Cover Reveal: Unbreak Me by Lexi Ryan

Today I'm thrilled to be part of the cover reveal for Unbreak Me by Lexi Ryan. As usual, it was the summary for the novel that grabbed my interest, and of course I'll be including that, too. :) Anyway, let's get to the good stuff.

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(Summary Provided By Xpresso Book Tours)

“If you’re broken, I’ll fix you…”

I’m only twenty-one and already damaged goods. A slut. A failure. A disappointment to my picture-perfect family as long as I can remember. I called off my wedding to William Bailey, the only man who thought I was worth fixing. A year later, he’s marrying my sister. Unless I ask him not to…

“If you shatter, I’ll find you…”

But now there’s Asher Logan, a broken man who sees the fractures in my façade and doesn’t want to fix me at all. Asher wants me to stop hiding, to stop pretending. Asher wants to break down my walls. But that means letting him see my ugly secrets and forgiving him for his.

With my past weighing down on me, do I want the man who holds me together or the man who gives me permission to break?

Are you intrigued? Add it to your GoodReads!

Want to help spread the word? Get involved with the upcoming Release Day Blitz! 

About The Author

Website | GoodReads

Facebook | Twitter

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Lexi Ryan writes romances with humor, heat, and heart. Her books are described as fun, flirty, and wickedly sexy. A lover of learning, Lexi has been in the classroom all her life and currently holds the title of assistant professor of English at her local community college. Lexi is a proud member of Romance Writers of America. She lives in rural Indiana with her husband and two children.

So, what do you think of the cover for Unbreak Me? Are you interested in reading it? I'd love to know. :)

As always, thanks go to Xpresso Book Tours for having me along. :)

Review: On The Plus Side by Tabatha Vargo

I'm usually not conflicted when I write a review. Either I liked a book, I didn't, or I liked it but felt there are ways it could have been better. In the interests of being totally honest, I'm gonna spell this out for all of you up front: I can't decide how I feel about On The Plus Side as far as "Liked" or "Didn't Like". Instead, I want to say that this is a story that had some serious potential and that I wish I was critiquing and not reviewing, because a lot of my problems here--not ALL, but *many*--are things that could have, with time and effort, been vastly improved.

I'm always concerned whether my musings on books come across more as reviews or (pointless, since the thing is out in the wild) critiques, and I am more genuinely concerned *here* then ever. But I suppose I cannot have that stop me from telling you all what I thought about On The Plus Side, because as a reader, write *and* plus sized woman, I have a lot to say.

(Summary from GoodReads)

Big girls need love, too, but at what cost?

Lilly is loaded, not only with money, but with weight. Both things she could do without. But even with her undesired millionaire status, she doesn’t hold on to false hopes of finding true love. So when a sexy stranger comes into her life dripping with seduction, she finds it hard to resist. The bigger they are the harder they fall and Lilly falls straight through the floor in love with Mr. Sexy. Too bad he’s there for all the wrong reasons.

The chance of losing it all will make you do some crazy things and Devin’s willing to do whatever it takes to keep his life together. All seems lost when out of nowhere he’s approached by a Millionaire Momma with an offer he can’t refuse. But even a womanizer like Devin has a heart and when the short, chunky girl with the carefree attitude breaks through his icy façade, he finds that losing everything takes on a whole new meaning.

Okay, first the good. I thought that this book had a fantastic premise, and that on a large scale front that Tabatha did a good job of carrying that premise. It's not often that we get a story about a plus sized character (always welcome, in my opinion). Unfortunately, it's even less often that we get a story about such a character where their fatness does not end up becoming a character within itself (or replaces entirely the character the author was trying to create.) It's one of those things where it's great if you nail it but it can be bad when you don't and unfortunately, for me, the execution and the premise did not line up. 

Yet in regard to the plot (I'll get to characters in the next section) the problems that held me back from truly enjoying this story were bad editing and writing technique that could have easily been improved:

1. Do not mix past and present tense within a POV (without at least some type of indication), let alone within a paragraph, please.

2. Exclamation marks are like pepper--use them with caution. 

3. When people say "tell me a story" they usually don't mean it in quite as literal a sense as is presented here. 

The first two are mildly annoying and could perhaps be overlooked. It's the third that drove the nails into the coffin. So many important things were told to me during this book rather then shown to me. We often get the same situation from both Devin and Lilly's POVs (one per chapter) with them thinking us through what's going on rather then truly living it. I've noticed this in small chunks in books before. And I know that sometimes doing this can be completely legitimate. But when I'm sitting here and telling you that at least 40% of the novel (and I'm being cautious with that number) is presented in this way, I think the majority of you will understand why I'm labeling this as a serious problem. I do not normally review the presentation and writing *style* of the books I read--I feel that as a fellow writer that's a little nosy and perhaps even spiteful?--but in this case it was such a large part of what hindered my enjoyment of the novel that this review would not make sense without talking about it. 

Okay, look: I read the sample for this before I bought it. So I had to have been something I liked. I still don't totally know what happened, but I'll try my best to explain since as a reader this is where my trouble really came in. You see, I don't overly believe that characters can or should be different then how an author portrays them--if I feel anything, be it good or bad, something was done right. 

Lilly... I truly want to believe there was an interesting, decent and memorable heroine somewhere within that I was suppose to be rooting for. You broke my heart, but it was for all the wrong reasons. You compared yourself to: a car and a beached whale. You used your weight as a crutch to lean on and hide behind, and yet (in what I think was suppose to show strength, oddly) never wanted to change what you were.

Here's the thing, honey: if you had been happy with yourself to any degree, *believably happy*, that would be a true revelation. Because it is fully possible to be happy with your appearance, even as a size 20. But your self abuse, often meant to come off as humor, came off as someone who needed some serious help to me. I'm not sure if I want to go so far as to say you need help, or whether I just want to say the lengths you went to made you unbelievable to me. What I will say is this: your mother 'won' the real battle-that for your worth-long before a reader ever showed up. And I just didn't see enough improvement in you *inside*, where it truly matters, to change my opinion on this. 

As for Devin, his continued inability to make a decision, combined with the fact that so much of the story was both summarized and repeated, kept him from being overly memorable or likable as the book went on. I was intrigued at the premise initially and I *got* that he was conflicted. But the continued back and forth confliction throughout the novel, and the fact that most of the time I wasn't any more certain where he was coming from than Lilly was, didn't do him any favors. 

I did genuinely like Devin's little sister, Jenny. It could not have been easy to grow up without a mom, and even coming from the family I did (which is a pretty standard one) I enjoyed getting to know her and empathized with her tomboy-ish ways. I think a lot of that may have to do with having brothers rather than sisters, personally, but the point remains that her character was great. 

Here's the thing: If I don't like the leads alone, I'm probably not gonna like them together. That was definitely the case here.

When this gets added to the problems I described within "plot", which admittedly were largely structural, this only became more amplified. Because I was told about the characters, rather than truly meeting them, connecting their attraction toward each other, and its growth from the beginning of the novel to the end, felt distanced in a way that it really shouldn't have. 

I really wanted to like On The Plus Side, and from reading the sample I was confident that I would. But as sometimes happens, this novel had problems that blocked it from living up to my expectations. I don't want to say "OMG, don't read this!", because there is something genuinely worth reading within these pages. I do want to say, however, that whatever message Tabatha Vargo was trying to get across likely would have been successful had a bit more feedback been received and editing time been given. 

Cover Reveal: Breaking The Reins by Juliana Haygert

Today I'm delighted to be part of the cover reveal for Breaking the Reins by Juliana Haygert. As often is the case when I sign up for these things, the premise of the book caught my interest. Ready to take a look? Great! Scroll down...

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(Summary provided by Xpresso Book Tours)

Horses, mansions, tea parties, and lies are twenty-year-old Hannah Taylor’s life. To others, her family and her relationship with Eric is perfect. But she knows the truth. She lives it.

After a fire takes her grandma’s life and kills her horse, Hannah’s immaculate life spirals out of control. Her father disapproves of her decision to run her grandma’s ranch instead of focusing solely on learning the family business; Animal Control brings her Argus, a mistreated horse that she can’t turn away even though she’s not ready for another horse; and her boyfriend, Eric Bennett, a world famous polo player, becomes possessive and authoritarian. Despite her best efforts to disguise it, Hannah grows wary of him.

Then, Leonardo Fernandes struts onto the polo scene. A cocky rookie with a messy life of his own, he’s drawn to Hannah and isn’t afraid of showing it, even when Eric makes it clear she is his and he’ll do whatever it takes to keep it that way. Hannah suffers for Eric’s jealousy. The abuse only gets worse when Leo steals the title of best polo player in the world from Eric.

But the title isn’t enough for Leo. He wants Hannah too, and she can’t deny her attraction to him either. Somehow, she must find a way to break free from abusive Eric before he breaks every bone in her body.

Are you intrigued? Add it to your GoodReads!

My thoughts:

First off, I love the fact that we see her with the horse. There are two reasons for this. (1) C'mon, horses are just plain old awesome and it fits with the setting of the story. (2) So often in life animals can be (or at least seem?) more loyal and consistent then people, and considering how much this heroine seems to be going through, who (what) better for her to share the cover with? I also like the way that the word reins is done differently--the style suggests a hint of femininity--does the heroine want that or not? At the same time, the color suggests passion--of both negative and positive natures.

A Little Teaser:

About The Author: 

Website | GoodReads
Facebook | Twitter

While Juliana Haygert dreams of being Wonder Woman, Buffy, or a blood elf shadow priest, she settles for the less exciting—but equally gratifying—life of a wife, mother, and author. Thousands of miles away from her former home in Brazil, she now resides in Connecticut and spends her days writing about kick-ass heroines and the heroes who drive them crazy.

So, what do you think of the cover for Breaking The Reins? Does it sound like a book you want to read? I'm really looking forward to it--it sounds great and seems like it should go well with my current interests. 

As always, thanks to Xpresso Book Tours for having me along. :)

Review: If You Stay by Courtney Cole

Since I'm juggling whether my own novel is new adult or straight up contemporary romance, I decided one of the best ways to resolve the dilemma would be to dive into this genre head first and see just what all the fuss is about. Among all the books that were available, If You Stay grabbed my attention with an absolutely stunning male POV opening chapter that dared me *not* to keep going.

It also doesn't hurt that I've always been a sucker for a bad boy, and they don't come much badder (yet still redeemable) then Pax. Is there anything this guy doesn't do? You'll need to read to find out, but with the level of "Whoa, wait a minute. This is the hero?" that the first chapter of this novel injects into the story, my curiosity was definitely piqued.

Ultimately, If You Stay is a tale of love, loss and redemption. To find out whether it works, keep reading...

(Summary from GoodReads)

24-year old Pax Tate is an asshole.

Seriously.

He’s a tattooed, rock-hard bad-boy with a bad attitude to match.

But he’s got his reasons.

His mother died when Pax was seven, leaving a hole in his heart filled with guilt although he doesn’t understand why. What he does know is that he and his dad are left alone and with more issues than they can count.

As Pax grew up, he tried to be the kid his father always wanted; the perfect golden boy, but it didn’t work. His dad couldn’t overcome his grief long enough to notice and Pax couldn’t keep up the impossible perfect façade.

So he slipped far, far from it.

Now, he uses drugs and women to cope with the ugliness, the black void that he doesn’t want to deal with. If he pretends that the emptiness isn’t there, then it isn’t, right?
Wrong.

And it’s never more apparent than when he meets Mila.
Sweet, beautiful Mila Hill is the fresh air to his hardened frown, the beauty to his ugly heart. He doesn’t know how to not hurt her, but he quickly realizes that he’s got to figure it out because he needs her to breathe.

When memories of his mother’s death resurface from where he’s repressed them for so long, Mila is there to catch him when the guilt starts making sense. Mila is the one…the one who can save him from his broken troubled heart; from his issues, from the emptiness.

But only if he can stop being an asshole long enough to allow it.

He knows that. And he’s working on it.

But is that enough to make her stay?

Before we start: I think this may be the longest book summary that has been posted on this blog. Ever. Okay, now on with the review. ;) 

In my intro, I said that in the end If You Stay is a story of redemption, and now that we're at the meat of the review I want to make it clear that I thought it was a good one. I've heard some people complaining that (a) people cannot use drugs and not become addicted, and therefore (b) that Pax's recovery time, and the heroine's ultimate decision at the end of the book, was ridiculous. 

Well... In response to (a): while it's certainly not advised to take the kinda crap Pax uses in the novel, *ever*, the author's information *can* be legitimate. If you read the end note you find out more about her inspiration for the book, and it was something I was able to go with because I, too, have known someone in such a situation. Is it likely? Is it logical? Is it the story our governments, teachers, churches. etc. want us telling? No. But unlikely / unusual is not an alternate word for implausible. 

As for the second point, it must be remembered that while there is a theme of redemption within this novel, it is genre fiction (meaning it needs to be entertaining) and it is a romance (which means it needs a happy ending). In a different story, under a different context, aimed at a different audience, I could easily see the claim being made as valid (and on a realistic level, I still do.). However, every novel makes a promise to its readers and, to me, the promise If You Stay made to the reader was: "Let me show you how love can help someone rise up from a difficult situation, and how through acknowledging and owning the situation, that love can be made permanent.". At no time was I under the illusion that, in any way, this book was trying to tell me "Here is what happens when someone who has screwed up his life falls in love.".

There is a very important distinction, in that Pax's struggle to define and eventually defeat the things that have held him down his entire life are motivated by love, *not* healed by it. Yes, the time frame may not be completely ideal in a realistic setting, but it was right for the type of story being told. 

One thing I will complain about in If You Stay is that Courtney Cole has this odd habit of occasionally summarizing key events rather than dramatizing them through scene. This didn't destroy the book, but it did make me scratch my head and puzzle over the times this choice was made now and then.

Also, we get the beginnings of a situation for the heroine, Mila, where we know she has struggled, and continues to struggle, with her parents deaths. While we do see resolution and growth for Pax's issues, I felt that at some point Milas's were forgotten. Or at least, by the end of the novel I wasn't sure how or whether she was still coping with them. 

Pax was definitely the star of this show. The way that Courtney did his voice, his decisions, his thoughts and his actions was truly unique among bad boys. Why? Because instead of being told "he was very, very, bad..." we are dumped head first off a diving board with no ability to swim and without a life jacket. Like hitting the frigid water of a lake in the middle of winter, we are jolted into Pax's world with force and total gusto, whether we wanna be there or not. What kept the character compelling, at least for me, was that while his integrity and ambitions did shift when he met Mila, he didn't magically become "good" overnight; nor did his attitude or thoughts suddenly make him sound like someone else. He maintained his own identity throughout the novel; something I found extremely refreshing. 

The trouble with creating a character as compelling and memorable as Pax, of course, is that it can be hard to create an equal for him. Someone who can hold her own both in the story and as a narrator for the story. Alas, Mila just wasn't quite up to the task. It wasn't that she was blatantly horrible in any way. Rather, it was just that she was so totally overshadowed and outclassed (as far as the interesting-ness of Pax; she's obviously a lot more *classy* than him.). There is also the fact that I did find certain choices she made during the novel questionable. Once you set certain things up in a story, you need to make sure a reader sees why deviating from the 'rules' set for a character makes sense. That didn't happen here. 

The other issue I had with If You Stay is that, while it was interesting to spend so much time with these two characters, they did seem to live in a bubble. Where were their friends? What else was in Angel Bay aside from their houses and the Italian restaurant Mila's parents had owned? I was a little disappointed with the lack of immersion into this world because I was really into the story and I wanted to be able to reach out and touch this world more then I felt I got to. 

Warning: insta love incoming! 

Now that I have that up front for you, what I will say is that the instant *draw* between these two was something I was willing to buy into. Why? Because she saved his life, and sometimes people can do really strange things when someone intervenes when they've hit rock bottom. I admire the fact that Courtney did *try* to control the speed of things a little, and I understand she didn't want to bog her plot down over this issue since this novel was a very tightly sealed nut (we really don't get a lot of meandering subplots here). But when it comes off strong, insta love is something I like to give my readers a heads up about, so it is what it is. 

On the plus side, I did feel that Mila and Pax had terrific chemistry and I loved reading about their interactions with each other. I had no trouble getting behind the whole 'good girl, bad guy' vibe going on. In real life, I wouldn't touch this with a ten foot pole, but in fiction? Why not? I'm certainly not going to confuse fantasy and reality, nor do I honestly fear most readers are going to lose track of that distinction. 

Now, as I said in the character section, there was one situation where Mila's reaction *did* make me want to throw my kindle. Oh! And Pax has one of the best grovels (that moment where the hero knows he has screwed up, huge, and wants to make it better) that I've ever read. Because (1) it was well written and believable, and (2) he proved himself to be the real deal, and not just full of hot air. 

If You Stay is one of those novels that I started and then totally devoured. I really loved a lot of things about it, despite the fact that I was reading it for research and did, therefore, pick up on things that did not work for me. If you are into new adult and haven't read If You Stay, though, do yourself a favor and give this book a go. 

Music Monday: Daylight by Maroon 5

First: Yeah, I *know: "She LIVES!"

I've always been up front that I suck at blogging and drafting, and I really wasn't kidding. The bad news is it's been really quiet here this month, even though I've read some fantastic books. I'm sickeningly behind on reviews, although fortunately they are for books I bought--not official review books.

Anyway, today's Music Monday is a bit unusual, as it deals with The Mansion You Stole (which is now at over 17,000 words!) but it's not a country song. I promised you guys something Clay related, so...

Daylight by Maroon 5



I actually just heard this today on the radio while out with my family and had hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. "Oh my God, it's the freakin' black moment from my book." Which it pretty much is. Clay has spent his whole career leaving girls behind, but now multiple reasons are conspiring to force him to walk away from the first girl he's ever really loved and he is very torn / unhappy about it. Obviously there are a lot more layers then I'm telling you (hint: you'll need to read the book when it's done.) but to have such a vital moment so perfectly explained through music was pretty awesome.

So, what do you think of Daylight? Do you know of any other songs with a "leaving" theme like this? (For country I think of Kenny Chesney's "Anything But Mine", but there is more of a summer fling attitude there, whereas the why isn't as clear here). I'd love to know so feel free to share. :)