These are my favorites of the month. So each month I will rundown of favorite moments, books and other things I have to talk about.

 

• Favorite Book: This is a really hard question. I then narrowed it down to three books. Two of them were - The Redemption of Callie & Kayden (The Coincidence, #2) by  Jessica Sorensen and Predestined (Existence Trilogy, #2)by Abbi Glines. These were also great books, but I chose White Hot Kiss (The Dark Elements, #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout. I love this book. I love the plot. The fact that they involved demons and gargoyles. The main character Layla is amazing. She can really fight, is funny and I love the way she sees the world. Also one of the love interests is Roth. Roth is really hot, smart and can fight.  Did I mention he is a demon. It’s complex, romantic and Magical.
• Favorite Female Character: This for me was a no brainier Layla from White Hot Kiss and Stone Cold Touch by Jennifer L. Armentrout as I said about her she is a fighter, supper funny and she has a cool way of thinking. She also is cool because she is a half-breed. I can’t wait to read how her story ends.
•  Favorite Sequel: Fractured by Sydney Landon would be my choice. I really enjoyed the first book. I really can’t say much but it is a really sad story. It is so emotional and I love it. Warning: Bring tissues for feels.

• Favorite Start of a Series:  Maybe Someday by Hoover, Colleen- I really love this book it really pulled on my heartstrings and it I love how it deal with different issues and disabilities that people deal with everyday I love the characters how they interact with each other and having music was in the story. Something I thought was really cool about this book was that that she showed the lyrics in the song that he writing it and it is really cool to see that.

• Favorite Standalone:  Don't Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout- I really love this book it was an action thriller/ mystery. I was really hesitant to read it first since it was a mystery unlike anything else I've ever read her. Everything else I've read by her was either a fantasy book or a romance book I really did not know how it's going to turn out for me. In the end I really enjoy it with the total mystery aspect made me want to know more until the end of the book can you find out who killed Cassie and what happened when they disappeared honestly it was such a good story it had a really good plot line it just melted so well together I really did not expect a lot of the turns in the book there's also the romance and hurt his self discovery part that really made the book whole.

• Favorite Cover: Don't Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout - If you guys have ever seen this cover it is so pretty has a brown hues, the ballerina and the broken mirror. It really fits the story because the dancer is like looking back and the story is about her than try to look back and see what happened but there's a lot that happened and she should not look back as people keep on saying it was bad. She does it anyway and there's a lot of consequences which I think really shows up in the cover it made the book so much more entertaining as it really showed what I was about. It also enticed me to read the book because it made it seem much more like a mystery then I thought I was going to be.

• Favorite last book of a Series: Lucky Girl (Dear Rockstar, #2) by Rollins, Emme- What can I say about this book it was really entertaining to read I mean the characters were really broken down family and it made me think how lucky of a life I had. There was a little difficult kind of like girl meets boy having a story but is still really good story how I became a rockstar and a secret like family in the ending was pretty typical but it made me feel so warm and fuzzy inside. I found it making me wish I could read it again and again.
• Favorite Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout - Obviously I have to give us to her this month forever books and I liked all of them. From finishing the Lux series final book opposition. Which I found really cool with the aliens and everything.  The one thing I do not like about the book was the romance Katy and Damon together. Then I read don't look back. Loved it as I said above. Finally I read the first 2 books in her darkest elements series which I find so much more appealing than Lux series. So later this year I plan on reading more of her books.

 

Growing up in the small, secluded and impoverished Elton Township on Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Kenny and his best friend Mason, aka Lucky try to make the best of life. Lucky earns his nickname by being  able to talk his way out of anything and by being able to seemingly bend people to his will by his voice.  Kenny's uncle starts to notice Lucky going out to Grove Island with a sack, a sack of live animals that he sacrifices to the large Pine tree on the island. From there, Kenny's uncle, the mayor and the policeman realize that Lucky has unearthed something evil and drive him out of town.  Years later, Kenny returns to Elton Township with his kids after the death of his wife, he finds that his childhood friend has also returned to release the full extent of the force that resides on Grove Island.

This book is very strange and disturbing, not one for the faint of heart. In the first part of the book, the suspense builds.  Kenny and Lucky's characters are reunited after many years, and then their past together is explored.  Lucky is a very interesting character, the son of the local Reverend, but with a highly manipulative personality.  At first I didn't know if Lucky was just overly charismatic and a bit of a sociopath, or if something else was going on.  The transitions between the past backstory and the present happening were a little choppy for me, I think it would have been better just to keep a chronological time line. At about the halfway point, when we return to the present, things start getting gory and perverse fairly quickly.  Lucky's talents increase exponentially when he returns to Elton Township and he creates mayhem.  I did like the overall idea of the story, but it could use some better execution.  I think it would have been interesting to delve deeper into the history of the force on Grove Island as a horror aspect rather than relying on suspense and shock value.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. 

As much as I enjoyed Dear Rockstar, this one left me feeling a little flat. 

I was excited to head back to the 80's with Sara and Dale and to see what was in store for them. Part of my problem was that it didn't have that same 80's feel as Dear Rockstar and that is what really drew me in.

Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy this. I just had a few issues.

What made me really, really happy? The ending. I am really glad that it turned out this way, because my heart was breaking. And I really did not see it coming.

My issues:

It was only 150 pages and I don't think that was long enough time to fully develop this story.

The whole issue with Sara's biological father left me feeling unsettled. I mean, really, she accepts him, just like that? There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of emotion involved.

And then there is the "step-beast", I would've liked to know more about what happened there.

All in all, it was enjoyable for what it was. If you've read Dear Rockstar, it won't kill you to read this (its only 150 pages), but you won't die if you don't. It might give you a little piece of mind though.

Copy received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 Stars

I enjoyed this book, but the ending and the whole mess with Tyler and John seemed to be thrown together to quickly. It felt like there was so much more that could have been done with that storyline and how that played out with Dale's career.

But then, I could say the same thing about Ben finding Sara. He shows up, He acts in way that could be suspect (if you were a suspicious person), but then he's suddenly an OK guy.

I like the story, I just felt like something key was missing that we had in the first book.

Jessica Devlin takes a well earned two week vacation from her position as Beauty Editor of an Orlando based beauty and fashion magazine. She hasn’t had the best time of it lately. Stan, her cheating obnoxious fiancé broke off their engagement, wounding her deeply at the time of their rift. In the aftermath of the breakup Jessica has gained a few pounds which adds insult to her injured confidence and self esteem. Despite her troubles Jessica remains upbeat and I have to say, hilariously funny.

Lucky Girl is narrated in the first person from Jessica’s POV. What I found extremely clever about the storyline is that Jessica uses Chicky Dee, a character from a (fictitious) old British cartoon called The Adventures of Plucky Penguin as her inspiration to cope with her little foibles.

I swiveled my chair to face my computer. I really should try to add a few more sentences to this article, which seemed to be taking forever. But as I stared at my monitor, waiting for inspiration to return, my gaze slid to the figurine beside my pen holder—an adorable, three-inch-high penguin dressed in a white shirt and tuxedo with tails, holding a bouquet of red roses. Plucky Penguin. A clever spy, and the main character of the old British TV cartoon, The Adventures of Plucky Penguin. Twenty- three episodes had aired before the show was canceled.

Smiling, I picked him up and ran my finger over the cool porcelain. Not a single chip—and I intended to keep him that way. How I loved this figurine and the others carefully wrapped and stowed in a box under my bed. Among them was Plucky Penguin’s sidekick, Chicky Dee, a perky female spy penguin with coiffed blonde hair.

Plucky Penguin might have flirted with every bird in sight, but Chicky Dee was the only one he loved. Mistress of ingenuity, she’d wiggled her way out of every nerve-racking situation using her nifty spy-girl gadgets, red-lipped smile, and sharp-as-a-broken-fingernail wits—and saved Plucky Penguin’s feather-covered ass more than once.

Lucky Girl © Cate Lord

Chicky Dee is Jessica’s subconscious ever present cheerleader, who she calls upon for inspiration and guidance when things get rough. Jessica does tend to be a little neurotic obsessing and stressing about the ‘what ifs’ on a regular basis, of course her worries never materialize. That being said, her neurotic tendencies do not hold her back from having a good time and upon arriving in Britain Jessica is welcomed by an interesting assortment of family after packing herself into an unbecoming bridesmaid dress. She is a member of her cousin Tilly’s wedding party.

It so happens, one Nick Mindinello, who Jessica met years earlier under rather embarrassing circumstances is an usher. Nick is a real head turner, handsome, well educated and polite, a man with whom every female in the vicinity would like to spend time. Jessica refers to Nick as “Sex God. Playboy. Heartbreaker.” an assessment that is an assumption on her part. While she considers him a player and certainly not the settling down with one lady kind of guy she isn’t opposed to enjoying a fling with said heartbreaker while on holiday. Jessica is determined to throw caution to the wind, morph into her Chicky Dee persona and have a great time. Thing is, Nick proves to be an extremely kind and decent human being, not the shallow playboy she thought him to be. He is the sort of man a woman could fall truly, madly, deeply for. In addition, Jessica learns she and Nick have far more in common than she ever dreamed.

Lucky Girl is set in the small town of Hertfordshire, England and I thought Ms. Lord, did an excellent job of emulating British colloquialisms and lifestyles. Secondary characters of note are Jessica’s sweet cousins Charlotte and Anna with whom she bonds for some hilarious girl time. Jessica is a connoisseur of makeup and style, and she is very considerate, sharing her time and expertise with her cousins. She helps Charlotte in particular to entice the object of her desire. ;)

Then there is Casanova the cat, a spoiled feline whose special care Jessica is responsible for as part of her lodging arrangements. Nick demonstrates his true nature in a number of acts of kindness toward Jessica, one in particular involves Casanova. He gradually breaks down her defenses. Conflict certainly arises given these lovers live an ocean apart but an impulsive action on Jessica’s part also causes problems between them. Once she returns to America, Jessica believes she will never see Nick again. As it turns out, when all seems quite bleak for a variety of reasons, Jessica discovers she is a very Lucky Girl.

I found Lucky Girl to be an extremely enjoyable feel good contemporary romance that provided numerous laugh out loud moments. In addition, I really liked Jessica's quirky voice and the way she dealt with her various troubles. As for Nick? An awesome Plucky Penguin who is perfect for Chicky Dee.

If you enjoy a fast paced comedic romance that has a Bridget Jones feel, you may like to give Lucky Girl a try.