Review: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

5 stars for Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. 5 HUGE stars!

Me Before You is a entrancing love story that brings to life two people who could not have less in common -- a heartbreakingly touching romantic novel that asks, what do you do when making the person you love happy also means breaking your own heart?

Jojo Moves has my admiration for taking on a very sensitive subject and proceeding to spin a tale objectively in a lifelike setup. In my opinion, Jojo Moyes sets for herself an extremely challenging task in the days ahead, because I keep thinking, how is she going to be able to write another story that can excel Me Before You?

Reading this beautifully written novel invokes a lot of thoughts, feelings and emotions. It is so engaging that I have difficulty putting the book down. It now owns a piece of my heart, and as with many of the best books I have read, I know that this story and the characters will stay with me for a long time to come.

Last but not least, try not to read the last few chapters out of home, and keep a box of tissue papers within reach. It is a tearjerker indeed.

Publisher: Michael Joseph
Publication date: 5 Jan 2012

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Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick.

What Lou doesn’t know is she’s about to lose her job or that knowing what’s coming is what keeps her sane.

Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he’s going to put a stop to that.

What Will doesn’t know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they’re going to change the other for all time.

*Blurb from author's website*

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Review: The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes

5 stars for The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes.

The Girl You Left Behind is a timeless love story that is beautifully, exquisitely written; two young women, separated by a century, who are united in their determination to fight for the thing they love most, at whatever the cost.

This historical contemporary romance is a page turner that has me hooked on from chapter One right to the end, and brings me on an intense emotional rollercoaster ride.

I love the part One on Sophia's story especially, where it is shared from first person point of view. The narration gives rise to a progressively sweet yet increasingly precarious atmosphere until the point of no return. So engrossed am I in Sophie's world that I feel disoriented and let down when the story takes on a 180-degrees turn that fast forward itself by a century.

Publisher: Penguin
Publication date: 27 Sep 2012

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Whatever happened to the girl you left behind?

France, 1916. Sophie Lefevre must keep her family safe whilst her adored husband Edouard fights at the front. When she is ordered to serve the German officers who descend on her hotel each evening, her home becomes riven by fierce tensions. And from the moment the new Kommandant sets eyes on Sophie’s portrait – painted by Edouard – a dangerous obsession is born, which will lead Sophie to make a dark and terrible decision.

Almost a century later, and Sophie’s portrait hangs in the home of Liv Halston, a wedding gift from her young husband before he died. A chance encounter reveals the painting’s true worth, and its troubled history. A history that is about to resurface and turn Liv’s life upside down all over again . . .

*Blurb from author's website*

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Review: Seven Sons (Gypsy Brothers #1) by Lili St Germain

3.5 stars for Seven Sons (Gypsy Brothers book 1) by Lili St Germain.

Revenge is a dish best served cold.. six years late but better than never.

The Gypsy Brothers series tell of a morally bankrupt motorcycle club and its members, and the girl who seeks her vengeance upon them once she comes of age.

Seven Sons, the first instalment of a total seven, is a refreshing yet disturbingly sad story. The plot is well paced and moves reader along with gripping, heart-stopping fear of safety for the female protagonist. I read the book from beginning to the end within a day, thanks to the 27,000 word count.

P/S: At time of post, this ebook is available for free at Amazon and Smashwords.

Publisher: Lili Saint Germain Publishing; 1 edition
Publication date: 2 Jan 2014

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Her innocence stolen. Her father murdered.

Six years ago, Juliette Portland was viciously attacked and left for dead by by people she trusted. People inside her fathers motorcycle club, greedy for power, who defiled her, shot her father dead and destroyed everything she ever cared about.

Only, she didn't die. She survived ... and now, she's out for revenge

*Blurb from Smashwords*

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Review: Darkness Before Dawn (Darkness #2) by Claire Contreras

2 stars for Darkness Before Dawn (Darkness book 2) by Claire Contreras.

Told in separate points of view, Darkness Before Dawn is the continuation of Blake and Cole's fight to make it to the light.

This is a doable story that pales drastically in comparison with book 1 There is No Light in Darkness. It would have made for a much better script minus the too much crying (by Blake), the excessive copulation (Blake and Cole) and the unwarranted abundant use of profanity.

Publisher: Claire Contreras
Publication Date: 2 Dec 2013

*** Favourite quote ***

The pain in my eyes no longer a visitor, but a full time resident.

~ Darkness Before Dawn
Claire Contreras

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Is love ever enough?

Faced with obstacles she could have never imagined, Blake is brought to darkness and back by forces in her past she never knew existed.

Desperate to stay connected to the only thing he loves, Cole is forced to revisit his past and align himself with the people who knew about Blake’s disappearance.

Separation has forced both Blake and Cole to learn how to live under the worst circumstances, each of them alone in their own hell.

When they reunite, can they be the same two people they were before darkness swept upon them?

Told in separate points of view, Darkness Before Dawn is the continuation of Blake and Cole’s fight to make it to the light.

*Blurb from Goodreads*

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Review: There is No Light in Darkness (Darkness #1) by Claire Contreras

4.5 stars for There is No Light in Darkness (Darkness book 1) by Claire Contreras.

I have reservations on reading this book initially as I am not a great fan of New Adult genre. On giving this book a flip, it turns out that I got addicted by chapter 4 and cannot stop reading till late into the night. As it is, I spend bulk of my 3 hour road trip home reading and yes, I finish reading this weepy heartrending story of secrets, truth and love.

I adore the way the author crafted some of the amazing phrases, especially the last sentence in the final paragraph. What more perfect way to conclude a story but using back its own story title.

Publisher: Claire Contreras
Publication Date: 2 Dec 2013

*** Favorite quote 1 ***

In the end, he hurt me more than I hurt him.
I broke his heart, but he tore mine into a million pieces.
Even if I wanted to piece it back together, I would never find them all because he would always be holding some.

*** Favourite quote 2 ***

No matter what you go through in life, don’t be afraid to love.
Loving is the only thing that keeps us sane.
If it weren’t for love, the suffering we experience wouldn’t be worth it.
If it weren’t for the suffering, we wouldn’t cherish the good things life gives us.
Sometimes it’ll seem as though life only knocks you down, but you have to learn to pick yourself up and fight back.

*** Favourite quote 3 ***

My eyes begin to shut heavily -- once, twice, then a third time.
I open them one last time as I try to search for light, but I know I'll never find it,
because there is no light in darkness.

~ There is No Light in Datkness
Claire Contreras

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A past hidden in darkness. Her present cloaked in secrets. The future holds the only truth that cannot be escaped.

After the mysterious and violent death of her parents, Blake Brennan finds comfort with an unconventional family. As the dramatic loss of her parents continues to haunt her—and hinders her from reciprocating love that others give freely—Blake embarks on a harrowing journey in search for the truth.

Living in a constant state of fear and need for control, vivid nightmares reveal details that lead to perilous situations. The past begins to collide with the present, and Blake must decide if the truth is worth losing the ones she loves.

Can love conquer all as her past comes to light? Or will Blake realize that there is no light in darkness?

*Blurb from Goodreads*

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Review: Tangled (The Tangled #1) by Emma Chase

5 stars for Tangled (The Tangled book 1) by Emma Chase.

Tangled is an amazingly sexy romance story with vibrant, dazzling characters. It is outrageously entertaining and hilariously absorbing with witty come back.

I salute the author for writing such a deliciously delectable plot using the voice of a male protagonist so clearly projected that he seems to leap off the pages in high-definition prose.

A must read that is guaranteed to keep the reader enthralled and captivated.

Publisher: Gallery Books; Reprint edition
Publication date: 2 Aug 2013

*** Favourite quote ***

You ever been on the freeway, stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic? And when you finally get to the head of the line, you realise the backup is because of an accident? Maybe not a bad one -- maybe just a fender bender that's already been moved to the side of the road. And all the traffic -- all that wasted time -- is because every driver who passes the scene has to slow down and take a look.

It's ridiculous, isn't it? And you swear that when you pass by, you're not going to look -- Just on principle alone. But when you get there, and you're driving past the dented doors and flashing lights and smashed bumpers, what do you do?

You slow down and look. You didn't want to, but you can't help it. It's morbid. Absurd. But that's human nature for you.

~ Tangled
Emma Chase

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Drew Evans is a winner. Handsome and arrogant, he makes multimillion dollar business deals and seduces New York’s most beautiful women with just a smile. He has loyal friends and an indulgent family. So why has he been shuttered in his apartment for seven days, miserable and depressed?

He’ll tell you he has the flu.

But we all know that’s not really true.

Katherine Brooks is brilliant, beautiful and stubborn. She refuses to let anything, oranyone, derail her path to success. When Kate is hired as the new associate at Drew’s father’s investment banking firm, every aspect of the dashing playboy’s life is thrown into a tailspin. The professional competition she brings is unnerving, his attraction to her is distracting, his failure to entice her into his bed is exasperating.

Then, just when Drew is on the cusp of having everything he wants, his overblown confidence threatens to ruin it all. Will he be able untangle his feelings of lust and tenderness, frustration and fulfillment? Will he rise to the most important challenge of his life?

Can Drew Evans win at love?

Tangled is not your mother’s romance novel. It is an outrageous, passionate, witty narrative about a man who knows a lot about women…just not as much as he thinks he knows. As he tells his story, Drew learns the one thing he never wanted in life, is the only thing he can’t live without.

*Blurb from author's website*

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Review: Enclave (Razorland #1) by Ann Aguirre

4.5 stars for Enclave (Razorland book 1) by Ann Aguirre.

Enclave is a gripping, spine-tingling, hair-raising Young Adult urban fantasy; a chilling yet fascinating tale about apocalypse and survival of the fittest.

Deuce and Fade are very likeable characters and I love how their relationship develops throughout the story; a story which in all aspects, exhibits originality.

Publisher: Square Fish; Reprint edition
Publication date: 7 Aug 2012

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WELCOME TO THE APOCALYPSE

In Deuce’s world, people earn the right to a name only if they survive their first fifteen years. By that point, each unnamed ‘brat’ has trained into one of three groups–Breeders, Builders, or Hunters, identifiable by the number of scars they bear on their arms. Deuce has wanted to be a Huntress for as long as she can remember.

As a Huntress, her purpose is clear—to brave the dangerous tunnels outside the enclave and bring back meat to feed the group while evading ferocious monsters known as Freaks. She’s worked toward this goal her whole life, and nothing’s going to stop her, not even a beautiful, brooding Hunter named Fade. When the mysterious boy becomes her partner, Deuce’s troubles are just beginning.

Down below, deviation from the rules is punished swiftly and harshly, and Fade doesn’t like following orders. At first she thinks he’s crazy, but as death stalks their sanctuary, and it becomes clear the elders don’t always know best, Deuce wonders if Fade might be telling the truth. Her partner confuses her; she’s never known a boy like him before, as prone to touching her gently as using his knives with feral grace.

As Deuce’s perception shifts, so does the balance in the constant battle for survival. The mindless Freaks, once considered a threat only due to their sheer numbers, show signs of cunning and strategy… but the elders refuse to heed any warnings. Despite imminent disaster, the enclave puts their faith in strictures and sacrifice instead. No matter how she tries, Deuce cannot stem the dark tide that carries her far from the only world she’s ever known.

*Blurb from author's website*

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Review: Raw by Belle Aurora

Did Not Finish Raw by Belle Aurora.

The author has created two lead characters who are amoral. The heroine, as a social worker should have behaved as one with honorable and ethical values. Yet she cares nothing about the moral character of her hero and instead, looks forward to his stalking and nightly visits. There is absolutely nothing redeeming or appealing about either of these characters or their behaviors.

I give up reading somewhere around 30% of the book. It is a wonder that I have managed to struggle to this much considering how twisted and disturbing the story is. There is not a single drop of romance in this book, but dark, depressing, twisted sex.

This is seriously one of the worst books I have ever read. And I will be staying far, far away from anything else written by this author.

Publisher: Belle Aurora
Publication Date: 13 Jan 2014

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Growing up the way I did, you'd think I'd be more screwed up than what I actually am. Soon as I turned sixteen, I left that bump in the road I called home and took my chances on the street. Best decision I ever made.

Now, at the age of twenty six, I'm educated, employed and damn good at my job. My friends have become my family. Like me, they know what it's like to grow up unloved.

But the saying is true. The world makes way for those who know where they are going. That's me. I know where I'm going and I'll get there eventually. On my own terms and at my own pace.

But then there's him. I feel his eyes on me. I see him hiding in plain sight. He watches me.  He makes me feel. It's unconventional. But it's real.

I'm sure you're wondering how a person falls in love with their stalker. So am I.

This isn't a story.

This is my life.

*Blurb from Goodreads*

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