Losing Hope by Colleen Hoover

Title:  Losing Hope

Author: Colleen Hoover

My Rating: 4 Stars

Purchase: Amazon Kindle

Synopsis: In Hopeless, Sky left no secret unearthed, no feeling unshared, and no memory forgotten, but Holder’s past remained a mystery.

Still haunted by the little girl he let walk away, Holder has spent his entire life searching for her in an attempt to finally rid himself of the crushing guilt he has felt for years. But he could not have anticipated that the moment they reconnect, even greater remorse would overwhelm him…

Sometimes in life, if we wish to move forward, we must first dig deep into our past and make amends. In Losing Hope, bestselling author Colleen Hoover reveals what was going on inside Holder’s head during all those hopeless moments—and whether he can gain the peace he desperately needs.

My thoughts:

Before I say anything about this book, I want to preface by saying THIS IS HOPELESS FROM HOLDER'S POINT OF VIEW. I have seen too many reviews complaining about this so in case you don't follow Colleen on any social networking sites or have been living under a rock, please realize this before reading it.

Now, just because this was Hopeless from Holder's POV, did not at all take away from the fact that Colleen is a brilliant writer and able to tell you the same story, from a different POV and make it almost seem like you were reading it for the first time. I have always wanted to have book amnesia and read some of my favorite books for the first time over again and I can honestly say that this is as close as I have gotten so far.

There were new details, new characters and new plot lines that you were not introduced to in Hopeless. And there was a whole new set of feelings while reading it. For me, it was almost as emotional as the first book and while I "lived" Dean Holder in the first book, I "LOVED" him in this book. But as with any rewrite, and as brilliant as even Colleen is, you just can't erase from my memory what happened in Hopeless so I don't feel that this book affected me as much.

To summarize my feelings...I loved Dean Holder...I loved hearing Les's story...I loved Daniel...I love LOSING HOPE...and I love Colleen. And although this book is not necessary to read if you've already read Hopeless because it was such a wonderful story with it's own HEA, I truly do recommend it as a way to fill in some of the pieces that you didn't know were even missing.

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Uncharted: An On The Island Novella

Title:  Uncharted: An On The Island Novella

Author: Tracey Garvis Graves

My Rating: 4 Stars

Purchase: Amazon Kindle

Synopsis: Tracey Garvis Graves - and Anna and T.J. - return in this companion novella to the New York Times bestseller On the Island

When twenty-three-year-old dot-com millionaire Owen Sparks walked away from his charmed life, he had one goal in mind: get as far away as possible from the people who resented his success, or had their hand out for a piece of it. A remote uncharted island halfway around the world seemed like a perfectly logical place to get away from it all.

Calia Reed wasn't part of Owen's plans. The beautiful British girl - on holiday in the Maldives with her brother, James - made Owen wonder if getting away from it all might be a lot more enjoyable with a carefree girl who didn't know anything about the life he left behind.

But Owen had no idea how much his carefully detailed plans would go awry. Nor did he realize that a decision he made would have such a catastrophic effect on two passengers who boarded a plane in Chicago.

And when Owen shows up at Anna and T.J.'s door with an incredible story to tell, everyone involved will learn just how much their lives are intertwined.

My thoughts:

Uncharted is a Novella that takes place years AFTER On the Island and should be read only after you have already enjoyed OTI.

I LOVED On The Island by Tracey Garvis Graves.  I was really excited to get to read this novella and get the true story behind 'Bones.'  In all honesty, it wasn't what I expected though, which necessarily isn't a bad thing. I really expected this to be a depressing story...I mean...Bones was obviously dead, the outcome couldn't have been good.

Instead it ended up being a sweet love story with it's own HEA. I also really like getting a glimpse into what life is like for Anna and TJ.

I think the only thing keeping me from giving it 5 stars was that I didn't feel as connected to the characters in this story as I did in On The Island. Aside from that, this held the same beautiful writing as from Tracey as On The Island did and I cannot wait to read more from her.

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The Game Changer by J. Sterling

Title:  The Game Changer

Author: J. Sterling

My Rating: 5 Stars

Purchase: Amazon Kindle (releases June 25, 2013)

Synopsis: Jack & Cassie's story continues in the follow up to the Best Selling book, The Perfect Game.

Thrust into the spotlight, Cassie must learn how to navigate the waters of this sometimes unforgiving and cruel world. It's a lifestyle that makes you question your happiness and sanity as the past is never truly far behind.

How do you stay together when the world's trying to tear you apart?

My thoughts:

I have some mad love for J. Sterling. Not only as an author but as a genuinely nice person that cares about and talks with her fans. That being said, I find myself extremely lucky to have had the chance to read "The Game Changer" prior to its release.

This book for me was a solid 4 stars throughout most of it. I have this little requirement for a book to earn that 5th star...it has to evoke some sort of emotion in me, whether it be that it makes me cry, gives me goose bumps, turns me on, etc. The emotion has to reach out from the book and grab at my heart strings. Miss Sterling squeaked that out at the end for me and earned that 5th star.

First off, if you haven't read "The Perfect Game" by J. Sterling, you need to go read that first. After reading it, if you felt pissed off at either Jack or Cassie so much that you wanted to throw your Kindle/Nook/paperback against the wall, then you need to read this book. Heck, you just need to read this even if you didn't get pissed off.

The book starts off as flashbacks to different events that occurred in "The Perfect Game" giving you a look at what was going through Jack's mind as the story played out. Believe me, if you didn't love him before, your heart will reach out to him now. And don't worry; the story is not just a rewrite of "The Perfect Game" from Jack's perspective. Now that the drama from the past is behind them, they must learn (sometimes the hard way) how to handle life together with one of them being in the public eye and see if they have enough trust in each other to make it through as a couple.

Aside from Jack and Cassie, many of the same characters from the first book make a second appearance in "The Game Changer" - Melissa and Dean in particular are a favorite of mine - with the addition of some other important (and HOT) characters. Miss Sterling has a way with creating characters that you either love to hate, hate to love, or simply can't help falling for.

"The Game Changer" was a perfect continuation of the story started in "The Perfect Game." I was entertained, shocked, happy, sad, and utterly satisfied by the time I reached the end of the story. I would recommend this book to everyone that read "The Perfect Game" whether you loved it or hated it.

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Pink Slips and Glass Slippers by J.P. Hansen

Title:  Pink Slips and Glass Slippers

Author: J.P. Hansen

My Rating: 2 Stars

Purchase: Amazon Kindle 

Synopsis: Brooke Hart was beautiful, smart, and groomed from birth to deal with adversity.

Her widowed father did his best to raise his baby girl to be a strong-minded business woman. Then she found Tanner. Just when her world seemed perfect, everything turned upside down.

Following Tanner’s tragic death, Brooke joins a start-up company that is developing a cure for the disease that killed the love of her life. Just before the treatment is ready to market, the company is gobbled up by a giant conglomerate. She moves to the acquiring company as its youngest VP and becomes enamored with CEO Chase Allman—only to be betrayed by him.

Brooke rebounds again and sets out on a personal journey to discover what will truly make her happy. Sparks fly when she and Chase cross paths again in an unlikely way. Now, they need each other to find an abducted child and save thousands of people.

My thoughts:

When I was approached by this author to read his book in exchange for an honest review, he mentioned that he wrote it on the dare that "men can't write romance." I do know for a fact that it is possible for a man to write a romance book, however, the way that this book was written...it just wasn't for me.

I don't think that I would have ever picked up this book had I not been asked to review it. Both the title and the book cover were not appealing for me. When I read the synopsis, I was a little confused as it seemed all over the place. But I needed to see if this man could write romance...so I jumped into the book anyway.

The story line was okay but the book could have been 30% shorter had it not included fluff details that didn't add much to the plot. I found myself skimming in some areas (and I am not usually a skimmer) just to get to something that kept the book moving forward.

I think what bothered me the most were in the details (or possibly what was lacking in the details.) Things like...

1. The "hero" took his 3 year old son to Chuck E. Cheese twice in the book. Both times all they did was eat. I don't know anyone that goes to CEC just for the food, as the food is not that good. And what 3 year old wouldn't beg and throw a fit to play games before you left?
2. I'm not sure if the author has stock in Starbucks, but I lost count on the number of times the coffee chain was mentioned.
3. I started to get annoyed at all the similes.
   "Holding the coffees like bombs about to detonate"
   "A waiter appeared like a pop-up window"
   "His stomach flared like a brick oven"
   "her backside tingled like a funny bone"
   "Chase darted toward the door like an antelope"
   There were so many in this novel that it became a game for me to start highlighting them on my Kindle.
4. The blatant self-promotion of the authors other book, The Bliss List.
5. The sudden changes in POV, sometimes multiples times on one page.

Based on all the 4 and 5 star reviews on this book, it is possible that it has its audience that it appeals to but it wasn't for me and I can honestly say that I wouldn't recommend it to anyone in the form that it is in now. I commend this author for giving it a shot to write in a genre that he is unfamiliar with. However, I do suggest he should get a good editor that is used to this genre the next time around.

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Blog tour stop: Running on Empty by L.B. Simmons

Title:  Running on Empty

Author: L.B. Simmons

My Rating: 4 Stars

Purchase: Amazon Kindle 

Synopsis: I had the perfect life.

Beautiful and loving husband.Three gorgeous little girls.
Successful career.

The only thing missing was the white picket fence. I really wanted that fence.

Three years ago, I lost that life. I lost my husband. And I lost myself. But, eventually, I found my way through the darkness. I’ve made peace with my new life. I have my girls, and that’s all that matters. They are my world. I have no illusions of ever falling in love again or getting whisked away on a white horse.

But then he came back into my life. On a freakin’ motorcycle.

There’s no way I’ll let him turn my life completely upside down. Absolutely no way.

The question is…

How long can I keep pretending that I’m happy with my life being right-side up.

My thoughts:

First of all, I have to say that I am fairly certain that the author was hiding in a corner of my house somewhere when she wrote a good portion of this book.  I swear I lived through parts of it...all you would have to do is change her three daughters to three sons. I was able to connect with the book on so many levels and the book was a good change of pace from what I had been reading.  If it weren't for a few small things, this book would have been 5 stars for me.

Alex is a strong single mother of 3 that has been through a tragedy that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy.  This tragedy has left her a shell.  Devoting all her time and energy to her children and not thinking of or spending any time for her. 

Blake is a good looking former classmate and used-to-be best friend of Alex's.  A chance encounter on the highway brings him back into Alex's life. Blake proves to be amazing but there was something about him that just wasn't completely believable to me.  Possibly it was his willingness to drop everything to help out a girl that dumped his friendship long ago.  I would have thought there would have been a bit of resentment in there.

I also found the book lacking on the steam level.  That is probably just a personal preference but I just kept waiting for things to steam up and was a little disappointed they didn't.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable book.  Solid character develpment, lots of tear-inducing emotion, great supporting characters, and a nice HEA. I would recommend this book for lovers of chick lit and those looking for a book that will both make them laugh and cry.

In honor of the blog tour, Running on Empty is on sale for the month of February for only $1.99!  Pick up your copy today!

Stop by the following other blogs during the Running on Empty blog tour.

FEBRUARY 1: Natasha is a Book Junkie

FEBRUARY 2: My Secret Romance Book Reviews

FEBRUARY 3:  The Phantom Paragrapher

FEBRUARY 4: Sugar and Spice Book Reviews

FEBRUARY 5: Shh, Moms Reading

FEBRUARY 6: Enchanting Havoc

FEBRUARY 7: Little Pink Cupcakes

FEBRUARY 8: Three Chicks and Their Books

FEBRUARY 9: Devoured Words

FEBRUARY 10: Candy Coated Book Blog

FEBRUARY 11: First Class Books

FEBRUARY 12: Flirty and Dirty Book Blog

FEBRUARY 13: Have Book Will Read

FEBRUARY 14: Into The Night Reviews

FEBRUARY 15: Whirlwindbooks

FEBRUARY 16: Book Crush

FEBRUARY 17: The Book Whisperer

FEBRUARY 18: Buried in Books

FEBRUARY 19: Novel Girl

FEBRUARY 20: The Indie Bookshelf

FEBRUARY 22: Angie’s Dreamy Reads

FEBRUARY 23: Becca the Bibliophile

FEBRUARY 24: Sweet and Sassy Reviewz

FEBRUARY 25: Novel Seduction

FEBRUARY 26: Megan’s book blog

FEBRUARY 28: Book Bitches Blog

 

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