Soundtrack for A Perfect Ten:

It would have to have:

--"Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond - because that's the song Asher sings for the group when Ten demands a song out of him at the end.

--"We Want Some P---y" by 2 Live Crew - because that's Ten's ringtone on his cell phone at the beginning of the story.

It might also have:

--"GDFR" by Flo Rida - Perfect for the scene where Caroline becomes Midnight Visitor because that's when it "goes down for real!"

--"Honey, I'm Good" by Andy Grammer - This would work for the scene where Ten turns down the girl who comes onto him after he hooks up with Caroline.

--"Fireball" by Pitbull - I always imagined a drunk Ten and Caroline dancing to this song on the beach the night they're in Lake Tahoe.

--"Catching Stars" by One Republic - I imagine this song happening during one of Ten's introspective scenes where he's missing Caroline and wishing he could be with her openly.

--"Iris" by Goo Goo Dolls - This just feels like it would fit perfectly in the scene where Ten and Caroline seriously claim their love for one another in her bedroom, right after her younger brothers beat the crap out of him!

--"Thinking Out Loud" by Ed Sheeran - Would be a good closer for their epilogue!

And that's the playlist I came up for A Perfect Ten!

Thanks, Linda!! Everyone, be sure to follow along with the rest of the tour on Tasty Book Tours.

Cover Reveal: The Shameless Hour by Sarina Bowen

I absolutely adore Sarina Bowen and her books, so I am very happy to take part in the cover reveal for The Shameless Hour. Here's a bit about the book, and you can scroll down to view the cover and read an excerpt.

Announcing: Ivy Years #4

The Shameless Hour

by Sarina Bowen

Coming on or before May 1st

The girl who’s had everyone meets the boy who has no one.

For Bella, the sweet-talking, free-loving, hip-checking student manager of the Harkness men’s hockey team, sex is a second language. She’s used to being fluent where others stutter, and the things people say behind her back don’t (often) bother her. So she can’t understand why her smoking hot downstairs neighbor has so much trouble staying friends after their spontaneous night together. She knows better than to worry about it, but there’s something in those espresso eyes that makes her second-guess herself.

Rafe is appalled with himself for losing his virginity in a drunken hookup. His strict Catholic upbringing always emphasized loving thy neighbor—but not with a bottle of wine and a box of condoms. The result is an Ivy League bout of awkwardness. But when Bella is leveled by a little bad luck and a downright nasty fraternity stunt, it’s Rafe who is there to pick up the pieces.

Bella doesn’t want Rafe's help, and she’s through with men. Too bad the undeniable spark that crackles between the two of them just can’t be extinguished.

Pre-order The Shameless Hour at iBooks | Follow Sarina Bowen on Amazon.com |
Sign up for Sarina’s Mailing List

Now, how about the cover?!

So pretty! Bella is sweet, sexy, and vulnerable -- such a perfect image to match the book's synopsis!! And now...

An Excerpt from The Shameless Hour by Sarina Bowen:

I heard the band start to play the classic one-two Merengue rhythm that I’d heard my whole life. On the dance floor, the energy picked up as the geezers began to move to the faster beat.

“Let’s go,” I said, standing up. I offered Bella my hand.

But Bella shook her head. Even worse, she scooted her chair toward the wall.

“Don’t leave me hanging,” I said, my hand still waiting in the air. “Come on now. Nobody puts Bella in a corner.”

On the other side of the table, Bella’s sister snorted into her white wine.

Bella rolled her eyes. Hard. “You did not just quote Dirty Dancing.”

I leaned down near Bella’s ear. “I did. Now get your ass out of that chair, like the girl in the movie, or I’ll have to put you in a fireman’s hold.”

Her mouth tight, Bella stood up. Not one to waste an opportunity, I clasped her hand, tugging her onto the dance floor. When we were right in the center, I put one hand onto Bella’s waist and took her opposite hand in mine. She was as stiff as a piece of wood. “Shake it off, chica. This is supposed to be fun.”

“Your job tonight was to make my life less embarrassing. Not more.”

“I am doing that. We’re going to be the best looking dancers on this floor, and everyone in this mausoleum is going to wonder how I got so lucky as to be here with you. Now listen to this rhythm, okay? Just step to the beat. And let your hips absorb the motion.” I began to move to the music. The merengue is a Dominican dance, and every kid in my neighborhood can merengue before his fifth birthday. It’s just not that complicated.

With nervous eyes, Bella began to move.

“Use these hips,” I prompted, touching the silky fabric of her dress. As I watched, she loosened up a tiny fraction. “Yes! But even more. You look great. I wouldn’t steer you wrong. And think of pressing the balls of your feet into the floor.”

Biting her lip, Bella moved with me.

“That’s it! See? Nothing to it.” Just like that, we had a proper merengue going on.

“Can I sit down yet?” Bella asked.

“Not even close,” I laughed. “See, I knew you could move.”

Bella pouted. “We’ve seen each other’s moves, Rafe.”

She lifted her eyes, and the heat in them went straight to my dick.

Jesucristo. That was the trouble with getting so close to Bella. I was always going to be susceptible to her. Anything she did to remind me of that night was always going to knock me right over.

“Ha.” She said. “I finally found a way to shut you up.” Bella put a little more effort into her merengue then, looking smug.

I'M SO EXCITED FOR THIS BOOK!!!! I love characters that break down stereotypes and go beyond what people initially think of them. We already saw Bella do that in The Understatement of the Year, so I'm thrilled she's getting her own book.

If you haven't read Sarina before, start with the first Ivy Years book, The Year We Fell Down, or the first book in her adult romance Gravity series, Coming in from the Cold. You could also jump in at any book, but I think both series are worth reading in order, from the beginning.

Losing the Ice by Jennifer Comeaux (Tour Review & Giveaway)

Losing the Ice by Jennifer Comeaux
Release Date: February 23, 2015
Publisher: Self-Published
Pages: 132
Series: Ice #2
Review Source: eARC from author

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)

Courtney and Josh are in love and excited to finally compete as skating partners. When they take the ice for their first competition, they want to show everyone, especially Josh's family, they are the perfect pair.

But ice is slippery, and one misstep puts all their dreams in jeopardy. Now they must show each other both their love and their partnership are strong enough to survive.

My Thoughts:
Losing the Ice is an exceptional novella. Seriously, it’s just so, so good: exactly what I’ve grown to expect from Jennifer Comeaux. Courtney and Josh are interesting, layered characters, and their story is told through clear, engaging writing. Jennifer is perfect at writing both sweet moments for the characters and total crises. She’s a pro at making her readers feel the emotions of her characters. Whenever I pick up a book from her I completely identify with the characters and feel like I’m on the journey along with them, feeling their anguish and their love.

Another thing Jennifer is great at is writing moments on and off the ice that have to do with skating, training, etc. You can tell that the author is a super fan of skating, because all the descriptions of Courtney and Josh’s work feel real. Admittedly I’m not into watching skating, but I love books about any type of sport, and Jennifer’s works always draw me in to the competition and artistry of skating.

This book is a sequel to Crossing the Ice, which is definitely something you should read to get the full picture of the characters and their situation. Here we have Courtney and Josh partnering in skating for the first time, but it's not at all smooth sailing for them. Beyond skating issues and emotional issues which I won’t get into (because reading about them yourself will be so much more fulfilling), Jennifer has done the most amazing job at creating a character you'll positively loathe. All of Josh’s family is pretty terrible, but no one can beat his mom. I already knew that Jennifer was a pro at writing characters you absolutely despise (see: Elena, for most of Edge of the Past), but Josh’s mom takes the cake, because I can’t find anything redeeming in her. She’s not exactly warm and welcoming to Josh, but she is beyond evil in her dealings with Courtney. As hard as these scenes are to read, I love how they show Josh’s loyalty and how much he’s grown as a character. He stands up for Courtney and he’s strong in his convictions, no longer willing to sit back and let life happen to him.

If you hadn’t already gathered, I absolutely loved this novella, probably even more than the first book in the series. Its short length just made me want more of the characters, so I’m glad that there will be a third book featuring Josh and Courtney. I love these books, just as I loved Jennifer Comeaux’s Edge series. If you haven’t read her amazing novels, I highly recommend you start with Life on the Edge and go from there.

The Cover:
Not bad, but it doesn't reflect how awesome the book is.

Rating:
[5/5]

Purchase Links:
Amazon.ca | Amazon.com | Barnes & Noble

About Jennifer:
Jennifer Comeaux is a tax accountant by day, writer by night. There aren’t any ice rinks near her home in south Louisiana, but she’s a die-hard figure skating fan and loves to write stories of romance set in the world of competitive skating. One of her favorite pastimes is traveling to competitions, where she can experience all the glitz and drama that inspire her writing. Jennifer loves to hear from readers!

Where to find Jennifer:
Website & Blog | Twitter | Facebook

GIVEAWAY:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Be sure to follow along with the rest of the tour on Itching for Books.