Reviewed by Helyce

In Racing for the Sun, we are pulled into the lives of Ace and Sonny who meet when Sonny joins the army and is placed under Ace’s command. Ace sees something in Sonny that calls to him and he finds himself wanting to watch out for him and take care of him. Ace learns that Sonny is a great mechanic and that coupled with Ace’s love of street racing is the genesis of a dream they cultivate while serving their time in the army. They’ll get a car, Sonny will get it race ready and Ace will drive. They’ll go from race to race and win the pot every time. It’s a dream that gets Ace through the rest of his term and keeps Sonny sane while he finishes his term after Ace leaves.

By the time Sonny gets out of the army, Ace has found them a place to live, set up a legitimate shop and purchased a car that is just waiting for Ace to work on. Sonny seems shocked that Ace had been able to accomplish so much and he’s further surprised by the fact that everything is legitimate. He gets right to work on the car and before you know it, they are racing and winning.

As usual, I was pulled into this story from the first page. You know immediately, that Sonny is barely hanging on; he is emotionally damaged nearly beyond repair. The only reason he survives the army at all is because Ace mentors him and then makes sure that there is someone there to watch over him when his time is up.

When the men are reunited, they move forward with their plan to street race. I liked where the story was going at this point. Sonny is still skittish and super distrustful of everything. He needs constant reassurances from Sonny. At this point, the reader is only able to make assumptions of Sonny’s past; it’s not totally clear, but you know it was bad. Ace handles Sonny with kid gloves, but his feelings for him are always there and he has to keep them to himself. I struggled with this. Their relationship was too one sided for much of the story. While I understood the “why” of it all, it just became a bit repetitive with Sonny being too needy.

In spite of that, I enjoyed the character of Ace. While his struggles didn’t compare with what Sonny had gone through, he’d been in a bad situation himself and had to make tough decisions at a young age in order to cope. I loved that he was the type of character that had that big protective instinct and that he never shied away from helping someone less fortunate and never expected anything in return.

When a man from Sonny’s past shows up, we finally learn exactly what had happened that led Sonny to the army in the first place. It’s not pretty, but Amy Lane doesn’t do pretty. She does gritty and realistic and laces it with just the right amount of pain. I was surprised with the way the story went here and I was not entirely comfortable with it. There’s a murder-and while it kind of goes with the “eye for an eye” mentality, it kind of took away from the fact that I’d fallen for a character that in spite of all that had been done to him, he’d grown into a man who was a kind of hero to others. I agree that the character had to die, but I’d have preferred it happen under other circumstances.

There are secondary characters that brought humor to an otherwise heavy story. Jai, Alba and even Burton; all of their lives were enhanced and changed just by the fact that Ace met them, saw the real person behind the façade and accepted them without question. I adored this aspect of Ace’s character; his utter lack and judgment and acceptance of people was beautiful.

Like all Amy Lane books, this one was filled with her trademark angst and deep emotional content that always make me think about humanity and the choices people make. While not my favorite, I’m glad I read it.

Rating: C

Recent Reviews:
Fiction Vixen – A
The Book Vixen – 4/5
Goodreads

Author Website

Kindle l Nook

Reviewed by Helyce

Vicki Hansol has lived her whole life under the town’s scrutiny. Her mother and sister have terrible reputations and the assumption is that Vicki must be the same way. But it’s not true at all. She wants nothing more than to get out of town and have a life away from the rumors. When a job opportunity arises that will give her that chance, she wants nothing more to accept. But first she’ll need to get over one of her biggest fears.

While Joel Coleman has a similar kind of reputation, his is looked on in such a different way. He and his twin, Jesse, are known for their female conquests and the fact that they often shared their women. But Joel is tired of that and he’s been trying hard to grow up and break away from that lifestyle, much to his brother Jesse’s dismay. He sees the relationships that his older brothers have and he sees them with their children and he knows that one day that is what he wants too.

No one is more surprised than Joel himself when pretty Vicki Hansol approaches him one day with a proposition. She needs to overcome her fear of horses and she thinks Joel is just the man to do it. It’s no secret that Joel has noticed Vicki before and he jumps on the chance to help her out, but he’s got a proposition all his own.

It’s no secret that I am a fan of Ms. Arend’s Six Pack Ranch series. And with each story I am pulled further into the world that she has created here. Joel’s story surprised me; it was not what I expected at all for him and I am thrilled with the direction the author took his journey. Vicki was also a surprise and really just perfect for Joel.

In the earlier books, Joel, along with his twin brother Jesse were portrayed as your basic man whores. They were proud of their reputations and used it to their advantage, carousing and bedding lots of willing women. Somewhere along the way, Joel decided he was done with this lifestyle and it was time to grow up and start being a man he could be proud of. He took his ranch work more seriously, and was avoiding the “party” scene to the best of his ability. I loved seeing this change in Joel. I had wondered what the author would do with the twins; how she would give them their story or stories and I incorrectly assumed that a menage was in order. As that would have been my least favorite outcome, I was thrilled that was not the direction she took.

I loved Vicki as well. This is a young woman who has spent her life cleaning up after a mother and sister. The town assumes she’s a slut-she must be if her mother and sister are. But even under the negativity of a small town, Vicki does not fall into that life. She lets people say what they want and make their assumptions, and she does not let it deter her from her plan to be better and do more with her life. She is smart, has an awesome sense of humor and when an opportunity presented itself, she did what she had to do to see her dream realized.

The author treats us to some lovely surprises where this couple is concerned as well and I loved how they were given to us. Vicki has a secret and when Joel leans it, it changes everything. Their romance is perfectly drawn out and moves in slow steps much like the way Joel deals with Vicki’s fear of horses. It was not difficult to love this couple.

I disliked the changes in Jesse’s character. Joel and Jesse have always been close and while I understand Jesse’s feelings toward the change in the brotherly relationship as Joel starts getting closer to Vicki, I was very confused by it. Why wouldn’t Jesse be happy for Joel? The author has always expressed that this is a family that sticks together and the strong family values displayed through the series have been one of my favorite points. I would have liked just a little bit more interaction with Jesse and Joel and maybe a hint of why the situation bothered Jesse so much. I don’t think it was jealousy; Jesse’s negative reactions were much too strong for simple jealousy. I think something else is going on; something big.

And then there is Travis. I love Travis. In each book, his character has left me with more questions than the one before. Travis has some major issues, but from book one he has been mine. I need to know his secrets and I want to understand him and I especially want him to be happy. The author has strung us along in many ways, hinting and then confusing us. I don’t even speculate anymore. I have decided to just wait for his book.

A perfect addition to this series, I definitely recommend to fans of contemporaries with hot cowboys and strong family ties. I would also recommend reading in order for continuity purposes.

Rating: B+

Recent Reviews:
Goodreads

Author Website l Series Listing

Kindle l Nook l Samhain

SET #1

Game On by Tracy Solheim
Taken by a Vampire by Joey W Hill
Ours to Love by Shayla Black
The Edge of NEver by KA Redmerski

SET #2 (AKA – if you are in distress, take off your clothes!)

Midnight Secrets by Ella Grace
Headed for Trouble by Suzanne Brockmann
Sworn to Protect by Jo Davis
Deadly Intentions by Candice Poarch

SET #3

Time Thief by Katie MacAlister
The Cursed by Alyssa Day
Nightbound by Lynn Viehl
Wicked as she Wants by Delilah Dawson

SET #4

SET #5

Whisper’s Edge by LuAnn McLane
Homecoming by Lacey Baker
Honey Pie by Donna Kauffman
A Perfect Proposal by Katie Fforde

All books are final, brand new copies.

To enter, leave a comment stating which set(s) you prefer. Contest open to everyone through May 22,

Reviewed by May

Favorite quote: Genevieve dropped onto the chair, air rushing out of her. She felt shaken, on uncertain ground. Myles her brother’s best friend was not necessarily the same man as Myles her husband, and she was not quite sure how to deal with him. What to say. What to think.

Genevieve Stafford has long been engaged to a man she barely tolerates, but she is determined to marry well and make  strong alliance for her family to help their reputation as her brother recently had a slightly scandalous (but true love) match. Unfortunately someone seems to be scheming and trying to bring harm to her, and she finds herself in a compromising position as well as shoved into a hasty marriage with her brother’s long time friend Sir Myles Thorwood.

Myles offers the match freely, in fact it is his idea in order to save her reputation and keep her from a life shunned by society. He then sets about the job of wooing his very innocent and reluctant wife.

I love a marriage of convenience, and I adore the kind of heroine who will punch a man trying to assault her right in the nose, groin, or whatever else it takes. I went into this book expecting an excellent read, and instead I’m sorry to say I found nothing to like.

For me this was one of those books where nothing quite worked. The heroine flip flops from this fearless amazing woman to this shy innocent girl, she’s scared of love – no wait she’s scared of nothing! She wants to do right by her family, no wait she will do what she damn well pleases! I found her exhausting and because of all the changing of her actions it was incredibly difficult to like her.

Meanwhile the hero is the cookie cutter best friend of older brother who’s a bit of a rake and has had scores of affairs and is therefore very skilled as a lover. Of course now that he’s found his lady wife he devotes himself entirely to her.

One of the real problems for me is the plot. Alright so somebody set her up and it killed her engagement. She should be happy, because she was going to marry a seriously boring and proper guy who would make her life miserable. What I don’t get is that our happy couple get married and go off to Myles’ home, but when they realize “oh, gee, maybe somebody set up that whole scene that broke up the other engagement and got us to marry in haste” they decide to race back to London and figure it all out.

Um… why? They are happy, healthy, getting along famously, having wild sex all over, and fully in the glow of newlywed bliss. So what if somebody set her up to be caught with another man alone? What would figuring this out matter?

When I finished the book, I still didn’t think leaving the bliss of the country to figure out “whodunit” paid off in any way. I was just grateful to be done.

I feel like I’m being exceptionally harsh on this book, and I feel bad for that. The writing wasn’t terrible, just a bit long winded and slow paced for what was being done in the story. Camp does generally have a nice voice and I’ve enjoyed some of her previous works I just could not get past how dull both the plot and characters were in this one. For me none of it was compelling; just mildly interesting.

If you want a sweet, very couple/character focused historical romance with a doting husband of convenience turned love match, perhaps this book will be for you.

Grade: C-

Recent Reviews:
Goodreads

Author Website l Series Listing

Amazon l B&N

Hot Blooded (Jessica McClain #2) by Amanda Carlson

Reviewed by Tori

It hasn’t been the best week for Jessica McClain.

Her mate has been kidnapped by a Goddess hell-bent on revenge — but Jessica is playing for keeps. Because she’s the only female werewolf in town…it comes with its own set of rules…and powers. Aided by two vamps, two loyal Pack members, and one very reluctant human, Jessica must rescue her man while coming to terms with what being a wolf really means.

All in a day’s work for a girl. (Goodreads)

Hot Blooded picks up where Full Blooded left off. Jessica McClain is now not only the female to be born into a pack in the last couple hundred of years, she’s also a full blooded werewolf who finds herself the subject of much supernatural interest as she is regarded as, “the evil apocalypse that will end their races.” When her mate, Rourke, is kidnapped by the evil goddess, Selene, Jessica finds herself making deals and robbing Peter to pay Paul in order to rescue Rourke and end Selene’s reign of terror once and for all.

Hot Blooded takes us back into Carlson’s highly energetic Urban Fantasy world of hot, sexy shapeshifters, nasty politically motivated supernatural factions, and now TWO prophecies that all revolve around the first female to be born into a wolf pack in hundreds of years-Jessica McClain.  Heavily character driven, Carlson continues to build upon the existing world we were first introduced to and brings in more characters who expand the arc and the present storyline, giving us clues to future books. Carlson does a wonderful job of explaining supernatural politics and integrating them into the main conflict. A steady pace combined with humorous dialogue and action packed scenes keeps us moving along as we follow our protagonist, Jessica McClain, back into the fray of things. Jessica is her pack alpha’s daughter. She is also the first female to be born into the pack and her birth is shrouded in secrecy and a prophecy. Jessica continues to learn more about the original prophecy and the new prophecy that counteracts it. This new prophecy hints that she is to be the one who will rise above the multiple supernatural factions and act as lady justice’s sword, melting out punishment to those who seek to commit evil. This leaves the supernatural world up in arms, thinking she is seeking to exterminate them, and places a huge target on her back. As Jessica races to Rourke’s rescue with a team of unlikely allies, she soon learns that being enemy number one in the supernatural world is the least of her problems.

I liked this installment for the most part. Jessica remains an intriguing protagonist. Intelligent, strong, arse kicking, and funny-she is a worthy UF heroine. I did feel there were certain plot devices used that cheated the natural growth of her character though. With each battle Jessica encounters, she is given a new power in which to defeat it. Any adversity is quickly squashed. I also found that the battle scenes became repetitive and overwhelming, especially the last one with Selene. We spend an inordinate amount of time watching Jessica and the others argue on how to handle Selene and being forced to listen to Selene’s juvenile dialogue. I did enjoy Jessica’s growth in retrospect to her wolf, Jezebel. The additional power gains do serve to further merge Jessica and her wolf into one.

There is no advancement in her “romance” with Rourke. I put romance in quotes because it was only introduced briefly in Full Blooded before he was whisked away and it’s all based on the mating bond. In my opinion, they don’t spend enough time together to make me believe it is love or even lust. Jessica’s wolf is the one pushing Jessica towards him.  I’m hoping book three gives us more time with them if only to show us that it’s worth the added storyline.

The secondary cast continue to be strong, personable characters who could each carry a storyline all by themselves. Cullum, Jessica’s dad, is probably my favorite.  He truly loves Jessica and has no problem showing that love. I like that he isn’t portrayed as the stereotypical wolf alpha, only wanting to sell his kid to the highest bidder. Her brother remains a delightful mess and I like the relationship they have. Danny, our human pack mate, has a strong storyline in here and I like where Carlson takes him in regards to a possible romantic entanglement. Roy. Poor Roy. Why is Roy ever here? Jessica’s new “vampire” friends are a welcome addition and Carlson uses them to further educated us to the vampire court and the intricacies involved in dealing with it.

The ending wraps up the storyline from book one and opens up new ones with a cliffhanger. While I enjoyed this installment overall, I really wish Jessica had been tested more character wise without being given instant successes. Knowing right off the bat that a heroine can never be defeated, as this installment shows being a possibility, makes me a bit weary for the overall arc of this series. Heroines and heroes need to be defeated occasionally. They need to suffer and be able to drag themselves out by their own sheer grit and determination-not through a newly developed power that just happens to appear at the right moment. Regardless, I look forward to book three, Cold Blooded, as it’s set in New Orleans and hints and Jessica and Rourke spending lots of time together.  Cold Blooded is slated to release October 8, 2013.

**EDIT** I was mistaken in saying Danny is a human packmate. It is Devon who is the human packmate. 

Overall Rating: C+

Recent Reviews:
Paranormal Haven – 4/5
Little Read Ridinghood – 5/5
Goodreads

Author Website l Series Listing

Amazon l B&N 

Celine
Paula

Congrats!

B+ review – True by Erin McCarthy (New Adult)
B review – Plus One by Brighton Walsh (contemporary novella)
B review – Of Shadow Born by Dianne Sylvan (UF)
B review – Plastic Hearts by Lisa De Jong (New Adult)
C review – The Laird’s Forbidden Lover by Amelia Gormley (M/M)
C review – Son of a Preacher Man by Arianna Hart (contemporary)
C review – Nightbound by Lynn Viehl (Paranormal)
D review – Undeclared by Jen Frederick (New Adult)

Feature: Her Master’s Kiss by Vivien Sparx
Need a New Adult Rec? We Got ‘Em
Guest Author Marie Sexton

News From Mandi: Blood of Isis by Elizabeth Otto is a pretty fun paranormal world. The hero is a demon hunter and the heroine has weird things happen to her after she almost dies in an accident. They meet working as EMTs together. I think the world is a little confusing with some info dumping throughout – but I like how she writes the hero and heroine. Review to come.

I struggled with Freefall by Jill Sorenson. There is a lot of action (maybe too much) revolving around mountain rescues and then bad guy stuff. The romance never took off in this one. I actually liked the heroine’s sister’s story a lot more than the heroine and hero. Review to come.

Fire Inside by Kristen Ashley is a lot of fun. I wasn’t sure how sexy Hop would be after getting some glances of him in Own the Wind, but he is SUPER sexy. His heroine is a bit annoying, as she constantly tries to push him away, but overall I really liked this one. Review to come

Finally I read the novella, His Risk to Take by Tessa Bailey. Dirty talker hero which I liked. The suspense didn’t quite do it for me in this one but I do like this author’s voice. Review to come.

I’m currently reading Lady Luck by Kristen Ashley and then I’m starting The Look of Love by Bella Andre.

News From May: It was my birthday week! *soaks up last minutes of being reigning birthday queen* however circumstances did not, as I’d hoped, allow for massive quantities of reading time.

I did manage to gobble up Heart of Venom by Jennifer Estep. Y’all are gonna wanna read this. Loved the story and will be joint reviewing with Tori here at Smexy.

Right now I’m reading Inferno by Dan Brown and all you who want to hate on my Langdon love need to leave me alone! Ha. I hear bad things about this book- but I’m reserving judgment for myself. It’s a big read and I’m only about 50 pages in at this point but there is already a lady assassin (win!) and things are (naturally) mysterious… we shall see.

I’m also reading The Marrying Season by Candice Camp – review to come early next week. So far it is cute, but a bit slow. I really hope it picks up and ends my streak of lame historical romances!

10. Game of Thrones Fans – SUMMER IS COMING. *giggle*

9. Can we all do a little squeeee?? Marked by Lauren Dane, Vivian Arend and Kit Rocha – together in one book? It’s not coming until Feb 2014, but we can make it, right? Go HERE for the blurbs.

8. Chloe Neill has posted the FIRST chapter of Biting Bad. She also has a contest to win a signed arc. Go HERE for all the deets.

7. Tomorrow (Saturday May 18th) is the Frederick Book Festival. Those local to MD, PA, VA etc should come check it out. There will be a bunch of authors, panels and book talk. Myself, Marq from Love to Read for Fun, Joy from Joyfully Reviewed and Katie @YoungLibrarian will be doing a panel at 10am about blogging. Looking forward to a fun day!

6. You guys. I haven’t read every single Kristen Ashley book like Tori has. I KNOW! I have failed. Anyway – I started Lady Luck because Pamela said there is a marriage of convenience and I LOVE a marriage of convenience. I’m only at 10% but I love the set up. The hero (HUGE tatt guy who barely talks) has been in prison for five years (I don’t know why yet) and the day he gets out the heroine picks him up (they have never met – she was kinda forced to) The NEXT day he offers her $50,000 to marry him (not sure why he needs a wife). So off to Vegas they go.

I’m in love y’all. IN. Love. Goodreads l Kindle

5. To transition into the man smut portion of the Top Ten, I give you a flower whose petals look like naked men. Yeah – get up close in look. Go HERE for a bigger picture. They have little arms and legs and wee wees y’all. Nakey men flowers. Not sure I can top this. (Thank you Tori for finding this)

4. Speaking of little wee wees, here is a clip of Jensen Ackles dancing. Thanks to Rachel for tweeting it.

3. Oh HELL no. Hot dogs are kinda gross but stuffed with BACON??? It has gone from gross to epic amazingness.

If you don’t want to ingest a bacon dog (wimps!) you can now still get that bacon aroma by just lighting a candle.

Not sure if you can see in this pic (Larger one HERE). But Yankee candle has come out with “Man Scents” – Bacon being one of them. Also included, Man Town, Riding Mower, Movie Night, and First Down. 

Let me just say this – I live with three males – in no way do I need any other “SCENTS” in this house. My little lavender candle can barely keep up as it is.

2. A very cute list of kids who have “Sold out Their Parents.”

It’s kind of scary to think about what your kids have told their teachers about you. Stuff you will probably never know. When my son was in preschool, he had to draw a picture of me and the teacher writes on the bottom what he described. Except, when I went to pick him up his description was blank. So I asked – and she awkwardly said – Jackson told us he drew a picture of you in jail. I have never been to jail!! I’ve never even had a speeding ticket. Ever! So I tell her all this and of course come off as very defensive and she as just like – oooooh kay honey. Damn kids!

He is in third grade now – He has had years to tell stories about me. *sobs* I’m not the only one, right?

1. You guys – the Powerball is now over $600 million. Tomorrow isn’t only the Frederick Book Festival, but also my parents epic Preakness party and THEN I’ll win $600 million bucks. It’s gonna be a good weekend y’all!  Happy Friday!

Plus One by Brighton Walsh
Released: May 6, 2013
Cotemporary Romance
Carina Press

Reviewed by Mandi

Favorite Quote: “I’ve wanted you for so long, Liv.”

…. “Better come get me, then.”

Olivia is tired of the dating scene and tired of the guy she is out to dinner with. Lucky for her, her best friend’s brother Ian calls just in time and Olivia has an excuse to dump the date. Olivia and Ian live in different cities now but they have been good friends (and only friends) for many years. As they chat on the phone, Olivia mentions she has several weddings coming up and now she has to find a dates. This sums up Olivia’s dating experiences:

“Men are all lousy asshats who don’t know good conversation from their own sweaty ball sacs.”

Well then! Thankfully, Ian suggests he be her plus one, and to his delight, she agrees.

Ian has had a crush on Olivia for as long as he can remember. He actually moved to a different town just to try to get on with his life. But he knows deep down Olivia is the one for him. As he starts to see her at these various weddings, dancing and spending time with her, he realizes it is time to make his move.

This is a cute novella. A super short novella, but cute nonetheless. This author writes their chemistry really well. It helps that they both are very familiar with each other and have a friendly history. Their chemistry and tension are smoldering.

His eyes, scorching with a want she knew all too well, bored into hers

“Liv.” He managed to convey so much want and need with that single word.

She swallowed, her throat suddenly dry, and tried not to sound breathless when she answered. “Yes?”

Ian’s finger was still on her lip, caressing it back and forth, and his focus switched between her mouth and her eyes. When he didn’t say anything more, she couldn’t take it any longer. Her tongue darted out, lightly brushing against his finger. With their eyes locked, she took the tip of his finger into her mouth and sucked gently.

“Jesus Christ.” It was a low rumble, spoken under his breath, but she heard it clearly.

I also enjoyed the fact that Ian gets nervous about admitting his true feelings. That trait came off quite endearing to me.

I wish this had been longer so we could have explored the relationship, as there is definitely room for more. But for what we get, it is well done.

Rating: B

Recent Reviews:
Book Lovers Inc – 4.5/5
The Book Pushers – B-
Goodreads

Author Website

Kindle l Nook l Carina Press

Reviewed by May

“God, I’m like the poster child for every emo sad sack girl out there. I’m letting down my gender.”

Six years ago, Noah began receiving letters from a high school girl named Grace while he was deployed in Afghanistan. A part of a mandatory high school project, Grace had to write the letters and according to his CO, Noah had to respond. Over time the pair began to look forward to these letters, and Noah (and his buddies) always anticipated the care packages young Grace would send. After four years of letter writing, Noah wrote Grace a letter that crushed the romantic dreams budding in her young heart and that is the last she heard from him.

Two years have passed, and now Grace (a college sophomore) is stunned to find that Noah isn’t just back – he’s enrolled in the same college as a Junior, is an aspiring MMA fighter, and is doing his best to make something of himself in life outside the Marines.

We do not learn the exact ages of these characters until about half way through the story, and when I did I was shocked. From the way Grace carries on about her heartbreak and how she was saving herself for Noah I had assumed she was about sixteen or seventeen when the letters started, and was now somewhere around 22-23 years old. To discover that the letters she was writing him ended while she was still in high school when she was still a minor shocked me. At the time of this story she is only nineteen.

I sent her a letter telling her she reminded me of someone’s little sister and friendzoning her. I didn’t want to think about the anger I would have felt getting that kind of letter from her.

To me, this was the exact appropriate thing to send a minor who has a crush on you, a grown ass man and Marine. Why would he not “friend zone” her? She’s a kid.

I had made the mistake of showing Bo her prom picture, and then everyone wanted to see “their Grace”. My CO even made me pin the picture up, as if she were some kind of community property.

I suspected more guys jacked off to that picture of Grace than the chick on the cover of Juggs.

Based on Noah’s comments about some of the photos that Grace had sent him over the years, he had romantic inclinations towards her as well.

She was curvier than the average coed, but I liked that. In her prom dress, she looked like a 50s pinup model, with her dark hair curled and a flower pinned near her forehead. While it could have been her dress giving her padding, I suspected that she was stacked.

His lack of response and disappearing act over the last two years was not about her age, it was about him getting his act together. Not once did he think his thoughts about her were in any way inappropriate. I really don’t even care if she was a senior in high school when she sent a photo that he fond alluring. It’s creepy.

Now a four or five year age difference isn’t a big deal romantically speaking if we’re talking about adults, but there is a huge difference between a fourteen year old high school girl and a nineteen year old Marine serving in Afghanistan. Even a sixteen year old girl and a twenty year old man is a world of difference, and this part of the story I found incredibly disturbing.

Now nothing suggestive or romantic was in their letters we are shown in the book, which lead me to wonder why on earth Grace would think she had a chance at a relationship with her pen pal. Why would she think that he was going to come back home and be her boyfriend? Also, why would he expect that Grace is “his”?

The problem isn’t just the age, but also one of maturity. Grace has no idea what she wants from life, her only real friend is also her cousin, she doesn’t have a major and doesn’t have the courage to apply for the art program (she loves photography), she’s a virgin, she’s barely been able to be interested in men because she has Noah up on a pedestal, and she has poor self-esteem when it comes to her body. Now all of this in my mind sounds pretty typical, if not expected of a nineteen year old girl.

The reason Grace doesn’t work as a leading lady is because she is so weak, so in need of saving and prompting and help, that it completely throws the balance off in the relationship with Noah. She’s playing petty games that teenage girls favor, he’s working on building a life. She needs his approval, he’s telling her not to swear and directing her towards a better life. He tells her how much to drink, where they’ll be going, not to swear, and anything else he can think of to control subtly.

If I set aside the fact that Noah has lusted after Grace since she was a younger teenager and determined that she had a nice rack, I really liked him as a character. He is awkward and unsure on how to approach Grace and pursue a relationship with her. He makes mistakes, but he also carries her books and opens doors and is a gentleman. He’s on the alpha side – but that fits being that he is a former Marine and current MMA fighter.

With all the childish games these two played, the way that nothing bad ever happened no matter what bad choices these two made, and of course the obvious perv factor on Noah having lusted for Grace for way too long, this book simply didn’t work for me in any way.

What really frustrated me with this book is that it didn’t have to be such a mess. The author has a nice overall voice and I liked a lot of her scenes and details. Had Grace been a few years older (both during their letter writing and at the time of the story/meeting in person) and had some actual real world experience, this could have been awesome. As it stands though, I was thoroughly skeeved out by the entire relationship, and really bummed out at the weak young virgin girl meets handsome (slightly) older man who likes controlling her actions trope.

Grade: D

Recent Reviews:
Fiction Vixen - C
Babbling About Books and More – B
Goodreads

Author Website l Series Listing

Kindle l Nook