Review: Havoc by Jamie Shaw

Havoc

Author: Jamie Shaw
Publisher:Avon Impulse
Series: Mayhem #4
Pages: Mass Market Paperback, 496 pages
Genre: New Adult
Release Date: March 21st 2017

Summary:

When Hailey Harper left her family farm to enroll in veterinary school, she had a plan: keep her head down, ace her classes, and most importantly... don’t upset the uncle paying her tuition. Translation? Don’t piss off his dramatic, self-absorbed daughter, Danica, even if she’s a nightmare to live with.

Falling in love with her cousin’s rock star ex-boyfriend was definitely not part of the plan.

As the drummer of a now-famous rock band, Mike Madden could have any girl he wants. He’s sweet, funny, romantic, talented—and the only guy that’s ever made Hailey’s heart do cartwheels in her chest. The more she gets to know him, the harder she falls, but Hailey knows they can never be more than friends… because Danica wants him back, and she’ll fight dirty to win.

Mike is falling for Hailey too, but Danica’s threats and his rock star life—music video shoots, international tours, obsessed fans—could tear them apart before they’ve even begun. Hailey isn’t sure she’s the one for him, but Mike’s waited years for a girl like her… and he’ll do anything to prove it.

Review:

Havoc might be my favorite book in the series... maybe.
Actually, I am not sure. I love all of them!
But I DO know for sure Mike is my favorite band member. I loved him right from the beginning and this cemented it. He is swoony awesome hotness.

Mayhem thrives on character building. All the books in the series are mostly character driven. Shaw is brilliant at building interesting unique characters. Havoc being no exception. Though saying that, I can't really get over Danica. She is the WORST. And not only because she is really spoilt and all that. But because Shaw might have overdone her a tad. Add to that Hailey and her dilemma and I found myself annoyed at best. Their tension, while in the beginning kinda interesting and all became too over the top at the end for my taste. And that is the only reason this isn't 5 Stars.
Because the rest? Bloody AWESOME!
I felt like I knew Mike fairly well, I mean he featured in the three previous books. But as I read I kept discovering more about him. Shaw did a brilliant job at creating complex characters that feel real. Same with Hailey- she is actually so different from myself that I found it hard to understand why she would behave in certain ways. But I did get her. Even if I personally would never have reacted that way, she felt authentic and real, which made her actions realistic.

I totally adore the romance, the cute moments, the problems, the atmosphere, the entire support cast (except Danica) and MIKE. The plot is entertaining. Plenty of ups and downs- and even if I think Shaw took Hailey's dilemma a bit far. I enjoyed every moment of it.

There are some beautiful description in this book. The pond scene - I felt like I was there and in the rain scene I practically could smell and feel the rain. So so beautiful. Shaw's prose is amazing!


A beautiful romance, hot rockstars, fabulous interesting females and lots of swoony moments makes this not only a must read book but an absolutely must read series.
And frankly I am so sad it is over, I am actually planning on re-reading the first 3 books... just to get my swoony rockstar fix
I can't wait to see what Shaw is writing next!


Rating: 


ARC was provided by Publishers through Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review

Blog Tour: Any Boy But You by Julie Hammerle

Any Boy But You

Author: Julie Hammerle
Publisher: Entangled: Crush
Series: North Pole, Minnesota #1
Pages: Paperback, 240 pages
Genre: Young Adult
Release Date: February 13th 2017

Summary:
Elena Chestnut has been chatting with an anonymous boy late into the night. It’s a very You’ve Got Mail situation, and she has no idea who he is. He can’t be Oliver Prince, hot-and-bashful son of the family running the rival sporting goods store. Their fancy sales strategies are driving Elena’s family out of business. Elena’s mystery boy has teamed up with her in their latest sales strategy, an augmented reality game, to help her win the grand-prize plane tickets. Money’s so tight Elena’s going to miss senior year spring break with her friends if she can’t win this game.

The girl Oliver's fallen head-over-heels for online had better not be Elena Chestnut. She's his angry, vindictive Latin tutor, the daughter of his dad’s business rival, and the one girl he’d never even think of kissing. She’s definitely not his online crush, because that girl is funny, sweet, and perfect.

When Oliver asks to reveal their names at the Valentine’s Day dance, their IRL relationship will either ruin what they have online, or they’ll discover just how thin the line between love and hate really is.

Disclaimer: This Entangled Teen Crush book contains swearing, snowball fights, and sexual tension that could melt the North Pole. Read at your own risk.

Google Play | BAM | Amazon | Indies | B&N| Kobo | TBD | iBooks 

About the Author:

Julie Hammerle is the author of The Sound of Us, which will be published by Entangled Teen on June 7, 2016. Before settling down to write "for real," she studied opera, taught Latin, and held her real estate license for one hot minute. Currently, she writes about TV on her blog Hammervision, ropes people into conversations about Game of Thrones, and makes excuses to avoid the gym. Her favorite YA-centric TV shows include 90210 (original spice), Felicity, and Freaks and Geeks. Her iPod reads like a 1997 Lilith Fair set list.

She lives in Chicago with her husband, two kids, and a dog. They named the dog Indiana.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instragram | Goodreads

Review:

SWOON!
A winter romance with a super cute heartthrob and a game that rivals pokemon. So what's not to love?

The character building is done well for the MCs. For the support cast it's not bad but they feel a bit cliche and flat in compare to the MCs. Not to say that I didn't like North Pole or it's inhabitants. The support cast, though cliche is quite alright, just in compare to the brilliantly written MCs, they feel a bit flat retrospectively.
I totally adore Elena and Oliver. I could related to both of them. Enjoyed both POV and more than that their chemistry felt real. Their bickering and banter was really entertaining, I totally swooned for them!
Elena and Oliver are so different, they both deal with life differently. It's interesting to see how they each see the same situation.

The story line is the classic rom-com/hallmark kind. And while some of it is a tad, well cliche. I couldn't care less. Because this has all the swoon and cuteness a girl could ask for.
There were quite a lot of dramas thrown in and a bit of mystery, which I actually quite enjoyed.
The only reservation was the end for me. It's too hallmark for my taste. There was this huge build up... and then boom. All is solved. HEA. The end.

This is the first book of Hammerle I've read and I thoroughly enjoyed her writing style. While I have a bit of an issue with the way the end went, I felt all the anticipation, heartache, giddiness and happiness she put into this book. I think she excelled at putting me into the MCs frame of mind.
I can't wait to read more of her works

I read this in one sitting, it was captivating and entertaining.- it's a great cute&fluffy! All the swoon, all the cuteness and definitely a must read.
When is the next book coming out?

Oh and who wishes they had access to the game as well?

Rating: 

Tour Schedule with interviews and guest posts can be found here


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Review: Snowbound at Christmas

Snowbound at Christmas

Author: Jennifer Ryan, Maisey Yates, Lia Riley
Publisher: Avon Impulse
Series: Montana Men #5.5, Brightwater #3.5, Copper Ridge: Novellas #4
Pages: ebook, 384 pages
Genre: Romance
Release Date: November 15th 2016

Summary:

When a snowstorm pummels the western half of the country, three couples find once off-limits love just in time for Christmas. An unforgettable holiday anthology from bestselling authors Jennifer Ryan, Maisey Yates, and Lia Riley.

Close to Perfect: A Montana Men Novella by Jennifer Ryan

At sixteen, Abigail gave Dex the gift of a lifetime, but the cost of it was more than he ever knew. Now she s back in town with a secret that has been ten years in the making and this time it s Dex s turn to make the ultimate sacrifice or risk losing her forever.

Snowed in at Copper Ridge: A Copper Ridge Novella by Maisey Yates

Mia Landry has always had it bad for brooding cowboy Devlin Grayson. Too bad he s her best friend s older brother. But when they find themselves snowed in at Copper Ridge Lodge, Mia finally has the chance to tell the man of her dreams exactly what she wants him.

Hot Winter s Night: A Brightwater Novella by Lia Riley

While Brightwater is being covered in snow, Goldie Flint is stuck in her flower shop. She never expected her hero to be Kit Kane, the former love of her life. Kit knows that what he had with Goldie isn t just in the past and with the help of a little bet, an ornery grandmother, and a lot of snow, he s ready to show her that what he really wants for Christmas is a second chance.

Review:

A holiday romance collection, where all three stories are based around a couple that ends up stuck in a snow storm?
So my kinda thing.
I love snowy romances. That's no secret.
But I have to confess: I really like holiday novellas. Don't ask me why, I just really do. The setting is just swoony and perfect and maybe its because I met my husband around then? Color me nostalgic, but it works for me. Especially if it's a novella.
Snowbound at Christmas feature three stories. They all part of a cowboy series, but all work as a standalone:

Close to Perfect: A Montana Men Novella by Jennifer Ryan

I haven't read a book by Ryan before so this is my first of her and the series.
I liked the writing style.
The plot was sweet. A tad too sweet for me at times. But also too dramatic. But all in all I enjoyed it
The character building left me divided. I liked the MCs. Love Dex.
But to be frank the entire female cast was a bit too over the top. Too bitchy, too sweet you name it, it's all there. Frankly I didn't mind so much with Abby, but Libby... meh.
Couple the female over the top characters with the plot then it's just simply too much for me.

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Hot Winter's Night: A Brightwater Novella by Lia Riley

So honestly the reason I requested this ARC? Lia Riley. I would read anything she puts her name on.
And then there is the whole winter/snowy romance thing, I am a sucker for that. But I would have requested anything....
I was happily grinning, all swoony after reading Hot Winter's Night. It is exactly what I want in a snowy cute & fluffy. Kit is a hotilicous, caring go getter and I really like Goldie as well. Her feistines, her want to success and overcome. Both of them are fighters, yet couldn't find what their way to each other. Starcrossed lovers, perfectly done. The twist a the end? Just bloody brilliant. Because I guessed a few things, but not THAT.
Great characters, swoony setting and fun storyline make this a perfect holiday novella.
Short and sweet, maybe too short? I was left wanting more Breakwater goodness, which makes me think, I haven't read them all have I? *runs to check her GR account*

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Snowed in at Copper Ridge: A Copper Ridge Novella by Maisey Yates

Another first for me. But definitely will be reading more by Yates.
This was just swoony hotilcious holidays cute & fluffy.
I totally adore all the characters, love the way the story was told and honestly can't wait to get my hands on more stories about them. There will be more about them, right? I mean I fell in love with the Graysons...
4 Stars 

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While the first didn't really work for me. I did enjoy reading the book. Which is why I am going to round it up to 4 Stars. It's a lovely collection of cute&fluffies and just was what I wanted from this.

A must read for lovers of the genres and a great introduction to the authors and series.



Rating: 


ARC was provided by Publishers through Edelweiss exchange for an honest review