Book Review: When The Time Is Right

If you can remember back in June I read and reviewed the book called When The Walls Come Down, which is by the same author and it was great. I loved it so much. When I saw that this was available for review I literally ran to my computer to sign up for it because I had to read more and I was not disappointed. 

When The Time Is Right - Aly Martinez

Hudson Bradley is the cockiest, most stubborn, hard-headed man I’ve ever known. And for fifteen years, he’s been my brother's best friend.

But lately, what I’m feeling for him isn’t friendship at all.

Why is my heart racing every time his blue eyes lock on mine?

Why does every word he rumbles in my ear make my body come alive?

And worst of all, why did I bet him that I could find a woman he and his son would both love?

If I hadn’t given up on love altogether, Hudson would have been perfect for me. After all, he was there the day my world fell apart. He’s spent the last six years piecing me back together.

There are a million reasons why we could never work, but after a single kiss, I can’t remember any of them.

Now that the time is right, I have to make him mine—before I lose him forever.

I'm going to say this right from the gate because I honestly don't think my review is going to give enough justice to this book: this is my FAVORITE romance book in the friends-to-lovers group. Ever. 

I know, that is a bold statement but with books like this you have to be bold. 

Aly Martinez is one of my favorite authors for a reason: her books are fun. You get everything you need from a romance book: humor that keeps you turning the pages, angst, big emotions, great sexy scenes, and that big sigh at the end of the book because she hit the mark yet again. 

I got allllll of that with this book. 

In this one we have Hudson, the best friend to Alexis's brother, he's known her forever basically. Alexis and her family is Hudson's family (basically) and so they have a bond that kind of goes beyond friendship. Alexis had some pretty awful things happen to her that basically shattered her world and she is only put together because Hudson spent the time doing it. I really struggle with a friends-to-lovers trope with some books because it either happens way too fast or it is so painfully slow that I lose interest all together. Once again, the pacing in this book is spot on. I felt all of the butterflies with Alexis and I could feel all of Hudson's nerves and it feels like the best slow motion train crash turning into the prettiest explosion you could hope for. The author does such a great job with the emotions that we don't need crazy ass drama all over the place, the only thing we have are big feelings and Alexis's sass. Which is PERFECT. When I tell you there is not a more perfect couple, I am not joking. I am in love with this book, I cannot wait for the next one they put out. I cannot get enough of these and if the sentiment of third time's a charm is any indication? We are going to need to sit all the way down for it. I'm freaking out already. 

If Goodreads let me give this one more than 5 stars, I would. I loved it. I am telling you right now, if your week was crap and you need something fun to unwind with this weekend, pick this one up. Trust me. 

A HUGE thank you to Social Butterfly PR for having me on this tour and sending me an ARC for review, they always have the latest and greatest of books so if you need ideas, check them out. Or stay here because I always have something from them popping up. If you pick this one up, let me know and we can chat about it. I have to know what you think about it. 

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Book Review: When the Walls Come Down

I think this might be the only book review this week for you guys. As of right this second I don't have anything lined up but you know, things could happen. 

If you're a long time reader you'll recognize Aly Martinez because I'm a big fan of hers so when I saw she was attached to this book I had to get on board and I'm so glad I did!

When The Walls Come Down  

M. Mabie & Aly Martinez

Did you ever hear the joke about the guy whose wife cheated on him with his best friend? So he quit his job, moved into his parents’ basement, and gained fifty pounds?

No? Because that wasn’t a joke. It was my life.

Four years later, I'm back with a dream job, a killer apartment, and a set of abs that are better than ever.

So, when Maggie Light, a stunning, snarky blonde moves in next door, and we spend the hottest weekend of our lives together, I think this could be the greatest comeback story ever.

That is until I realize Maggie has moved to town to do one thing—steal my job.

Maybe this isn't a comeback story after all. Maybe this is war—one I intend to win.

What I never anticipated was that maybe I’d rather win her.

Perhaps, if I’m lucky, the universe has finally run out of jokes and I can somehow win both.

You guys. I can't remember the last time I have had great sarcastic banter in a book, a romance one, and this book DELIVERED. I also have to tell you that I flew through this one in just a few hours and loved it so ridiculously much. 

In this one we have Maggie, a 20 something from Atlanta, the youngest of five children. All of her siblings are settled and have their own families but she always thinks about the mom she never knew (died when she was four). She always thought that her mom must not have had a fulfilled life since she had her children starting at age 19 and by 31 she had five of them. She died not long after and so whatever dreams and goals she had, she likely never got to them. Maggie is determined to not follow her lead so she decided to take a job all the way in California, she's leaving all alone to take the world by storm. 

Once she gets there, she quickly realizes it isn't what it's cracked up to be. As it turns out, the world doesn't come to you, you actually have to go to it. Her sister convinces her to go out one nice and see what happens. 

Enter Shane. Divorced but alone. He works as a marketing director for his brother-in-law's company, or he did until he was effectively fired in the nicest way possible. Their intent was for him to get out on his own and take the world by storm. He's wallowing in self pity when.... 

.... in walks Maggie into the Two Ships restaurant. Instead of walking out and going home, he takes his totally awkward self over to her and so starts the story of Maggie and Shane. 

They end up being neighbors in the apartment complex. It turns out she was hired to replace Shane, and they find this out after a relationship is basically started. It all gets dicey and they start to learn what they each want out of life, what is the most important, and how to navigate life with someone else. 

OK, the sarcastic banter throughout this book is so perfect and it reminds me so much of myself and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I also really loved Shane and it is long overdue that we have a male character in a romance who isn't oozing with masculine confidence. We have a guy who has self confidence dips from time to time and is honest and vocal about it, he used to be overweight and has lost the weight over time and he doesn't let it define him, and he's a romantic, good guy. I'm never going to turn down a character that is sexy and confident and you know is going to rock your world, but in real life the majority of guys are not that way. They are worried they aren't going to make it past a few minutes, they want to rock her world and just isn't sure, etc. 

Secondly- when it got to a part where they were sending each other gifts that are sarcastically the best, I have to know, what showerhead did he order?! Does such a thing exist?! I mean, for research purposes, I'd like to just... check it out. Ha! 

If you are looking for a romantic book with some sexy times thrown in, this is the one you need to grab! I loved every second of it and this is definitely one I'm going to pull out again and again. 

I am so glad I was able to be on this tour, a huge thank you to Social Butterfly PR for sending me an ARC. Please read this one and we can all search for the magical showerhead together and maybe if we buy in bulk we can get a deal, OK? 

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Book Review: Savor Me

I came across this book after signing up for Aly Martinez's email list on her website, by signing up you receive two free novellas from her. I'm all about a free book, so as soon as I got this I decided to read it. I'll review the other one maybe next week for you.

Savor Me - Aly Martinez

I lost my virginity at age thirteen. I know what you're thinking, and the answer is no. I wasn't raped or molested. Nothing horrible happened to me. I don't have a daddy complex, or a shit life that I need to be rescued from. I just happen to like boys...a lot. I like them all. Tall, short, skinny, buff, light hair, or dark, I don't discriminate.

I realized early on that one man wasn't enough for me. It's a simple mathematical fact. Why have one man when you can have two? Any more than two gets complicated. Hell, half the time even two gets complicated. But it’s worth it. Sometimes every woman has to make an exception though, two crappy losers or one smoking hot man.

The night I laid eyes on Hunter Coy, I made my choice. At least until he introduced me to Mason Wynn.

By know you should know that romance is my favorite genre but I'm kind of picky with what I like. I'm not particularly a fan of LGBTQ+ romance only because it isn't something I'm into. M/M romance doesn't do it for me, it's not what I'm attracted to. When I started this book I didn't totally love Lacey and the idea that this could go the way of a threesome with M/M wasn't totally my thing and to be honest, I wasn't sure if I'd even stick with it. I think the fact it was only 92 pages is what kept me there because I knew this was only an hour of reading or so.

Thankfully, despite there only being 92 pages there was some story to this aside from sex. Sure, there are sex scenes in this and that's the primary purpose of this book, but the relationship between Mason and Lacey is kind of great. In fact, I really liked Hunter in the beginning and by the end.... meh. Mason is definitely where it's at.

Overall? I kind of loved this. It's a little cheesy, it's a little over the top with Lacey's hyper sexuality, but Mason and his story line sells the entire book for me and for him alone I'm giving this one 4 stars. If this was only Hunter and Lacey, I don't think I'd even bother with it but that Mason.... he's a good one.

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Book Review: Release

It's a new year with new reading goals, and I completely smashed my goal of 110 books last year! I ended up reading 125, so I set my 2020 Goodreads goal to 125 for this year so cross your fingers. Of course, if I find books as good as this one, I will have no problem flying through them!

Release - Aly Martinez

Growing up, Ramsey Stewart branded my soul in ways time could never heal.

At twelve, he asked me to be his girlfriend.

At thirteen, he gave me my first kiss.

By sixteen, we’d fallen in love, planned a future together, and had our eyes set on the horizon.

Love never fails, right?

But for Ramsey, it did.

Love failed him.

I failed him.

The entire world failed him.

At seventeen, Ramsey was convicted of killing the boy who assaulted me.

Move on, he wrote in his first and only letter from prison.

Start a new life, he urged.

I don’t love you anymore, he lied.

There was no such thing as giving up on Ramsey. Love may have been our curse, but he was mine—then, now, and forever.

So here I am, twelve long years later, waiting for a man I don't even know to emerge from between the chain link gates. 

Alright, so it's been awhile since I've read something from Aly Martinez was The Fall Up and that feels like forever ago. I really liked that one and sadly, nobody got me any of any Christmas since then even though they've been on my list, but that's a whole other post.

Today though, let's talk about her newest book Release. As soon as I saw this come up for review I immediately jumped at the opportunity because the premise is everything I want: a good girl trying to fix a (presumably) bad boy. I mean, that's my FAVORITE trope so I can't pass it up!

I love how the chapters switch between Thea and Ramsey, but also the past and the present, which sounds confusing but I promise you it isn't. We meet Thea the day her mom dies of cancer, which is when she meets Ramsey when he accidentally breaks her leg. He begins a friendship with her and she isn't having it (which is why I love her even more because she's the girl who isn't particularly nice to him but I love him because he's persistent even when she's at her worst). Over the years they become best friends, then they become first loves, and when things get hot and heavy, their lives are turned up and down.

Twelve years later, Ramsey is leaving prison and Thea is there to greet him. Not getting the greeting she hoped for, things look pretty damn bleak for them and I felt terrible for Ramsey. The majority of the book is his readjustment into civilian life and struggling with wanting Thea but also believing the best thing is for her to get over him and get on with her life. She can't do that because she loves him, for better or for worse, and she's determined to play his own game to win him back.

OK. A lot happens in this book and if I had to tell you something I wish were better.... I wish there was more to the ending. We have a kind of "almost bad news" run in for Ramsey kind of towards the end and I really wanted, and expected, there to be another one that was more serious, so it felt like the ultimate "dun, dun, dun" moment. I mean, Ramsey going to jail, that's big. The other piece of the puzzle from that fateful night, that's big, too. I just wanted something bigger. Ultimate justice, I guess. Without that it almost felt like a rushed ending and that's a bummer, but I loved the epilogue.

Things I loved? Thea and Ramsey. It's almost unheard of that I love both main characters but I really did in this book. Maybe it's their screwed up childhoods, their bond that helped them get through it. Sure, it almost became a co-dependency thing but Thea pulls it through and proves that's not what this relationship is for her, and I totally love it. I even liked Nora (Ramsey's sister) and if there isn't a sequel for Nora, I'm going to be so disappointed. Hell, let's just do a series for all of the victims, can we? I just really feel this needs actual justice and some karma to come back at the crappy villain's family. Something.

Anyways. Loved it. If you're in the mood for a romance with a solid relationship at the bottom of it? You should really check this one out. Its a fast read and I think you're going to really enjoy it. I'm giving this a 4.5 rounded up to a 5. I feel hesitant on doing that because sometimes I feel like I'm too easy but then also too hard and I can't win with ratings, but truly.... this is one I'm going to remember and hope to see sequels to later on.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

A huge thank you to Aly Martinez and Social Butterfly PR for having me on this tour and for providing an ARC for review. As always, all opinions are my own and this post may contain affiliate links.

Book Review: Twisted Course

I'm still frustrated with this. I have literally no intro.

Twisted Course - Aly Martinez

This is the alternate version of the other two books, Changing Course and Stolen Course, both of which you should read BEFORE you read this one. Which I did not do. I would have done that had I known this piece of information and I maybe wouldn't have disliked this one so much. The only reason I read this is it was a freebie for signing up for Aly Martinez's newsletter and it's a short novella and those are fun.

In this book we have Caleb who immediately finds himself at the scene of the accident that kills Sarah. His fiance, Manda, was a passenger who is seemingly (physically) OK. Of course the death of her best friend sends her spiraling into depression and their relationship really struggles. Caleb doesn't know how to help her and he finds Manda turning to unhealthy coping mechanisms, so he suggests group therapy for grief. That ends up being the nail in the coffin for them which you're almost grateful for because you could have seen that coming from the first few pages.

I didn't realize this was a "what happens if Sarah died instead of Manda" book so when I get to the end and I'm left with a cliffhanger?! To say I was pissed is an under statement. Now I understand I'm supposed to be able to pick up Stolen Course and kind of go from there but to be honest with you, I'm really torn on whether I want to even do that. I'm generally not a fan of alternative story lines and steer clear of them, I'm not even a fan of a story told in another character's point of view, so had I known that's what this was, I wouldn't have read it. Unlike most novellas where it's a complete story arc in less pages, this isn't that at all. Not only do we have the ending cliffhanger, we have the weird "what actually happened during this accident" just left out there with no more discussion, and there is all of this weird angst between characters for which there is no explanation and I'm assuming you would have that if you had read Changing Course but of course I don't know.

Overall it was really promising until that ending and the realization of what this was. I don't know if I want to read the duet now because honestly this would just confuse me at this point. I'm giving this 2 stars because the story was OK, it's the ending that ruined it for me.