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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Cover Reveal: The Game Changer by J. Sterling

We are getting closer the the release of the highly anticipated follow up to the USA Today Best Selling book, The Perfect Game by J. Sterling.  The second book in the series, The Game Changer, is set to be released in 2013 (release date will be announced soon) BUT to hold you over I have the honor of participating in the cover release.

Are you ready?




Because it's pretty awesome...




 Might make you want to read the first one all over again...




Because you will be missing Jack Carter.....







Oh....you just want me to post it so you can see it?




Ok
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Here
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it
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is!

 

Is seeing the cover not enough?  Read a few teasers for The Game Changer!

 

Teaser #1:

http://writing.jennster.com/2012/12/the-game-changer-teaser.html

 

Teaser #2 is here- at the bottom of the post

http://writing.jennster.com/2013/01/one-hundred-thousand-copies.html

And finally, if you haven't read the first book, The Perfect Game, you can pick it up HERE! (Do it! You won't regret it!)

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Just Remember to Breathe by Charles Sheehan-Miles

Title:  Just Remember to Breathe

Author: Charles Sheehan-Miles

My Rating: 4 Stars

Purchase: Amazon Kindle 

Synopsis: Alex Thompson’s life is following the script. A pre-law student at Columbia University, she’s focused on her grades, her life and her future. The last thing she needs is to reconnect with the boy who broke her heart.

Dylan Paris comes home from Afghanistan severely injured and knows that the one thing he cannot do is drag Alex into the mess he’s made of his life.

When Dylan and Alex are assigned to the same work study program and are forced to work side by side, they have to make new ground rules to keep from killing each other.

Only problem is, they keep breaking the rules.

The first rule is to never, ever talk about how they fell in love.

My thoughts:

I'm going to be honest. I didn't want to read this book. I saw the word "Afghanistan" and decided it wasn't for me. I'm not into war books, war details, ANYTHING to do with war. I'm not heartless, It just doesn't interest me in the slightest. So I wrote it off despite all my book friends raving about it. Then I was asked to review it for my blog. This is where my inability to say no got me in trouble. I pushed it off until the very last moment and now here I am kicking myself for it.

This book is NOT about war. Don't let my opening to this review lead you to believe that. And I knew from reading the synopsis that it wasn't. It was the fact that I knew there would be stuff from war in it that kept me from reading it.

What is this book about?

Young love
Heartache
Second Chances
PTSD
Failure
Overcoming obstacles

It's about real life and Mr. Sheehan-Miles did a wonderful job of creating an emotional, heart-wrenching story that sucked me in with the first sentence.

And the war stuff? It's there. But it's there in a capacity that it didn't turn me off. It is only a portion of the story and it was explained and described in layman's terms so a complete war idiot like myself could understand and sympathize.

So I apologize to Charles for jumping to conclusions and I thank him for writing such a wonderful story. I will definitely be reading more of his work in the future.

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99 authors - 99 books - 99 cents

These prices are available on Amazon only.

For a listing of books offered and to enter to win, click here!!

 

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Every Which Way by Calia Read

Title:  Every Which Way

Author: Calia Read

My Rating: 3 Stars

Purchase: Amazon Kindle 

Synopsis:
Severine Blake has seen far too many friends taken down in the crossfires of dating. She devises a precise course of action to protect her heart. The plan is working very well...until she meets Thayer and Macsen.

When the Sloan brothers come into her life, nothing is the same.Thayer is self-possessed, arrogant and used to getting what he wants. Being near him leaves Severine unsteady and shaken. He makes her question everything. Macsen contradicts his brother in every way. His calm personality captivates her. Severine is drawn to him instantly. But Severine quickly discovers that when you want something, that want can turn wicked. Giving in is not always easy, especially when your heart refuses to give up the fight.

What little illusion of love Severine has is soon destroyed. Every option is broken, and the protection she has built around her heart instantly crumbles.

There's just no right way with the Sloan brothers.

My thoughts:

Writing a review for this book is hard. All-in-all I did really like the story I just couldn't connect with it. It took me some time to get through as I had to force myself to keep reading.

The main character, Severine, seemed to be a strong independent woman hell bent on not getting her heart broken. She was witty, funny, and overall likeable. Her name bothered me a little because I had the darnedest time trying to pronounce it. I also didn't feel a connection to her and found myself questioning her decisions and annoyed at little things that she was indecisive about.

The Sloan brothers were a nice addition. I mean really? Two hot brothers, one a 6'9" basketball player - whew, fan me now! And I like the uniqueness of their names, Thayer and Macsen, which were very much pronounceable.

I think what got to me the most was the writing style. I found myself having to reread parts to understand what was going on. It felt a bit discombobulated. But at around 2/3 of the way through things picked up and I was able to connect to the story a little more. It is that last 1/3 of the story that will have be reaching for the sequel when it comes out.

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Hopeless by Colleen Hoover

Title:  Hopeless

Author: Colleen Hoover

My Rating: 5 Stars

Purchase: Amazon Kindle 

Please note: Hopeless is written for ages 17+

Synopsis:

Sometimes discovering the truth can leave you more hopeless than believing the lies…

That’s what seventeen-year-old Sky realizes after she meets Dean Holder. A guy with a reputation that rivals her own and an uncanny ability to invoke feelings in her she’s never had before. He terrifies her and captivates her all in the span of just one encounter, and something about the way he makes her feel sparks buried memories from a past that she wishes could just stay buried.

Sky struggles to keep him at a distance knowing he’s nothing but trouble, but Holder insists on learning everything about her. After finally caving to his unwavering pursuit, Sky soon finds that Holder isn’t at all who he’s been claiming to be. When the secrets he’s been keeping are finally revealed, every single facet of Sky’s life will change forever.

My thoughts:

Is it possible to top perfection? 

Anyone that knows me knows I LOVE the Slammed series by Colleen Hoover with all my heart. To me that book was perfection and I really didn't think that Colleen would be able to top it.  And she didn't top it. No, she double-decker ice cream scoop, hot fudge sauce, whipped cream, and sprinkles topped it.

I am once again amazed at Colleen's ability to bring her characters to life and how they can so easily get under my skin. Sky is strong, brave, but yet a broken young woman.  There are many points in the story that have you wondering why something that would bother or embarrass anyone else simply doesn't faze her at all. The reality is that I love that about her.  I envy her ability to take life so nonchalantly. I don't, however, envy all that she had to go through and wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. My heart broke for her in many places and I'm still not sure if it is completely put back together.

Holder is....well, Holder is scary. He's scary because he is so damn perfect. Not perfect in a flawless sort of way, because he definitely has his flaws, but perfect in a way that makes you feel protected, in a way that makes you feel secure, and perfect in a way that oozes swoon-worthy masculinity and makes your heart pitter-patter with everything that comes from his mouth.  There is no poetry in Hopeless, but Holder's words felt like poetry to me.

Before delving into this book, I didn't read the synopsis and I didn't read any teasers.  I simply put my faith in Colleen that she would write something that would blow me away.  And she didn't disappoint. So in this review I am not going to give anything about the story away.  I simply challenge you to pick it up and start reading.  Your decision to do so will be validated with the emotions your heart feels throughout the book.

Hopeless is a book that will make you laugh, make you cry, rip out your heart, shatter it in little tiny pieces, stomp on it a little, and then duct tape it all back together. It's not simply a love story, it a journey that will change you forever.  I am forever changed because of this book.

If you have a heartbeat and a soul, you should read this book.  Heck, even if you're a zombie, you should read this book.  You will LIKE it.  You will LIVE it.  You will LOVE it.

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