October was a hectic month in my personal life, so my reading and bloging fell a bit behind. My mum got her birthday at the beginning of the month, then my baby girl turned 1 year and a week later, my nephew turned 4, so there were a lot of birthday celebrations. Then I got the flu for a week which completely messed up my blogging schedule.

Still, I managed to review 9 books on the blog this month. I reviewed a few more books on Goodreads but since I either didn't finish them, or didn't like them, they were not presented here.

(Click on the cover to go to my review.)

Best read: The Way Home was amazing, I haven't read much romantic suspense, but I loved this one. It was really emotional and intense. I also enjoyed Ruthie Knox's Camelot series and Jill Shalvis's Animal Magnetism series. Unbound by Cara McKenna was a challenging but interesting read as well.

Disappointment: I still can't get over a particular plot element in Finding Cinderella which completely ruined it for me.

I continued with the Teaser Tuesday posts (27, 28, 29, 30, 31) and did one Top Ten Tuesday - Top Ten Unusual Character Names I Love.

I didn't do any promotional events or tours in October, but I already have some plan for November, so check the blog for them during the month. 

My November releases page is up. There you can find some of the titles coming out next month which I can't wait to read.  

Title: Along Came Trouble (Camelot #2)
Author: Ruthie Knox
Date of publication: 11 March 2013
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author's links:
Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads

My rating: 4 stars

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Here are the rules: 

• Grab your current read 

• Open to a random page 

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page 

• Be careful not the include spoilers! 

• Share the title & author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers. 

I have modified them slightly for my Teasers. It will not be two sentences from a random page but two, usually more, sentences from the pages I have read so far that have struck me as most interesting, original or that I just happen to like a lot.

My teaser this week comes from The Way Home by Cindy Gerard. It is a romantic suspense novel I read last week and I absolutely loved it (my review). It a very emotional story of love and lost and it is just beautifully told. I have chose a passage towards the end of the which in my opinion reveals perfectly the intensity of the story and author's writing style. I hope it is not too spoilerish since the things in it are already included in the blurb. If this teaser made curious about the book, it released tomorrow, Oct 29.

"She was married to a man who didn't remember her.

She was in love with a man she needed to forget.

She felt confused and guilty on both counts. But there was only one thing she could do right now.

On a deep breath, she gathered herself, then made the longest walk of her life."

The Way Home - Cindy Gerard

Goodreads blurb

Four years ago Jess Albert got the news that her husband Jeff was killed in action in Afghanistan, and a painful void entered her life. The more time passed, the more acutely she felt that emptiness. But when Tyler Brown, former military hero and all-around alpha male, shows up a year after she’d last seen him, Jess gradually begins to realize there is one thing that can make her feel whole again—love.

As they’re planning their wedding and new life together, Jess receives shocking news: her husband is alive, under the care of a young Afghani woman hiding him from the Taliban. Even as he sees their happily-ever-after slip away, Ty arranges for the One Eyed Jacks and Black Ops, Inc. teams to make a daring and dangerous rescue mission to bring Jeff home. The hardest thing Ty or Jess has ever done is to let the other go.

When Jeff returns to Jess, broken physically and emotionally and with no memory of their history, they try to heal their marriage and each other. But as time brings them together more as friends than lovers, an unexpected development helps them see the true way home, to the people they love.

Title: The Way Home (One-Eyed Jacks #2)

Author: Cindy Gerard
Date of publication: 29 October 2013
Genre: Romantic suspense / Military

Author's links: Website / Blog / Goodreads

My rating: 5 Stars



I was provided with an ARC by the publisher via Netgalley.

There are two main plot lines in this book - Jess and Ty's relationship on the one hand and the story of Jeff (Jess's husband, presumably killed in action in Afghanistan) and Rabia, the Muslin woman who saved him. These stories develop parallel to one another and even though they are told from the POV of the four characters, the narrative flows very smoothly.

The four character have unique and strong voices each telling his/her story in a deeply engaging and moving way.  

I really liked both couples, though naturally, I have my favourites. I liked Jess and understood her difficulty to move on after losing hers husband and especially her reluctance to get involved with another (ex)-military man. Yet, Ty was no Jeff. His perseverance, his openness and ultimately his love won Jess over. Out of this couple I found Ty far more appealing. He was the ultimate alpha male military man - honourable, loyal, protective and at the same time patient with Jess, giving her time and space to make her own choices. She came out as a it passive in their relationship, it was Ty was doing all the giving, taking steps towards their common future and she just allowed him to love her and take care of her.

Ty and Jess may be the central couple in this book, at least on first glance, but it was Jeff and Rabia who stole my heart and took my breath way. I felt very deeply for their suffering and all the pain they had to go through. Jeff's struggles initially just to to survive and then to regain what he had lost (his memory, his past, his physical and mental health) were presented with great sympathy and compassion and I found his story absolutely riveting.

Rabia, the Muslim woman who became his saviour both literally and figuratively was also a well developed strong character. There was some politics involved around her but they were in no way intrusive and just completed her character without taking away the romance of the story.

Initially my heart broke for Jeff and Rabia when he first remembered the attack on him, then when he was finally rescued and returned home, Jess's attempts to restore their previous life brought tears to my eyes. 

I loved the romance in this book, but the suspense element also worked well for me. I liked that it didn't overshadow the love story but complemented it perfectly showing the strength and honour of all the military men involved. 

Overall, it is both a heart-breaking and a heart-warming story beautifully told. It focuses on all the important things in life - love, honour, loyalty, family. And the ending provides the perfect HEA for everyone.

PS: Now I need too go back and read Mike's story asap. I just can't help it :)

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Here are the rules: 

• Grab your current read 

• Open to a random page 

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page 

• Be careful not the include spoilers! 

• Share the title & author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers. 

I have modified them slightly for my Teasers. It will not be two sentences from a random page but two, usually more, sentences from the pages I have read so far that have struck me as most interesting, original or that I just happen to like a lot.

My teaser this week is from Crash into You (Pushing the Limits 3) by Katie McGarry. It is a wonderful YA story of first love and serious real-life issues of foster care children, family expectations, life on the streets, and others. I really enjoyed it and think it is the best book in this series so far. I read an ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley. The book releases on Nov 26. 

"I wince internally at her word. Asking for anything on the streets is a cardinal sin. Asking nicely is basically serving your soul to the devil. God didn't send this angel to save me. He sent her as a sacrifice."

Goodreads Blurb

The girl with straight As, designer clothes and the perfect life-that's who people expect Rachel Young to be. So the private-school junior keeps secrets from her wealthy parents and overbearing brothers...and she's just added two more to the list. One involves racing strangers down dark country roads in her Mustang GT. The other? Seventeen-year-old Isaiah Walker-a guy she has no business even talking to. But when the foster kid with the tattoos and intense gray eyes comes to her rescue, she can't get him out of her mind. 

Isaiah has secrets, too. About where he lives, and how he really feels about Rachel. The last thing he needs is to get tangled up with a rich girl who wants to slum it on the south side for kicks-no matter how angelic she might look. 

But when their shared love of street racing puts both their lives in jeopardy, they have six weeks to come up with a way out. Six weeks to discover just how far they'll go to save each other.

Top Ten Tuesday is weekly meme hosted The Broke and the Bookish. There is a new topic for each week and the participating bloggers are invited to post their Top Ten lists on it.

My TTT list this week is a mix of the suggested topic Top Ten Character Names I Love or Top Ten Unusual Character Names. I have included more than 10 names from less than 10 books , but sometimes the names of the characters go so well together, so I had no choice but to list them together. 

Title: Finding Cinderella (Hopeless #2.5)

Author: Colleen Hoover
Date of publication: 14 October 2013
Genre: Young Adult / New Adult / Romance

Author's links: Website / Facebook / Goodreads

My rating: 2.5 stars








This is a spin-off novel of the Hopeless series and it is available for free on the major bookseller sites. It tells the story of Holder's friend Daniel and Sky's friend Six.

I think the presence of Daniel was one of the good things in Losing Hope which I found overall disappointing (my review). We met Six in the first book of the series, Hopeless, and I can't say I was much of a fan of hers.

Daniel provided a very much needed comic relief from all the tragedy and drama in Losing Hope. I liked his quirky sense of humor and his loyalty to Holder at his worst moments. I was naturally curious to read more about him, even though it was pretty obvious who his Cinderella was back when he first told this story. 

I liked the easy flirting between Daniel and Six, it was fun and felt natural. Their relationship happened way too fast and it had the feel of some cosmic I-can't-breathe-without-you kind of love, still I enjoyed it a lot. It was over the top but cute and heart-warming in a way. 

Daniel was still the same funny, care-free guy from Losing Hope and I still liked him a lot. Six was completely different, though. Something happened to her in Italy that took her from the girl who didn't do relationships and boyfriends to someone who was ashamed of her previous frivolous behaviour and was trying to hard to make amends for it. 

I was enjoying the story up until a plot twist was thrown in about 80%. I didn't see it coming and it totally ruined the book for me. It is a big spoiler so I am not divulging it here but you don't mind spoilers, you can read my review on Goodreads where I will include it in spoiler tags. 

It is a very serious issue and it didn't fit with the light, casual tone of the story. It changed the whole situation for the main characters and I felt its importance was played down. On a personal level I am not comfortable at all with the way the whole issue was resolved. 

What was a sweet, albeit a bit sappy story of high-school love turned into a mess of mixed messages. An important issue was introduced in the story but it was poorly treated and just swept under the rug en route the the Happily Ever After for the Daniel and Six.

Finding Cinderella (Hopeless #2.5) by Colleen Hoover - This novella should be free on all major book retailers as an ebook. I was excited to read this book but a plot twist towards the end left me disappointed. Still, I think the fans of the Hopeless series will enjoy it - Amazon 

Girl Least Likely to Marry (The Wedding Season #2) by Amy Andrews - the love story of a geek and a jock, sounds like a fun read - Amazon

The Other Sister (Sister #1) by Leanne Davies - new release (end of Sept) with interesting  but rather dark premise - Amazon

A Song for Sophie by Mackenzie Crowne - As a fan romances about musicians, I couldn't pass by this country music romance available for free - Amazon

The Music Box by Heather Meyer - an emotional romance with some mystery elements - Amazon 

Book deals:

Note: These were the correct prices/free books at the time of the publication of this post. Please, check them again before buying. I am only posting deals valid for international users, since I based in Bulgaria and very often some sales or free books on Amazon US are only available to US residents.

Follow me on Facebook to keep up to date with the latest freebies and sales I come across. Often they last only a short time and by the time a draft my post on Friday, many of them are no longer available.

Title: Animal Magnetism (Animal Magnetism #1)
Author: Jill Shalvis
Date of publication: 1 February 2011
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Author's links:
Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads

My rating: 3 stars

It's Brady's nature to resist being tied down, but there's something about Lilah and her menagerie that keeps him coming back for more.

My review

This was the weakest book of the series for me. I liked it, just not as much as the rest. It set the stage for the whole series and gave us a rather convincing background for all the stories to unfold, but I had some issues with the characters, especially with the heroine, Lilah.

I liked Brady's character a lot. He is a wanderer who never stayed at one place long, yet he was so drawn to Lilah and all her craziness that he gradually came to re-evaluate his stance on being ted down to one place and more importantly, to one person. The progression in his change of heart was gradual and felt natural. i enjoyed his interactions with Dell and Adam and the they they revealed so much about all of them. I just have to mention Brady's communication of with his dog, Twinkles, because it was simply hilarious.

My problem with this book was Lilah. She was an interesting character, wild, determined, yet she was badly hurt in the pat and this made her insecure and distrustful. I sympathize with her, yet I was annoyed how easily she accepted the temporary nature of her relationship with Brady. She seemed so at ease with the idea that he was leaving eventually and I felt this contradicted with her character. At times I felt she didn't believe things between them could be permanent and she didn't even care to try to have something more with him.

The supporting characters, as always with Ms Shalvis, were amazing and added so much background to the story creating a whole vibrant community of friends and family around the main characters.

My final complaint is that the sex scenes, though very hot, seemed a bit excessive towards the end of the book. They didn't add anything much to the story.

*** *** ***

Jade Bennett couldn't be happier to escape her past for the quiet ranching town of Sunshine, Idaho. Plus, there's nothing like working for veterinarian Dell Connelly. And though Dell has no intention of settling down, Jade's strength and sass are enticements no red-blooded male can resist.

My Review

The second book tells the story of Dell and Jade who came to Sunshine and Dell's clinic to escape her past in Chicago. The blurb for this one is rather vague but the main conflict in this story came from Dell's commitment issues and Jade's struggle to cope with the consequences of an attack she has suffered. 

I loved both main characters in this book, something that rarely happens for me. Jade was amazing, strong and vulnerable at the same time. Dell was a little misguided and lost as to how to deal with his feelings for her, but he was just adorable. Just like Brady, he suffers from abandonment issues and is completely inept at the relationship game.

Like Brady and Lilah, Jade and Dell both felt strong attraction to one another, yet they were wary of making a long-term commitment. It took them quite a while to admit to themselves and to each other what they really want. The constant going back and forth in their interaction felt over the top at some point, still they made a very entertaining couple to read. 

Brady and Lilah also make appearances at the right times to perfectly perfectly Jade and Dell's story. And there is also the brooding, silent Adam - the best brother there can be :) 

Overall, this book was a worthy sequel to book 1 and set the stage for Adam to find his girl as well. 

*** *** ***

After a tragic stint in the National Guards, Adam Connelly returns to Idaho and to Belle Haven, the animal shelter he owns with his brothers. All Adam wants is to be alone. Then he opens the door to the past—the woman whose heart he once broke. Still gorgeous, still tough-as-nails, but this time, unusually vulnerable.

Holly Reid learned the hard way to never depend on a man for anything. Now, of all men, it’s the last one she wants to see, and the only one she needs. Her father has gone missing in the Bitterroot Mountains and she could use someone with tracking skills to help find him.

For Holly and Adam, each with their ghosts, a trek this desperate, this unpredictable, and this intimate, will have its share of risks—including opening their hearts one more time.



This is my favourite book of the three. I just loved Adam and Holly and the fact that they had history between them made their romance very emotionally charged. It was a true second chance love story which I really enjoyed. I felt there was more depth to this characters, their story was more complex than the others.

Adam is battling with PTSD and is reluctant to form relationships with people other than his really close circle of family and friends, for fear of disappointing them. He has a history (painful for both of them) with Holly but the chemistry between them is very much alive despite everything.

Holly was a great character. Despite her own personal issues and disappointments in life, she had the strength and determination to fight for her love. I liked how certain she was of her feelings and how she acted on them without hesitation.

They overcame the hurts from the past, learned from their mistakes and were able to move on and be there for the each other. It was a emotionally-charged journey for both of them, affecting the people around them a well.

Of course, the rest of the gang was here, as well, all of them already happily in love. Now came the turn of Holly's brother, Griffin, and her friend, Kate, to find the way to one another and to their happiness in the next instalment of the series, Humor Has It.

This is a promotional release day post for Finding It (Losing It 3) by Cora Carmack. It is the third full-length novel in the Losing It series which also include a novella, telling the story of Bliss and Garrick's (Losing It) wedding. I loved both Losing It and Faking It (my review), so naturally I am excited about reading Finding It, as well. Now the wait is over and I will be reading this book as soon as I can get my hands on it. Look for my review on the blog in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, if you are a fan of romance stories with strong likeable heroes and heroines coupled with a touch of heartbreak and some humour, this series is definitely a recommended read. 

FINDING IT 

Synopsis:

Sometimes you have to lose yourself to find where you truly belong...

Most girls would kill to spend months traveling around Europe after college graduation with no responsibility, no parents, and no-limit credit cards. Kelsey Summers is no exception. She's having the time of her life . . . or that's what she keeps telling herself.

It's a lonely business trying to find out who you are, especially when you're afraid you won't like what you discover. No amount of drinking or dancing can chase away Kelsey's loneliness, but maybe Jackson Hunt can. After a few chance meetings, he convinces her to take a journey of adventure instead of alcohol. With each new city and experience, Kelsey's mind becomes a little clearer and her heart a little less hers. Jackson helps her unravel her own dreams and desires. But the more she learns about herself, the more Kelsey realizes how little she knows about Jackson.

Cora Carmack Bio:

Cora Carmack is a twenty-something writer who likes to write about twenty-something characters. She's done a multitude of things in her life-- boring jobs (like working retail), Fun jobs (like working in a theatre), stressful jobs (like teaching), and dream jobs (like writing). She enjoys placing her characters in the most awkward situations possible, and then trying to help them get a boyfriend out of it. Awkward people need love, too. Her first book, LOSING IT, is a New York Times and USA Today bestseller.

You can get your copy in ebook form or papreback here: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

The celebrate the release of Finding It, you can participate in a giveaway for signed copy of Losing It, Faking It and Keeping Her for 1 winner, just enter the Rafflecopter below.

This event is organized by InkSlinger PR Blogger

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Here are the rules:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not the include spoilers!
• Share the title & author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers.

I have modified them slightly for my Teasers. It will not be two sentences from a random page but two, usually more, sentences from the pages I have read so far that have struck me as most interesting, original or that I just happen to like a lot.

After reading Flirting with Disaster (Camelot 3) by Ruthie Knox last week (my review) and featuring it in my Teaser Tuesday post, this week I continued with Ms Knox's book and went to the beginning of the series. The first book, How to Misbehave, is a short story/novella, which I finished in one day and really enjoyed. Currently I am reading the second book in the series, Along Came Trouble, which is a full-length novel and so far it is quite good. What I find most appealing in these romances are the rich complex characters in them.

Here is my teaser this week:

"No one had the right to make his Ellen feel anything less than amazing. Independent. Strong. intelligent. Beautiful.

Along Came Trouble by Ruthie Knox

Note: These were the correct prices/free books at the time of the publication of this post. Please, check them again before buying. I am only posting deals valid for international users, since I based in Bulgaria and very often some sales or free books on Amazon US are only available to US residents.

Follow me on Facebook to keep up to date with the latest freebies and sales I come across. Often they last only a short time and by the time a draft my post on Friday, many of them are no longer available.

Goodreads blurb

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Here are the rules: 

• Grab your current read 

• Open to a random page 

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page 

• Be careful not the include spoilers! 

• Share the title & author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers. 

I have modified them slightly for my Teasers. It will not be two sentences from a random page but two, usually more, sentences from the pages I have read so far that have struck me as most interesting, original or that I just happen to like a lot.

My teaser this week comes from Flirting with Disaster by Ruthie Knox. This is the third book in her Camelot series and I haven't read the other yet, but I really enjoyed this one. It is funny and steamy contemporary romance with great characters. I just posted my review on the blog, so can check it out if you are intrigued by the teaser. 

In the latest eBook original novel in Ruthie Knox’s scorching-hot Camelot series, a no-strings fling looks an awful lot like falling in love—or flirting with disaster.

Fresh out of a fiasco of a marriage, Katie Clark has retreated to her hometown to start over. The new Katie is sophisticated, cavalier, and hell-bent on kicking butt at her job in her brother’s security firm. But on her first assignment—digging up the truth about the stalker threatening a world-famous singer-songwriter—Katie must endure the silent treatment from a stern but sexy partner who doesn’t want her help . . . or her company.

Sean Owens knows that if he opens his mouth around Katie, she’ll instantly remember him as the geeky kid who sat behind her in high school. Silence is golden, but he can’t keep quiet forever, not with Katie stampeding through their investigation. It’s time for Sean to step up and take control of the case, and his decade-old crush. If he can break through Katie’s newfound independence, they just might find they make a perfect team—on the road, on the job, and in bed.

Title: Flirting with Disaster (Camelot #3)
Author: Ruthie Knox
Date of publication: 10 June 2013
Genre: Contemporary Romance


Author's links:
Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads

My rating: 4 stars

In the latest eBook original novel in Ruthie Knox’s scorching-hot Camelot series, a no-strings fling looks an awful lot like falling in love—or flirting with disaster.

Fresh out of a fiasco of a marriage, Katie Clark has retreated to her hometown to start over. The new Katie is sophisticated, cavalier, and hell-bent on kicking butt at her job in her brother’s security firm. But on her first assignment—digging up the truth about the stalker threatening a world-famous singer-songwriter—Katie must endure the silent treatment from a stern but sexy partner who doesn’t want her help . . . or her company.

Sean Owens knows that if he opens his mouth around Katie, she’ll instantly remember him as the geeky kid who sat behind her in high school. Silence is golden, but he can’t keep quiet forever, not with Katie stampeding through their investigation. It’s time for Sean to step up and take control of the case, and his decade-old crush. If he can break through Katie’s newfound independence, they just might find they make a perfect team—on the road, on the job, and in bed.



This is a typical steamy contemporary romance but what makes it stand out among its peers are the strong and complex characters and the realistic and engaging writhing style of Ms Knox.

What made this book work so well for me was mostly the hero, Sean. Don't get me wrong, the heroine, Katie, was a great character as well, but Sean just stole the show. He is a hot alpha male who stutters, hacks computers and has had a crush on our heroine since high school. Did I say he is hot? :)

I loved how complex and multidimensional the main characters in this book are. Katie is in bad place in her life - divorced, back to her home town, working for her brother's security company, not knowing who she is and what she wants to be. Enter Sean - he owns a successful Internet security company in California and is back to Camelot (temporary) to settle his mother's estate after her death and in the meanwhile starts working for Katie's brother. Put together on an assignment (more about later on) they get together more than just professionally.

Sean seems to be the exact opposite of Katie - he is in control of his life and at least on the outside, seems to know who he is and what he wants. Yet, as the story goes and his relationship with Katie develpes into something ore than casual fling, Sean questions his choices in life and facing his past, he turns out to be just as lost as Katie.

I liked the way Sean's problems with stuttering are presented. I can't tell if it is realistic or not, but his character is created with compassion and understanding. He is not just your typical super successful, possessive alpha male. He loses all his cool in front of Katie and becomes the awkward, lonely teenager he used to be. That's what makes him so cute and just irresistible.

Katie struggles through her own issues in this book. After a disastrous marriage where she sacrificed herself for the success of her husband, he is desperately trying to find her independence and is afraid to let herself care about other people (Sean, as well as their client, Judah) too much.

The struggles both Katie and Sean go through en route to their happily ever after feel very real. They both make mistakes which only makes them more human and even more likeable.

For me the weakest element in the story was the plot line with the security assignment Sean and Katie worked on. Judah is an ageing pop star who hires them because he was receiving threatening messages. He wants their help, but it takes him quite a while to share his true problems with them. I liked Judah's character and enjoyed his POV in the book but I found the whole situation with his protection/security totally unprofessional.

This was my first book by Ruthie Knox and I really enjoyed it. As a big fan of contemporary romances, especially well-written and character-driven ones, I definitely plan of checking more of Ms Knox's Camelot series.

She set out to find herself, and discovered the darker side of desire.

Merry’s lost a lot recently—first her mother, then close to a hundred pounds. Feeling adrift, she strikes out in search of perspective. A three-week hike through the Scottish Highlands was supposed to challenge her new body and refocus her priorities, but when disaster strikes, she’s forced to seek refuge in the remote home of a brooding, handsome stranger…

Rob exiled himself to the Highlands years ago, desperate to escape his own self-destruction. Haunted by regrets, he avoids human contact at all costs…but when Merry turns up injured, he can’t very well run her off. And as he nurses her back to health, Rob can’t resist his guest’s sweet demeanor—or her flirtatious advances. The igniting passion between them rouses a secret appetite Rob has long struggled to keep hidden. But Merry craves nothing more than to help Rob surrender to his desires, and the journey draws the lovers into an entirely different kind of wilderness.