Don’t Say A Word by Amber Lynn Natusch….ARC Review

Don’t Say a Word (Hometown Antihero #2)
by Amber Lynn Natusch
Publisher: Tor Teen
Release Date: September 17th, 2019
Genre: Young Adult, Thriller

Synopsis:

Kylene Danners’s ex-FBI agent father is in prison for murder and she’s hell-bent
on getting him out. But trying to investigate in the small town where a defensive
lineman is a hero no matter who he tries to kill and the girl who gets him locked up
is public enemy number one is dangerous. Dark secrets are everywhere in
Jasperville—the kind Ky can’t walk away from.
When rookie FBI agent Cedric Dawson returns to town to finish an open
investigation, he goes undercover at her high school—as her ex. Determined to
keep her from interfering, Dawson’s plan backfires after Ky gets an anonymous
call about missing girls officially labeled as runaways—runaways that didn’t really
run away at all.
Because dead girls can’t run.
And they don’t say a word.

BOOK LINKS:

ALN never ceases to amaze me with her ability to keep me stuck in the pages from start to finish.

This book MUST be read after Dare You to Lie as it starts off exactly where that book ended. Plus, there is an underlying plot that continues on through this series and while Natusch does a great job of rehashing that information quickly without too much backstory, it’s still best read in order.

Kylene and Garrett are both recovering from their almost deadly demise as the hands of Donovan. Kylene can’t escape the hatred her fellow classmates have for her, even if she was almost killed. If anything, they hate her even more for hurting their football team.

While Kylene is juggling the typical high school drama, she is trying to find who DA is and how he’s behind all the secrets and coverups in her hometown. She’s brought down the drug prescription ring but she’s fallen upon a new problem – prostitution. With this new development, Agent Dawson isn’t leaving town any time soon and now they really have to play the role of their lives to find any answers.

There is a lot going on in this story but ALN does a great job of blending and moving each piece smoothly into the overall plot line. Ky is a high school student and ALN reminds her readers of that with the typical high school banter amongst her peers. But she doesn’t get too cheesy with everything and interjects the perfect amount of humor and whit into the story line. Natusch truly knows how to provide the right amount of suspense, with a hint of romance and humor mixed in.

ALN delivers the twists and turns into this story as the right moments and keeps readers on their toes. The list of culprits is pretty large and while I saw a few things happen before they did, I had not expected the big twists and turns in this story. I was excitedly surprised by certain scenes and loved how this story line panned out.

I am anxious to know that there is possibly more to this series with that ending and cannot wait to see what ALN brings us next.

AMBER LYNN NATUSCH is the author of the bestselling Caged series for adults.
She was born and raised in Winnipeg, and is still deeply attached to her Canadian
roots. She loves to dance and practice Muay Thai―but spends most of her time
running a chiropractic practice with her husband, raising two young children, and
attempting to write when she can lock herself in the bathroom for ten minutes of
peace. Dare You to Lie is her debut YA novel with Tor Teen.

AUTHOR LINKS

Website: https://amberlynnnatusch.com/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5399219.Amber_Lynn_Natusch

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmberLNatusch

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allthingsnatusch/

GIVEAWAY

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Starts: August 23rd 2019
Ends: August 31st 2019
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The Year I Left by Christine Brae….ARC Review

Fans of the hit Paramount series Younger were ecstatic when the show’s fictional novel, Marriage Vacation, the story behind why Charles Brooks’ wife disappeared, published for real. Those who devoured Marriage Vacation will be enthralled by Christine Brae’s newest, soul-searching novel, THE YEAR I LEFT (Vesuvian Books; August 20, 2019). Every woman will recognize the existential crisis that drives her to question who she is and whether the life she’s leading is truly making her happy. An honest look at love, marriage and the frailties of the human heart, THE YEAR I LEFT will leave readers realizing things about themselves that they’ve never admitted out loud.

Carin Frost is a confident businesswoman, wife, and mother. She appears to have a near-perfect life, so she doesn’t understand why she begins to resent everything about it. Nothing makes sense. Nothing makes her feel. It might be the tragic and sudden loss of her mother, or she may just be losing her mind. Then she meets Matias Torres, her new business partner. As their professional relationship grows, so does their friendship—and his interest in her. Determined to keep her distance, things get complicated when a work assignment in Southeast Asia leaves them stranded in the middle of a storm. Amidst the chaos, Matias asks her to do something unimaginable, exhilarating and bold. The consequences of their actions could be dire, but Carin knows that it may be the only way to save herself.

Release Date August 20th

Amazon

The Year I Left is the first book I have ever read by Christine Brae. This book came on my radar when I saw she was going to be a signing author at an event that I was attending the blurb hooked me immediately. I was one of the lucky readers attending that signing that won an advance copy of the book.

Without life and its fierce protection, death always seeps in.

This book alone makes me want to go back and read the other books that Christine has written. However, her other books have quite a lot to live up to. The Year I Left is a book that will speak to so many on different levels; it is so real and relatable that I would recommend this anyone to read.

Christine hits so many poignant elements in this book with Carin’s story and it’s what makes it so relatable in so many different aspects. You can feel every emotion that Carin goes; how she carries so much on her back and shoulders – loss, despair, hopelessness. Carin has found herself living in this constant circle of being broken, that she lacked the vision on how to find herself again.

I don’t want to go too much into the details on this book as it is best to go through everything as you read. While this book does have romantic piece in it, this book is definitely more about the stages in Carin’s life that she struggles to handle and move forward from.

“I need to find myself. And then I’ll look for you.”

Christine has written a very powerful and moving story. There are bits and pieces that anyone can easily relate to and understand exactly what Carin is going through. While I may not understand her decisions, I completely understand her desire to find the answers she seeks.

The Year I Left will definitely be one of those books that not everyone will like. But I do hope it is one that everyone will try. A few of my friends enjoyed this book immensely like myself and others just couldn’t overlook certain aspects of that book and I totally understand that.

What made me love this book was the risks that Christine took in writing this book and the tough decisions her characters make. I love that this book pushes the envelope but also makes you look at life in a realistic way; it makes you take a step back and give thought to life in general.

This book is thought-provoking, poignant and passionate. While it is written in third person (something that I find difficult to pull off) it is very well articulated and allows you to understand Carin even more. This book touched my soul in so many ways and will definitely be one that I remember for years.

Love was about staying. Seeing things through. Most all, the voice in my head told me that courage and bravery were a product of unconditional love.

About Christine Brae

Christine Brae is a full time career woman who thought she could write a book about her life and then run away as far as possible from it. She never imagined that her words would touch the hearts of so many women with the same story to tell. Her second book, His Wounded Light was released in December, 2013.

Christine’s third book, Insipid, is a standalone that was released in June, 2014, and her fourth book, In This Life, released in January 2016.

Her latest work, Eight Goodbyes was released on August 28, 2018.

When not listening to the voices in her head or spending late nights at the office, Christine can be seen shopping for shoes and purses, running a half marathon or spending time with her husband and three children in Chicago.

Christine is represented by Italia Gandolfo of Gandolfo Helin Literary Management.

Josh + Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren… ARC Review

From New York Times and #1 international bestselling author Christina Lauren comes a new romantic comedy about two friends who

are definitely, for sure, in no way dating…maybe

Josh + Hazel’s

Guide to Not Dating

by CHRISTINA LAUREN

ON SALE SEPTEMBER 4, 2018

Synopsis:

Most men can’t handle Hazel. With the energy of a toddler and the mouth of a sailor, they’re often too timid to recognize her heart of gold. JOSH AND HAZEL’S GUIDE TO NOT DATING tells the story of two people who are definitely not dating, no matter how often they end up in bed together.

Hazel Camille Bradford knows she’s a lot to take—and frankly, most men aren’t up to the challenge. If her army of pets and thrill for the absurd don’t send them running, her lack of filter means she’ll say exactly the wrong thing in a delicate moment. Their loss. She’s a good soul in search of honest fun.

Josh Im has known Hazel since college, where her zany playfulness proved completely incompatible with his mellow restraint. From the first night they met—when she gracelessly threw up on his shoes—to when she sent him an unintelligible email while in a post-surgical haze, Josh has always thought of Hazel more as a spectacle than a peer. But now, ten years later, after a cheating girlfriend has turned his life upside down, going out with Hazel is a breath of fresh air.

Not that Josh and Hazel date. At least, not each other. Because setting each other up on progressively terrible double blind dates means there’s nothing between them…right?

My Review:

Josh + Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating is the newest work from the dynamic writing duo known as Christina Lauren – and if I’m making it seem like they’re some kind of literary super heroes, well, yeah, they are. They are more powerful than a locomotive, able leap genres in a single bound, rescue jaded readers…ok, ok, you get the idea 😉

I’m always looking forward to a new book from Christina and Lauren, and Josh and Hazel lived up to every expectation I had after reading the synopsis. It was fun. It was flirty. It had emotion and was filled with a cast of characters who were endearing all in their own ways.

Hazel is this ball of quirky, always outside the box, never stuck in the norm fun. She’s cute and sassy and had me wanted to be her BFF from the very first chapter. She’s also not had very good luck in finding a guy who will appreciate all the color and vibrancy she is, and it broke my heart for her.

Josh is exactly her opposite in almost every way. He’s calm and controlled. Loves things organized and steady. He’s also got a heart of gold and is steadfast and loyal to his family and friends. He’s a great catch and is 100% thee type of guy you’d want to marry.

After being reunited by a stroke of fate, they spend more and more time together. Just not necessarily in the way you’d think. They end up trying to set one another up with blind dates and turn those dates into double dates. The mishaps and hilarity that ensues is priceless…and it also draws both Hazel and Josh into realizing maybe they don’t need the blind dates. Maybe the person they’re supposed to be with is right in front of them. Sure, they’re opposites in almost every facet of their personalities, but you know how the saying goes…opposites attract. And that, right there, is why I loved these two so darn much.

I won’t go into too much more detail because I don’t want to spoil anything for you but I will say that you can always count on some of the best happily ever afters out there from Christina and Lauren and you won’t be disappointed 😀

Whether you’ve been with these authors from their Beautiful Series or this is the first of their work you pick up, I know you’ll love Josh and Hazel as much as I did.

And, before I leave you, in keeping this weird tradition where a song pops in my head while reading a Christina Lauren book, here’s the one that is all Josh and Hazel…

.
.

Five Loves

BUY LINKS (US):

BUY LINKS (UK)

Amazon

Waterstones

BUY LINKS (AUS)

Amazon

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Christina Lauren is the combined pen name of longtime writing partners Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings. They are New York Times, USA Today, and #1 international bestselling authors of the Beautiful and Wild Seasons series, Sublime, The House, Dating You/Hating You and the critically acclaimed Autoboyography. Roomies (released December 2017), has been optioned for film by Jenna Dewan’s company Everheart Productions, with Christina and Lauren set to write the screenplay.

FIND THEM ONLINE:

Website: www.christinalaurenbooks.com

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/ChristinaLaurenBooks

Twitter: @ChristinaLauren

Instagram: @ChristinaLauren

The Beautiful Now by M. Leighton….ARC Review

THE BEAUTIFUL NOW
M. Leighton
Coming September 26, 2017

Dane James worked my stepfather’s fields. He was the boy next door.

Strong.
Hardworking.
Forbidden.

From the moment we met, we were star-crossed lovers—always wanting, never having. We loved each other for most of our lives, but right from the beginning Destiny had other plans. She knew we would fall in love. She knew we would fall apart. Over and over again, like the curse of a recurring nightmare. Or the hope of a familiar dream.

Our past was tumultuous. Our future was bleak. But the one thing we always had was the beautiful now.

Until that was taken from us, too.

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ALL THE STARS!!!!

Damnit, Michelle. You pulled at this momma’s heart strings, big time. How I made it through this book without ruining my kindle from the tears falling, is beyond me. This book is just so much of everything, I have no idea where to start or what to say.

The Beautiful Now is exactly that – Beautiful. It’s love story of epic proportions. It’s not just about the love between a man and a woman, but a mom and dad and their child. It’s about the love we have for another that runs so deep, we’d do anything so that the other person is living a happy life, even it means we have to give up our lives for them. Damnit, I am crying writing this review. This is what book did to me. All the feels.

Michelle’s previous book, The Empty Jar, she made my heart ached; with this book, my heart took another beating of epic proportions. And it hurt for some many different aspects in this book. But she also mended it and made my heart sing. I laughed at the silly nuisances between Brinkley and Celina; I cried over the heartache that these two had to endure; I felt hope and love between them all.

I love that Michelle tells this story from Brinkley’s POV in both the past and present. It helps show the undying love between Dane and Brinkley; how something that deep can never be severed – no matter the time, no matter the reason. It’s soul crushing. Even though they knew everything was against and they could never be, they still chose to try. But fighting the inevitable, hurt them more in the long run.

Dane – wow, that man is something is else. I love that he never cared what anyone else thought. He lived his life the way he wanted and chose not to let anyone’s opinion sway him. His strength bled into Brinkley. He was her rock.

As a mother, this book really hit home for me. I pray I never go through anything that Brinkley did with her daughter. But that unconditional love is something as a parent you just can’t explain, it is just there from the beginning and only grows stronger with each beat of their little heart. The closeness that Brinkley and Celina share as mother and daughter is raw and honest and it’s one I have with my own daughter – I would give anything for her. She’s my sunshine, my reason.

This was another emotional read from Michelle. She doesn’t hold back on taking you to the heart and soul of a story. She gives you everything that reaches deep within you. I highly recommend this book to everyone. But know that going in, your soul will get blasted and come back feeling refreshed.

Thank you Michelle for writing another epic story about life and love. My heart goes through the ringer with your books, but I am forever grateful to experience everything I do with your books. I felt this book deep in my bones. <3

“We didn’t have a future. We couldn’t possibly. We both knew it. But we had the now. The beautiful now. And that was better than nothing.”

Join us September 27th at 7:30 pm EST!!