Book Review: Eastern Lights

I feel like I was doing so awesome on my reading in January, but now that I'm approaching March I'm wondering where my gumption went. I do have an ambitious March, so cross your fingers that I can get my mojo back, lambs. 

Eastern Lights - Brittainy Cherry

I once met a man on a cold Halloween night. He dressed as a superhero, and I dressed in red. For one night, I was his break from reality, and he was the temporary fix for my broken heart.

Two years later, I was given the opportunity of a lifetime to become a senior editor at one of the biggest magazine companies in the world. The only catch? Nail an exclusive interview with New York’s finest bachelor: Connor Roe.

To the rest of the world he was becoming one of the wealthiest men in New York City. To me, he was simply my once upon a time superhero.

My job was to get an exclusive interview with New York’s hottest bachelor. Never in my life did I expect him to want an exclusive with my heart, too.

The only problem with my growing feelings for him? I was set to marry his new business partner. 

You know I am a huge Brittainy Cherry fan. I will read anything she gives me and I have yet to find one I am not in love with. Not a shocker, I completely loved this one, too. 

The best thing she can do is write a story that pulls you in and also breaks your heart, but makes it all better again. I mean, if there was ever a one line description of literally every book she has written, that would be it. She always writes the best characters and Connor in this one was right up there. He is a solidly great guy and he's every guy we want. I absolutely loved him. I also really loved Aaliyah and sometimes the gal gets a little meh for me, but I really liked her. 

I'm going to tell you right off this was a 5 star read for me, and I am over the top excited for the next two books in this series. Eastern Lights is book two in the Compass series, but they are all completely stand alone, so you'll be fine no matter where you jump in. (You'll remember that Connor was in the first book, but he was the assistant... and in this book he's all grown up and making moves.)The only, and I mean ONLY thing I wish were just a *little tiny bit more* was their relationship. I mean, I know what happens, but I wouldn't have hated a little more romance. My other issue? I feel like the steamy scenes aren't as.... present in Brittainy's more recent books? I'm not saying sex sells but... I'm saying she writes it well and I wouldn't hate it if there was just a bit more to the scenes. The added drama towards the end was just... I'll be honest and say that kind of thing in romance books is basically part of the formula and I'm kind of over it. Even though that's that... 

I still loved this book. I laughed, I cried, I swooned (kind of a lot), and I had an audible sigh at the end. Now I can't wait for the next book because that is Damian's story and I am DYING FOR IT. 

I really want to talk about some of the details in this (including how Connor and Aaliyah's story started) but I feel like I'd be giving out details that you need as this rolls out. I just loved this. Have I mentioned that yet? The reoccurring theme in this series is a chance childhood/teen/young adult friendship that later on morphs into a lasting romance... so know that going in. Brittainy Cherry can literally do no wrong for me and she is 100% an auto-buy for me. 

Thank you to Social Butterfly PR for having me on this tour and indulging my love for everything Brittainy Cherry. 

This post contains affiliate links. 

Book Review: The Wreckage of Us

I am so behind in life right now, so I'm late on this. I am and I hate it. I hate it because I loved this book so I should be shouting it from the rooftops. Sigh. 

The Wreckage of Us - Brittainy Cherry

I know I should stay away from Ian Parker.

But when my drug-dealing stepdad kicks me out, I have nowhere to go. Squatting in an abandoned shed on Ian’s grandpa’s farm seems like as good a plan as any.

Ian finds me there, of course, and he insists on me moving into his spare room. I should say no, but the appeal of a roof and a warm bed is too much. Not to mention Ian’s brown eyes and strong arms.

We’re nothing alike, but the spark between us is undeniable. My life is finally looking up.

Until I call the cops on my stepdad and unintentionally get my pregnant mom arrested.

Now I have to sacrifice my dreams to take care of my mom’s baby. She’s the only family I have left. Meanwhile, Ian’s band is taking off; his dreams are coming true.

Ian is my one chance at love. I just hope he doesn’t become the one chance that got away. 

If you've been around here for awhile you know that I am a huge Brittainy Cherry fan so I jump at the chance for any and everything she does. I've yet to be disappointed by her books and this is another home run for me. 

We have Hazel, who right away you know she has a pretty awful home life. She's 17, her mother is a drug addict, she's basically taking care of her and her mother's husband, Charlie. Charlie is bad news, he's the town drug dealer and he's violent and it's said that he would have violated Hazel if only she was a bit more feminine. One day she gets kicked out and finds herself basically squatting at the ranch owned by Ian Parker's grandparents. She's recently started working there and it is fairly clear her and Ian don't get along. Ian blames Hazel's parents for getting his parents hooked on meth, which caused them to abandon him as a young boy, and now he's forced to train her on the ranch.  

Over time though, things start changing and as Ian gets to know Hazel and realizes she isn't the villain that he's imagined her to be, the attraction grows for both of them. In the middle of all of this, Ian is the lead singer of The Wreckage, who are on the verge of really making it big. Can their relationship survive fame amidst their pasts? 

I don't know why I thought this was going to be a short book because it comes in around 360ish pages, so I did not give myself enough time to read and that's on me. It very loosely reminded me of the book Drive by Kate Stewart and that is great because that is one of my favorite books. I loved Hazel, even though she makes a really ridiculous decision towards the end and when characters do that kind of thing. I also really liked Ian, and I felt like he wasn't as stubborn as men usually are in romance stories and I really appreciated that. 

If I had to pick flaws, I would say the end of Charlie's story was kind of rushed. It was like one second they've got a plan, and then boom it's done and we're moving on. I would have liked to have more of an event for that. Same with Garrett, that felt like it was just kind of dropped? At least I don't remember anything with that, so this could fully be on me. I did love the quieter theme that sometimes your dreams change and its OK. 

Overall? I loved this and I always get sad when I know the book is ending because Brittainy Cherry always creates great characters and a story that you become emotionally invested in. I feel like I have a personal connection to the story and that alone is amazing. Definitely a 5 star from me. 

A huge thank you to Social Butterfly PR for having me on this tour, I will rave about Brittainy Cherry until I die because her books are always an emotional ride. 

This post contains affiliate links. 

Book Review: Southern Storms

You know I love anything Brittainy Cherry gives us and this one... you guys.... SO GOOD.

Southern Storms - Brittainy Cherry

All I wanted to do was run away, I never expected to crash into his arms...

After leaving the city life behind to escape my loveless marriage, I moved to small town Havenbarrow for a fresh start.

What I didn’t expect was to find myself drawn to the town’s black sheep.

They called him troubled. Cold. A man with a dark past.

What everyone seemed to miss about Jax was the splashes of light in his eyes. The random acts of kindness he performed when no one was watching. The way he made me smile and laugh.

Jax helped unpack the baggage I’d been carrying around with me. He was patient with my pain and gentle with my scars. He was the stillness during my hurricane.

Yet when both of our pasts came back to haunt our present days, we realized quickly that sometimes love stories didn’t end the way we’d hoped.

Sometimes you were left with only the damage from the storm.

You guys. I cannot even fully express to you HOW MUCH I love this book. So much. I can't stand Nicholas Sparks and I don't like Hallmark movies (come at me, bro) but this? This is like those times a million. The last couple of Brittainy Cherry books have been alright but they've been missing that little extra something for me and this book brought it in spades!

We have Kennedy and Jax, childhood summer camp sweethearts and best friends, reunited as adults in what is appropriately called kismet. Just a fluke of life experiences land them together again after both facing equally awful traumas, both of them equally broken and worn out by the world and thank goodness.

We have a couple of sexy scenes but you know what? We didn't even need them. (But the library one was FIRE and I feel disappointed I've never had a library date, to be honest.)

You're hearing me right, this is a romance book that was so good that we didn't even need sexy times. I loved Kennedy and all her quirks, but maybe because I identified and can personally relate to some of her PTSD and panic attacks. I loved Jax so much and he's the hero we all want. He's got a little bit of work to be done that only real love can fix and dammit.... swoon. Also? I loved his "partner" Connor. Connor turns 18 in the book but his parts in here made me laugh out loud and I am forever disappointed to not see more landscaping businesses called "Two Men and a Hoe". Just throwing that out there.

Overall? I have to give this five GUSHING stars. I would give it more if Goodreads let me. I hope like hell the physical copy of this comes out soon so I can hold it in my hands but ALSO, I hope book two of her Compass series comes out (this is book one) and I'm here for it.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you Brittainy Cherry and Social Butterfly PR for having me on this tour, I am so incredibly grateful. This post contains affiliate links. 

Book Review: Landon & Shay (part two)

OK, so before you do anything, you have to go back and read my review for part one if you haven't already. I have been anxiously waiting for part two and here we are!

Landon & Shay (part two) - Brittainy C. Cherry

Once upon a time, I fell in love with a boy.

A beautiful, broken boy who had his own world of struggles.

People warned me against our love, but I didn't listen.

We looked weak, young, and foolish.

Dangerously in love.

We didn't care.

In order to keep our hearts protected from the opinions of others, we became each other’s secret.

We shared stolen moments. Tender touches. Secretive embraces.

It was our twisted love story, and it worked for us up until our lives changed forever.

The boy I loved became Hollywood’s newest golden boy.

His career blossomed as mine stalled.

He found massive success as I discovered multiple failures.

He made something of himself, while my dreams never came true.

We moved into different realms where our pieces no longer fit together.

In the fairy tales, love conquered all.

In reality, love was the main reason empires began to fall.

I always knew Landon belonged in my story.

He was my beginning, middle, and end.

The only problem? I wasn’t certain I still belonged in his.

I have so many thoughts on this and I just had to take a little while to process it and I just don't know if I'm going to do justice. I'm going to start by telling you that while I loved this duet, I didn't love part two as much as part one and as much as I wanted to. Part one leaves us kind of with a cliff hanger of Landon going to L.A. and Shay staying behind. We know that Landon's career will take off and Shay's will be kind of stagnate and not really go anywhere.

I didn't love the way Landon and Shay "break up" in this book (that's not a spoiler, this is basically the trope every book by Brittainy C. Cherry goes, so we know it's coming), and frankly, while Landon makes mistakes, I really hate how Shay handles it. Especially know how Landon operates when he's in a depression valley, I'm not sure how she misses all of the tell tale signs of it. Secondly, there are so many unfinished stories (What happens to Shay's dad? What about their friends? I'm assuming there was a fallout with Tracey or something?) and it just left me waiting for more to happen. Also, for all of the buildup of Landon talking about how hard it is in the spotlight, even for those around him, I expected more of that for Shay. Though she does experience it, it's not like I thought it would be. Third, this was rushed. I felt like a lot of care was spent in part one in the set up, I felt like the beginning of this one was promising, but then... it's a race to the end. If we didn't get an epilogue this would have been a total let down for me. I mean, the epilogue is good but I would have liked even MORE of one.

Oh! My other issue?? We know what happens with Landon over those ten years (kind of) and we know what happens with Shay, but they don't know what happened to each other. There wasn't much of a discussion and what they did have was fairly brief because neither wanted to really acknowledge how they each disappointed and let down the other person. For me it was more Shay than Landon (who clearly did a lot of work dealing with mental illness and I love that so much about this duet), because she was avoiding everything throughout.

I also felt like this entire duet's story line was too similar to her other book, The Fire Between High & Lo, and you know I loved that book. Maybe that's why I felt let down, it was too similar and I was kind of bummed out.

I have to give a massive thank you to SocialButterfly PR and of course Brittainy C. Cherry for making these ARC's available for review. I'm a massive fan of Brittainy and she has a special spot on my shelf because it is well deserved. All thoughts and opinions are my own and this post contains affiliate links. If you read this duet, I want to know what you think!

Book Review: Our Totally, Ridiculous, Made-Up Christmas Relationship

I looked and last year I only read like one holiday themed book which is just terrible. I'm more than making up for it this year, though so there's that. Of course it's a book by Brittainy C. Cherry because if I had to sum up 2019 with one author, it would be her.

Our Totally, Ridiculous, Made-Up Christmas Relationship - Brittainy C. Cherry

All families have secrets, and Jules Stone’s is no exception. Deciding not to follow in her family's Oscar-winning footsteps, Jules chooses to take a more behind-the-scenes career in one of the Top 10 Talent Agencies in Chicago. After being dumped five hours before spending Christmas with her dysfunctional family, she needs a plan to avoid their judgmental eyes.

Enter: Kayden Reece.

Kayden is the black sheep of his family, being the one actor drowning in a world of doctors and lawyers. Never really getting a jumpstart at his acting career or landing a big time role, he can feel his dad’s disappointment soaking into his spirit.

When Kayden gets a chance to meet and sign with a big name agent at Walter and Jacks Talent Agency, he’s ready to prove everyone wrong. Jules stumbles into the building in shambles, ugly crying, and begging to pay an actor a big sum of money to be her made-up boyfriend for five days, Kayden jumps at the opportunity—finally able to say he landed a role.

When secrets start to unravel, Kayden and Jules must learn that all families have their baggage, sometimes co-stars fall in lust, and it’s important to always have invisible mistletoe hanging around.

This holiday season join the two fake lovebirds as they partake in the role of a lifetime. 

I'll tell you right now if you're coming into this book fresh off her other books which are sex and emotional and leave you a gutted mess, you can just relax. A completely out-of-her-norm foray into romantic comedy doesn't leave you disappointed. We still have the angst, we still have the "Oh man, did he screw up too much?!", we still have everything that makes a book by Brittainy C. Cherry great. This one just has a whole bunch of fun holiday humor throughout that makes this an incredibly fun read.

In this book we have Jules, fresh off a really crappy breakup and kind of a clinger. We have Kayden, a bit of an irresponsible play boy who doesn't really know what he is doing in life. They get together (there's a whole thing, you have to read the book, I'm heavily summarizing this) as a pretend couple and basically, it all goes to hell. Jules forgot to mention her family are incredibly famous actors and Kayden forgot to mention he really isn't a hired actor he just happened to be in the wrong spot at the wrong time. What unravels is the holiday from hell but in the funniest way possible. The slow burn romance between Jules and Kayden is really great and to see both of them individually grow over those few days is really pretty great.

Also, I loved the epilogue. A lot.

Overall? I'm giving this one 5 stars because I love this author but also because I couldn't put this down and it had me laughing throughout. If you need a fun holiday read- this is it!

   

This post contains affiliate links. 

Book Review: Landon & Shay (part one)

YOU GUYS. If you've been following this blog for awhile you know that I'm currently boob deep in an obsession of Brittainy C. Cherry and every book she has ever written. I have a few more to read but as soon as an opportunity came to be on her promotional team for her newest duet for Landon & Shay I knew I had to do it. I follow her on Instagram, I've seen the teasers, and they were NOTHING compared to this book. I was not prepared.

Landon & Shay, Pt. One - Brittainy C. Cherry

Shay Gable hated my guts, and I hated hers, too.

We went out of our way to avoid one another at all times. When she came my direction, I went the other. When we locked eyes, she’d turn and walk away.

All of that changed the day I was presented with a challenge. It started out as a stupid bet: make Shay fall in love with me before I fell in love with her first.

That was an easy bet for me to win.

I didn’t love, I hardly liked.

Yet slowly the game started to shift. Shay made me crave things I never knew I wanted.

Love.

Happiness.

Her.

The closer we grew, the more she challenged my darkness, and the parts I kept locked away.

The hurts.

The pains.

The truth.

The game between us became too real, our feelings intermixed, and the risks of hurting one another grew higher.

But you know what they say...

All’s fair in the game of love and war—especially the heartbreaks.

You know when you want to talk about something but there is SO MUCH to say that everything in you feels like it is shaking because you just can't get it all out in a reasonable, coherent way? That's exactly where I am. I also am an emotional wreck because this ends on a cliff hanger and I know full well part two is coming and I'm equal parts ready to beat a door down to get it but I'm also so emotionally fragile I don't know if I can even handle it.

That's what every Brittainy Cherry book does to me but none more so than this one. I'm not kidding- every book of hers is SO DANG GOOD and I cannot love them any more. I would literally burst.

Phew.

OK. So in this book we have Shay, super good girl with a drug dealing dad and mom who isn't strong enough to leave and she does the best she can to not rock the boat at home. I identified with her so much. She's just the best of the best. We also have Landon, approaching his 18th birthday but his birthday is the one year anniversary of his beloved uncle's suicide and he isn't handling it well. A kid who is basically raising himself with an ass of a dad and a mom who is always gone, he's lost and alone, clearly depressed and struggling.

They don't like each other because they don't understand each other and don't realize they are more alike than they could even know. A party leads to a bet that neither are sure they can win but neither are sure they even want to- which one can make the other fall in love first?

What embarks is a spark of friendship that turns into more and the discovery that they are so very much alike with a lot of the same struggles, each getting from the other things that they need. Let's just say this is maybe one of my favorite tropes, good girl changing/helping the bad boy, and if there is an author who excels at this? It's Brittainy C. Cherry. Not only did I love Shay every step of the way but as someone who was her once, and now as a mom, my heart broke for her in so many ways. I also really loved Landon because you could feel his pain from start to finish and you just want the best for this guy and man..... I hope part two gives me the ending I so desperately want.

I'm not kidding, my heart is breaking thinking there is a chance it might not end the way I want it to and I'm just not ready.

I loved the characters, not just Landon and Shay, but all of their friends and their family. Though they aren't major parts of this the author does a great job making them feel completely well rounded and real. I love the gentle arc of the story, I love that we don't have the heart shattering moments, the author breaks our heart gently and softly but at the same time giving us hoping by reminding us part two is coming. This book really centers around depression and how sneaky it is and how easily it hides. I loved Shay's determined support even when her heart was breaking. I loved Landon's strength even when he was terrified. So many things about this book were beautiful and perfect.

Brittainy C. Cherry writes like nobody else and honestly, I don't know what else to tell you to convince you that not only do you need this book, you need everything she wrote. I read this in the span of three and a half hours. I couldn't put it down and I know that part two comes out in December but I'm telling you I won't make it. I want it now. 5 stars. No question.

A huge, huge, HUGE thank you to Brittainy C. Cherry for letting me be on this tour but also to Social Butterfly PR coordinating it and my million emails (especially you, Catherine! xo) This post contains affiliate links. GO BUY THIS BOOK, you need it. 

Book Review: Loving Mr. Daniels

It seems like forever since I've done a Weight Loss check in, but I haven't really been exercising per say. I've really cut down on junk food and snacks, and I'm ridiculously busy now that school has started so when I started I was 212 pounds, and I'm consistently weighing in between 206 and 204, so I'm pretty happy about that. I certainly don't see it off my body or feel smaller, but a loss is a loss and I'm going to be happy about progress. I don't see the weight loss doctor until December so I'm just trying to make good progress on my own until then. But let's talk about this book.

I continue to be obsessed with this author and I won't even apologize. Frankly, I'm worried about the day I run out of her books - WHAT AM I GOING TO DO???

Loving Mr. Daniels - Brittainy C. Cherry

To Whom it May Concern,

It was easy to call us forbidden and harder to call us soulmates. Yet I believed we were both. Forbidden soulmates.

When I arrived to Edgewood, Wisconsin I didn’t plan to find him. I didn't plan to stumble into Joe's bar and have Daniel's music stir up my emotions. I had no clue that his voice would make my hurts forget their own sorrow. I had no idea that my happiness would remember its own bliss.

When I started senior year at my new school, I wasn’t prepared to call him Mr. Daniels, but sometimes life happens at the wrong time for all the right reasons.

Our love story wasn’t only about the physical connection.

It was about family. It was about loss. It was about being alive. It was silly. It was painful. It was mourning. It was laughter.

It was ours.

And for those reasons alone, I would never apologize for Loving Mr. Daniels.

-Ashlyn Jennings

Right off the bat, this book kind of reminded me of Eighteen by J.A. Huss, which I read way back in 2017. (I'm including the purchase links for that below because if you love romance you will likely really, really enjoy that one as well.) I know the teacher-student relationship trope is kind of taboo and people hate it but I kind of love it. I swear I'm not a freak! If this was my daughter I would be appropriately pissed off, CALM DOWN.

But a taboo romance is kind of my jam. I can't help it.

We have Ashlyn, fresh off the death of her twin sister and being unceremoniously sent to her dad's house (who she doesn't know very well), she isn't handling any of it well at all and is dealing with it mostly alone. Enter Daniel- fresh from the death of his dad, and his mom a year earlier, and a brother who was in prison and is now a little MIA, he isn't handling any of it well at all. The two lock eyes on a train, and then reunite at a bar over music and Shakespeare.

Basically love at first sight, and they both heal with each other and it's beautiful and your heart does all the swoops and stuff.

Then we find out he is actually her teacher during her senior year of high school (and her dad is assistant principal... awkward) and it kind of blows up. But then.. not really because even though they aren't doing it, they manage to stay connected through writing, music, and Shakespeare but also the exchanged looks that convey everything and nothing at all.

You find yourself rooting for these two because they are independently broken but together they are a beautiful whole. Everything is against them, though: the teacher/student thing, her dad, the secrecy, his brother (who shows up to cause trouble), drugs, death, finding themselves, etc. It's so much and this is maybe the first book that I really wasn't sure if they would end up together and it was such a roller coaster. The ending, though? Sigh. It was beautiful. So much trauma and sadness happens in this book and heartache to last a lifetime in just a short time span.

I will tell you that I loved both of these characters so much. I loved all of the secondary characters, flaws and all. I love Brittainy Cherry's writing that hooks you in but guts you at the same time. In all the best ways.

Truly- if you need a new book, even if it makes you look at your husband and wonder why the hell he can't be romantic and in love with you like Daniel is.... pick this one. Promise.

   

   

*This post contains affiliate links*

Book Review: Disgrace

You guys, I have to confess I am still reading Brittainy C. Cherry books every chance I get. I was going to start a different one but my friend Shirley said I had to read this one next so I did.

She's always right.

Disgrace - Brittainy C. Cherry

Each day I prayed for my husband to love me again.

After fifteen years together, he walked away from me, and into the arms of another.

I didn’t know how to cope. I didn’t know my worth. I didn’t know how to exist without him by my side.

All I wanted was for him to come back to me.

Then, Jackson Emery appeared.

He was supposed to be a distraction for my mind. A summer fling. A confidence boost to my bruised heart.

We were perfect for one another, because we both knew we wouldn’t last. Jackson didn’t believe in commitment, and I no longer believed in love. He was too closed-off for me, and I was too damaged for him.

Everything was fine, until one night my heart skipped a beat.

I didn’t expect him to make me laugh. To make me think. To make my sadness somewhat disappear.

When our time was up, my heart didn’t know how to walk away.

Each day I prayed for my husband to love me again, yet slowly my prayers began to shift toward the man who wasn’t right for me.

I prayed for one more smile, one more kiss, one more laugh, one more touch…

I prayed for him to be mine.

Even though I knew his heart wasn’t destined to love.

Do I even need to tell you that my obsession with Brittainy C. Cherry's books continues? I probably don't, but I continue to love them and this one is another home run for me.

In this book we have Grace, fresh from a separation from her husband after several years of miscarriages and heartache, is forced to move back home to regroup and start over. Once she gets into town she runs into the town "monster" Jackson Emery, who has earned himself a reputation of being an asshole but also really great in bed. From the start it's clear he doesn't like her but her car needs to be repaired so she's pretty much at a loss for alternatives. Her mom is over the top awful, her dad just takes it, her sister is the absolute best, and her best friend? Horrible and you'll see why.

Jackson has had a tough life, running a car shop he never wanted, taking care of his alcoholic father, his mother has died right after she walked out on them for another man, he's given up on the life he had wished for himself.

Through a few interesting events, Grace and Jackson realize they have more in common than they thought and Grace realizes she needs to find out who she is. Her identity has always been part of her ex-husband and she isn't sure how to do that. Jackson agrees to help her and somehow they start sleeping together with no strings attached for the summer. It never works out that way, and as the summer comes to an end, a big secret that had been kept for decades comes to light, Grace stands up for herself, and it turns out it's really Jackson who needs to find himself.

You guys, I loved this book. LOVED IT. It's the good girl, boy from the wrong side of the tracks trope and I'm completely here for it because Jackson is the best under his tough exterior. They are perfect for each other, it's like polar opposites who need each other to work, if that makes sense. I loved everything about this book except one tiny thing, and that's with the ending. There is a little string that I wish could have been tied up and I can't even tell you what that is without giving the entire book away. I will tell tell you that there is a part where Jackson recognizes Grace's miscarriages in a big way and I'm telling you- I COMPLETELY MELTED. I teared up because it's perfect and amazing and Jackson is the best. He's not even real and I love him. 

I highly suggest this book, along with everything else she has ever written because they are home runs every single time. 5 stars, no doubt.

   

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Book Review: The Fire Between High & Lo (Elements #2)

Oh man. I honestly don't know how to do this review without spilling my guts about everything because I have SO MANY THINGS TO SAY. I'm going to tell you now that if you aren't reading Brittainy C. Cherry you are absolutely missing out.

(Yes, I know it's Monday and I should have a weight loss post for you but I don't and you're going to live and it's going to be fully OK. Swearsies.)

The Fire Between High & Lo (Elements #2)

There once was a boy, and I loved him.

Logan Francis Silverstone was the complete opposite of me. I danced while he stood still. He was quiet, and I was always running my mouth. He struggled to find a smile while I refused to frown. 

The night I saw the darkness that truly lived inside of him, I couldn’t look away.

We were broken together, yet somehow whole. We were wrong together, but always right. We were the stars that burned across the night sky, searching for a wish, praying for better tomorrows.

Until the day I lost him. He threw us away with one hasty decision—a decision that changed us forever.

There once was a boy, and I loved him.

And for a few breaths, a few whispers, a few moments, I think he loved me, too.

A couple of things before I get into this review:

1. Logan is maybe one of the most messed up characters Brittainy C. Cherry has ever written, and honestly, I can't think of another character off the top of my head that gives me such a love/hate feeling. 
2. I have never wished for a character to die in a book as much as I did this one and I feel like a really bad person for wishing it but I feel like it needed it. 
3. If ever there was a character perfect for me, it would be Logan. Not because I've got a thing for drug addicts but if you're a person who believes you can fix people, LOGAN IS YOUR GUY. 

I know I have a track record of having an issue with the lead female character most of the time but not here, you guys. I really, really liked Alyssa. She was just so kind and so great and she never judged Logan no matter how messed up he was and loved him almost to a fault. I think the most annoying part of this book for me was Logan and his hope for his mom. I can't tell you how that ends but I'll say he's a better person than I because I don't know if I could keep putting myself in that situation. 

My friend Shirley told me this was going to be rough and I wasn't even a quarter of the way in and I just had this sinking feeling this would end badly. Then Part 1 ended and I was full on SOBBING and I had to stop reading for a little bit. The next day I had to forge ahead because I need to know what the hell happens to Alyssa and Logan and man... it was so tough to read and know that a person has to hit rock bottom on their own and you can't pull them up before they get there, it doesn't work that way.

It's an emotional read and I'm not even going to sugar coat it. With all of that, I have to tell you I'm giving this five stars. I know I told you I wish for someone to die (alright, two. I wished for two people to die, I'M SORRY.), and there were a couple of spots in the plot I wish were done a little differently, the overall story was so good that I could overlook all of those blips. It's that good.

If you STILL haven't ordered everything Brittainy C. Cherry has written, I'm not sure what the hell is wrong with you but you need to fix it.

   

This post contains affiliate links.

More importantly: please, please, PLEASE- if you read this book, I need to know what you thought. Immediately. 

Book Review: The Gravity of Us (Elements #4)

I know you're probably wondering if this is going to be an entire week of Brittainy C. Cherry fangirling, but it isn't. I will probably have more next week though. Sorry, not sorry.

The Gravity of Us - Brittainy C. Cherry

Graham Russell and I weren’t made for one another.

I was driven by emotion; he was apathetic. I dreamed while he lived in nightmares. I cried when he had no tears to shed.

Despite his frozen heart and my readiness to run, we sometimes shared seconds. Seconds when our eyes locked and we saw each other’s secrets. Seconds when his lips tasted my fears, and I breathed in his pains. Seconds when we both imagined what it would be like to love one another.

Those seconds left us floating, but when reality knocked us sideways, gravity forced us to descend.

Graham Russell wasn’t a man who knew how to love, and I wasn’t a woman who knew how to either.

 Yet if I had the chance to fall again, I’d fall with him forever.

Even if we were destined to crash against solid ground.

When I started reading this one I immediately thought I was going to really hate Graham and that I probably wouldn't even like Lucy. He's too grumpy/mean and she is too hippie. As it turns out, I'm and idiot and I need to just go with the flow because I loved them both. Despite all of it, I loved them both.

So in this book we have Graham, famous author and a really awful wife but it's not about love it's basically an outlet for sex and she feels the same. Except she got pregnant and so they are reluctantly dealing with that. They get in a fight, baby comes and has problems, wife takes off and leaves him with baby.

Enter Lucy, the wife of his sister (that he had no idea about because he thought she was an only child) and since Lucy is incredibly selfless and kind, she decides she can't leave Graham to flounder so she decides she's going to basically nanny and help him learn how to parent and take care of a child.

Over time though, things become a little more blurry when they both start to develop feelings for each other but it isn't as simple as just get together. She feels weird about taking up with essentially her brother in law and he isn't a guy who is capable of loving and that's a deal breaker for her.

DUN, DUN, DUN....

Obviously some major plot twists happen and makes Graham and Lucy drift apart and kind of look at things from afar and make some decisions.

My friend texted me and said just to tell her if there is a happy ending, because I promise you there is a good chunk of this book where I was in such emotional turmoil, I was crying while cooking dinner, I couldn't sleep even though my eyeballs hurt from reading, I will tell you that it is a LOT and this is coming from someone on a lot of anti-depressants and mood stabilizers. If I'm a wreck I don't know what that bodes for you.

Just know this: I felt.... relieved and at peace with the end. I need a break from Brittainy C. Cherry but I also can't quit her. My emotional well being is at war with itself. All that to say this book was SO DANG GOOD. So good. It couldn't have been better, I literally have not one quip to give it. So good.

   

Another book off my own shelf and from my own money, but you should use the affiliate links to keep my blog going but also keep my addiction going as well. Books are life. 

Book Review: The Silent Waters (Elements #3)

It was two weeks ago that I told you about another book by Brittainy C. Cherry (The Air He Breathes) and I believe I told you to just run and buy every book you can find by her. I haven't heard if any of you actually did that, but my friend Shirley is as obsessed with this author as I am.

I promise you, if you are in a reading slump, or you just aren't finding anything that gives you feels and makes your girl parts excited, Brittainy C. Cherry will get you there. You will be a mess at the end but it's the best possible mess. I just got book two and I am SO GLAD I didn't wait to read these in order because they are in no way connected so you can read them at whatever pace you want to. Just do it. I swear.

The Silent Waters - Brittainy C. Cherry

Moments.

Our lives are a collection of moments. Some utterly painful and full of yesterday's hurts. Some beautifully hopeful and full of tomorrow's promises.

I’ve had many moments in my lifetime, moments that changed me, challenged me. Moments that scared me and engulfed me. However, the biggest ones—the most heartbreaking and breathtaking ones—all included him.

I was ten years old when I lost my voice. A piece of me was stolen away, and the only person who could truly hear my silence was Brooks Griffin. He was the light during my dark days, the promise of tomorrow, until tragedy found him. Tragedy that eventually drowned him in a sea of memories.

This is the story of a boy and girl who loved each other, but didn’t love themselves. A story of life and death. Of love and broken promises.

Of moments.

OK. I honestly don't know how to review this without random squealing and wanting to give you alllllll the details.

It's that good you guys.

In this book we have a young girl, madly in love with her brother's friend. She decides they are going to get married and on the evening of the "wedding", she sees something so horrific she becomes mute for ten years. I mean, there's more to it, but that's the basics. In those ten years she slowly watches her parent's marriage crumble, her sister hates her, her brother loves her but is busy with his band that also has his friend Brooks (the kid she was supposed to marry). She still loves him and though he blames himself (this wouldn't have happened if he wasn't late to the wedding), she knows he's the one that legitimately saved her. Over the years he constantly visits her and they become each other's person.

Eventually the band Brooks is in makes it big (with her help) and he has the opportunity to go. He's willing to give it all up for her and she encourages him to go because just because she's unable to go out into the world and she doesn't speak, doesn't mean he should have to be in her prison, too. He goes off and becomes famous, and lives move on but neither one of them are happy.

The circumstances of them reuniting, and the big event that changes everything? I'm going to seal my lips because it was big and I had legit screaming, furious texting to my friend, Matt thought I went nuts, and I couldn't sleep. I had to finish the book and that's just what I did and I loved it so much.

SO MUCH.

With that said, I have a couple of (teensy, wincy) things that kind of bothered me that are keeping me from giving this five stars. (But I'm going to tell you know, I think this is my being picky and you should completely ignore me and read it.)

1. I kind of hate mutism in stories. I feel like I'm fairly open to a variety of weird psychological things but mutism is one I don't get. I never have and I probably never will. I spent a lot of time saying, "Just say something, dammit!!!!" of course, she didn't hear me.

2. I kind of didn't love Maggie. I kind of hated her name, I didn't really like her, and I get she had a traumatic thing happen but it never seemed like she tried to get better. In the book she doesn't speak but instead writes things on her white board and why would you never write out what happened to you? Or at least give a generalized idea? Her parents were kind of stupid as well and they say they had specialists come but did they? Because I have to think at someone point a psychologist would have been one of them and they'd be able to identify mutism and work with her but what the hell do I know?

If I had to be nit picky, that's what I've got. I want someone else to be reading this because Shirley and I are blown away by this author and it's got us looking at our husbands like they need to step it the hell up. Ahem.

   

As I read these, I will report back on how amazingly perfect they are (of course), and just know this blog has affiliate links. But! This isn't a sponsored post, this is a book I bought with my own moola so there you go.