Showing posts with label Contemporary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Contemporary. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Against the Wind by Rebecca Zanetti ~ Review


Title: Against the Wind (Rising Storm: Season 2: Episode 1)
Author: Rebecca Zanetti
Genre: Adult, Contemporary
Length: 105 pages
Publisher: Evil Eye Concepts
Source: Purchased
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Secrets, Sex and Scandals … 

Welcome to Storm, Texas, where passion runs hot, desire runs deep, and secrets have the power to destroy… Get ready. The storm is coming. 

As Tate Johnson works to find a balance between his ambitions for political office and the fallout of his brother’s betrayal, Zeke is confronted with his brother Chase’s return home. And while Bryce and Tara Douglas try to hold onto their marriage, Kristin continues to entice Travis into breaking his vows… 


**********

Season two starts off with a bang, and the drama just keeps on coming. We see a lot more from Tate as he tries to find his place in the political arena. But his ongoing feud with his brother and his betrayal sends waves through his campaign that he may find hard to overcome.

There's just lots of cheating lately - some done on the sly, some done because they went about things in the wrong order. I'm really starting to dislike Travis and Bryce - I really need to seem something redeeming about them soon, or they will have just gone too long without some good action.

Dakota is still at the heart of the recent scandal, and she can't seem to let it go. Somewhere in there, there has to be a sane and rational person. I hope we see a glimpse of it soon, because it looks like her world is about to be rocked yet again.


Rising Storm
Season One

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Distant Thunder by Larissa Ione ~ Review


Title: Distant Thunder (Rising Storm: MidSeason 2)
Author: Larissa Ione
Genre: Adult, Contemporary
Length: 79 Pages
Publisher: Evil Eye Concepts, Inc
Release Date: April 5, 2016
Source: Purchased
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Secrets, Sex and Scandals … 

Welcome to Storm, Texas, where passion runs hot, desire runs deep, and secrets have the power to destroy… Get ready. The storm is coming. 

As Sebastian and Marylee plot to cover up Sebastian’s sexual escapade, Ginny and Dakota continue to reel from the fallout of Dakota’s announcement. But it is the Rush family that’s left to pick up the pieces as Payton, Brittany and Jeffry each cope with Sebastian’s betrayal in their own way… 


**********
And the fallout continues! Dakota had no idea the trouble she'd bring down on the entire town with her not so little revelation. The Rush matriarch, Marylee, continues to try and make Dakota's life a living hell while at the same time trying to "cover up" and "explain" why the Senator slept with girls the same age as his daughter - one of those girls was even his daughter's best friend.

The Senator's family is still reeling, and the kids are forced to realize their parent's marriage wasn't quite what they had thought all these years. His wife, Payton, seems to be moving in a direction that is a bit unexpected, but I'll have to wait and see if anything plays out with that.

Another wrap-up, bridge type of episode. Setting the stage for season two and getting all the players in place for something big to happen.


Rising Storm
Season One

Monday, January 23, 2017

After the Storm by Lexi Blake ~ Review


Title: After the Storm (Rising Storm: MidSeason 1)
Author: Lexi Blake
Genre: Adult, Contemporary
Length: 81 Pages
Publisher: Evil Eye Concepts, Inc
Release Date: March 29, 2016
Source: Purchased
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Secrets, Sex and Scandals …

Welcome to Storm, Texas, where passion runs hot, desire runs deep, and secrets have the power to destroy… Get ready. The storm is coming.

In the wake of Dakota’s revelations, the whole town is reeling. Ginny Moreno has lost everything. Logan Murphy is devastated by her lies. Brittany Rush sees her family in a horrifying new light. And nothing will ever be the same… 


**********
Midseason one picks up the aftermath of Dakota's big Founders Day revelations. Lives were torn apart, notably the Rush kids and Ginny Moreno. Ginny's lie of omission (sort of) has the entire town turned against her.

But, this might be a good thing for Ginny's maturity levels. She turns around quite a corner and does what needs to be done - even though it had to be incredibly hard. Some of her apologies go well - so not so well. But none of them seem to repair the rift between her and Logan.

Dakota, on the other hand, continues to think that everything revolves around her. As the Rushes rally their forces against her, her life takes a turn for the worse and she blames the results of her actions on everyone but herself.

I nice pick up, but I felt that things stalled just a tad. But you can see more clouds on the horizon, and you never know what's going to happen next.


Rising Storm
Season One

Friday, January 20, 2017

Thunder Rolls by Dee Davis ~ Review


Title: Thunder Rolls (Storm Rising: Season One: Episode 8)
Author: Dee Davis
Genre: Adult, Contemporary
Length: 110 Pages
Publisher: Evil Eye Concepts, Inc
Release Date: November 12, 2015
Source: Purchased
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Secrets, Sex and Scandals … 

Welcome to Storm, Texas, where passion runs hot, desire runs deep, and secrets have the power to destroy… Get ready. The storm is coming. 

As Hannah Grossman grapples with the very real possibility that she is dating one Johnson brother while secretly in love with another, the entire town prepares for Founders Day. The building tempest threatens not just Hannah’s relationship with Tucker and Tate, but everyone in Storm as dire revelations threaten to tear the town apart.


**********
Thunder Rolls is the season one finale for Rising Storm, and it does what any good season finale does. It goes out with a bang and leaves you wanting more.

Everyone's storyline seems to converge at the Founders Day celebration. the Senator is set to give a big speech, a betrayed brother will go off the deep end, and some really big secrets are exposed in a very public way. And as one secret is revealed, it unravels several more. Relationships are forever altered and nothing will be the same.

I think this was a fantastic way to wrap up the season. Much of the drama is wrapped up in a way, but where one drama-door closes, two more open. And who knows what will happen next in Storm.


Rising Storm
Season One

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Weather the Storm by Lisa Mondello ~ Review


Title: Weather the Storm (Rising Storm Season 1: Episode 7)
Author: Lisa Mondello
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Serial
Length: 104 Pages
Publisher: Evil Eye Concepts, Inc
Release Date: November 5, 2015
Source: Purchased
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Secrets, Sex and Scandals …

Welcome to Storm, Texas, where passion runs hot, desire runs deep, and secrets have the power to destroy… Get ready. The storm is coming.

Bryce Daniels faces a crisis of faith when his idyllic view of his family is challenged with his son’s diagnosis of autism. Instead of accepting his wife and her tight-knit family’s comfort, he pushes them away, fears from his past threatening to undo the happiness he’s found in his present.
 


**********

This episode of Rising Storm knocked it out of the park! This time we finally meet the Daniels family. They have been background characters a couple times, but they take center stage in Weather the Storm. Bryce is the pastor of Storm, and his goal is to have the perfect family, the perfect life. Something the complete opposite of what he had growing up. 

But life doesn't always give us what we want, even if we work tirelessly for it. When Bryce's son is diagnosed with autism, he goes into a tailspin. There's no ranting or raving, just a complete denial of facts. He seems to think that if he pretends it doesn't exist, then it will just go away. Through this process of denial, he also starts to lose touch with the rest of his family, especially his wife.

This episode was a little more down to earth and seemed like something a real family out there might actually be going through. There were some bits of drama surrounding their family, but it mostly focused on this family and how they tried to get through this life-altering news.

It's also the first episode to sort of wrap up a story! Don't get scared, there's plenty more drama around the corner, but this was a nice little breather from all the high drama and big characters.


Rising Storm
Season One

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Revelations by T Marie Alexander ~ Cover Reveal


Revelations
T. Marie Alexander
Publication date: January 27th 2017
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
Have you ever craved something so badly that all reason was just an excuse getting in your way? 
Have you needed something so desperately that you didn’t care how you got it or who you hurt in the process? 
I have—and not that long ago. 
Acceptance. 
Acceptance… from family and friends…
Acceptance of the person I am inside and not outright rejection. 
It didn’t come easily for me, and now I believe the world needs to know just how ruthless life can be. How that overwhelming yearning for acceptance can mold you into someone you don’t recognize when you look in the mirror. I’m through hiding behind one façade after another—it’s time for the world to meet the real me. 
~Antoinette Justice

BOOK TRAILER:


Author Bio:
T. Marie Alexander lives in Arkansas. She can be found sitting at a computer on any given day, usually writing or looking up something to do with fashion. When she is not doing either of those things, she’s reading on her Kindle or binge watching Roswell on Netflix time and time again. She shares her apartment with her husband and some annoying ghost that like to take her belongings. Her dream of becoming an author started around the age of seven when she would glue small pages together and write about her favorite thing at the time, boy band crushes. T. Marie writes Young Adult Science Fiction and Paranormal Fiction.

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Thursday, October 27, 2016

We Are Unprepared by Meg Little Reilly ~ Review


Title: We Are Unprepared
Author: Meg Little Reilly
Genre: Adult, Contemporary
Length: 352 Pages
Publisher: Mira
Release Date: August 30, 2016
Source: Purchased
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Ash and Pia's move from Brooklyn to the bucolic hills of Vermont was supposed to be a fresh start—a picturesque farmhouse, mindful lifestyle, maybe even children. But just three months in, news breaks of a devastating superstorm expected in the coming months. Fear of the impending disaster divides their tight-knit rural town and exposes the chasms in Ash and Pia's marriage. Ash seeks common ground with those who believe in working together for the common good. Pia teams up with "preppers" who want to go off the grid and war with the rest of the locals over whom to trust and how to protect themselves. Where Isole had once been a town of old farm families, yuppie transplants and beloved rednecks, they divide into paranoid preppers, religious fanatics and government tools.

**********
A book based on the storm of the century, a story that has been in the making for months, a storm that is set to change the very geography of the East Coast. I really wanted to see what this storm had in store and how our characters and their small town would weather the storm. I love survival stories, and this one seemed like it would be especially good.

Unfortunately, the storm never seemed to arrive. Well, it did eventually, but it took far longer than I expected. Instead we had a story about a couple that really shouldn't have been together, and the way they come together and then fall apart all over again. I found it difficult to like Ash or Pia, so relating to their struggle. But we still had the storm (the anticipation of which was doing a number on everyone).

But it kept taking so long for it to get here! Only the last third of the book was about the storm itself and its aftermath. Once we get to this part, I started to enjoy the story much more. There was excitement, some coming together, and some tearing apart. It really was the story of the century, with a perfect combo of devastation. It seemed to last forever, and the recovery was still ongoing. I loved this part, I really needed it to come sooner though.

Friday, September 9, 2016

Calm Before the Storm by Larissa Ione


Title: Calm Before the Storm (Rising Storm Season One: Episode 5)
Author: Larissa Ione
Genre: Adult, Contemporary
Length: 106 pages
Publisher: Evil Eye Concepts, Inc
Release Date: October 22, 2015
Source: Purchased
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Secrets, Sex and Scandals … 

Welcome to Storm, Texas, where passion runs hot, desire runs deep, and secrets have the power to destroy… Get ready. The storm is coming. 

Marcus Alvarez fled Storm when his father’s drinking drove him over the edge. With his mother and sisters in crisis, Marcus is forced to return to the town he thought he’d left behind. But it is his attraction to a very grown up Brittany Rush that just might be enough to guarantee that he stays.


*****
I really like Marcus, and so far he's remained out of the crazy drama that is Storm, TX. But he remained out of it because he left. Now that he's back in town, sparks are flying between him and the Senator's daughter and her family is not happey about it.

Marcus grew up on the "wrong side of town" with the "wrong type of people" and the Rushes want something "better" for their daughter. Ya...lots of air quotes in that one. I really dislike this family. They are the bad guys here and they are going to have a hell of a time making me like them again (except for Brittany - she's good).

Marus isn't one to let a little family dislike stand between him and the girl he wants to be with. But he has his own family issues as well. Lots of things happening in Storm. This was another one on the sweeter side and I liked it, but I need my drama now please!


Storm Rising
Season One

Monday, August 29, 2016

Dance in the Wind by Jennifer Probst


Title: Dance in the Wind (Rising Storm Season One: Episode 4)
Author: Jennifer Probst
Genre: Adult, Contemporary
Length: 93 Pages
Publisher: Evil Eye Concepts, Inc
Release Date: October 5, 2015
Source: Purchased
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Secrets, Sex and Scandals … 

Welcome to Storm, Texas, where passion runs hot, desire runs deep, and secrets have the power to destroy… Get ready. The storm is coming. 

During his time in Afghanistan, Logan Murphy has endured the unthinkable, but reentering civilian life in Storm is harder than he imagined. But when he is reacquainted with Ginny Moreno, a woman who has survived terrors of her own, he feels the first stirrings of hope.



*****
The fourth season of Storm Rising was a bit on the sweeter side, which was actually surprisingly nice! With all the drama, backstabbing, and lies (which I loved) of the previous books, it was nice to take a bit of a breather and watch a couple good things happen in Storm, TX.

Logan has returned and we have a bit of a love story unfolding between him and Ginny. Now, I'm just waiting for this to explode later down the line because of Ginny's potential lie (we really don't know for sure if it's true or not yet). But watching these two people damaged and grieving connect was very beautiful.

Now, there's still some scandal floating around in this one. Our senator is still cheating with the troubled young woman and we see a little bit more into the dynamics on this, but not too much. Just enough to keep it alive in our minds.

I'm eagerly anticipating episode 5, I wonder how long this romance can last before things blow up. Will the senator get caught? What about Lacey and her need for attention? So many questions to be answered!


Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Crosswinds by Elisabeth Naughton ~ Review


Title: Crosswinds (Rising Storm Season One: Episode Three)
Author: Elisabeth Naughton
Genre: New Adult/Adult Contemporary
Length: 85 Pages
Publisher: Evil Eye Concepts
Release Date: October 8, 2015
Source: Self-Purchased
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Secrets, Sex and Scandals … 

Welcome to Storm, Texas, where passion runs hot, desire runs deep, and secrets have the power to destroy… Get ready. The storm is coming. 

Lacey Salt's world shattered with the death of her brother, and now the usually sweet-tempered girl is determined to take back some control—even if that means sabotaging her best friend, Mallory, and Mallory's new boyfriend, Luis.



Lacey is used to getting everything her way, but every since her brother's death, things haven't gone the way she wanted them to. Feeling left out and ignored at home, she turns her attention to Luis Moreno. But Luis is her best friend's boyfriend. But bored little Lacey thinks she'll play a game. She wants Luis now, and she doesn't care if she hurts Mallory trying to get him.

Luis is a bit blindsided by Lacey's new behavior and isn't quite sure how to handle it. His good friend is turning into a mean girl right before his eyes - but his past crush on her isn't letting him look away. A twisted little triangle is being formed, but that isn't all Mallory will have to deal with.

Crosswinds sets another relationship foundation and we get a deeper look into some of the characters we've met in the past. Things are starting to be all knotted together in a very twisted way.


Storm Rising
Season One

Thursday, August 4, 2016

White Lightning by Lexi Blake ~ Review


Title: White Lightning (Rising Storm Season 1: Episode 2)
Author: Lexi Blake
Genre: New Adult/Adult, Contemporary
Length: 89 Pages
Publisher: Evil Eye Concepts
Release Date: October 1, 2015
Source: Self-Purchased
Rating: 4
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Secrets, Sex and Scandals …

Welcome to Storm, Texas, where passion runs hot, desire runs deep, and secrets have the power to destroy… Get ready. The storm is coming.

As the citizens of Storm, Texas, sway in the wake of the death of one of their own, Daddy’s girl Dakota Alvarez also reels from an unexpected family crisis … and finds consolation in a most unexpected place.



More drama unfolds in Rising Storm as secrets are revealed and mistakes are made. Dakota is a bit of a wild child, and when a family crisis makes her feel like she is worthless - she lashes out in an interesting way. I think I've already found the man you're supposed to hate in this series, and the authors are making it very easy to do so.

There is drama unfolding on every page, and as these talented authors continue to set the stage for Storm, TX, I really want to see where things are going and learn more of the this town's dirty little secrets.


Storm Rising
Season One

Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Tempest Rising by Julie Kenner ~ Review


Title: Tempest Rising (Rising Storm Season 1: Episode 1)
Author: Julie Kenner
Genre: New Adult/Adult, Contemporary
Length: 101 Pages
Publisher: Evil Eye Concepts
Release Date: September 24, 2015
Source: Self-Purchased
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Secrets, Sex and Scandals …

Welcome to Storm, Texas, where passion runs hot, desire runs deep, and secrets have the power to destroy… Get ready. The storm is coming.

Nestled among rolling hills and painted with vibrant wildflowers, the bucolic town of Storm, Texas, seems like nothing short of perfection.

But there are secrets beneath the facade. Dark secrets. Powerful secrets. The kind that can destroy lives and tear families apart. The kind that can cut through a town like a tempest, leaving jealousy and destruction in its wake, along with shattered hopes and broken dreams. All it takes is one little thing to shatter that polish.

Ginny Moreno didn’t mean to do it, but when she came home to Storm, she brought the tempest with her. And now everyone will be caught in its fury…



This book was such a guilty pleasure read. There's no romance, there's no real ending, but it's everything dramatic in the world that is entertaining. It reminds me of soap operas - which is exactly what the series promised it would do.

Starting the with car accident that kills a beloved local boy and the events that follow, I was drawn in quickly and didn't come up until the episode was over. An incredibly fast read, but full of juicy stories. I'm not even sure where to start with it all. 

I'm interested to see how the story holds up with multiple authors writing about the same characters. It looks like each book has a slightly different focus, but in such a small town, the main characters look like they pop up in each book. I can't wait to see what happens in episode two.

Friday, March 11, 2016

Diary of a Rocker's Kid by Haley Despard ~ Review


Title: Diary of a Rocker's Kid (D.O.R.K. Series #1)
Author: Haley Despard
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Length: 305 pages
Publisher: Limitless Publishing
Release Date: December 1, 2015
Source: Contest Win
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Madison Daley’s father has concealed the truth from her for seventeen years…

Raised on a Kentucky farm, Madison is stunned when a conversational slip reveals her father Michael is a famous ’90s rock star known as the Grim Weeper. Michael left the spotlight and his mansion behind when Madison was dropped off on his doorstep by a woman in a black mask. A dark past is revealed, and the only thing Madison isn’t allowed to know is her mother’s name.

The answers Madison needs can only be found in Beverly Hills…

Though she does hope to persuade her dad to return to the stage, Madison’s real mission is to discover the identity of her mother.

But she is slightly distracted—literally—by the boy next door. Giovanni Abate’s father is an action film star, his stepdad is a major designer, and Gio has his own claim to fame. Madison catches the handsome, young Italian actor’s eye, and their mutual attraction makes for a hotter summer than she ever could have imagined.

Madison hasn’t set foot in California since infancy, but a lot of people are certain she has…

After Madison has a makeover, people are sure they’ve seen her somewhere before, and she is extremely curious about the identity of her supposed doppelganger. As she looks into this strange situation, she’s unaware that Gio is hiding a potentially devastating secret.

Could finding the answers she seeks change Madison’s life forever?

Or will it just lead to more questions to fill the…

Diary of a Rocker’s Kid

“What if who you’ve always been
isn’t who you truly are…”
 



This was a very fun story! The author does a great job telling the story from Madison's point of view, and I love the look even deeper into her thoughts as she writes her blog/diary posts. She's a suprising down to earth, yet crazy character that just has tons of personality.

Her whirlwind beginning of finding out who her family really is, was written very nicely. I love a good melt down scene when the circumstances call for it. And these definitely did - and one was very nicely provided. It helps keep the character real by showing that even she can become overwhelmed.

There are a lot of typical teen problems in the story - boys, looks, fashion, gossip, friends - but because they are typical I believed them. I did figure out the bug mystery before Madison did, but I think that was mostly a lucky guess. I'm very curious to see what is in store next for her.


Tuesday, January 19, 2016

What She Wanted by Julie Anne Lindsey ~ Cover Reveal


Title: What She Wanted
Author: Julie Anne Lindsey
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Lyrical Press
Release Date: July 9, 2016

It seems Katy has been waiting for her eighteenth birthday all her life. Raised by a grandfather who never got over losing Katy’s mother to cancer at a young age, she’s dreamed of a life free of the burdens of her family’s tragedies. But just before her birthday, she learns tragedy isn’t finished telling its story . . .

Before she can begin her new life, Katy’s grandfather suffers a heart attack, a box of her mother’s keepsakes, including a journal written to Katy while she was in her mother’s womb, at his side. Believing the only thing her grandpa loves enough to live for is her mother’s memory, Katy reads to him from the journal every night at the hospital. Night after night, line after line, Katy begins to see herself as her mother saw her in her dreams. Buoyed by her mother’s undying love and conviction, Katy vows to make her mother’s sacrifice mean something and promises to fulfill all her mother’s requests. Even the hard ones. Especially those . . .

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Meet the Author

Julie Anne Lindsey is a multi-genre author who writes the stories that keep her up at night. She’s a self-proclaimed nerd with a penchant for words and proclivity for fun. Mother of three, wife to a sane person and Ring Master at the Lindsey Circus, most days you'll find her online, amped up on caffeine and wielding a book. Julie started writing to make people smile. Someday she plans to change the world. Julie is a member of the International Thriller Writers (ITW), Sisters in Crime (SinC) and the Canton Writer’s Guild.

Monday, January 18, 2016

The Society by Jodie Andrefski ~ Cover Reveal

Title: The Society
Author: Jodie Andrefski
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Release Date: May 3, 2016


Welcome to Trinity Academy’s best-kept secret.
The Society.
You’ve been handpicked by the elite of the elite to become a member. But first you’ll have to prove your worth by making it through Hell Week.
Do you have what it takes?
It’s time to find out.
Samantha Evans knows she’d never get an invite to rush the Society—not after her dad went to jail for insider trading. But after years of relentless bullying at the hands of the Society’s queen bee, Jessica, she’s ready to take down Jessica and the Society one peg at a time from the inside out.
All it’ll take is a bit of computer hacking, a few fake invitations, some eager rushees…and Sam will get her revenge.
Let the games begin.




Meet the Author
Jodie Andrefski has been passionate about reading ever since she was a little girl, when she used to climb trees to escape with a favorite book. She now lives and writes in a small town in Pennsylvania with her teenage daughter. Though still an avid reader, she now prefers a comfy chair over the crook of a tree. An unapologetic coffee fiend, she's even happier if her java comes with pie. Jodie often draws on her background in education and mental health counseling to bring real world experience to her writing. She is a firm believer in the magic of a first kiss, and insists that you should never, ever give up on your dreams.

Author Links:
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