From Ashes by Molly McAdams
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After reading Taking Chances by Molly McAdams, I was nervous to read this, book shy if you will, and almost passed on giving it a chance. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved Taking Chances, it was just so heart wrenchingly sad that I was not prepared to deal with the heartbreak again should From Ashes take the same path. Luckily for me it was nothing like Taking Chances and I flew through this book, never being able to tear my eyes from the pages. It was awesome! 

Cassidy grew up in a very abusive home and her best friend since birth, Tyler, was all that kept her alive through it most days. When they graduate from High School and Tyler decides to move from California to Texas to live with his cousin and go to college, he doesn't hesitate to bring Cassidy with him- they were each other's everything, growing up basically like brother and sister. Or at least that is what Cassidy thought- Tyler had some other ideas about the two of them that soon begin to get in the way when Cassie meets Gage. Tyler's cousin Gage is infatuated with Cassie from the moment he lays eyes on her and can't believe his dumb luck that she comes to Texas to live with him and Tyler....who tells him Cassie is HIS girl and not to even think about trying to make her his. 

Cassie and Gage find themselves getting closer every day that passes, only to have Tyler sabotaging their every opportunity to take it further by secretly telling the two of them behind their backs things to keep them apart. This is a great story with the best ending for a book I have read it years and I highly recommend that you read this and fall in love with a good ole country boy like I did. <3 Kellie 

Afflicted by Sophie Monroe

https://www.facebook.com/sophiemonroewrites?fref=ts

This was a fabulous read and I highly recommend if you like tattooed bad boys and rockers that you give this a read. This is the continuation of Battlescars, with this book focusing on the story between Piper and Blake. Like a good story should, the love affair between Piper and Cole and then Piper and Blake will both make you happy, sad, angry and believe in true love. Piper feeling torn between a sense of obligation to her first love and the intense passion she feels for her new love have her torn throughout the story, at times making the reader want to punch her through the pages when she doesn't see what we want her to as she explores her feelings for both men and finally gets her happily ever after. Where Battlescars had Jake meeting the first woman he'd ever loved, Aubrey, in a most unexpected way and them quickly falling into a passionate relationship, Blake and Piper were friends first; Blake still hurt from the woman he loved for years hurting and leaving him and Piper involved in a relationship with a recently returning war veteran with a severe case of PTSD who takes all of his anger out on her. This is a real story with real characters and real problems. A refreshing change and something everyone who reads it will fall in love with. ❤ Kellie

Irresistible Desire by Danielle Jamie

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I had no expectations of this book since this is a brand new author and is a brand new series, but I was quickly converted to a believer and loved it to say the least. Kayden Knox immediately proved to be book boyfriend worthy and is actually my second favorite now, behind only Christian Grey. He is young, sexy, powerful, rich, tattooed and a country boy.....all things to love in a book boyfriend. With a past marked by hurt from the woman he once loved, Kayden has sworn off the "relationship thing" and has taken the stance that single playboys don't get broken hearts.

Savannah has had the same boyfriend for four years and sees only him in her future when he proposes to her and then subsequently gets busted cheating on her.....the same night.
Reeling from the painful breakup from Logan, Savannah swears off love and rules in favor of fun with no attachments instead. When she comes face to face with Kayden Knox while he is being interviewed by the magazine she works for in LA, plans quickly change for them both....

For a first book I thought this story was very well told and for me easily brought to life- I immediately am able to picture Savannah as bratty, sassy and sexy blonde Blake Lively and Kayden Knox with his sex appeal, tattoos and "megawatt" smile as Colin Wayne. Being able to so quickly see the characters brought to life is the mark of a well told story to me. Other than the hotness that is Kayden Knox, I loved this story so much because it is set in my hometown (partly, when not in LA) of Houston, Texas and surrounding Galveston where I have spent lots of summers throughout my life. To have a book relate to towns and places I have actually been to makes me love it even more. This book has a Book II and a Book III both due this year, in May and September respectively and I can tell you this, not reading all three books in this series would be a shame- Kayden Knox should be on everyone's smokin hot BB list. ;) Kellie 

Beautiful Bastard 

by Christina Lauren

Love, love, loved this book! However, I H-A-T-E-D it when I started it and almost put it down. So, when you start reading and are frustrated like I was, do not give up! Keep reading, you will fall in love with Bennett Ryan, just like I did. When Chloe Mills is asked to become the assistant to Bennett Ryan, returning to Chicago from France to take a top position at his family's media company, she never expects the "Beautiful Bastard" to be someone she HATES seeing every day. Bennett feels the same way about her, with not a day going by that he doesn't give Chloe a hard time, just because he can. 

Little does Chloe know that his "asshole tendencies" are a defense mechanism against his growing attraction to the beautiful woman that works for him. The two of them engage in a passionate affair, never expecting the line between love and hate  to become blurred. This book is everything you want in a love story, fighting, passionate love making, drama, tears, anger....I loved it. I will say this- I WAS disappointed that the names of all of the major characters in the book with the exception of Bennett and Chloe were taken directly from Twilight. This led people to call it a "rip off" of the Twilight franchise and rank this story rather harshly, when in reality the names are THE only similarity at all in the book. I recommend this read, definitely. <3 Kellie 

****NOTE: Author says the book has been edited since I read it several months ago and there are no longer any Twilight names being used in it. 5/7/13 ****

Fallen Too Far by Abbi Glines

This book definitely made Rush Finlay my favorite bad boy book boyfriend. He is a super sexy, rich, tattooed rocker's son with the family from hell and nothing being off limits to him. No woman ever tells him no, so when he meets his "stepsister" Blair and the only thing she wants from him is a place to sleep, he doesn't know exactly how to handle that- or her. 

Blair has left the only home she's ever known when her dear mother dies from a prolonged illness and she is forced to turn to the parent that has never been there for her when she needed him. 

Blair and Rush's love affair is one of the best I have ever read, although at times it is so frustrating I just want to scream. I read this book in less than six hours- it was so good it just pulls you straight in and keeps you there wanting to know what happens next.

I absolutely adored everything about this book- the storyline, the characters, the ending- I found no fault in this book whatsoever and would recommend it to anyone that likes a good old romance with a tattooed hottie. <3 Kellie 

Finding Faith by Ysabel Wilde

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We were privileged enough to be given an ARC by the author of this book and have read it before it has even been released- set date of May 1st. I was a little disappointed when I saw it was only 171 pages, thinking the story was going to be rushed or leave us hanging wishing there was more. Imagine my surprise when I finished to find there will be a second part to the story in September 2013 called Keeping Faith, so YAY for that. 

Anyone that knows me knows that I have a major "thing" for firemen, so the main character, John, being a fireman was a major "woo hoo" moment for me. He is a man with a sad past and throughout the story I found myself wanting to hug him a lot. Faith was the woman he lost seven years ago and always wanted to find again, and then he did. Faith is a woman with much heartbreak and hurt in her past and finding John again is the last thing she wanted or expected to happen. 

Although parts of this book have repetitive language that could be a little annoying, Fifty Shades of Grey had the same problem, and in neither case was it bad enough to make you want to stop reading. For a first novel I think Ysabel Wilde did a great job with this story, making it her own without needing to take anything from any other story to make this something you'll want to read- it is uniquely different and I loved that about this book. No one was rich or an innocent virgin, and I found myself glad for something more real in a book I was reading. "Dr. Dickhead" as he'll come to be known to you, is the resident villain and Grace the best friend that will kick some ass if anyone pushes her too far. I enjoyed the book immensely and when you read it I think you will as well. <3 Kellie 

Interview with Sophie Monroe, Author of Battlescars

Interview with the Author: Sophie Monroe, Battlescars

1.Who inspired you to become a writer? At what age did you know that is what you wanted to do?

I would say my Grammy was the one that inspired me to write. She was always making me story books when I was little and I still have all of them. She’s completely over the moon that I’m writing, though I think she’d have a heart attack if she actually read one of my books, but she’s proud nonetheless.

As far as the age thing I guess since I was little because I would always take picture books and make up my own extravagant stories then one day last year I just had an idea so I decided to sit down and put it on paper before long I had a book and things really just kept flowing from there…

2. Whose work do you admire and/or enjoy reading yourself the most?
Since I’m a book junkie I admire anyone who can make a good story. I like romance, paranormal, suspense, pretty much anything that I can get my hands on. 

3. Are the characters in Battlescars based on real people in your life now or the past? Or are they purely fictional straight from your imagination?
I really wish I had some really cool story to tell you but they’re mostly fiction with some qualities of people I know in real life I guess. When I was younger I had a lot of friends in bands and for as long as I can remember I’ve been obsessed with music. When other kids were planning on marrying a Backstreet boy I wanted to marry Kurt Cobain so writing a rock and roll book just seemed fitting. I will say that a lot of the stuff that Aubrey’s dad does/says is definitely something my dad would do/say.

4. If you were NOT a writer, what would you be doing?
I’m not sure. I’ve tossed lots of ideas around through the years but most likely something creative. I’m obsessed with all things fashion and interior design so probably something along those lines. Or working for Rolling Stone, I’d do that in a heartbeat.

5. What can your fans look forward to in the coming months/years from Sophie Monroe?
Who knows what the future holds, but for right now I’m looking forward to giving you guys as many kickass books as possible. I have a couple ideas down on paper but they’re on the back burner until I’m finished with Afflicted and from there the possibilities are endless.

6. Are Battlescars and Afflicted the end of the line for the characters featured in these two books?
I haven’t decided yet. I’m debating giving Derek his own book but I guess I’ll just have to see as Afflicted progresses if something comes up that would make him have is own story so for now we’ll leave that open. I started Undone a while back, which is about 1/3 way done so I’ll probably finish that before I work on another Battlescars book if I decide to do one.