There is nothing more beautiful and elegant than a charming bouquet of roses when it is about expressing the heart to someone very special in life. Roses are something that is the best carrier of feelings and emotions. Be it about a bunch of roses, roses in a glass vase, the basket of roses, heart-shaped rose arrangements, or about a single stem of rose; every way of representing a flower is different in its own terms and holds a unique place when they are considered for gifting. That is why the most preferred gifting option revolves around roses always from Rose Day gifts to Valentine’s Day gifts as well.

Valentine’s Day is the day that is associated with the love and romance that falls once in a year making everyone more excited and motivated to confess their love hidden in their hearts for quite a long time. Also, the one and only thing that can get the job done perfectly is the Roses, for sure as they are the best flowers for Valentine that will leave no chance in leaving an impression of your beloved that will remain for quite a long time. However, talking about roses, the one thing that should be kept in mind is the color you are picking up, as this beautiful flower is present in many amazing shades and hues that take the charm of the floral gift to another level.

If you are also the one who is still confused about which color of the rose represents what, then with this color guide will be very useful to you. So, without having doubt, scroll down and make yourself guru of roses:

White Rose

White roses are the perfect symbol representing purity and innocence. This beautiful color of rose is also traditionally linked with marriage and the new beginning of life. However, apart from this, they are also a perfect symbol of remembrance and forever love. Also, a bunch of white roses conveys “I’m thinking of you” to someone special in life.

Yellow Rose

Before confessing love, the foremost thing is to confess the friendship. That is why; the yellow-colored roses are the best way to send a message of your friendship. With this, this color is also used to send a joyful message and the warmth of hearty feelings. With their sunny appearance, a bunch or of yellow roses brighten up even a dull surrounding. You can also use this beautiful symbol to say thank you, get well soon and congratulation with all your heart.

Pink Rose

Pink roses are the bright and passionate ones that describe the feelings of heart saying “I like you.” This color of rose is very versatile and can be used to reflect many feelings and emotions on the occasion of love season coming soon. They are a classic symbol of grace and liking. They are also given as a token of appreciation and admiration to the one who is very special in your life.

Orange Rose

Orange roses are considered as the symbol of passion, enthusiasm, and gratitude and brilliantly represent the energy of the heart for the one who is in love. This bright color of rose is also used as a symbol of desire and passion in love.

Green Rose

Green rose is given as a symbol of good health and for wishing good luck in life to the persons who are very special in your life. So, pair these colored flowers with chocolates and your perfect gift to send to loved ones is ready.

Red Rose

Talking about roses, you must be waiting eagerly for this red beauty to come. So, the red rose is the one associated with beauty and adoration, and reflect the perfect love. Giving a red rose is a common way to say “I Love You” from time immemorial.

So, with this color guide, you are all done and sorted to make the day of love and romance more special for your beloved that its impressions last till the next Valentine. Now, you must be thinking about where you can get fresh and quality flowers and bouquets. So, GiftaLove.com can be your ultimate spot on which you can rely for making your Valentine’s Day wonderful with the beauty and the elegance of roses. So, place your order now and buy romantic Valentine flowers online without any hassle.

I seem to be in the minority with my assessment of this story. I liked it well enough, I suppose, and I was impressed with the author creating a trans (F2M) character in a historical setting. I liked the inclusion of a fantasy element with Banyn, a fae, and his backstory.

I think this book would have worked better for me if it had been a longer story. While the author created a nice timeline, there seemed to be big jumps in time, that especially in the later years of John's story would have perhaps rounded his character out a bit more. We're told of his struggles, the binding of his chest, the monthly bleeding, and the constant fears of being found out, but we're not shown much of it. The story is written with flashback scenes, while John is on the run, bleeding from a wound, and we get to see the beginning of his relationship with Banyn, the progression of their love, and how he ended up in a penal colony on an island off Australia. 

There's a melancholy undertone to the book, befitting the story, and I thought it was perhaps a bit too depressing to be a Christmas story, even if John gets his wish and his HEA. 

I also quite liked the epilogue - that was a fitting ending to this story. 


** I received a free copy of this book from its publisher in exchange for an honest review. **

There be spoilers. I'm pretty pissed off at the moment. What a waste of time this was.

CW: Homophobia, racism, cheating, and sexual assault.

I only liked Holden. And even he was an idiot. But I could empathize with this struggles - coming to terms with his feelings for another boy, figuring out that he's bi-sexual (though I'm not sure why he'd think that, since he hasn't even had a girlfriend), and dealing with being bullied at school, on top of living with an asshole father and a doormat mother, unable to live up to his Golden Boy older brother, who was much less an asshole than I expected based on how his character was initially set up. Holden's best friend of 14 years (Tiffany) is abandoning him for a boy, though I'm honestly not even sure why Holden thought of her as his friend in the first place - she was nothing but a bitch to him. 

All the characters in his book are one-dimensional card board cutouts. You have the rich boy jerkface who thinks he can throw his daddy's money in everyone's face, the bitchy-only female, the pedophile principal (ew, ew, ew, what the fuck was that shit, touching Holden inappropriately, talking about blow jobs to make a record go away, and then comparing his dick to Aaron's whose dick he presumably knows NOTHING about), and the cheating daddy fucking Holden's best friend, who's - you guessed it - suddenly pregnant.

None of the characters, including Aaron, the love interest, made any fucking sense with their actions. Not a single one. Not Holden thinking he can just go to the city and enroll in college, and find a job that will pay him enough to cover his cost of living, not Aaron, whose pillow talk was the most ridiculous thing I've ever read in a romance novel, not Jeff, the jerkface, not Tiffany, the bitch, not the principal (what the FUCK was that shit), and not Holden's parents. 

At one point Aaron's father leaves for a conference of some sort in Seattle - which, super convenient, amirite, so Aaron and Holden can have a sleepover and sex it up (virgin ass and all), and we're supposed to believe that a small town mechanic goes to a conference, leaving no one to work on the cars in the shop? 

This book was an utter mess, and I don't just mean the stilted, unrealistic dialogue and ridiculous plot. The editor was MIA, and the proof-reader took a vacation, I guess. Grammar seemed optional. 

Men don't have a g-spot. A virgin like Holden, never having even CONSIDERED gay sex, has likely not heard of the prostrate. And he sure as fuck wouldn't call it a g-spot. 

At one point, Aaron says "Open Says Me". I suppose the author meant OPEN SESAME. How was that not caught? Then a few pages later, Aaron opens the condom and puts it on, with HIS TEETH. On himself. Uhm, sure, whatever floats your boat. I guess you're super bendy. Never mind the holes you just made with your teeth, you moron, which sort of defeats the purpose of putting on a condom in the first place. 

And to top off the editorial proof-reading fuckery, in one instance HOLDEN is called AARON. 

And, and, and... there's no HEA, not even a HFN - the couple has broken up at book's end because Holden is leaving town and Aaron isn't. We get a "To Be Continued" as if that isn't something you should tell your readers up front.

Not recommended. Possibly the worst book I've read this year. JFC. Yeah, I know it's YA, but young adults would like to read good books. And this isn't a good book. 

I'm so sorry, Secret Santa. I was swayed by the blurb and the positive reviews, and I now regret putting this book on my wishlist. I kind of hate that you wasted your money on this, even though I truly appreciate you getting it for me. 

Not recommended.

This was a not so stereotypical college romance, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. It had some issues, on which I'll elaborate further down.

Nick arrives at The Academy for his senior year after having taken a year off due to the death of his father. Starting over a tiny Catholic college wasn't the plan, but here we are. Nick plans to focus on his studies, maybe making some friends, and then getting his diploma and go home. Still struggling with grief, and on a tight budget, Nick knows that he's dependent on the scholarship he got, and has no plans whatsoever for a college romance or any such nonsense. 

Sebastian is the college campus player. When he spots Nick, he makes a bet with his two oldest friends, Dante and Theo, on who can kiss the new guy first - with the provision that the new guy has to initiate the kiss. Sebastian is the proverbial spoiled rich kid. Or so it seems. 

Nick doesn't want to give Sebastian the time of day at first, but slowly the ice melts a bit. 

With the premise as it is, Nick and Sebastian don't spend a whole lot of time together on page to begin with, though that time becomes more and more as the plot progresses. As Sebastian develops real feelings for Nick, he's terrified of the bet coming out. The author attempted to show us that despite all the material things he has, Sebastian is still yearning for something money can't buy, something that he lost and cannot get back; his insecurities are hindering him, and causing him to covertly lash out and hurt others before they can hurt him.

There are some clever plot twists here as well, which I didn't see coming, so I was pleasantly surprised toward the end. 

What didn't work so much for me is that Sebastian and his friends often sounded and acted a lot younger than their actual presumed ages - they read a lot more like moody highschoolers (especially Sebastian seemed very much a jerk) than college juniors. The poor little rich boy trope is a little overused here also, and while Sebastian's background makes for a good explanation of his behavior, I didn't buy the rapidity with which he falls for Nick, especially considering the fact that Nick and Sebastian have no more than maybe 10 or 15 actual conversations with each other over the course of the book. I wasn't sold on there being an actual romantic relationship between them - it felt more like lust than love.

Dante and Theo, Sebastian's friends - those two had their own issue to work out, and they did, and while they're supposed to be side characters, they actually felt more real to me than the MCs, probably because we see them spent more time together on page than Sebastian and Nick.

The author does a fine job writing the steam, and while there are but two steamy scenes in this book, they were pretty damn hot, but also continued to lead me down the path of believing in their lust, not their love.

Probably not my favorite by this author, but a good effort, and an enjoyable read. 


** I received a free copy of this book from its publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. **