Here are the new releases this week. This might be the last post in the current format. I am thinking of changing this to a monthly page on the top bar of the blog. I will be able to add titles as the month goes by if I learn of new books coming out. 

The new titles this week are all second books in series that I have read and reviewed. We start with Blood Warrior by Lindsey Piper which is the second book in the Dragon King series. I loved book 1, Caged Warrior (my review), and I am excited to learn more about the world of the Dragon Kings.

The second title is Near and Far by  Nicole Williams. Lost and Found was a NA cowboy romance which was a nice surprise and I enjoyed it a lot (my review). Can't wait to see how the story of Rowen and Jess continues (I wouldn't mind seeing more of Garth Black, as well). 

The final title coming out this week was a welcome surprise since it is coming out early. This is the sequel to Jessica Sorensen's The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden. After the terrible cliffhanger at the end of book 1, I hope The Redemption of Callie and Kayden finally brings a much deserved happy end to those two. 

Goodreads Blurb

There’s complicated. And there’s Rowen Sterling.

After numbing pain for the past five years with boys, alcohol, and all-around apathy, she finds herself on a Greyhound bus to nowhere Montana the summer after she graduates high school. Her mom agreed to front the bill to Rowen’s dream art school only if Rowen proves she can work hard and stay out of trouble at Willow Springs Ranch. Cooking breakfast at the crack of dawn for a couple dozen ranch hands and mucking out horse stalls are the last things in the world Rowen wants to spend her summer doing.

Until Jesse Walker saunters into her life wearing a pair of painted-on jeans, a cowboy hat, and a grin that makes something in her chest she’d thought was frozen go boom-boom. Jesse’s like no one else, and certainly nothing like her. He’s the bright and shiny to her dark and jaded.

Rowen knows there’s no happily-ever-after for the golden boy and the rebel girl—happily-right-now is a stretch—so she tries to forget and ignore the boy who makes her feel things she’s not sure she’s ready to feel. But the more she pushes him away, the closer he seems to get. The more she convinces herself she doesn’t care, the harder she falls.

When her dark secrets refuse to stay locked behind the walls she’s kept up for years, Rowen realizes it’s not just everyone else she needs to be honest with. It’s herself.

My Review

I have read the first two books in the Crash series by Nicole Williams (I love you, Jude Ryder!) and the third one is on my TBR list. I was really intrigued by the blurb for Lost and Found, so I decided to read it first and was not disappointed.

This is my first cowboy romance and I enjoyed it a lot. It is a fairly stereotypical New Adult story about a bad girl, Rowen, and a good, actually, perfect (cow)boy, Jess, falling in love. There was nothing stunning or remarkable about this book but it was a quick nice read.

The story was well told despite being predictable. The author tried to send some powerful messages about good and evil, right and wrong, acceptance of who you are, even if you are different from the rest and for the most part she succeeded. The messages came across a bit forced, the Jess's family seemed to possesses all the world's wisdom, yet they left me hopeful and optimistic. 

The characters, although likeable, were just too much to be realistic. Jess was too perfect, too good-natured, too wise and positive and Rowen was his exact opposite - too broken, too immature, too rebellious. Even Garth Black was too black, though he redeemed himself a bit in the end. Rowen and Jess, as well as their whole families were complete opposites. Still, I have to say that Rowen worked better for me. There was growth and development, a sort of coming of age, she had her moments of weakness (Garth Black, being one) and they made her seem real and that much more convincing as a character. The really enjoyed their first time together, Jess being a virgin made a funny, yet warm and deeply intimate sex scene. 

Despite being of the verge of cheesy at some points, overall this book was a good read for me. I definitely plan on reading the sequel, Near and Far (coming out on 30 July) to see how the relationship between Jess and Rowen develops. 

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. I learned about it from my friend Nix at Unraveling Words. Here are the rules: 

• Grab your current read

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 Nicole Williams's latest book, Lost and Found. I have read The Crash series of Ms Williams and I liked them a lot, so I decided to try this one too. So far it is really good and I am already looking forward to its sequel, Near and Far, which is due to be released in the end of July 2013.

"I'd worn so many different labels I lost count. People liked to label things; it made them feel like the world made some sense. Like, if I was one thing, they were the other. I guess that made people feel better about themselves. If they focused on how screwed up I was, they could pretend they weren't just as screwed  up."

Lost and Found by Nicole Williams

There’s complicated. And there’s Rowen Sterling.

There are some exciting titles coming out this week. First is Rock My Bed, the second book in the Black Falcon series. A steamy rock star romance - one of my favourites. 

On the same day comes the first book in the Perfection series by Abbi Glines, spin-off of the Too Far series. This one is telling the story of Woods who we met first in Fallen Too far and from all the teasers shared by Ms Glines so far, it looks to be a turbulent and heart-breaking love story. 

Finally, a day later, Nicole Williams will release the final book about Lucy and Jude - hopefully, with the happy end they deserve.