5 stars

“And once again in my new world full of heartache and lies, this hopeless boy somehow finds a way to make me smile.”

• Buy HOPELESS (Kindle)
• Buy HOPELESS (Paperback)

EVERYONE DROP WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND READ THIS BOOK!!!!!

5++ stars!! One of best books of 2012!

Hopeless utterly blew me away. It was the kind of book that makes me want to stand on a rooftop and shout how amazing it is to the whole world! Beautiful, heart-wrenching and uplifting.

Colleen Hoover’s writing is absorbing, captivating, and flows so smoothly you barely feel the pages slipping by.

After just reading the prologue, I. Was. Hooked.  and I just knew that I had to put my life on hold until I finished it. It gives you a taste of where the story is headed and just grabs at your heart in a way that makes you just NEED to know more

Sometimes discovering the truth can leave you more hopeless than believing the lies…

That’s what seventeen-year-old Sky realizes after she meets Dean Holder. A guy with a reputation that rivals her own and an uncanny ability to invoke feelings in her she’s never had before. He terrifies her and captivates her all in the span of just one encounter, and something about the way he makes her feel sparks buried memories from a past that she wishes could just stay buried.

Sky struggles to keep him at a distance knowing he’s nothing but trouble, but Holder insists on learning everything about her. After finally caving to his unwavering pursuit, Sky soon finds that Holder isn’t at all who he’s been claiming to be. When the secrets he’s been keeping are finally revealed, every single facet of Sky’s life will change forever.

When Sky meets Holder, her life changes. He is the first guy to make her heart skip a beat. The first guy to really make her FEEL.

“I’ve never been swept off my feet. I don’t get butterflies. In fact the whole idea of being swooned by anyone is foreign to me… Somehow, in the course of sixty seconds, this guy has managed to swoon me, then terrify the hell out of me.”

Dean Holder was absolutely amazing. With just a touch of bad boy, lickable dimples, a crooked smile and a tattoo, this moody, mysterious and endearing hot guy with a temper just utterly stole my heart.

“I saw a guy at the store after school, and holy shit, Six. He was beautiful. Scary, but beautiful….as soon as I looked at him, it was like my entire body melted to the floor. He was… Wow.”

Deeply protective and totally swoony but with a bad rep, he was so contradictory – warm, cold. Sweet, sharp. Just like Sky, I just NEEDED to know more about him. And the more I learned, the more the mystery deepened.

I loved watching them get closer and closer. Their chemistry was undeniable and their dialogue and banter was rapid fire and brilliant and just set my heart a flutter.

What they had was intense, passionate, and oh-so REAL. Every single thing they went though and did was believable and just made you wish you knew them in person.

I loved that the story was serious but little parts made me laugh out, breaking up the more emotionally charged scenes. I swooned, squeed, proclaimed my undying love for the book, and had to take breathers to wipe the tears that sprung up on me more than once.

I felt so in sync with Sky’s emotions and journey. I felt like I went through all her emotions without ever once feeling disconnected. Through her eyes, I fell in love with Holder, I felt her pain and confusion, and I felt her healing. She was a wonderfully strong, brave heroine – the kind you want to look up to and make you feel proud of.

This book has the. most. beautiful. intense. breathtaking. first kiss. EVER. (without actually kissing). Curious? You’ll have to read it and see. But I am not kidding, it was one of the best written kisses I’ve ever read!

I loved that the story was emotionally charged but with absolutely no stupidity. All the characters’ reactions were understandable and just made me more and more sympathetic to them. This isn’t to say that there wasn’t angst and heart-clutching turmoil, because there was. The subject matter and themes are serious, gut wrenching and very mature. This book is definitely 17+ (New Adult).

“Sometimes you have to choose between a bunch of wrong choices and no right ones. You just have to choose which wrong choice feels the least wrong.”

I have to say that I didn’t see the big reveal coming. I had my suspicions about one part of the story, but the other part totally took me by surprise.

All the pieces of the story just build and build, layer upon layer of things you don’t even realize are important until the secrets come out and the cascade of emotions from them just crash into you and take your breath away.

“Life is real and sometimes it’s ugly and you just have to learn how to cope.”

This is a quite simply a beautiful story about love and survival. About hope and healing. About life and death. About coping with tragedy and finding forgiveness and peace. About being strong. About being a victim, but also a survivor.

I honestly do not have one single complaint about this book. I have entire pages of my copy highlighted. Its THAT good. Every word, every sentence, every scene puts the imagery of the story into your head so vividly that you feel as though you are right there, watching the events unfold.

This book NEEDS to be made into a movie!!

I can’t wait to buy this book in paperback. Its going to be going right up on my top favs shelf <3

This is one of those stories that will stay with you forever.

And yes, there is a HEA 🙂

“Fuck all the firsts, Sky. The only thing that matters to me with you are the forevers.”

• Buy HOPELESS (Kindle)
• Buy HOPELESS (Paperback)

Rating: 5++ stars!! 

PS. Thank you Colleen Hoover for providing me with an ARC to review.

CASTING

• Holder –> Click here (this is the guy Colleen said she thought looked like Holder)
• Sky –> I know you can’t see her too clearly, but I actually really love the girl on the cover  for her

 

** SERIES READING ORDER **

BOOK #1: HOPELESS — standalone novel
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback | My Review

BOOK #2: LOSING HOPE  —  Holder’s POV novel
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback | My Review

Novella: FINDING CINDERELLA — companion novella
Kindle | My Review 

   

• Buy EDGE OF NEVER on Kindle 
• Buy EDGE OF NEVER in Paperback 

5 stars!

WOW! What an unexpected journey and an amazing read!! 

After receiving about a million messages telling me that that I absolutely HAD to read this next, I started reading it late last night and ended up staying up ALL night riveted to the page until I finished it around 5am!

This book tells a beautiful story about friendship and love, of living in the moment, living life to the fullest, being true to yourself and not being afraid to reach for your dreams.

“What compels any of us to do the things we do when deep down a part of us just wants to break free from it all?”

Cam is tired of the monotony of her life. She wants more but just isn’t sure exactly what is missing and is open to possibilities. When her old life falls apart, she decides to get a change of pace and hops on a Greyhound bus with nothing but essential necessities ready to see where life will take her.

This is where she meets Andrew. He’s so similar to her and yet so completely different. Intriguing. And they decide to join up and go on a road trip together. But he’s got a secret and as they bond over the course of their journey, and fall in love, it has the potential to either tear them apart or cement them together.

“I think when you fall in love, like true love, its love for life. All the rest is just experiences and delusions.”

I know a some people have said that the beginning of this book was a little slow, and I’ll admit that it wasn’t a fast-paced thrill ride or anything, but personally, I really liked that part. Maybe it was because I knew something ‘exciting’ was coming, but I liked how the story took its time to familiarize you with the characters. It was a quiet build up and honestly, I enjoyed its pacing.

The book wrapped me up in Cam’s adventure. I found her journey liberating even just as a reader.

And when Andrew came onto the scene, I fell in love. Guys, he has a crooked smile, dimples, tattoos and is pretty badass in a fight. Oh, and he calls her ‘babe’. Be still my heart!! <3

I enjoyed watching Cam and Andrew slowly building their friendship, establishing trust, getting comfortable with each other and bonding despite being complete strangers.

“The heart always wins out over the mind. The heart, although reckless and suicidal and a masochist all on its own, always gets in the way.”

The book is told in alternate POVs but it starts out primarily from Cam’s POV. And it isn’t until 16% that we get Andrew’s. I really liked this because by that time, I felt very connected to Cam and was totally ready to get in Andrew’s head. And as the book went on, the POVs got progressively more entwined and the switch happened progressively more frequently mirroring their growing bond.

I was originally planning on only reading half of it last night and saving the rest for the morning, but when I got to the 49% mark, HOLY HELL!!!!! The book just took this AMAZING turn. I mean, I was enjoying it before but then it was just WOW WOW WOWWWW!!! It didn’t matter that it was 2:30AM, suddenly I was WIDE awake and RIVETED to the page!!

The questions came flooding in. I started forming dozens of theories. I needed to know more. To get answers. To figure Andrew out!

“I don’t know how I got myself into this, but I do know that as much as my conscience is ripping into my fucking ears, telling me to leave her alone, I can’t. I don’t want to.
We’ve already gone too far.” ~Andrew

I was squirming, fanning myself, blushing, flipping pages like crazy!!

There was this intensity to them. It was quiet at first but it just didn’t stop building.

It was like this perfect puzzle with a key piece missing. Something just wasn’t quite right but you didn’t know quite what it was.

And the confession scene was just phenomenally written. I was right there in the moment with them. Totally wrapped up in their story.

I did have my suspicions about the big secret but when everything finally clued in for me at 90%, my heart. just. DROPPED.

By 92%, all my suspicions had all been confirmed and I was FREAKING out!

The ending was just amazing, incredible, perfect. WOW. Totally beautiful!

I don’t want to give it away, but just take heart, there IS an epilogue! 🙂

“…dwelling and planning is bullshit,” he says. “You dwell on the past, you can’t move forward. Spend too much time planning for the future and you just push yourself backwards, or you say stagnant in the same place all your life.” His eyes lock on mine. “Live in the moment.”

This book really drives home the message of how important it is to live in the moment, to follow your heart and not waste a precious second of your life.

“I wanted to say thank you.”
“For what?” …
 “… for making me feel alive.”…
“Well, everybody needs help feeling alive again every once in a while.”
“No,” she says seriously… “I didn’t say again, Andrew; for making me feel alive for the first time.” 

And can I just say that I absolutely LOVE the “New Adult” genre. It truly rides the line between a bit of the YA emotional ‘feelings’ and just enough Adult heat to keep things spicy.

I totally loved this and would highly recommend adding it to your TBRs!

• Buy EDGE OF NEVER on Kindle 
• Buy EDGE OF NEVER in Paperback 

Here are some of the songs from their road trip in case you want to have them lined up to listen to:

Carry On Wayward Son – Kansas
Dust In The Wind – Kansas
Feel Like Makin’ Love – Bad Company
Ready For Love – Bad Company
Poison % Wine – The Civil Wars
Barton Hallows – The Civil Wars
Hotel California – The Eagles
The Reaper – Steve Walsh
Laugh, I Nearly Died – Rolling Stones

 

CASTING ( Except for the two images of Nicholas Lemons here as Andrew that are my own casting, the rest of the pictures were taken from the author’s Pinterest Page for The Edge of Never)

• Andrew –> Click here and here
• Cam –> Click here
• Andrew and Cam –> Click here and here and here

** SERIES READING ORDER **

#1 THE EDGE OF NEVER — Kindle | Paperback

#2 THE EDGE OF ALWAYS — Kindle | Paperback

 

5 stars!

Sooo, contrary to my normal review style, I’m going to give you a look at the raw, untempered, ridiculously-book-high me…. this was my late night immediate reaction to finishing Mile High:

YES YES YES I HAVE ANOTHER FAVORITE TRILOGY!!!

My heart is racing. I want to SQUEEE from the rooftops!!!
I’m completely and utterly in love with James Cavendish.
He’s a fuckhot and Dominant, and yet tender and swoony billionaire!
and OH MY LORD DO I LOVE HIM!!!!!!
I’m hooked on this trilogy. Completely.
James Cavendish has stolen my heart!

He has a place right there in the same sentence as Christian and Gideon.
Now its Christian, Gideon and James. SQUEEEEEEEEEE <3 <3 <3

I need need NEED book #3 NOWWWW (but don’t worry, its not a cliffhanger). Zomg. I can’t even think straight. I’m in book heaven. LOVEE!

Ok… lol, in case you can’t tell, I finished reading this like 3 mins ago and am on a just a wee bit of a book high. I’ll calm down and write a real review tomorrow.
…in the meantime, START READING THIS SERIES PEOPLE!!!!

Click HERE for my review of Book #1, “In Flight“.

 *****************

Heheheh. So now that you have a taste of just how excited I was about this book, here’s my real, spoiler-free review:

“…you need to learn to trust me. I am sure of this, sure of us.”

After finishing book 1, In Flight, I just had  to keep reading so I fell right into this book. Its rare that I find a sequel surpass the first book, but I can honestly say that this one did. I reeeeally liked book 1, but I just loved this one.

It starts out about a month after the ending events of book 1 and continues to tell the hot, romantic, kinky, sweet, thrilling love story between James and Bianca as they figure out their feelings, work through their issues and insecurities  and learn to trust each other. I don’t want to say anything about the plot. Suffice it to say that it was awesome and I loved it.

This I found this book to have the perfect blend between angsty and swoony. Just enough belly dropping moments to keep my heart almost in my throat, but also enough kink, swoon and dreamy-sigh-worthy moments to keep me melting and fanning myself.

I really can’t say enough good about James. He was a dreamy, sexy Alpha with a kind heart and kinky preferences. He had a horrific backstory but I loved that it didn’t break him but rather shaped him into a man who figured out how to control without being overpowering. He was such a perfect blend of fuckhot Dominant in the bedroom and melt-your-heart tender outside it.

I loved that he always respected Bianca, was open with her about his past, honest with her about anything she asked him, never overly controlling, never stifling, but always wanting more in a way that made him endearing because it showed how in love with her he was.

“No one else can do this for you, Bianca. Don’t ever even consider it. You were made for me.”

He was so fair. Yes, he asked some big things of Bianca but he never once asked anything of her that he wasn’t completely willing to give back in return. And regardless of whether or not he liked her questions, he always answered them. His openness made me love him even more. I felt like no matter what, I could really trust him and it was such a wonderful feeling.

“You must know by now that I’ve never done any of this for anyone else. I was a slut once with my body, but I’ve never been a slut with my heart.”

It just made my heart squeeze how much he wanted her to need him, care for him and want him. I loved how open he was about his feelings and vulnerabilities. Letting her see exactly how much she affected him.

“You’re my angel, Bianca. You’ve exorcised my demons. I don’t have nightmares when I’m with you. I don’t have to work seventy hour work weeks to keep my mind distracted. My life has become more than work and emotionless affairs. You make me a better man.”

I loved that Bianca knew what she wanted and stood by it. The only thing that bothered me ever about her actions was that I didn’t like how unwilling she was to talk things out at first. But luckily, her ravishing billionaire was patient and respectful enough to give her the space she needed to become comfortable with him and finally come around.

She had a lot of trust issues stemming from her brutal childhood experiences but it just warmed my heart how patient and understanding James was. Giving her time, showering her love with love, and proving his dedication.

“Even his sweetest moment was still to fucking hot to bear.”

But it isn’t all just swoony. Remember, he has the ‘4th floor’ multi-room “playground” which they put to very good use. I have to say that I’m not a fan of spanking in books but for some reason none of their ‘sessions’ set of any of my alarm bells. Maybe it was because they both equally craved everything they did. So make no mistake, this book is hot, graphic, steamy, and kinky!

Oh, and I have to give a shout-out to Stephen, who is pretty much one of the absolute best ‘best friend’ characters I’ve ever read. I really, really hope he gets his HEA at the end of book #3 🙂

I will point out though that despite the full-earned 5 star rating, it wasn’t a completely perfect book. As a long-time avid horse rider, I found myself basically having to just drop all sense of reality in order to accept the scenes at the ranch. But the fact of the matter is that this is fiction. It bothered me a little, but the combination of hotness  and wonderful dialogue during those scenes made me able to overlook it enough to not deter my rating despite the act being utterly downright impossible.

Just like with the first book, when I got just past the 85% mark, my heart just leapt into my throat and I couldn’t flip the pages fast enough.  I was riveted! Holy hell!! I was exhausted and had to get up early for work but NOTHING could have kept me away from the book during that last past. My heart just turned to ice with worry. Fear. Angst. It was a thrilling, exciting, HOT HOT HOT ride of a book that left me desperately wanting more.

It ended on a note that left a lot of unanswered questions to be dealt with in the next book but at a comfortable place in their relationship. It isn’t a cliffhanger per say, more just like a story with more to tell. But you definitely don’t have to ‘wait’ for book #3 before starting this series.

Book #3 has easily made my list of ‘Most Anticipated Releases for 2013’. Cannot. Freaking. WAIT!!

“Yes,” he said, his voice rough with emotion. “This is home.”

**SQUEEE**

• Click here for my spoiler-free review of IN FLIGHT (Up In The Air #1)
• Click here for my spoiler-free review of GROUNDED (Up In The Air #3)

CASTING:

• James and Bianca –> Click here
• James –> Click here
  
• Bianca –> Click here
  

** SERIES READING ORDER **

Book #1: IN FLIGHT
Buy on Kindle | Buy in Paperback | My review

Book #2: MILE HIGH
Buy on Kindle | Buy in Paperback | My review

Book #3: GROUNDED
Buy on Kindle | Buy in Paperback | My review