Read and Review #22 - Kiss The Sky (Krista & Becca Ritchie)

Title: Kiss the Sky

Author: Krista & Becca Ritchie

Publication date: 22 January 2014

Publisher: K.B. Ritchie (Independent Book Publishers Association)

Get a copy! Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Synopsis:

Virgin. Sex addict. Daredevil. Alcoholic. Smartass … Jackass. Her five friends are about to be filmed. Reality TV, be prepared.

Rose Calloway thought she had everything under control. At twenty-three, she’s a Princeton graduate, an Academic Bowl champion, a fashion designer and the daughter of a Fortune 500 mogul. But with a sex addict as a sister and roommate, nothing comes easy.

After accepting help from a producer, Rose agrees to have her life filmed for a reality television show. The Hollywood exec is her last chance to revive her struggling fashion line, and boundaries begin to blur as she’s forced to make nice with a man who always has his way.

Twenty-four-year-old Connor Cobalt is a guy who bulldozes weak men. He’s confident, smart-as-hell and lives with his equally ambitious girlfriend, Rose Calloway. Connor has to find a way to protect Rose without ruining the show. Or else the producer will get what Connor has always wanted—Rose’s virginity.

This New Adult Standalone Romance can be described as Friends meets The Real World. Expect fist fights, drugs, sex of varying degrees, crude humor and competitive alpha males. Definitely for mature readers audiences only.

My rating:
5 / 5

My review:
A very concupiscent read!

Kiss the Sky is a spin off from the Addicted series written by the Ritchie twins. It is a standalone but please, PLEASE read the Addicted series. You'll get to know more about Rose and Connor and the history of their relationship. Not only that, you'll also fall in love with Lily, Lo, Ryke and Daisy as well. It's a rarity to fall in love with all the major couples at the same time but Krista and Becca manage to do that without taking the limelight out of the couple in focus. Each character development is parallel with the storyline, maintaining the focus of the story while getting to know them more in the process. 

When Rose was introduced in Addicted to You, I didn't really have a high opinion of her. She came across as frigid, strict and always try to inject herself in Lily's life. That was before I knew how important her presence is in her sister's life. Rose is the mother Lily desperately needed and from there I began to build my respect towards her.

I was very wary of Connor at first because of his tendency to hang out with people who benefits him. His confidence is his most prominent feature and I was reassured by his calm demeanour whenever Loren or Lily started to crack. To me, Connor has all the qualities of a leader and without a doubt I saw him as the leader of the group soon after. His famous bromance with Loren was a result of constant rebuttals from Loren's sharp tongue in his drinking days. And yes, I do ship them together. 

This book is so much different than the Addicted series. We get to see Rose and Connor as individuals who were affected by the scandal surrounding Lily and Loren. As a sister. As a friend. They are the adults that kept their little group of six together. And Rose wanted to show the world that they were in fact normal people with problems, not spoiled rich kids who lounge around spending their parents' money. And so Princesses of Philly was born.

Now, I watch Keeping Up with the Kardashians. I sometimes love it, sometimes I don't. Reality television opens a new channel for ordinary people like myself to see into the lives of celebrities. How many of it can you really trust? Do they really act that way in real life? Are any of it staged? Almost everything is real. It only takes good editing (good for production, not necessarily for the cast) to turn something trivial into a big deal, a good thing into bad. Krista and Becca definitely captured that in this book. 

About 61% of the book I was like this:

The other 36% like this:

And the rest:

I take back everything I ever said about Rose when it comes to her being so frigid. I can relate to her, about wanting to lose her virginity to a guy who would stick around. But I didn't expect for her to be a submissive in bed. She's a very fierce and strong woman and I thought that it would translate into her sex life.

"She didn't wish to rule a man in bed. She wanted to be ruled. But she didn't know how to ask without feeling weak. So she thought being alone, unfulfilled sexually was the better option. I'm here to tell her it should have never been a fucking solution in the first place."

 And trust me when I say Connor and Rose are amazing together as lovers. 

Connor is a perfect fit for Rose. The yin to her yang. The Clyde to her Bonnie. They are not very different from each other but the more I get to know them, I feel that they complement each other more rather than these two people who are together because they are alike. Not to mention the way they were so in sync with one another most of the time.

"That's the thing about being fucking smart—I  understand her better than she understands herself."

In a word, I guess towards the ending, it was really unpredictable. I was flummoxed by the change in the wedding plans but after two minutes I started screaming internally because I did not see it coming. And I liked it. LOVED IT.

Kiss the Sky is a story of a sister's sacrifice for her family. A son's desire for a family he never had. A woman's struggle with intimacy. And a man's search for the most important things in life.

Congratulations on your achievement at haunting me for months to come. Now I will cry in a corner because Connor just basically made me rethink of my choices in men.

Read and Review #16 - When a Lord Needs a Lady (Jane Goodger)

Title: When a Lord Needs a Lady

Author: Jane Goodger

Publication date: 6 February 2014

Publisher: Kensington Books

Synopsis:

Lord Graham Spencer needs a wife. 

But not just any girl will do. She must have the money to save his dilapidated estate and desperate tenants. So when he meets a charming American lady’s maid on the beach at Brighton, the last thing he ought to do is kiss her. 

Katherine Wright is hunting a titled husband.

Or at least her mother is. But Katherine can’t get the memory of a most inappropriate kiss out of her mind. The handsome stranger who took her in his arms in Brighton was only a valet, but even if she is an heiress, she’d rather spend her life with him than some stiff British aristocrat. Can true love survive two false identities, two scheming mamas, and two lavish house parties where all is revealed? It can…

My rating:

4 out of 5 wants to be rich heiresses

My review:

*ARC generously given by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I remember reading a bunch of contemporary romances and new adult books before getting started on this book and it was like a breath of fresh air where I don't have to deal with tacky instant attraction (although this book does have instant attraction) and unnecessary ignores. 

Graham Spencer was a broke marquess. Like dead broke. He could barely keep any servants and most of the furnitures in his home were sold so he could provide for his tenants and estate. And that was why he needed to marry a rich heiress. Fast. He was always on the lookout for meetings with heiresses and was known for the increasing debt he had accumulated from his father's reign as a marquess. He was also known to be very cold and distant company during social events, which also contributed to him not being able to find a wife who he could tolerate. While holidaying in Brighton Beach, he stumbled upon Katherine Wright, thinking she was a lady's maid and introduced himself as a valet to hide his real identity and to get closer to her. 

Katherine Wright was a rich heiress in a search for a titled husband, as do most American heiresses at the time. Instead, she met Gray, a valet while out walking in Brighton Beach. Her dress suggested her to be a maid, as to not gain attention from everyone else. Charmed by Gray, she agreed to continue meeting him and they were soon involved in a whirlwind romance. Until her sudden departure to attend a very important social event. 

The two lovers were soon reunited, no longer under false pretences but were met with more obstacles that led one further away from the other. 

I like historical romances for one thing, innocence. It was a fast, sweet romance between Graham and Katherine. I enjoyed this book immensely (probably because I hadn't read any historical romances in a while). I cried towards the end because holy shit I'm a crier and the part where Graham and Katherine's relationship began to take a downside, I really felt the emotions portrayed by both of them.

However, it was missing that one thing, probably the lack of climax (not sexually). 

I still enjoyed it but that one kick I needed in the book was missing and so I kicked one star out of my rating.

Read and Review #14 - Talking Dirty With the Boss (Jackie Ashenden)

Title: Talking Dirty With the Boss
Author: Jackie Ashenden
Publication date: 9 December 2013
Publisher: Entangled Publishing, LLC
Get a copy! Amazon | Google Play Store | Barnes and Noble


Synopsis:

Marisa Clair wants to get her artist dreams back on track after a life detour. That means no partying, no shopping…and definitely no men to distract her. Should be easy, but there’s something about her hot and exceedingly uptight boss and she can't seem to stop herself from ruffling Mr. Tall, Dark and Irritating.

Financial consultant Luke McNamara lives his life strictly by schedule – his OCD simply won't allow him to do anything else. And the very last thing he needs is a sassy blonde putting lipstick on his collar and messing with his routine. She annoys the hell out of him so why can’t he stop thinking about the color of her panties…and how free he feels when he’s with her?

Marisa and Luke’s plans to steer clear of one another are shot to hell after a hot office encounter. Now the two of them will have to learn to get along as they face a much more permanent reminder of their lack of self-control – a pregnancy.

My rating:

3 out of 5 flirt at work

My review:

*ARC was generously given by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

Okay so apparently I jumped two books and got straight to this one. But I was never made aware of this series so what the hell, I'll just review this and be done with it. OCD is not something to mess around with. I am a little OCD, especially when I do sketches or do any written work. I get very uncomfortable looking at mistakes, especially visible ones and sometimes it will take me hours to get a perfect sketch or paper. I can understand how Luke deals with his OCD, everything must be in place, must be in order so his life can go on. It's excruciatingly frustrating and it can really make you look like a freak. 

But I couldn't somehow relate to him breaking out of his OCD, being so reckless at times around Marisa. Not only him, but I couldn't relate to Marisa as well. The whole situation was a little off to me but I continued on till the end because it was interesting and I wanted to know how Luke's OCD would fit into their lives.

"She was like a princess escaped from the palace, slumming it with the plebeians. And that offended his sense of order, too." 

I find the whole princess thing a little weird. He's not that very affectionate and suddenly he calls her a princess? It totally messes with my head because when I read princesses, I think of little girls in pink tutus and a golden wand! 

I gave it a 3 for the interaction between Luke and Marisa. Although I can't relate to them like I do with most couples, they are entertaining and maybe there are some people who would love them.

Read and Review #10 - Deeper (Robin York)

Title: Deeper

Author: Robin York

Publication date: 28 January 2014

Publisher: Random Publishing House Group - Bantam Dell

Get a copy! Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Synopsis:

In this New Adult debut by Robin York, a college student is attacked online and must restore her name—and stay clear of a guy who’s wrong for her, but feels so right.

When Caroline Piasecki’s ex-boyfriend posts their sex pictures on the Internet, it destroys her reputation as a nice college girl. Suddenly her once-promising future doesn’t look so bright. Caroline tries to make the pictures disappear, hoping time will bury her shame. Then a guy she barely knows rises to her defense and punches her ex to the ground.

West Leavitt is the last person Caroline needs in her life. Everyone knows he’s shady. Still, Caroline is drawn to his confidence and swagger—even after promising her dad she’ll keep her distance. On late, sleepless nights, Caroline starts wandering into the bakery where West works.

They hang out, they talk, they listen. Though Caroline and West tell each other they’re “just friends,” their feelings intensify until it becomes impossible to pretend. The more complicated her relationship with West gets, the harder Caroline has to struggle to discover what she wants for herself—and the easier it becomes to find the courage she needs to fight back against the people who would judge her.

When all seems lost, sometimes the only place to go is deeper.

My rating:

3.5 out of 5 bread consumed

My review:

*ARC generously given by the publishers via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

I was not sure how to rate this book. I liked it but I wasn't in love with it. I took my sweet time reading it because the choice was either continue on and be frustrated or take my time and let the frustration ease. 

We have Caroline Piasecki, a college student whose ex-boyfriend post their sex pictures on the Internet. She's a normal, nice college girl. On her way to be a lawyer. Who makes straight A's and doesn't fool around at parties. Once the pictures are out for the public to see, she started getting harassed by strangers who want some of the action they've seen in the pictures. She found comfort in West, after witnessing an altercation between him and her ex, Nate. 

West Leavitt is the go-to guy for drugs in Putnam College, dealing from the bakery where he works. He majors in Biology, studying to be an anesthesiologist. Aside from dealing drugs, he also waits table, shelves books at the library and caddies at the golf course. West has plans, and it doesn't involve Caroline. But living across her in the dorms, seeing her every day made it hard for him to ignore her existence. 

I actually like Caroline and West, when they're not thinking about mauling each other every time they are near the other. I guess it's the hormone but really, it's like they only like each other for the sexual vibe they give out.

But sexy-time with them is hot. And I mean really hot.

And the funny thing is, once they let out their pent-up frustration, they actually think about something other than sex. Like West's family. And Caroline's family finding out her sex pictures. 

The ending felt rushed for me. The last two chapters anyway. There is so much going on that for a second there I was confused. I guess the word I'm looking for is easy. There is a bunch of thing left unsettled, unexplained and there is still this huge wall between Caroline and West by the end of it. Well, that's what cliffhanger means, right?

Favorite thing ever that I can relate to!

"I took this job expecting to be left alone, working when nobody was awake, not having to be polite or say words I don't mean, to act like I'm somebody I'm not."