Worth the Wait by K.M. Neuhold Book Review

Rating: 3 1/2 Stars

Title: Worth the Wait (Sexy Nerd Boys #1)

Author: K.M. Neuhold

Genre: New Adult/College,  Contemporary Romance

Pages: 208 Pages

SUMMARY:

Abby:

I have issues. Like, serious, major issues. And, the last thing I want or need is a man in my life to make things more complicated. Unfortunately for me my roommates drop dead gorgeous brother seems hell bent on seducing me. And, what’s worse is that he’s kind of the perfect guy. Resisting him just might kill me.

Ethan:

I don’t do relationships. I prefer to keep things casual, and I’m always up front with women so that no one ever gets hurt. But, my sister’s new roommate…yeah I might have a small obsession. What the hell is a guy supposed to do though when he meets a woman who is not only beautiful but also feisty, fun, and way into nerd culture? I may be doomed.

**Recommended for readers 17+ due to mature themes

REVIEW:

I'm not a Doctor Who fan, but I am a total nerd about some other things so I was excited to read this book and see how the author did with nerdy characters. She did great! Even not being a Doctor Who fan, I was never lost in what was going on. I'm sure legit fans of the Doctor would enjoy that aspect of the book even more! It's always fun to see one of our nerdy fandoms show up in a book.

We get to meet Abby, Lee and Ethan all almost immediately when Abby moves in with Lee. I love the dynamics between Lee and her big brother, Ethan and also between Ethan and Abby. These are characters that won me over quickly and I wanted to root for them and know more about them.

Abby is a scarred, emotionally distant girl with a tragic past that has no interest in much that campus life has to offer beyond completing her education. While she seems to have formed an attachment to her roommate, Lee, she hasn't opened up to her about anything personal.

Ethan is Lee's older brother and a local Casanova among the ladies on campus. He's known for *ahem* getting the job done. Every time. This leads to a couple awkward moments, as you can imagine. He is just a good-time guy. Laid back, ready to have fun in all areas of life and not interested in settling down.

When Ethan first meet Abby, he sees her as nothing more than a potential new conquest. He thinks  she's sexy, and she doesn't seem to be interested in him at all, which piques his interest even more...until he's warned off by baby sister. Then it becomes a bit of an obsession. The more time he spends around Abby, however, the more he realizes how much they have in common and how much  he actually really likes her, as a person. Soon, he wants to hang out with her even above hanging out with his guy friends.

These two bond over a love of Doctor Who. Ethan can let his nerd flag fly when he hangs out with Abby. It's cute. It also draws Abby out of her shell and helps her learn to trust Ethan and eventually open up to him. These two together make perfect sense.


**MILD SPOILERS BELOW**


Okay, the things that kept me from giving this a higher rating.

Given Abby's past, I thought that their first couple sexual encounters would have been more traumatic for her than they were. Or, at the very least, would not have gone as easily as they did. Also, once they started, it seemed like they were going at it at every available opportunity. No easing into things for them! That seemed a little out of character for someone with her traumatic past.

We were told about Ethan's Casanova reputation more than we were shown.  Aside from a couple of very brief encounters, there really isn't anything more to show us his history. He doesn't even seem to have the personality of a playboy.

I would have liked more of Ethan's (and Lee's) back story. We get glimpses of it here and there a couple of times but it's never really fleshed out. It left his story feeling a little unfinished.

Even though Ethan and Abby get their happily ever after, it seemed like it ended a little abruptly to me.

Overall, a solid first book from this new author and I really look forward to reading more from her!

Amazon Link: Worth the Wait

Title: Cross the Stars

Series: Crossing Stars Duet #1

Author: Venessa Kimball writing as V. Angelika

Genre: New Adult/Adult Contemporary Romance

Release Date: March 8, 2016

- See more at: http://kickbackandreview.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2016-02-16T12:00:00-05:00&max-results=7&start=41&by-date=false#sthash.55cvqmR3.dpuf

Title: Cross the Stars

Series: Crossing Stars Duet #1

Author: Venessa Kimball writing as V. Angelika

Genre: New Adult/Adult Contemporary Romance

Release Date: March 8, 2016

- See more at: http://kickbackandreview.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2016-02-16T12:00:00-05:00&max-results=7&start=41&by-date=false#sthash.55cvqmR3.dpuf

On Solid Ground by Melissa Collins

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Title: On Solid Ground

Author: Melissa Collins

Publisher: M Collins Author LLC

Genre: MM Romance

Length: 253 pages

Summary:

When Jacob "Dax" Daxton returns home from war, he has to fight a new battle - the one to find his place in the world. The man who normally has a clear path to victory surrounded by brothers in combat is suddenly lost and alone. After meeting Beckett Ridge, a bearded tattoo artist, Dax's journey begins winding down an unexpected path.

Still reeling from events that shook his foundation, Beck has never been part of anything meaningful. Now faced with responsibilities foreign and daunting, Dax's broken spirit mends Beck in ways he never even knew he was destroyed.

As both struggle to find balance, they are healed by the comfort they find in one other. On the other side of chaos, they hope to find themselves On Solid Ground.

Review:

This book actually covers a few hard subjects that people don't like to talk about or people just want to ignore these subjects like it really isn't a problem in our society. 

Does anyone ever fall in love at the right time? Beckett and Dax have so much going on in their personal lives before they meet each other. Do they have to make the decision if now is going to be a good time for a relationship?

I felt for both of these men, they both had their issues. They were both struggling but for different reasons. You were drawn in to their stories and wanted to push them in the direction they needed to go. You felt their struggles and it brought tears to my eyes in a few places. This book also had some of the funniest conversations too. Some of the things that are said and the way that they are said will have you laughing out loud. 

I did feel that it was rushed in places, but that's just my personal opinion don't take it to heart. You may not feel like that at all. 

Killing Sarai (In the Company of Killers #1) by J.A. Redmerski

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Title: Killing Sarai (In the Company of Killers #1)

Author: J.A. Redmerski

Publisher: J.A. Redmerski

Genre: Contemporary/Romance Suspense

Length: 396 pages

Summary:  

Sarai was only fourteen when her mother uprooted her to live in Mexico with a notorious drug lord. Over time she forgot what it was like to live a normal life, but she never let go of her hope escape the compound where she has been held for the past nine years.

Victor is a cold-blooded assassin who, like Sarai, has known only death and violence since he was a young boy. When Victor arrives at the compound to collect details and payment for a hit, Sarai sees him as her only opportunity for escape. But things don't go as planned and instead of finding transport back to Tucson, she finds herself free from one dangerous man and caught in the clutches of another.

While on the run, Victor strays from his primal nature as he succumbs to his conscience and resolves to help Sarai. As they grow closer, he finds himself willing to risk everything to keep her alive; even his relationship with his devoted brother and liaison, Nicklas, who now like everyone else wants Sarai dead.

As Victor and Sarai slowly build a trust, the differences between them seem to lessen, and an unlikely attraction intensifies. But Victor's brutal skills and experience may not be enough in the end to save her, as the power she unknowingly holds over him may ultimately be what gets her killed.

This is their story...

Review:

I haven't read this type of book in a long time and this author has made me miss them. This is also the first book by this author that I have read, thank you to my buddy read and that she recommended this book for me.

I was thrown right into the action of this book as soon as I started it. The action continued throughout the book all the way to the end. I can't wait to read the next book in this series,  but I am hoping that there is more romance in it. When I was getting towards the end of the book I was like "oh, this better not be end." I was actually holding my breath at the end of each chapter. 

Sarai, this poor girl. I can't even imagine going through what she has and be sane. She has been through so much, and she has endured it but wants out so bad. She sees her chance and takes it. Victor, he's breaking all the rules for this girl. She knew it would change her life if she got away, but she didn't realize how it was going to change it. She gets caught up in the things that Victor has shown her and she likes it.  I can't wait to see what she does now that her life has taken on a different direction.

Statistic by Dawn Robertson

Rating: 3 1/2 Stars

Title:  Statistic
 
Author:  Dawn Robertson
 
Publisher: Dawn Robertson (I think)
 
Genre:  Contemporary Romance/Suspense

Length: 199 Pages   

Summary :  


Four Men.
One Woman.
And one of the hardest choices Aurora Alexander will ever have to make.

Newly divorced, single mother Aurora is desperately trying to move on with her life. After a string of unsuccessful blind dates, she turns to internet dating.

Everyone does it, so it has to be safe.

Right?

Hot one night stands. Sexting. And an Alpha man who sweeps her off of her feet. Aurora thinks she has found her happily ever after. But among her suitors is one man who plays by a different set of rules, someone who isn’t who he says.

Will Aurora figure out who doesn’t have her best interest at heart?

Or is she destined to become a Statistic?

Review: 

**We did a buddy read in my book club where we were paired up with another member and chose a book for each other. This is the book that was chosen for me by my buddy. It was a fun experience and I hope we do it again at some point! It's fun to be introduced to new books and/or authors and see what other friends are reading and what they like. I hope she likes the one I picked for her!**

Now on to the review....  

This is a hard book to review without giving too much away. I think I did okay and this shouldn't need a spoiler warning. Proceed at your own risk though.

I went into this a little blind. I read the blurb but didn't read any of the reviews (still haven't) and thought okay, this sounds interesting! Then the prologue completely threw me because it sounded like it was going to go in a completely different direction than I was anticipating from the blurb. And, boy did it!

The book was really good. A few wrong words here and there that became a little annoying. And she screwed up the names in the middle of the book and left it that way for the rest of the book. It was just a middle name, so it shouldn't have been a big deal, and wouldn't have been if she didn't keep having people address the hero with his first and middle names. Once it was changed, it did stay consistent though, it didn't keep changing back and forth. She also used the "c" word, which is probably the one word that I hate the most but she only used it once. I'm no prude, I just don't like that word, personally, and it jars me out of the action when I see it. *Editing to also add: Aurora has only had one sexual partner - her husband, who was also her high school sweetheart. She was very unsure of herself, seemed to have low self esteem and maybe even a little shy...this just didn't seem like the kind of word she would use.

I liked Aurora, she was likable and fun, and her little boy was cute. The difficulties between Aurora and her ex-husband were believable as were the issues that Aurora had because of it.

The suspense built. I suspected everybody...and I did manage to figure out part of it. I'm usually pretty good about figuring things out ahead of time. Then came the end with a HUGE TWIST that I didn't see coming and I gotta say, I was ready to strangle the author! The author's first words after the end of the book were literally "Ok. I know. Ya'll hate me right now." Seriously! I was pissed!

That said, it is a good book and worth reading. It has a good message about being careful about internet dating, likable characters, interesting plot and is paced well. She wrote the little kids very well, which some authors can't pull off. There will be a sequel but it doesn't have what I really considered a cliffhanger. 

There's also a teaser chapter of the sequel at the end, so you get a little peek, although it hasn't been released yet. I haven't decided yet if I want to read it or not.


If you read it, come back and let me know what you think! 
 

Wingspan by Samantha Combs

Rating: 3 1/2 Stars 

Title:  Wingspan

Author:  Samantha Combs

Publisher: esKape Press
     Cover Art: For the Muse Designs

Genre:  Young Adult, Paranormal - could possibly qualify as Dystopian

Length: 189 Pages   

Summary :  

Chessa Dawning never thought she’d be on the run. Yet, she was, having left the only home she’s ever known, staying two steps ahead of the men chasing her and falling for a resourceful ex-criminal with colorful friends.

Most of the time, Charlotte Lake can’t believe her life. The reluctant leader of a rebel faction called the Ginger Nation, Charlie’s days are filled with planning surveillance, rescuing detainees, and exposing government conspiracy. Surrounded by loyal friends and soldiers, she knows she can never reveal the true nature of her quest: finding her real father.

When a sudden twist brings the two girls together, revelations about the past will make them rethink where they came from and define the future in ways they never could have imagined.
Not every scientific breakthrough is a gift.  

Review:

I love fast paced stories that keep you on your toes, and keep you scratching your head trying to figure out what's going on. Wingspan met that criteria and then some, so it was a fun read. Government conspiracy, rebel factions, great big teddy bear men, girls on the run and a hot guy mixed with suspense and danger? Heck yeah!

Well written with fleshed out characters, I really enjoyed getting to know the players in this story. Chessie seemed a bit childish after realizing what her age was actually supposed to be, which was somewhat of a contradiction. On the one hand, it could be chalked up to her being sheltered. On the other hand, she lost her mom at a very early age and takes care of her dad, which usually matures kids beyond their years. It didn't come across as annoying though, because I spent most of the book thinking she was younger (see below), so she was still a fun, interesting character. The dad was a hilariously stereotypical nerdy scientist, but you could tell he genuinely cared about what was happening. Charlie was a bit of an enigma, which made her mysterious and interesting. I especially enjoyed Mickey. A great friend, loyal to the bone and protective of those he cares about, he is there every step of the way for Charlie, and the rest of them when the need arises. I want my own Mickey. 

With a few twists and turns along the way, I found myself suspecting different people at different points of the story. I had a suspicion about who the traitor was earlier in the story, but then the plot took a turn and I was still relatively surprised when it ended up being revealed. 

I did find a few misspellings here and there or sometimes the wrong word used, but the story is intriguing and fast paced enough that I could overlook them. There was a continuity issue that I'm hesitant to mention, because it's possible that it was a misunderstanding on my part. Charlie and Chessa are supposed to be the same age but, for some reason and from the very beginning of the book, I thought that Chessa was much younger. Like high school age instead of Charlie's stated 22 years old. 

With the political atmosphere being what it is these days, I thought the political component of this book was really interesting. It really makes you think about what the government is working on that the public isn't aware of. And what they're capable of that nobody considers. 

A great way to pass an afternoon, I really enjoyed this book. I've read Samantha Combs before and this was a little bit of a change from what I'm used to from her, so I had a lot of fun seeing where the plot would take me. It didn't disappoint, and being able to surprise me with the bad guy is an unusual feat, as I can usually spot them at least halfway through! I'm looking forward to seeing what she comes up with next.

Now and Forever 1, A Love Story by Jean C. Joachim

Rating: 3 1/2 Stars 

Title:  Now and Forever 1, a Love Story

Author:  Jean C. Joachim

Publisher: Secret Cravings Publishing

      Cover Art: Beth Walker and Jean C. Joachim

Genre:  Contemporary Romance

Length: 227 Pages

Summary:  

Callie Richards was no stranger to heartache. Her parents were killed when she was sixteen. Left with her older sister, she fell into a romance with good-looking, Kyle Maine. They became engaged and Callie’s future was set until he was killed in Iraq. Two years later, she pulls herself together to get her Master’s degree and restart her life on her own.

Working and studying at Kensington State University, Callie meets Mac Caldwell, the handsome dean. Together they fight a deadly campus drug ring with heart-breaking results. This is an emotional story, not a cookie-cutter romance, that will make you laugh and cry as Callie struggles to make a new life, find love and her happy ending. 

Review: 

At the very beginning, the heart of this book exudes a sort of melancholy feeling. Callie is dealing with the grief from the death of her fiance. We learn a lot about her childhood and the things that she had to go through as she was growing up. Her childhood was not an easy or happy one. Consequently, it seemed and felt to her like Kyle was all she had. When he died, she was devastated. In the midst of the grief, she has decided that it's time to move on with her life, but she still has trouble letting go of Kyle.

Callie is a quiet girl that stays to herself. She is believable in her grief and the way she relives things, not wanting to let them go and afraid she will forget. I enjoyed her as a character, as I did most of the characters from this book. Mac is just trying to deal with his life, not really looking to get involved with anyone. The fact that it is a relationship that is not sought out by either party seems to make the feelings more real. 

The biggest problem I had with this book is only that the author did such a fantastic job of making Kyle such a great guy, to make him worthy of the level of grief Callie was feeling even after such a long time (I'm assuming), that by the time I met Mac I didn't care about him. I wanted Kyle! Even after a few chapters of Callie and Mac, and even rooting for them to get together on one level, I found myself still hoping that the military made a mistake and Kyle would come walking in. I will say that Callie's relationship with Mac was probably healthier. She had grown and matured a little more by the time she got involved with him, so he wasn't her entire life the way Kyle was. She was more her own person by this time, with her own identity.

The different things that are dealt with in this book are portrayed very well and realistically. The levels of grief, trying to move on without forgetting, becoming your own, independent person apart from the grief and the person that you are grieving are all a part of the story, but not overwhelmingly so. I loved the box of Kyle's things that Callie keeps, and Mac's reaction to it when he finds it. I could see myself doing something like that in Callie's place.

A very bittersweet love story that will take you through the whole spectrum of emotions. I found myself proud of Callie by the end, as though she was a friend I knew, rather than a character in a book. This is a great read - another win for Ms. Joachim.

Kindle version: 



Paperback:

Royal Opposites by Lori Crawford

 

Rating: 3 1/2 Stars
 

Title:  Royal Opposites

Author:  Lori Crawford

Publisher: Astraea Press

      Cover Art: Elaina Lee

Genre:  Contemporary Romance

Length: 193 Pages

Summary: 
 
What can a coupon queen possibly have in common with a Crown Prince? Everything.

After being accused of attempting to rob a bank that was actually trying to rob them – legally – a coupon queen goes on the run with a Crown Prince who’d been living in the U.S. anonymously for the past year. Armed with only her coupon binder, the two flee the area in an effort to meet up with his royal head of security for protection. But first, they must elude the two very determined bank guards who will let nothing stop them from retrieving the damning video of the bank incident from the couple. 


Review: 

I hesitate to describe a book as "cute", but that is the first word that comes to mind with Royal Opposites. It is a cute, fun read.  It really is. There are definitely parts of it that aren't "cute" but for some reason, that's the word I want to use. Maybe because some of the concepts used in this book are different than what I've seen before. A coupon queen and a prince? Really not the pairing you expect - at all. And when the situation calls for Joan (the main female) to teach Tom (the main male) how to use coupons to survive, the reactions are hilarious.

Joan is a down to earth, just trying to get by, hard working woman. She does what she has to do to survive and be responsible for (what she perceives to be) mistakes that she's made. That alone was nice to see, given some of the attitudes you see these days in society. To be honest, I kind of wish Joan was real and I knew her so that she could teach me her methods of extreme couponing! I could live with knowing how to go to the grocery store and get four hundred dollars worth of groceries for twenty bucks.

Tom seems to be just a regular, white collar, sort of guy - who just happens to be a crown prince. He is a genuinely nice guy that has his country and his people's best interest at heart. He has also been enjoying his last year of freedom, incognito, before he takes over the running of his country.

Circumstances throw the two of them together in a situation that quickly escalates in suspense and danger. Suddenly, they are find their fates are intertwined and they are on the run together. The relationship between Joan and Tom is different. Funny, intense and not at all what you would expect the other to fall for, given their backgrounds. They have each been noticing the other for several months, but neither of them have acted on it, nor did either of them have any intention of doing so. Now, however, in such close quarters with each other they are both thinking about it. Hard.

There was a couple of things that I felt would be improbable if this was real life but hey, this is fiction and what's more fun about writing or reading fiction than making the improbable probable? It wasn't so far out as to be unrealistic and it was written in such a way that makes it believable. I loved that they are a bi-racial couple and that it didn't have an impact on anything. I also totally love both characters. Well written, fast paced, fun, interesting and different - this story is well worth the read and the author has made it on to my "watch" list.

eBook:




Paperback:

Rescued From The River by Stephy Smith

My Rating: 3 1/2 Stars

Title: Rescued From The River

Author: Stephy Smith

Genre: Historical Romance

Length: 78 Pages

Summary: 


Darkness engulfs Emma Donley as she sits on the banks of the Cache La Poudre River near Fort Collins, Colorado. Harvey Morgan, a trapper, kidnaps her with plans to keep her on the mountain as his woman for the winter. Morgan’s embittered rage turns deadly when her strong-minded escape thwarted his plans.

Kale Tucker hears the gunshot. He fears the worst for the next victim of Morgan. His anger grows persistent when he pulls the blood-soaked body of a beautiful woman from the river.

Doubts of her survival weighs heavy on his shoulders. However, he has to try to save the woman he rescued from the river. 

Review:

This review is long past due. I should have this one done months ago and I apologize to the author. Several months ago, when I was reviewing books on the Examiner.com website, I reviewed Ms. Smith's other book titled "Lizzie and the Rebel". With that book, while I loved the characters, I felt the pacing was off. Things happened too fast to be realistic and there wasn't really much sense of time passing to make it seem believable. So, to be honest, I was little reluctant to read this one. And when I first sat down to read it, the first few pages, once again, didn't seem realistic to me. Feeling like perhaps I wasn't in the right frame of mind to read it, I decided to put it aside to come back to later. I'm glad I did, though I wish I hadn't waited quite so long.

While Emma may not react in the same way that I would in the very beginning, she redeems herself later. She is a very strong character that will fight when pushed far enough. She may want to be a school teacher, but she is not some timid little mouse that will be pushed around. She fights to escape from the creepy mountain man, Morgan, and she fights to live. 


With the first book, pacing was an issue for me. This book handles it much better. You get the sense of time passing and as the two main characters begin to develop feelings for each other it's not necessarily an instant thing the way it seemed in the other one. This is much more realistic to me, and thus more believable. This may be a personal bias on my part but I tend to have issues with pacing in most of the short length novelettes that I read and Ms. Smith did an admirable job with it. There was a couple parts that felt rushed and one part in particular that it would have been nice to know more about what happened, but over all it was nicely handled.


I loved the character of Sally, Kale's mother. She was kind and caring, with a backbone of steel. She made me laugh aloud a couple of times and by the end I just adored her. I also liked Kale's father but he doesn't make many appearances. When he is in there, though, he is memorable. The story of these two, with the background that we got a peak at, would make a fabulous book.


The plot itself is believable and interesting. Without giving too much away, the part with the plague was ingenious, I thought. Again, as I say with most short length books, I would have enjoyed seeing it as a full length novel. There is enough of a plot here to handle it and the details that could have been included with a full length would have been great. I found a couple of mis-spellings/punctuation issues but it was minimal and, honestly, I was enjoying the book enough that I really didn't care. 

One thing that I, personally, love about this author is the way she blends in the Native American aspects in her books. It's not in your face. It's not stereotypical. It's not even the main focus of the story. But it's there and it's blended and weaved into the story in a way that is very well done. 


I look forward to checking out the next book by this author.