4 HOT NEW SUMMER READING RECOMMENDATIONS!!

So, this last week I read 4 books that I absolutely think everyone should read. Each one is different and unique but they all made my favorites list!

I’ve put together little recaps here for you with purchase links and links back to their full reviews so hopefully you’ll be able to find something new and fun to read here 🙂

They all have happy endings and while each of them is the first of a new series, they can all be read as standalones because the follow-up books will focus on different couples.

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Lick: Stage Dive 1 by Kylie Scott (My Review) – rock star romance

I’d been wishing for a new rock star book and this one hit the spot and rocked my world!! It starts off with with the heroine waking up one morning with a killer hangover and painfully fuzzy memories, in bed with a gorgeous, heavily inked rock star whose name is now tattooed on her body and a giant sparkling diamond on her finger. C’mon, tell me don’t want to know what happens next! 😉

“So congratulations. You’re married to a rockstar.”

This book has no game-playing, no stupidity, no unnecessary drama, believable issues, and understandable reactions. It has very “real” characters who make mistakes and yet try to fix them. It was a great blend of warm fuzzies, hotness and heart ache with a wonderfully happy ending that took it’s time and made me ‘believe’. Bottom line… I loved it!!

“It’s not fair that I remember and you don’t, Evelyn.”

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Bully by Penelope Douglas (My Review)– New Adult romance

Bully was a wonderfully addictive read that kept my heart racing from start to finish. It was a unique twist on the bad boy meets good girl tale. I could not put it down!

It tells the story of Jared and Tate who grew up next door to each other. Jared was sweet, generous and friendly and they were the best and closest of friends. But not anymore. The kid who had held her hand through the pain of losing her mother, who had climbed trees with her, and who had snuck over for sleepovers was gone and now he seemed to live solely to torment her.

“You were my tempest, my thunder cloud, my tree in the downpour. I loved all of those things, and I loved you. But now? You’re a fucking drought. I thought that all the assholes drove German cars, but it turns out that pricks in Mustangs can still leave scars.”

Throughout the story we learned what happened to him, what changed this sweet boy into a bully and discovered that maybe there was something more behind his actions than was immediately apparent.

This was one of those books that made me want to slow down and pace myself so that I didn’t finish it too soon. The story sucked me in, made me care, and totally absorbed me in these characters’ lives and journeys. It made my heart race, break and heal. I loved every word.

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Shine Not Burn by Elle Casey (My Review) – romantic comedy

If you’re looking for a book that’ll just make you happy, this is it! It was a total escape from reality and the perfect light-hearted, romantic read. This book kept me chuckling, swooning and fanning myself from start to finish! It was escapism at it’s best.

Andie has a life plan that is spelled out to the ‘t’. That being said, when she’s dragged off to Vegas for her best friend’s bachelorette party, her perfect life plan gets derailed by a gorgeous cowboy. A whirlwind and a half later after one hell of an incredible night, she wakes up in bed… alone. So… life went on. Two year later her cowboy was sadly forgotten and she was all set to marry her fiancé who, despite being a douchebag, fit perfectly into her ‘plan’. Everything was going swimmingly until she went to apply for a marriage license only to discover that she was already married…

“Says here in my system you married a man by the name of … Gavin MacKenzie, on April tenth, two thousand and eleven… That name ring any bells? Gavin MacKenzie? What’s that? Scottish?… Ma’am? Are you still there?”

Much to Andie’s dismay (and my squee-worthy glee), she headed off to Oregon to traipse through the countryside tracking down her cowboy “husband” with all intentions of divorcing the poor dude. Buuuuut, let’s just say that his memories of their night together weren’t quite as fuzzy as hers and he was not willing to let her go. Not this time! 😀

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Axel by Harper Sloan (My Review) – second-chance alpha male romance

Calling all badass Alpha male fans!!! You need to check this book out!! It was a blend of all the elements I love in a book – protective Alphas, great character dynamics and a beautiful second chance at a once-in-a-lifetime love.

Over ten years ago, Axel walked out of Izzy’s life, joined the army, and she never saw him again. But she’d never forgotten him or let go of her love. Heartbroken, she is now trapped in a love-less marriage to a vulgar, abusive, controlling husband. Her life is miserable and she craves freedom… but most of all she craves the love that she lost so many years ago. Her friends eventually got her away from her husband’s hellhole but he was still refusing a divorce so one of her best friends called in a specialist – an “ex-Marine, badass motherfucker” he worked with on occasion that he knew would be willing to help. Well… guess who that was? 😀

“Do you feel it? Every single thing we ever felt for each other, it is still there, Izzy… We walked back into each other’s lives for a reason [and] there isn’t one goddamn thing that will tear us apart again.”

This book kind of reminded me of Kristen Ashley’s Rock Chick series. It had a very similar Alpha male slash uber badass protector vibe to it so fans of that series might really like this one too.

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