Falling Apart in One Piece by Stacy Morrison

     The emotionally charged story of a divorce that brought the surprising gift of grace.

     Just when Stacy Morrison thought everything in her life had come together, her husband of ten years announced that he wanted a divorce. She was left alone with a new house that needed a lot of work, a new baby who needed a lot of attention, and a new job in the high-pressure work of New York magazine publishing.

     Morrison had never been one to believe in fairy tales. As far as she was concerned, happy endings were the product of the kind of ambition and hard work that has propelled her to the top of her profession. But she had always considered her relationship with her husband a safe place in her often stressful life. All of her assumptions about how life works crumbled, though, when she discovered that no amount of will and determination was going to save her marriage.

     For Stacy, the only solution was to keep on living, and to listen-as deeply and openly as possible-to what this experience was teaching her.

     Told with humor and her heart, her honest and intimate account of the stress of being a working mother while trying to make sense of her unraveling marriage offers unexpected lessons of love, forgiveness, and dignity that will resonate with women everywhere.

     Reading this memoir was like going back to day one of going through my divorce. I’m not sure if it was a good idea or a bad idea to read it. The author mentioned how no divorce is the same, but there were so many ways were I felt like I could connect to her, and it felt so good to know I wasn’t the only person to feel the way that I feel, especially that feeling of aloneness. This story isn’t filled with the happy-go-lucky musings you’d expect from the title, considering the author states to be an optimist, frankly that probably would have annoyed me. It is filled with her experiences, the ups and downs, and what she did to get through, or even didn’t get through, the vicious hell that is divorce.

     This book, for me, was a five. It made me feel less alone, when that has been all that I’ve felt for the last six months since getting divorced myself. The author’s story was an amazing one to read, and it gave me the hope to keep pushing forward, even if I’m still crying over this every week five years from now; even if I’m still questioning myself every day. One day I’ll be enough for me, like she found that she was, and one week I might not need twenty tissues to sop up the mess that is my life. That’s what this book did for me, that is the hope that it gave me: That while I’m not okay now, there’s a good chance I will be one day, I just have to keep looking forward, and it was a well written book to boot. If that’s not worth five stars, I’m not sure what is.

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I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid

You will be scared. But you won't know why...I'm thinking of ending things. Once this thought arrives, it stays. It sticks. It lingers. It's always there. Always.
Jake once said, "Sometimes a thought is closer to the truth, to reality, than an action. You can say anything, you can do anything, but you can't fake a thought."
And here's what I'm thinking: I don't want to be here.
In this deeply suspenseful and irresistibly unnerving debut novel, a man and his girlfriend are on their way to a secluded farm. When the two take an unexpected detour, she is left stranded in a deserted high school, wondering if there is any escape at all. What follows is a twisted unraveling that will haunt you long after the last page is turned.

     Holy Shit!! This book was something. The creep factor jumps out at you right away. The author did a great job at setting the tone at a creepy level from the get go, and I honestly can't even tell you how. It was impressive. I was enjoying this book outside on my porch, until it started to get dark out (and then my pansy ass scooted right inside). This book looks at so many different aspects of life and relationships; it really makes you take a deeper look at yourself, which isn't something you expect when you pick this up. There were so many passages that I stopped and read over and over because I loved them, and felt like (I am about to sound like the biggest cliche here) the author was talking to me directly, like he got me. This is a man that clearly understands the intricacies of life, the ups and downs, and what goes into to making people who they are.

     This book was a stand out five. I can't even tell you anything about it because it was just so crazy, and I don't want to give anything away. This is one of those books that you HAVE TO READ RIGHT NOW!!!!!! I read it in one sitting. Could not put it down.
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Spy Girl by Jillian Dodd

What happens when you get pulled out of spy academy before graduation because you look good in a bikini?

Your mission, should you choose to accept it: Protect the heir to the throne of Montrovia, while uncovering the person or persons behind the plot to assassinate him in order to take over control of this geographically important sovereign nation, and eliminate the threat.  

Get close to the hottest prince on the planet and work for Black X, the double-black covert group so secret even the President of the United States is on a need-to-know basis?

I accept.

     I haven’t read a good young adult book probably since the last one I read by Jillian Dodd. This woman knows how to write 'em. I was lucky enough to have today off, and to be waiting super impatiently for FedEx to bring me my Xbox, and I read this book in its entirety. I was nearing the end when FedEx finally showed up, and even for them I wouldn’t put it down. Now I love me a good young adult spy novel, and this one definitely didn’t disappoint. The only thing that sucks is that it’s got another story that’s coming out later on, and I probably would have waited to read this one had I known that. I loved Huntley. I loved her badassery, and how she was relatable but not, because, HELLO, she’s a spy, she’s not supposed to be. I loved how she was a little bit promiscuous and not at all sorry about it.

     This book was definitely a four. It was a fun, fast read and I loved it. Everything I’ve read by Jillian Dodd makes me stupid happy, and this book was no different. There wasn’t exactly a cliff hanger, but there was in the sense that we still don’t know what's on that locket, what happened with her and Daniel, or what’s going to happen with her and the Prince. The next book needs to come out now please.

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Stuck-Up Suit by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward

It started out like any other morning on the train. Until I became instantly mesmerized by the guy sitting across the aisle. He was barking at someone on his phone like he ruled the world. Who did the stuck-up suit think he was…God? Actually, he looked like a God. That was about it. When his stop came, he got up suddenly and left. So suddenly, he dropped his phone on the way out. I might have picked it up. I might have gone through all of his photos and called some of the numbers. I might have held onto the mystery man’s phone for days-until I finally conjured up the courage to return it. When I traipsed my ass across town to his fancy company, he refused to see me. So, I left the phone on the empty desk outside the arrogant jerk’s office. I might have also left behind a dirty picture on it first though. I didn’t expect him to text back. I didn’t expect our exchanges to be hot as hell. I didn’t expect to fall for him-all before we even met. The two of us couldn’t have been any more different. Yet, you know what they say about opposites. When we finally come face to face, we found out opposites sometimes do more than attract-we consumed each other. Nothing could have prepared me for the ride he took me on. And I certainly wasn’t prepared for where I’d wind up when the ride was over. All good things must come to an end right? Except our ending was one I didn’t see coming.

     In truth, the book blurb was a little misleading. For the most part, it gives you a pretty good summary, but it makes it seem like they’re spending a lot more time texting and falling in love that way than how it happens in the book (not a spoiler because HELLO THEY TELL YOU IN THE BLURB!). That’s my only real issue though. This book was seriously hilarious. The back and forth between Soraya and Graham in the advice column were some of my favorite parts, and they never ceased to make me actually laugh out loud a whole bunch. Also, can I just say HOW FUCKING EXCITED I WAS THAT THE GOAT WAS BACK IN THIS BOOK!!! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Pixie the goat, in all his glory, made a brief and wondiferous (it is a word that I am using because it’s my blog and I do what I want) appearance, and I could not have been more pleased. I literally squealed in joy. It would have embarrassing if I was around people. Aside from the humorous banter between the characters, there was a lot of deep rooted anxieties from past issues that gave the characters that sense of realness that I always love to find. One thing the blurb was definitely not misleading on was the sexual content in this book, it was there, and it was done all kinds of well.

     This book was a four and half for me. The characters were pretty great, and I loved how much I laughed in this book. It felt nice to have a book leaving me laughing rather than crying, and the sex was well…fire. Overall, it was very cute. I liked the drama, even though I felt like there was never any point where you didn’t actually know what was going to happen. And then there was Pixie the Goat, who will always have a forever place in my heart. 

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Cocky Bastard by Penelope Ward and Vi Keeland

He was someone who belonged in my wildest fantasies instead of a rest stop in the middle of Nebraska.

A sexy, cocky, Australian named Chance was the last person I expected to run into on my cross-country drive.

When my car broke down, we made a deal. Next thing I knew, we were traveling together, spending sexually-tense nights in hotels and taking unplanned detours.

My ordinary road trip turned into the adventure of a lifetime. It was all fun and games until things got intense.

I wanted him, but Chance wouldn’t made a move. I thought he wanted me too, but something was holding him back.

I wasn’t supposed to fall for the cocky bastard, especially when I knew we’d be going our separate ways.

All good things must come to end, right?

Except our ending was one I didn’t see coming.

     So, I know I am way behind on the Penelope and Vi Keeland train. I’ve read all the others, but for some reason, in between school, moving back up north, life (who knows, I have no excuse), I hadn’t gotten to this book yet. But at the North Shore signing event, I saw this book and was like YUP I NEEDS IT, IT IS GOING TO BE MINE!  And then I remembered I just went to Lush and got me some new bath bombs, and what more do really need to justify a book purchase (quite frankly I never question a Penelope book purchase)? I got home from the signing, immediately broke out said bath bomb, the newly, beautifully signed book (I could cherish it and put it on a shelf never to be touched, but books are meant to be read and loved), and sunk my teeth into this monster. I never came up for air. I haven’t read a book straight through in…I’m honestly not sure how long. It has been over a year since I have been able to do that. I just don’t have that kind of time anymore (not even for the books, my one true love). The characters in this books were adorable and sassy and just so real. You could feel the tension dripping from the pages and I loved it. Who hasn’t had that sense of wanting someone you can’t have, of having that tension build up in such a small enclosed space over time? The authors painted that so well in this book, it was perfect. I LOVED THE GOAT!!!! OMG THAT GOAT WAS SO FREAKING CUTE I JUST CAN’T EVEN!!!! It was the perfect addition to this book. I loved how we got to see two perspectives. We got to see both of the character’s pain and desires and what they went through to get through to the other.

     This book was a five. There wasn’t anything too ridiculous about it (other than the goat that I love and now I NEED one) that made it completely unrealistic. It was, for me at least, impossible to put down, which felt amazing after so long of being unable to have the opportunity to do that. I loved the characters and the tension between them. The writing was beautiful, and, as an added bonus, this book didn’t make me cry once, and lord knows I’m a giant blubbering idiot.

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Boston's North Shore Author Signing!!!!!

Gahhhh!!!! So today I was lucky enough to nerd out super hard and meet three authors that I just die for. I got to take pictures with them where I look drugged out and dumb and I couldn't be more excited lol.
Pictures of stuff! And things!!!!

I tried not to be too greedy with swag and what not. I've got about a million bookmarks and stuff from the bookworm box, but that rubber chicken from Julia Kent was going to be mine!

As soon as we walked in, the first author we saw was Toni Aleo, and as much as I loved the authors I came to see today, I was so fucking excited to meet this woman, there are no words. (Which is probably why I look like a drugged out fool in this picture lol). This wonderfully bubbly lady writes about hockey and romance, and honestly, what more could you want from a book?

OMG, Penelope Ward is so ridiculously hot it's not even funny. She's also super nice, and when meeting her in person the urge to ask her to run away with you forever is strong. I resisted (because introvert), but it was a close call. 

The last author I got to meet was Julia Kent, and can I just OMG yaaaassss about her a few times? From the chicken mask and rubber chicken key chains and the super awesome Mavis for president stickers; if there was an award for most badass swag, especially pertaining to funniest parts of their books, she would totally win. (With Toni Aleo coming in second, because fuck yeah hockey pucks!). 

She was seriously the nicest woman ever, and I just loved her. 

All of the authors there were awesome, but these three women were my favorites and I was too excited for words to meet them.

You can check out their author pages on Amazon below.

Toni Aleo Penelope Ward Julia Kent

Unseen Messages by Pepper Winters

“Instincts are what keep us safe from fate. Ignoring them can change your life forever.”

Fame and fortune arrived overnight and months on the road with her singing tour, all Estelle craves is peace. Tired and ready for paradise, she travels to Fiji to recuperate.

Stubborn and surly, Galloway is avoided by most-which is exactly the way he likes it. However, he’s done spending his life in regret and hopes to find redemption in the tropical wilderness.

Together, they board the flight that changes their fate forever. Crash landing on a deserted island, they not only have to figure out how to survive with no skills and daily dangers-learning how to fish, find water, and build shelter-but also inherit two children who look upon them to keep them alive.

However, staying alive might be the least of Galloway and Estelle’s problems. As the days creep to months and rescue doesn’t find them, their desire for each other ignites.

They started as strangers.

They grew to be friends.

They fought the desire to be lovers.

Lust can be the most beautiful thing. Love the most rewarding. But not on an island where life hangs by a thread and giving into temptation can kill you.

Can they survive being forgotten or will love be their ultimate undoing?

     I was lucky enough to be chosen to receive an ARC of this book, but then I fucked up and gave the author the wrong kindle address (like a giant idiot). I wasn’t about to be that jerk either; plus, I had pre-ordered it, so when it finally came live, and I finished all my homework, you know I got right down to business. This book was unlike a lot of other Pepper Winter books I’ve read before. I love everything she does, and this one was absolutely no exception. I know it has been far too long since I’ve taken the time to review anything. This one was well worth carving out some time (I’m not gonna lie, I kinda missed this). Let us get to it though. I loved these characters. All of them. Not one of them pissed me off or had any flaws that can sometimes really irritate me in a character. What these people went through on that island, what they did to survive, reading it all was just incredible. It really made look at life a little differently, which isn’t something a lot books make you do. (Thumbs up Winters) Of course the love story in here was beautiful, and god, I don’t want to give any spoilers out, but WTF. WHY DID YOU DO THAT TO US!?!?!?!? There were some pretty heart wrenching parts that were really awful and I just hated, and I mean that in the best way possible. They made the book what it was.

     This book was, hands down, a five. I can barely stay up past 10 at night anymore, and I was reading this until 2:30 in morning, balling my eyes out, cursing the author’s name a few times. The writing and the characters and the story and everything was perfect. It was different, and it was terrifying to think of this happening to you. To wonder if you could survive that. 

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