Mini Review: Bring on the Angst! #COYER

I am über behind on my #COYER reviews... not because I haven't been reading, but because with all that is happening in the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan, I just didn't really feel like ranting or raving over books. I'm back now though and I'm hoping to get my challenge well on it's way.

Statistics So Far: 

[ Goal: 13 Books | Read: 3 | Reviewed: 4 | DNF: 3 ]

As you can see from my stats I have a few DNF books. I wrote my DNF reviews on Goodreads but it doesn't feel right to count those books in the challenge because technically, I failed to clean them out. So now I'm reviewing books that replaced the ones that I ended giving up on. What's with my post title? Well, scroll down to find out.

+++

Damaged and the Beast
by Bijou Hunter

Publication Date:
April 18, 2013

Heir to the local motorcycle club and crime syndicate, Cooper Johansson is accustomed to taking what he wants. His newest conquest is college freshman Farah Smith.

When the tattooed bad boy reminds her of a rough childhood she desperately wishes to forget, Farah keeps him at arm's length. Yet, Cooper refuses to give up. He pushes her buttons, tears through her walls, and forces her to admit her feelings for him. What begins as lust soon builds into something more powerful than either expects.

Can the beast heal the damage inside the girl of his dreams?

Warning: This novel contains scenes of a sexual nature, violent themes, and coarse language. It is intended for mature readers.

Damaged and the Beast is a complete novel with a HEA.

Rating: ★★★½ - Like It!

I'm not a big fan of angst. I know it adds depth to a character but sometimes the angst level is just way too up there for my taste that it borders on the soap opera-ish.

Which is why it was surprising how I much I liked this book. Farrah is definitely damaged and she knows it. She wants a better life for herself and her younger sister so they can finally get away from their no-good parents who were the cause of their dark and abused past. Cooper and Farrah's relationship starts out like any typical NA book relationship does, but even though the angst level is way out there I was surprisingly okay with it. I think it's because I empathized with why Farrah is so damaged in the first place, and her actions and personality is in tune with the turmoil that she goes through.

I like that Farrah's issues do not magically fix themselves once she's with Cooper. She has hang-ups about sex (and it is totally understandable why) and I like that being sexual with Cooper did not erase all that. She cries way too much though and even though I understood why, it did become annoying after awhile. Cooper is definitely OTT jealous and possessive of Farrah that it actually borders on the obsessive but if you like your alpha hero head over heels in love with your heroine and has no qualms about showing it then this book is definitely for you.

Not everybody will enjoy this book and again, it was really surprising for me but I really did. The characters and the relationship are deliciously flawed, the writing is not perfect, and the storyline is a bit unbelievable at times, but somehow it all worked out for me. I'm contemplating if I want to read the next books in the series, but I would definitely read more from this author!

Damaged Series

Falling Stars
by Sadie Grubor
Book Nerd Revelation

Publication Date:
October 16, 2013 (first published August 14, 2012)

"The haunting pools of dark chocolate drew me in and made my skin crackle. She was beautiful, breathtakingly so. before this moment, I don't think I truly realized just how beautiful she is. A new ache formed in my chest."

Christopher Mason, front man of the band The Forgotten. He's hot, he's famous and everything a famous rock star can be. But despite his fame and bad boy look, inside he battles demons. Demons so powerful they may destroy him. All hope seems lost. Slowly, his star is falling.

Mia Ryder, lead vocalist of the band Hushed Mentality, enters his life. Energetic, fun, and laidback, Mia is just about everything Christopher isn't. And he definitely doesn't want her on his tour.

But one night changes everything. For the first time in his life, Christopher Mason becomes sure of one thing, and it's the one thing he's tried so hard to push away.

Rating: ★★★★ - Love it!

Thanks to an Amazon thread that I'm currently following I've discovered quite a few hidden gems and this book is definitely one of them. I would never have considered reading this because for one, I'm not really a big fan of rock star romances and two, it is a book brimming with angst and as I said before, I don't really enjoy angst-y characters so much.

I like that both protagonist are in equal footing when it comes to their careers. Compared to the usual rich and famous rockstar hero falling in love with the sweet small town heroine, both protagonists are unbelievably talented and in the same league when it comes to their passion. Even though Mia's Hushed Mentality is just up and coming compared to Christopher's The Forgotten, it still made them equals in my eyes.

I also like that although there was a hint of attraction, it took them awhile to get over their antagonistic feelings for each other and that's only because of Christopher realizing that Mia keeps the nightmares away. Like literally sleeping next to her keeps horrifying dreams of his past at bay. I normally hate it when both protagonist sleep together (emphasis on sleep) as "friends" because they just somehow cannot sleep unless they cuddle up together...of course, there's nothing going on between, they're just friends. Seriously? That's just annoyingly pretentious and deluded to me. In this case though, I kind of understand why they do it. If I'm plagued with nightmares every night and one person can keep them away, I would be cuddling with this person in a heartbeat.

The romance develop gradually and the road to that definitely bumpy. It took them awhile to discover how deep their feelings for each other are and even when they finally did, it didn't magically fix Christopher. This is another jealous and possessive hero and he is troubled and damaged; his reasons for being that way understandable but he still has a long way to go in terms of dealing with his issues. Meeting and being with Mia definitely helped him initially but there are things that Christopher needs to deal with on his own and because of that it makes this relationship surprisingly more realistic for me. I also really like how grounded and believable Mia's reactions to certain situations are. I can see myself thinking over the same things if I was ever in the same situation. Reading from both protagonists' POV with a non-linear style of storytelling took awhile to get used to at first but it also really worked out in the long run.

I ended up loving this book because I really liked a number of things, a few of them I mentioned above. I've ordered the next novella in the series and I'm really hoping that it's as good as this one!

Falling Stars Series

Read More

Tour Stop Review: Convicted by Aleatha Romig + Giveaway!

Convicted
Aleatha Romig

Publication Date:
October 8, 2013

There were still lessons to learn and consequences for the truth!

When Claire Nichols met Anthony Rawlings, she didn’t know they had a past, or that he had plans for her future. Over time, the role of teacher changed—games became reality—and domination turned to desire. Despite an insurmountable history, Claire and Tony found their way back to one another.

Just when they seemed to have it all—love, respect, and the promise of a family—the game master exposed the truth. Claire’s world once again spun out of control. Unwilling to allow her child to suffer the consequences of an old vendetta, Claire fled...

At one time, Claire was held captive in an opulent mansion—then her incarceration was a cell inside a state penitentiary. Was her new prison—a tropical island—truly less lonely? Perhaps that was the game master’s plan, all along?

Who will save Claire from her oldest nightmare and her newest reality? Will it be Tony? Can he forgive her for leaving him—again? Harry? Will he utilize previously unknown connections to save the woman who infiltrates his thoughts? Maybe Phil? Will his devotion in keeping Claire and her child safe be rewarded?

As the cards are played—sins of the past, innocent victims, and truths are revealed. With compartmentalization no longer an option, is the reality too much? Could there be an even worse isolation?

With the game master dealing from a stacked deck, can this new high-stakes game possibly be won?

When it’s all over and their cards are on the table—SOME will discover their bets were too high—they have nothing left to lose—ALL will learn the crucial lesson—the most important rule—there are CONSEQUENCES for the TRUTH!

Aleatha Romig’s CONVICTED!

Introduction

For those of you who are not familiar with the the series, the story revolves mostly around Claire Nichols and her relationship with Anthony Rawlings, the man who kidnapped and abused her for the sake of revenge. It is highly recommended to read the books in order, because this series is so rich with intrigue and deceit that spans generations, and the past is told throughout the first two books.

In Consequences, we saw how it all began. Claire woke up a prisoner in a strange room, with no idea how she got there. In the book, her relationship with Tony was Stockholm Syndrome at its finest. I seriously wanted to shake Claire so many times for believing herself to be in love with her captor, thus letting her multiple chances to escape slip by.

In Truth, Claire is finally a free woman and she is determined to uncover the truth of the past...but Tony is also determined to get Claire back. I was really disappointed when Claire went back to him willingly. I didn't trust Tony and I was sure he was still planning something sinister for Claire. Why would you want to go back to the man who caused you so much sorrow? Why Claire? 

But at the end of Truth, I actually felt a little bad for Tony. He did a lot of horrible things that he should pay for but he shouldn't be blamed for something that he didn't do; same as when Claire was being wrongfully charged and convicted for Tony's attempted murder in Consequences. I understand Claire's decision to leave again but it's frustrating how she was manipulated by someone she trusted, yet again.

Rating: ★★★★ - Love It!

Theirs was a long complicated story with a monster and a knight. What made their story unique was that these two players were the same person.

Reviewing a book like this one is tough. I would honestly be devastated if I ruined another reader's enjoyment because I gave the book's secrets away. This is better to uncover on your own, no matter how difficult and heartbreaking the journey. I decided to just focus on what I felt while reading the book rather than give out actual details... because seriously, this book is just brimming with revelations.

We can't rewrite history. If we could, our pen would probably run out of ink.

Reading Convicted, I realized that this bid for vengeance could've been put to rest if Tony just let go of the past but I understand that with certain (evil) people by his side, fueling his anger for all those years, he really didn't stand a chance. It also got to me how looks can be so deceiving, a sweet and gentle face can mask the sickest minds and because of that, throughout the whole book, I did not trust anyone.

People that I liked and trusted in Consequences and Truth became the people with the biggest secrets to hide. I was suspicious of everyone's intentions for Claire, it didn't matter if they were family or a close friend, I was that paranoid. If I have to mention one character that seriously disappointed me, it was Harry. I was rooting for him and Claire to be together because he seemed to be the type of person Claire should be with after the horrors that she experienced, but even he had his reasons for trying to be close to her in the first place. It doesn't help that some actions he ended up doing in this book were just plain douchey.

I think this book is less of a mind f*uck than the first two books in the series but that doesn't mean that there are only a few secrets to unravel. With cards already on the table from the get-go and because there are two timelines to unravel, getting to the revelations is just as nail-biting. I have to admit, there were a few times that I actually had to stop reading and give myself a breather... not because I was bored (far from it), but because it was just too heartbreaking to go on knowing what would eventually happen.

I was satisfied with Tony's character development. I never really considered their relationship as romance because of how twisted it was, but in this book, I actually believed that what they felt for each other was love, and not some sort of dark, twisted obsession. From being the captor and the captive they finally became equals, their relationship finally finding that balance that they needed. Tony didn't feel like a ticking time bomb in here, whereas in the first two books I was always preparing myself, waiting for the time when he would snap and strike at anyone near and dear to Claire. Both finally found their own place in the relationship and I'm glad that although they let go of the past, they didn't try to forget it happened.

I know from my review it sounds that their relationship is blissfully headed to that nice HEA ending but I just have to remind everyone that there are still two timelines to uncover... and in the world created by Ms. Romig, we know that nothing is what it seems and happy ever after is just really hard to come by. Will they end up there? I'll leave you to find out for yourselves.

"Our lives are so fucked up!"
"You certainly do know how to sum it up!"

An ARC copy was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

* To learn more about the characters in the Consequences Series, check out Convicted's Character Interview.

** This is a month long tour. Check out the schedule HERE for more reviews and giveaways.

The Consequences Series

GOODREADS | AMAZON | B&N | SMASHWORDS | KOBO

About the Author

Aleatha Romig is a bestselling author, who has been voted #1 "New Author to Read" on Goodreads July 2012 - Present! She was also #9 most followed author on Goodreads - July / August 3013.

Aleatha has lived most of her life in Indiana growing-up in Mishawaka, graduating from Indiana University, and currently living south of Indianapolis. Together with her high-school sweetheart and husband of twenty six years, they've raised three children. Before she became a full-time author, she worked days as a dental hygienist and spent her nights writing. Now, when she’s not imagining mind-blowing twists and turns, she likes to spend her time with her family and friends. Her pastimes include exercising, reading and creating heros/ anti-heros who haunt your dreams!

Aleatha enjoys traveling, especially when there is a beach involved. In 2011 she had the opportunity to visit Sydney, Australia to visit her daughter studying at the University of Wollongong. Her dream is to travel to places in her novels and around the world.

CONSEQUENCES, her first novel, was released August 2011 by Xlibris Publishing. October 2012 Ms. Romig rereleased CONSEQUENCES as an Indie author. TRUTH, the sequel, was released October 30, 2012 and CONVICTED, the final installment of the Consequences Series, is scheduled for release in October of 2013!

Aleatha is a “Published Author’s Network” member of the Romance Writers of America and represented by Danielle Egan-Miller of Brown and Miller Literary Associates.

WEBSITE | GOODREADS | FACEBOOK | TWITTER

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Read More