Being Brooke
Standalone
Romance, adult contemporary 
283

Rating : 3.0

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My name is Brooke Barker...
And I'm a freaking disaster.
No, seriously. I’m a college drop-out working a dead-end job, my best friend Carly’s dog gets more action than I do, and I have more bad dates in my diary than there are movie remakes.
Not to mention I'm completely and utterly in love with Cain Elliott.
The problem? He’s in a relationship. With a girl who’s so plastic she makes Barbie cry herself to sleep with jealousy.
The second problem? He's my best friend.
My shut-up-and-put-on-Harry-Potter, yes-this-is-your-shirt, help-I-have-no-power, crap-I’m-out-of-tampons, kinda best friend.
And that’s all he can be, right?
Right.

Restraint isn't a skill I've ever learned— unless you count the fact I've made it just over twenty-four years and haven't been arrested for murder. With my temperament, that's worth celebrating. 

Girl, I totally understand. 

I'm not into reading romantic comedy's, or even watching them except for on the occasion. *Ducks from judgement* I'm not sure why I wanted to read this, but I guess the mood struck for something funny. I've only read a book or two by Emma Hart, so I knew a bit about her writing style and figured I would like this one, too. 

Brooke is in love. Not with the boy next door, or the hot CEO that happens to be her boss. No, she's in love with her best friend. He doesn't know, of course, why would he? If he did, it would ruin everything Brooke holds dear to her: their friendship. So she tries to keep it platonic, but as things start to heat up and hiding her love becomes more of a challenge than she'd like, she has a choice to make. 

I love Brooke. She's funny, down to earth, and totally knows whats up. She watches Harry Potter, drinks wine all day, and thinks scratching her back is too much of a workout. So, really, she's me but in book form. She's just so relate able and cool, and since she's like me, it was like reading about myself. Woah. She tries so hard to remain cool and passive around Cain (her bff slash crush. Keep up!), and often fails at times. I was constantly wondering how Cain couldn't figure it out, the poor girl had it written all over her body!

“Tonight has been the craziest, most insane night of perhaps my entire life—except the one I was born. I imagine that’s insane, coming out of a vagina and all that.” 

Cain doesn't realize his best friend likes him. He's too busy trying to ignore those feelings that almost, kinda swarm inside him. Besides, he's got a girlfriend already, he shouldn't be thinking about Brooke like that. But boy, does he! His girlfriend, I couldn't stand her, therefore, I don't have a name for her. Let's go with plastic Barbie. Plastic Barbie is exactly how her name sounds. She's fake, whiny, and doesn't like Cain hanging out with Brooke. (Plus, her boobs are obviously fake).


It took a while for Cain to get into gear, but when he finally did, everything went the way I expected. They had their share of problems and arguments, but found a way to get over them and their awkwardness. Man, their awkwardness was awkward.

“I'm twenty-four, it's a Friday night, and I'm waiting in for a take-out gyros and fries in my onesie. My life is just so exciting I can barely stand it.  ” 

By the way, the above quote doesn't match me perfectly. I'm 20, thank you.


I think this was a fun book. The plot was interesting even though the friendship to lovers thing happens so much. It can become a cliche type story, so I'm glad Emma Hart could make it different and entertaining. Her writing is great, and really kept me immersed in the story. 

I don't really dislike anything about this book, and while it was fresh, I felt like it missed something. But the characters really got my love and for that reason, its has three stars. 

Review: Lip Service by Simone Sowood

Lip Service
Standalone
Romance, erotica
239
Four and a half stars

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Out of curiosity, I checked out her videos. Who wouldn't?
I didn't count on being tempted by her silky voice or her full lips.
Too bad she's off limits.
Being a single dad isn't easy, and I have rules -- no relationships, and no screwing close to home.
But when I become the subject of her posts, I can't keep my hands off her any longer.
I have to teach her everything she got wrong in her videos.

"Ox man: I promise you I can each you more than what's in that book, guaranteed. Anytime you want a lesson, baby."

Dang, okay.

Lip Service is about two characters who just want to have some fun and not worry about being in a relationship. But of course, that fickle thing called love gets in the way and ruins what could possibly be the best thing to ever happen to them.

Avery is our main character, and she's pretty cool. I've read books where the chicks have the same jobs, like fashion designer or farm lady with the cool Stetson, but never have I read a book where the chick's job is YouTube. More precisely, a channel where she talks about sex, toys, and other neat things. I think that's super cool, not only because it's different but how open about the topic Avery is. It almost feels taboo to have a character actually know what she's doing, seeing as how so many women characters are seen as innocent dolts who don't know the first thing about their own body, let alone a hunky mans.

I do really love Avery, though. Outside of her awesome "fake" bedroom, she's a great person. She's loving, tender, and just wants her next door neighbors heart. And other things...

Knox (phew, that name!) is a single dad who just wants some fun. Piper is his first priority, has been since she was born, and because of that, relationships aren't his thing. He doesn't want a bunch of women to come around, only for his daughter to see them leave. While at first he was a jerk of a neighbor, he realizes that he has the hots for Avery, especially after learning about her being a sex expert with a channel. Thus begins the secret hookups.

"I meant I don't want a relationship with you. Because I have Piper, and she's my priority."

I adored Piper, you could see she was a little match maker from the beginning, and I loved the bond between her and Knox, and how she became to trust in Avery. I wish they had a few more scenes together, ones that really would have made their bond with each other more tight and important.

While I loved this book, I was a tad confused about it's genre. It felt like a romance occasionally switching to a erotic story. It's not a bad thing, but I would have liked for it to be more one or the other. There are some points where Knox or Avery does something that seems like an erotic bit but then the next page it becomes a regular romance story. Not sure if this is just me, but it's still a good story, nonetheless.

This is my first book by Simone and I'm sure I'll be reading more by her. The writing is great and draws you in. I have no regrets reading this book, and I know you won't either. It's also available on Kindle Unlimited, so why not give it a go?

Review: Everything, Everything-Nicola Yoon

Everything, Everything
Standalone
Young adult
336
Five stars

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My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla. 

But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He's tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.

Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster.

Could this book have possibly rid me of my slump? Well, I hope so. After three months of torment, I finally was able to read. Who knew it would be this on? I only got it because I heard it's going to be a movie, so i figured it must be good. 

Everything, Everything is about a girl who is sick of, well, everything. Maddy hasn't left her house since she was a baby. She spends her time reading (as would I), or playing games with her mom. Life is simple for her, yet there's always this wish for it to be different. For her to be able to go outside, be in school and have friends. Who wouldn't? Despite all this, Maddy is strong and lives with it. She doesn't brood, she doesn't scream or throw a fit because life has dealt her with one heck of a blow. She's calm and likes her days filled with books.

“Sometimes I reread my favorite books from back to front. I start with the last chapter and read backward until I get to the beginning. When you read this way, characters go from hope to despair, from self-knowledge to doubt. In love stories, couples start out as lovers and end as strangers. Coming-of-age books become stories of losing your way. Your favorite characters come back to life.” -Maddy

Olly lives next door with his non functioning family. He's curious about her and they soon begin to email. What's between them is a bond that starts as friendship and changes into more. Maddy doesn't think love can kill her, and sets out on a journey she knows will be life changing. 

“prom·ise (ˈpräməs) n. pl. - es. 1. The lie you want to keep. [2015, Whittier]”

I really loved this book. I don't typically read YA contemporary books much, but I guess the mood struck. I think the concept was interesting, and was wonderfully done. It almost has an uncertain feel to it, like wondering how it'll end well with her being unable to go outside and be with him. 

“You're not living if you're not regretting.”

What really had me was the delightful humor Maddy gave throughout the book. Especially in her journal posts. They really added to the feel, and made her seem like a real person and had real emotions.

Yoon wrote an amazing book with down to earth characters and story line. I look forward to reading her next book I have, The Sun is Also A Star.

Review: Vicious-L.J. Shen

Vicious
Book 1 in the Sinners of Saints series
Romance
328
Four stars

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Emilia

They say love and hate are the same feelings experienced under different circumstances, and it’s true. 
The man who comes to me in my dreams also haunts me in my nightmares. 
He is a brilliant lawyer. 
A skilled criminal. 
A beautiful liar. 
A bully and a savior, a monster and a lover. 
Ten years ago, he made me run away from the small town where we lived. Now, he came for me in New York, and he isn’t leaving until he takes me with him. 

Vicious

She is a starving artist. 
Pretty and evasive like cherry blossom. 
Ten years ago, she barged into my life unannounced and turned everything upside down. 
She paid the price. 
Emilia LeBlanc is completely off-limits, my best friend’s ex-girlfriend. The woman who knows my darkest secret, and the daughter of the cheap Help we hired to take care of our estate. 
That should deter me from chasing her, but it doesn’t. 
So she hates me. Big fucking deal. 
She better get used to me.

I'm so glad I found this book. I was in one of my book slumps (oh, who am I kidding? I've been in one for months now), and taking a gander in the store like I always do. The cover caught my eye, I mean, come on. I know we aren't supposed to judge a book by the cover, but how can you not when it's this great?

Anyway.

This one is a bit different from the usual read I like. Vicious is mean, and hateful. He teases Emilia down to her last breath, and he enjoys every second of it. Deep down, he's a guy who's just looking for revenge. Which is where Emilia comes in.

Emilia is poor, at least compared to Vicious. She doesn't get to throw caution to the wind like he does. She has to work for it, and to help out her family, she does so without being honest to her parents boss, Vicious. This causes problems. Major ones. I like Emilia, she doesn't take Vicious' crap and throws insults right back at him, which of course he doesn't enjoy.

The story moves on a few years and they're basically in the same situation. Vicious is still a jerk with more money, and Emilia is working two jobs to keep her apartment with her sister, who is sick. There was some serious sexual tension between these two, and I just wanted to squeeze them together until they both realized that they like each other. It drove me nuts. But when it finally happened, it was great. Explosive.

This is a standalone story, and I'm looking forward to book 2, though I have no idea what it's about. Shen really knows how to write a story and draw you in. I couldn't put this one down, and I hope it's broken the silly slump I'm in once and for all.