Not My Match by Ilsa Madden-Mills

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


No good deed goes unpunished when dealing with matters of the heart. Giselle and Devon are the type of beautiful that drives emotions crazy. Mills gives the heart a reason to feel. The mind something to ponder and the senses a reason to burn. Not My Match is the purest form of breathless, beautiful, crazy heartache.

This is book #4, in The Game Changers series.  This book can be read as a standalone novel.  For reader enjoyment and to avoid spoilers, I recommend reading this series in order.

 

Eric is a goalie who is on his last season. He has never had to deal with this before, and he is all out of sorts.  Now he can be who he needs to be, love who he wants to love.  

 

Kyle tells himself he will find someone his own age and be happy.  Then he meets again the man that makes his heart pound, and all his plans fade away.  Can he stick to his guns on this one?  Or will a certain hockey player blow his plans out of the way?

 

This was a definite sexy book with a slow burn twist.  I loved how the characters seemed obvious to be together.  I also loved the humor, the sparks, and the sexy thrum of heat throughout the entire story.  Such amazing characters, with definite qualities that show they are both individuals and meant to be a couple.  I give this a 4/5 Kitty's Paws UP!

 

 

***This ARC copy was given in exchange for an honest review, by Netgalley and its publishers.

Elena is not sure what to do when meeting her blind date on Valentine's Day.  He is sitting alone in a corner, and he is hotter than she had anticipated.  If she does not go through with it, however, her family will only make her more miserable.

 

Jack is sick of everyone talking about him.  Life has already been hard up to this point.  Making eyes at a sexy librarian for one dinner won't hurt.  Then when he gets to know her, will he be able to let her go?

 

This was such a sexy look into such a wasted holiday. I found myself laughing, crying, and unable to put the story down.  Such a sultry atmosphere with the sparks so loud between the main characters I almost didn't hear what they said!  Really good read.  Cannot wait for the next installment of The Game Changers series.  I give this book a 4/5 Kitty's Paws UP!

 

 

***This early copy was given by Netgalley and its publishers in exchange for an honest review only.

These little excerpt books are great, and totally can be 'game-changers'. This features five highly-anticipated Fall 2017 Release YA books, and I read this, thanks to NetGalley. I would say it was a game-changer for me, as I changed my mind about some books I'd set my sights on from reading this...

- WARCROSS (this may be the most anticipated book of them all, and of the Fall!) - to be honest, I wasn't totally engaged by the character, and I'm not usually into dystopian/gamer books, BUT there was something about the idea of the hunt, AND just having a hint of 'Back of The Future' for me (I still want to believe there will be hoverboards one day), that made me want to read more. Truth be told, I have preordered this and will be going to Marie Lu's signing next week.

- JANE, UNLIMITED - this has one of those pretty good book setups, where there's a dead relative (I did like that the Aunt was a deep sea photographer!), so there's suddenly a new environment for the protagonist to explore and for the story to be set. But right away I didn't feel hooked by the characters. I think I would have to read more, but from the amount I read, it wasn't really enough.

- THERE'S SOMEONE INSIDE YOUR HOUSE - the title is the sort to grab me immediately so you had me there. As for the short excerpt I got to read here, I've worked on too many horror movies to be that gullible...I thought the opening story hook of the egg timer was a little on the obvious side but there you go. I was also then very disappointed in the teens' reaction to a schoolmate's murder; I'm getting a bit tired of this being the clichéd response for teens today. Maybe I need to read more and find out if the teens' reactions change and to find out about the other murders. Plus I DO like that cover, I have to admit.

- THINGS I'M SEEING WITHOUT YOU - the cover of this is absolutely beautiful, I have to say. Stunning. And the title made me think immediately of what I'd say to myself soon after someone close to me had died. I didn't realize when I first saw the title that the book directly is about how the main character Tess reacts to a boy's suicide. I can tell right away that this is probably an emotion-laden read, and is a book that you should probably carefully choose just the right time to hold in your hands and absorb.

- FOREST OF A THOUSAND LANTERNS - this excerpt took me the most by surprise, as this book was the lowest on my radar. I loved the setting, the mythology, the language, the interesting characters: right away I was drawn in. I grew up in Hong Kong and particularly love the idea of the setting being in East Asia, which seems to make a change for me. This was a surprise addition to my TBR list after reading the sampler and the one I wanted to continue on with most.

Overall, great sampler! I'll probably end up reading them all at some point but 'Warcross', 'Forest of a Thousand Lanterns', and 'Things I'm Seeing Without You' became definites.
**I was disappointed that two of these books have school dropouts; it seems to be too much of a trend with YA novels.

Kitty was not engaged to the boy her mother and his mother planned on since her birth. Now Kitty believed Grant confirmed she was unlovable just like her parents always believed. The only thing kitty enjoyed was writing . She had a small column for an online magazine. Kitty’s best friend was Penelope Allen- who had everything she wanted handed to her since the day she was born. Victoria was a social climber but still a friend as it was convenient for both of them. But they always reported back to Kitty’s mother. Kitty had always been a loner truth be known.Kitty had never allowed more than tepid feelings to develop for anyone she had dated that way she wouldn’t get hurt. Especially as her parents would never let Kitty marry for love. Adam asked Kitty if he could sit by her at her favorite coffee house. Even though she didn’t like it Adam effected her he also called her Duchess Then he was at the art gallery Kitty was at and he came up behind her and Kitty fought the attraction she felt for Adam. Adam is an artist and bar owner. Kitty ends up at his bar one night and got totally soused and he felt responsible to take her home and stayed the night. After that night Adam peruses Kitty Kitty refuses to do as her dad wanted and was given one month to come to her senses or be completely cut off from any help from him. I thought this book was really good. I felt so bad for Kitty and how her parents treated her and belittled her. I’m glad she got a backbone to tell her dad off. Even if she does give in eventually.

I loved the characters of Kitty and Adam and all the twists and turns they went through. It was really a good read and I recommend.

I received an ARC of this story for an honest review.