Book Mail: Week of August 6

To celebrate my 26th Birthday I've splurged on a few book purchases. Let's see what's been in my mail this week...

Monday:

The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager

Two Truths and a Lie. The girls played it all the time in their tiny cabin at Camp Nightingale. Vivian, Natalie, Allison, and first-time camper Emma Davis, the youngest of the group. The games ended when Emma sleepily watched the others sneak out of the cabin in the dead of night. The last she--or anyone--saw of them was Vivian closing the cabin door behind her, hushing Emma with a finger pressed to her lips.

Now a rising star in the New York art scene, Emma turns her past into paintings--massive canvases filled with dark leaves and gnarled branches that cover ghostly shapes in white dresses. The paintings catch the attention of Francesca Harris-White, the socialite and wealthy owner of Camp Nightingale. When Francesca implores her to return to the newly reopened camp as a painting instructor, Emma sees an opportunity to try to find out what really happened to her friends.

Yet it's immediately clear that all is not right at Camp Nightingale. Already haunted by memories from fifteen years ago, Emma discovers a security camera pointed directly at her cabin, mounting mistrust from Francesca and, most disturbing of all, cryptic clues Vivian left behind about the camp's twisted origins. As she digs deeper, Emma finds herself sorting through lies from the past while facing threats from both man and nature in the present.

And the closer she gets to the truth about Camp Nightingale, the more she realizes it may come at a deadly price.

Purchase Location: Target

Price: $18.90 (30% off!)

Tuesday:

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

Darkness never dies.

Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land. She finds starting new is not easy while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. She can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long.

The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her--or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm.

Purchase Location: HPB.com

Purchase Price: $3.70

Bonus: It was signed! Surprise! 

Wednesday

Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

The capital has fallen.

The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne.

Now the nation's fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army.

Deep in an ancient network of tunnels and caverns, a weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for the elusive firebird and the hope that an outlaw prince still survives.

Alina will have to forge new alliances and put aside old rivalries as she and Mal race to find the last of Morozova's amplifiers. But as she begins to unravel the Darkling's secrets, she reveals a past that will forever alter her understanding of the bond they share and the power she wields. The firebird is the one thing that stands between Ravka and destruction—and claiming it could cost Alina the very future she’s fighting for.

Purchase Location: HPB.com

Purchase Price: $4.39

Bonus: Poster of the Grishaverse 

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

(French Edition)

À Ketterdam, la mafia s'organise en gangs rivaux. L'homme le plus important de la pègre est Pekka Rollins ; le plus ambitieux, le jeune Kaz Bekker, dit "les Mains sales". Aussi brillant qu'exaspérant, Kaz, second du gang des Corbeaux, ne refuse aucun coup pour peu qu'il en tire argent et panache. Sa réputation de voleur lui vaut d'emporter un marché qui le rendra riche : il doit enlever un homme retenu dans un lieu imprenable, la forteresse des Glaces, place forte des redoutables soldats-prêtres druskelles. Le prisonnier à enlever est l'inventeur de la "Jurda parem", une drogue multipliant sans limites le pouvoir des Grishas tout en les rendant soumis et dépendants. Kaz décide donc de réunir une équipe aux talents exceptionnels : - Inej, espionne hors pair alias le Spectre, - Matthias, soldat druskelle dévoré par sa haine des Grishas, - Nina, ancienne guerrière de l'armée grisha, - Wylan, escamoteur débutant, fugueur et otage volontaire, - Jesper, tireur d'élite qui parierait sa vie pour le gout du jeu. Ces coéquipiers malgré eux feront face à un enchaînement effréné d'épreuves : libérer Matthias d'Hellgate, faire face aux gangs rivaux prêts à les doubler, survivre à l'explosion de leur navire et surtout s'infiltrer dans l'imprenable cité des glaces!

Purchase Location: Amazon.com

Purchase Price: $18.70

Waiting On:

Fallen Heir by Erin Watt

Purchase Location: Erin Watt's website

Purchase Price: $15.00

Bonus: It's Signed!

Cracked Kingdom by Erin Watt

Purchase Location: Erin Watt's website

Purchase Price: $15.00

Bonus: It's Signed!

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tucholke

Purchase Location: HPB.com

Purchase Price: $0.87

Catwoman: Soulstealer by Sarah J. Maas

Library Hold

Book Review: One Small Thing by Erin Watt

One Small Thing by Erin Watt

Blurb:

Beth’s life hasn’t been the same since her sister died. Her parents try to lock her down, believing they can keep her safe by monitoring her every move. When Beth sneaks out to a party one night and meets the new guy in town, Chase, she’s thrilled to make a secret friend. It seems a small thing, just for her.

Only Beth doesn’t know how big her secret really is…

Fresh out of juvie and determined to start his life over, Chase has demons to face and much to atone for, including his part in the night Beth’s sister died. Beth, who has more reason than anyone to despise him, is willing to give him a second chance. A forbidden romance is the last thing either of them planned for senior year, but the more time they spend together, the deeper their feelings get.

Now Beth has a choice to make—follow the rules, or risk tearing everything apart…again.

My Review:

Two years ago Beth's older sister Rachel was killed in a horrible accident and ever since her parents haven't allowed her an ounce of freedom. On her last night before school starts she goes to a party in a neighboring town against her best friend Scarlett's wishes. There she approaches the most attractive boy she's ever seen and they hit it off - and one thing leads to another...

But at school she realizes that her random party hook up is the last guy she should want. He's the boy that accidentally hit and killed her sister. Once Chase finds out who Beth is he's horrified and doesn't want to be involved with her but Beth is persistent. The heart wants what the heart wants, despite what her parents, her friends, and the rest of the town thinks. 

In pursuing a friendship (and more) Beth is finally able to face her grief for her sister and starts to see the world around her and the events leading up to Rachel's death in a new way. Will her strict parents ever condone a relationship with the guy they hold responsible for their eldest daughter's death? Or is Beth better leaving Chase far enough alone?

Honestly, I don't know how to feel about One Small Thing. It was a quick, easy read and I loved Beth and Chase together. It was the rest of the book that bothered me. 

One Small Thing takes a set of parents even more extreme than Elle's parents in Katie McGarry's Say You'll Remember Me and crosses with a similar (sort of) plot to Tijan's Ryan's Bed. 

I admit I think Beth's parents are my major problem with this book. Every time I read an interaction between Beth and her parents I wanted to reach into the book and slap them silly. They were insane, they were unfair, and they were ridiculous. I think the point the reader is supposed to get is that parents only want what is best for their kids - but this wasn't at all best for Beth. I actually really disliked almost every character except Beth and Chase if I'm being completely honest. Beth's friends were judgmental and fickle, Jeff was the worst kind of human being, and Beth's classmates and the school administration needed a serious intervention about bullying and herding mentalities. 

Then there were the people Beth met along the way like Ashleigh and Jay who I kept waiting for Beth to befriend after her one night meeting them only to end up disappointed. 

Overall, I could have used more Beth and Chase and less of everything else. Even though the story kept me engaged it was probably one of my least favorite Erin Watt books. 

My Rating:

🌟🌟🌟🌟

3.90 of 5 Stars!

Book Review: Fallen Heir by Erin Watt

Fallen Heir (The Royals, #4) by Erin Watt

Blurb:

These Royals will ruin you.

Easton Royal has it all: looks, money, intelligence. His goal in life is to have as much fun as possible. He never thinks about the consequences because he doesn’t have to.

Until Hartley Wright appears, shaking up his easy life. She’s the one girl who’s said no, despite being attracted to him. Easton can’t figure her out and that makes her all the more irresistible.

Hartley doesn’t want him. She says he needs to grow up.

She might be right.

Rivals. Rules. Regrets. For the first time in Easton’s life, wearing a Royal crown isn’t enough. He’s about to learn that the higher you start, the harder you fall.

My Review:

Aaahhhh, Easton; my favorite of the Royal brothers! I've been waiting so long for Easton's book and it was definitely worth the wait! 

Easton Royal just wants to have fun. He doesn't care about school or football (even though he's smarter than you'd think), he just wants to - dare I say? - self-destruct. Life is about three things for him: sex, drinking and having no responsibilities. 

Until new girl, Hartley Wright catches him doing something he shouldn't be. What starts out as Easton trying to make sure Hartley won't tell anyone what she saw quickly turns into him wanting to be around Hartley all the time. 

But Hartley is very guarded. She has to be with the secrets she's hiding. She doesn't want or need someone like Easton in her life. But Easton won't be discouraged that easily. 

Will Easton realize his feelings for Hartley are more than just physical? Will Hartley ever let her walls down and let Easton know what's going on with her? And once that secret is revealed, will it make both of their lives implode?

I loved this book! Easton's story was fantastic and I found myself enjoying it more than the last book in this series, Twisted Palace. While I love Reed, Easton will always be my favorite and I just want to hug him for all of the feelings of inadequacy he feels. He sees himself as a screw-up, even though he's surrounded by people that love him.

I was dying to find out what secrets Hartley was hiding and at times I found her a bit frustrating as a character but I liked her and Easton together. I hope they have the chance to explore the possibility of them being together in the next book.

That being said - the ending! OMG that ending! Once again Erin Watt has ruined me with that ending! How will I make it until the end of the year to see what happens after that ending?!?! You can't just leave me with that! 

Overall, this book is a great addition to the Royals series! If you love Easton as much as I do you need to read this book! It was a fast-paced read that I didn't want to put down and ended up reading all at once. Now I feel like I'll be in a Royals book hangover until the next book comes out!

My Rating:

5 of 5 Stars!

Grab your copy of Fallen Heir...
Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo | Add to Goodreads

Book Review: When It's Real by Erin Watt

When It's Real by Erin Watt

Blurb:

Under ordinary circumstances, Oakley Ford and Vaughn Bennett would never even cross paths. 

There's nothing ordinary about Oakley. This bad-boy pop star's got Grammy Awards, millions of fangirls and a reputation as a restless, too-charming troublemaker. But with his home life disintegrating, his music well suddenly running dry and the tabloids having a field day over his outrageous exploits, Oakley needs to show the world he's settling down—and who better to help him than Vaughn, a part-time waitress trying to help her family get by? The very definition of ordinary. 

Posing as his girlfriend, Vaughn will overhaul Oakley's image from troublemaker to serious artist. In return for enough money to put her brothers through college, she can endure outlandish Hollywood parties and carefully orchestrated Twitter exchanges. She'll fool the paparazzi and the groupies. She might even start fooling herself a little. 

Because when ordinary rules no longer apply, there's no telling what your heart will do…

My Review:

19-year-old Oakley Ford has a problem. He hasn't brought out a new album in two years and he's losing followers on social media by the thousands. He's dying to change his sound and work with his dream producer but all the producer sees is another pop star who isn't serious about music or life. 

Insert Vaughn Bennett - a regular girl who's just trying to work hard to help support her family after her parents died two years earlier in a car wreck. Oakley's PR team have thought of the perfect solution - a made-for-publicity relationship with a "normal" girl so people will start thinking he's getting serious about life and music again. Vaughn is hesitant. She has a boyfriend, W, who she adores even if he is pressuring her to have sex with him. And okay, she can't stand the stupid Youtube videos W and his friends make. But they want her to pretend date Oakley Ford - the guy who cheated on his last "girlfriend?" Are these people crazy? But when Vaughn hears what Oakley's management team are willing to pay her she has no choice. Her family needs the money. 

Everything has been carefully planned - from Vaughn's fake breakup with W to her meet-cute with Oakley on Twitter to the beginnings of an unbelievable-if-it-weren't-true romance - except for one thing: Vaughn and Oakley can't stand each other. Oakley can't believe he's stuck with the one girl in the world not falling at his feet and Vaughn thinks Oakley is an arrogant self-entitled jerk. This will never work. Or will it work too well?

When what starts out as a carefully orchestrated publicity stunt begins to turn into the real thing, will Vaughn and Oakley's relationship survive the Hollywood fishbowl of paparazzi, online haters, and fame whores looking to sully Vaughn's name to make one for themselves? Or will Oakley's fame tear them apart?

At first, I was afraid I wouldn't like When It's Real as much as I've loved Erin Watt's Royals series. I was afraid Oakley was being made out to be like a Justin Bieber-type, but as I allowed myself to dive deeper into Oakley and Vaughn's story I realized I couldn't be more wrong. I loved When It's Real, every single minute of it!

While Vaughn did slightly remind me of Ella from the Royals Series, I found her struggle to balance friends, work, relationships, and helping her sister Paisley care for their younger brothers to be genuine and relatable. 

Oakley, meanwhile, transformed from a self-absorbed jerk into a decent guy as he began falling for Vaughn and I loved his friendship with Ty and the way he, with Vaughn's help, began to mend his rocky relationship with his mother. Erin Watt portrayed what we sometimes forget about celebrities: that they're just people too. People that make mistakes and deserve some sense of privacy. What they do for a living doesn't mean we have the right to invade every aspect of their life and the normal things we take for granted are things they rarely get to truly enjoy. 

I easily fell for Vaughn and Oakley, enjoying the chemistry they tried to deny, hurting for Vaughn as she dealt with W - who was a total creep - and when the trolls on social media said horrible things about her and celebrating with both of them as they fell in love and learned from each other about what really mattered. 

Overall, if you love hate-to-love romances with a dash of humor and characters that will ruin you (in a good way), When It's Real is a contemporary young adult novel that you'll definitely want to toss in your beach bags and take with you this summer because you won't want to put it down! 

My Rating:

4.5 of 5 Stars!

When It's Real is available today, May 30, 2017, from Harlequin Teen! Grab your copy now:

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks | Kobo | Add to Goodreads

Book Review: Twisted Palace by Erin Watt

Twisted Palace (Royals #3) by Erin Watt

Blurb:

These Royals will ruin you… 

From mortal enemies to unexpected allies, two teenagers try to protect everything that matters most.

Ella Harper has met every challenge that life has thrown her way. She’s tough, resilient, and willing to do whatever it takes to defend the people she loves, but the challenge of a long-lost father and a boyfriend whose life is on the line might be too much for even Ella to overcome. 

Reed Royal has a quick temper and even faster fists. But his tendency to meet every obstacle with violence has finally caught up with him. If he wants to save himself and the girl he loves, he’ll need to rise above his tortured past and tarnished reputation.

No one believes Ella can survive the Royals. Everyone is sure Reed will destroy them all. 

They may be right.

With everything and everyone conspiring to keep them apart, Ella and Reed must find a way to beat the law, save their families, and unravel all the secrets in their Twisted Palace.

My Review:

Spoiler Alert: Do not read this review if you have not read the previous book in the Royals series, Broken Prince.

So the wicked bitch of Bayview, NC is dead. And Reed Royal has been arrested for Brooke's murder. Oh, and Ella's biological father, Steve O'Halloran, is back from the dead. Yeah - that actually happened.

Ella and Reed's world is crashing down around them. Reed is being accused of a crime he didn't commit and Ella is forced to interact with a man she's not sure she likes. Steve is nothing like how Callum described him and his aggressive push to be super-dad (including a ton of insane rules) rubs Ella the wrong way.

With everyone whispering about Reed being a potential murder behind their backs and Steve working to keep them apart, will Reed and Ella be able to figure out who is framing Reed? Or will Reed accept defeat under the mounting stack of damning evidence against him? Will Ella be able to save Reed before he makes the biggest mistake of his life? Was Brooke really the intended target? Or was it a case of mistaken identity?

One thing is for certain: there's a killer out there that would do anything to keep his or her secrets and their crime from being revealed.

I enjoyed Twisted Palace, but not as much as I loved Paper Princess and Broken Prince. A great majority of Twisted Palace was spent on the murder, Reed's uncertain future, and Steve's unexplainable drive to keep Ella and Reed apart at all costs. While it added a greater depth to the story, the tone felt a lot different than in the first two books - so although I really liked the mystery and the story, I felt like the story slowed down at times. Like the reader and the characters were waiting for something to happen, for some resolution that too time to come.

I still loved all of the main characters but I have to admit I really hated Steve. I know that was kind of the point but I guess I was wishing he would be the cool guy that Callum kept talking about - not the kind of guy that made Callum look like a Father of the Year candidate. And I even felt sorry for Dinah! The sky must be falling!

Overall, I really did like Twisted Palace, especially when everything was revealed at the end and things settled down. Now I'm eager to read Easton's story. Who will be the girl that steals his heart? Somebody we already know? Or someone completely new?

My Rating:

4/5 Stars

Book Review: Broken Prince by Erin Watt

Broken Prince (Royals #2) by Erin Watt

Blurb:

These Royals will ruin you…

From wharf fights and school brawls to crumbling lives inside glittery mansions, one guy tries to save himself.

Reed Royal has it all―looks, status, money. The girls at his elite prep school line up to date him, the guys want to be him, but Reed never gave a damn about anyone but his family until Ella Harper walked into his life.

What started off as burning resentment and the need to make his father’s new ward suffer turned into something else entirely―keep Ella close. Keep Ella safe. But when one foolish mistake drives her out of Reed’s arms and brings chaos to the Royal household, Reed’s entire world begins to fall apart around him.

Ella doesn’t want him anymore. She says they’ll only destroy each other.

She might be right.

Secrets. Betrayal. Enemies. It’s like nothing Reed has ever dealt with before, and if he’s going to win back his princess, he’ll need to prove himself Royally worthy.

My Review:

All it took was one moment for Reed Royal's life to implode. The moment Ella Harper, the girl he's fallen impossibly in love with, walks in on him in a compromising position with his father's ex-girlfriend Brooke.

Ella runs and Brooke claims she's pregnant and that the baby is his even though Reed knows it isn't. Ella leaving town tears Reed up and in the span of the next two weeks his brothers turn on him and everything at Astor Academy goes to shit because Reed doesn't care enough to keep everyone in line. All he wants is Ella back.

Then Ella returns and it's clear that she's not ready to forgive him. But Reed isn't giving up on her, he'll keep pursuing her until things are back to normal. But can Ella ever move past Reed's assumed betrayal? Or are some mistakes unforgivable? And as everything else in the lives of the Royals spin out of control, even if Ella takes Reed back, is something worse coming their way?

Wow, the two writers behind the pen name Erin Watt definitely know how to rip their readers hearts out! The end of Paper Princess shocked me but the twists in Broken Prince had me wanting to pluck my aching heart out and hand it over. This series is so engrossing that the reader will struggle to put it down and resume daily activities.

Reed's perspective, in the beginning, broke my heart and I couldn't wait to see what was going to happen but the hits kept coming - especially the ending! Did not see the Brooke thing coming although I had a vague idea while reading book one about the character that pulls a Lazarus on the very last page.

Overall, I love the storyline and the characters and I'm already itching to start book three! I was worried that The Royals series would falter the way some series do with the "sophomore slump" but Broken Prince is everything fans of the series could hope for. If you haven't already read this series you must give it a try! You won't regret it! I'm also seriously excited that Easton is getting his own book coming out this fall! I am in love with that adorable goofball!

My Rating:

5 of 5 Stars!