Review: Education of Sebastian (Education of... series #1) by Jane Harvey-Berrick

1 star for The Education of Sebastian (Education of... series book 1) by Jane Harvey-Berrick.

The Education of Sebastian starts out really good but turns downhill fast too. After the initial 10% of the book, the story shows signs of stagnation with the plot centering on pornographic sex. I struggled to the 30% mark before deciding to glimpse through the pages and read the ending. I have not decided whether to continue with book 2 The Education of Caroline.

Publisher: Harvey Berrick Publishing
Publication date: 26 Apr 2014

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The Education of Sebastian

Trapped in a loveless marriage, thirty year old Caroline Wilson moves to San Diego after her military husband earns a promotion. Feeling lost and alone Caroline strikes up a friendship with young local surfer Sebastian Hunter.

Sebastian has more than friendship on his mind when he runs into Caroline on the beach. But when sparks fly friendship turns into an illicit love that threatens them both.

The Education of Caroline

Now a successful journalist, Caroline heads out to report from the front lines of the war in Afghanistan. Love is the last thing on her mind when she crosses paths with Chief Sebastian Hunter.

Will this chance encounter reignite the erotic passion of their past?

*Blurb from Goodreads*

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Review: To Catch A Spinster (Reluctant Bride Collection #1) by Megan Bryce

4 stars for To Catch A Spinster (Reluctant Bride Collection Book 1) by Megan Bryce.

A delightful read filled with snippets of quick witted and humorous banter.

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Publication date: 2 Mar 2013

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Olivia Blakesley, self-proclaimed spinster extraordinaire, is quite happy with her life. She has her studies and her duties, what need does she have of a husband? With five sisters married she knows the reality does not live up to the promise, and does not need to personally experiment with the state to know she would be ill-suited to it. However, she finds herself envious of at least one aspect of marriage. But to experience the physical side of marriage, one doesn’t need a husband, all one needs is the right man. . .

Nathaniel Jenkins knows his duty. Marry a young girl from a respectable family and father an heir, no matter how cold the endless parade of suitable girls leaves him. But a shocking proposal from a scholarly spinster leaves him wondering if unsuitable is just what he’s looking for. Can he convince his spinster that marriage is the greatest experiment of all?

*Blurb from author's website*

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Review: Sex Love Repeat by Alessandra Torre

2 stars for Sex Love Repeat by Alessandra Torre.

I read this book because the blurb is really catchy and attracted my attention. However, upon reading the story, I found it to be alot of bones and not much constructive content.

The plot is shallow with many repetitive boring steamy scenes. But at least there is slight comfort to see some substance in development of the main characters and their background history.

The author tries to spring a surprise and concludes the story with a twist. Unfortunately, I am not sure if it sits well with me and most other readers.

Publisher: Alessandra Torre
Publication date: 23 Nov 2013

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I love two men. I screw two men. I am in a relationship with them both, and they are both aware there is another. That is all they need to know, that is all I let them know. They don’t need to know a name; they don’t need to know anything, but that they are not alone in my heart.

They have accepted the situation. Stewart, because his life is too busy for the sort of obligations that are required in a relationship. Paul, because he loves me too much to tell me no. And because my sexual appetite is such that one man has trouble keeping up.

So we exist, two parallel relationships, each running their own course, with no need for intersection or conflict. It works for us, for them, and for me. I don’t expect it to be a long-term situation. I know there is an expiration date on the easy perfection of our lives.

I should have paid more attention, should have looked around and noticed the woman who watched it all. She sat in the background and waited, tried to figure me out. Saw my two relationships, the love between us, and the moment that it all fell apart .

She hates me.
I don’t even know she exists.
She loves them. I love them.
And they love me.

Everything else hangs in the balance.

*Blurb from author's website*

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Review: Sweet Little Thing (Sweet Thing Novella) by Renée Carlino

4.5 stars for Sweet Little Thing (Sweet Thing Novella) by Renée Carlino.

It is really wonderful to revisit the world of Mia and Will after Sweet Thing. Initially, I feel some slight discomfort reading this novella through the eyes of Will instead of Mia as I have grown so used to seeing things Mia's way in Sweet Thing. However, Renée Carlino soon smoothed my unease with her great writing skills. The story flows flawlessly and wraps up realistically with everything where it should be. I am only sad that it ends so soon.

Publisher: Renée Carlino
Publication date: 3 Mar 2014

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Ever wonder what happened after the final pages of Sweet Thing?

From his candid and sometimes neurotic point of view, Will tells all in this musical and sexy follow-up novella to Renée Carlino’s USA Today Bestseller.

Life is pure bliss for Mia and Will. They have a puppy, a loft in Brooklyn, and a new music studio on the rise. It seems things couldn’t get any better for this talented couple when life decides to throw them a sweet little curve ball.

They quickly learn that things don’t always go according to plan. Sometimes happily ever after is one giant leap of faith away.
With the help of good music, good friends, and one eccentric old lady, they overcome a few of life’s little bumps to find the sweetest thing of all.

Watch this duo grow in more ways than one in SWEET Little THING.

*Blurb from author's website*

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Review: Heaven's Queen (Paradox #3) by Rachel Bach

2 stars for Heaven's Queen  (Paradox book 3) by Rachel Bach.

To say Heaven's Queen is a disappointment is a huge understatement. I started out reading this book with much enthusiasm after months of waiting following the great ending to book 2 and 1. Never did I imagined myself to be in for the utter let-down.

Book 3 pales in comparison to the earlier books in the trilogy as there is not much new story development and the way in which the author crafts the plot gives me the feeling that she is simply churning out words to fill up space in her book.

Another dismaying factor is the disconcerting romance between main characters Devi and Rupert. It is depressing to see a once heroic Rupert turning into a doormat who follows at the beck and call of Devi's whims. What was once a delightful sparkling romance has turned into distasteful bond.

While the story still flows, bulk of the combat scenes actually bored me as fillers. I end up glimpsing the pages halfway through and skipping chunks from 80% mark onwards to get quick answers to the story.

All in all, my most loved story in the trilogy is still book 1 Fortune's Pawn.

Publisher: Orbit
Publication date: 22 Apr 2014

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From the moment she took a job on Captain Caldswell's doomed ship, Devi Morris' life has been one disaster after another: government conspiracies, two alien races out for her blood, an incurable virus that's eating her alive.

Now, with the captain missing and everyone -- even her own government -- determined to hunt her down, things are going from bad to impossible. The sensible plan would be to hide and wait for things to blow over, but Devi's never been one to shy from a fight, and she's getting mighty sick of running.

It's time to put this crisis on her terms and do what she knows is right. But with all human life hanging on her actions, the price of taking a stand might be more than she can pay.

*Blurb from author's website*

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Review: Honor's Knight (Paradox #2) by Rachel Bach

4 stars for Honor's Knight (Paradox book 2) by Rachel Bach.

While book 1 Fortune's Pawn layers Devi Morris's merc job on spacecraft The Glorious Fool with unexplainable events one after another and places her in the star-crossed path of the mysterious Rupert, Honor's Knight is all about sensational revelations and remarkable action packed fighting. It is a good read and a page turner. I am now moving off to read the last book in the trilogy.

Publisher: Orbit
Publication date: 25 Feb 2014

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Devi Morris has a lot of problems, and not the fun, easy-to-shoot kind either. After a mysterious attack left her short several memories and one partner, she'd determined to keep her head down, do her job, and get on with her life.

But even though Devi's not actually looking for it this time, trouble keeps finding her. She sees ghostly creatures no one else can, the inexplicable black stain on her hands keeps getting bigger, and she can't seem to stop getting into compromising situations with a man she's supposed to hate.

But when a deadly crisis exposes far more of the truth than she bargained for, Devi discovers there's worse fates than being shot, and sometimes the only people you can trust are the ones who want you dead.

*Blurb from author's website*

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Review: Love is A Choice (Across the Universe Novella) by Beth Revis

5 stars for Love is A Choice (Across the Universe Novella) by Beth Revis.

To date, Across the Universe trilogy by Beth Revis remains my favourite Young Adult Sci-Fic Fantasy novel. Love is A Choice is a short novella written after completion of the trilogy but tells of events prior to the start. It is sad yet awesome to be brought back to the confined world of spacecraft Godspeed, and this time, we see things from Orion's perspectives.

Thanks to Beth Revis, Love is A Choice is available free of charge for our reading pleasure. Click on the Wattpad link below to enjoy this complimentary story.

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What events shaped Orion and turned him into the man he was at the start of Across the Universe.

Orion started off as just another Elder, due to inherit the leadership of the spaceship Godspeed. When he starts to question the world around him, though, things quickly change. He meets a young woman that he may have feelings for. But if she gets in the way of his revenge, he can ignore his feelings for her, right? Or is love a choice after all?

*Blurb and image from author's wattpad*

Review: Love, in English by Karina Halle

5 stars for Love, in English by Karina Halle.

I am so glad to have picked up this book regardless of its cover which throws me off completely. So, never judge a book by it's cover!

First chapter in and I am totally hooked and utterly engaged in the story as told through the eyes of Vera Miles. The author weaves a beautiful story by building up Vera's internal emotional turmoil filled with immerse guilt and intense pain. The story setting is so real and yet so wrong. Still, I am really happy with the way it concludes.

Publisher: Metal Blonde Books
Publication date: 29 Apr 2014

*** Favorite quote 1 ***

Love, in English, is love...
Love in Spanish is you.

*** Favorite quote 2 ***

One minute we were a memory in the making, and in the next we were just a memory.

~ Love, in English
Karina Halle

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He’s thirty-eight. I’m twenty-three.

He speaks Spanish. I speak English.

He lives in Spain. I live in Canada.

He dresses in thousand-dollar suits. I’m covered in tattoos.

He’s married and has a five-year old daughter.

I’m single and can’t commit to anyone or anything.

Until now.Because when they say you can’t choose who you fall in love with, boy ain’t that the f*#king truth.

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To a restless dreamer like Vera Miles, it sounded like the experience of a lifetime. Instead of spending her summer interning for her astronomy major, she would fly to Spain where she’d spend a few weeks teaching conversational English to businessmen and women, all while enjoying free room and board at an isolated resort. But while Vera expected to get a tan, meet new people and stuff herself with wine and paella, she never expected to fall in love.

Mateo Casalles is unlike anyone Vera has ever known, let alone anyone she’s usually attracted to. While Vera is a pierced and tatted free spirit with a love for music and freedom, Mateo is a successful businessman from Madrid, all sharp suits and cocky Latino charm. Yet, as the weeks go on, the two grow increasingly close and their relationship changes from purely platonic to something…more.

Something that makes Vera feel alive for the first time.

Something that can never, ever be.

Or so she thinks.

*Blurb from author's website*

Links to purchase