Book Review: VERBOTEN by Heather Osborne

Title: Verboten
Author: Heather Osborne
Genre: Historical Romance
Star Rating: 4/5

Blurb:

Love can be found even in the most hopeless of places.

A young woman in the Lodz Ghetto is given a chance at survival by an old school friend who happens to be a Nazi soldier. Can their love survive in such a dangerous environment?

 
My Reivew:

I don't generally read short stories.  I frequently find myself unsatisfied by the rushed action and often abrupt ending, but when I read the (short) blurb attached to this story I couldn't not read it.  I mean, a Jewish girl from the ghetto falling in love with a Nazi soldier?  It doesn't get much more forbidden than that--and we all know Mary loves herself some forbidden romance.  I found the characters to be remarkably well fleshed out for length of the story.  I felt like I really knew and understood Irena as a person.  The setting is beautifully (though tragically) descriptive.  This was a brief yet sobering look into a terrible part of history, lightened with a wonderful tale of survival and romance.    

HER RIDE by Rachael Orman now available on audible.com!

International Best Selling Her Ride is now available as an AUDIOBOOK!!! You can pick it up from Amazon or Audible.com TODAY!

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Synopsis:

Being happy. It sounds so simple. Yet, it seems that it’s always just out of reach for Shannon Ryan.

After serving overseas for six years as a female United States Marine, Ryan is finally getting out the military. But coming home to live with her biker brother and his motorcycle club is more difficult than she thought it would be. Much has changed in the years that she has been gone, including Ellis, her brother’s best friend and childhood crush.

Ellis 'Dirty' Crane is the second in command for Tormented Souls Motorcycle Club. The only thing he lives for is the club, that is until Ryan comes home, no longer the wild little girl that followed him around. The two things standing in his way of getting what he wants are Patrick, Ryan's brother and leader of the club, and Jeremiah, Ryan’s boyfriend.

Can Ellis break through Ryan’s walls? Burn them and Jeremiah down? Prove to her brother that he’s the right man for her? Or is Ryan hiding more than she’s letting on?

**Warning: Intended for 18+ for graphic sex & language**

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Book Review: DON'T FALL by Rachel Schieffelbein

Title: Don't Fall
Author: Rachel Schieffelbein

Category/Genre: Young Adult Romance
My Star Rating: 4/5
 
Goodreads Blurb: 
In which a teenage girl endures the over-protective love of her adoptive mother until she falls for a boy who has her wanting to spread her wings, pitched as a contemporary retelling of Rapunzel.

Seventeen-year-old Anya leads a very secluded life in a house on the edge of town with her adopted mother. She doesn't go to school, but instead has a private tutor. Her over-protective mom keeps her so sheltered that she doesn't even have a best friend.

But Anya doesn't seem to mind. She has her books, her photography, and her daydreams, and would do anything to please her mom. Until one day at the library, the only place she's allowed to go, she takes a picture of a beautiful boy.

Before long she's lying to her mom, and sneaking out late at night to meet Zander. But Zander wants more than a secret romance. If Anya wants to be with the boy of her dreams, she will have to risk her relationship with the only other person she's ever cared about.

 


My Review: 

This was one of those rare books that I didn't receive free for a review---one that I came across by pure chance and was drawn to it.  I love fairytale retellings, and I love Rapunzel.  Somehow, this is the first modern retelling of Rapunzel that I've come across.  I'm SO glad I did.

This was a sweet romance, and Anya is the perfect heroine for it.  She is innocent but not naive, and loveable but not with out flaws.  Zander was a delightfully patient gentleman, who did well to coax Anya out of her shell with out pushing too hard.  Anya's mother was (for lack a better term) a villain that you just couldn't bring yourself to hate. 

I do wish we had ventured a little deeper into the darkness that clouded Anya's mother.  It was told why she was so over-protective, but very briefly.

A wonderful story about loving too much, holding too tightly, and protecting far too fiercely...but most of all, this was a story of a young girl discovering that it isn't selfish to want your own happiness--a lesson I fear far too few teenage girls hear.

Cover Reveal: THE LIST by Kate L. Mary

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Title: The List Author: Kate L. Mary Genre: NA Contemporary Romance Series: College of Charleston series, Book #1 Publisher: Lyrical Press

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╣Synopsis╠

The List. Twenty things every girl must do before she turns twenty. . .

Body piercing Get drunk First kiss

But thanks to her crazy, over-protective father, Annie Roth is way behind schedule. Good thing it’s her first semester of college, because Annie is more than ready to start checking off items. . .

Fake ID Skinny dipping Road trip!!!

Where it gets complicated? Ryan and Chris. Best friends. Both sweet, funny, totally hot, and totally into Annie.

But there are some things on The List that Annie only wants to do with Ryan. . .

Lose it Get Heart Broken Fall in love

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Available for preorder now!

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~Coming May 25, 2015~

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╣Excerpt╠

  I closed my eyes when my head started to spin. “Have a first date, a first kiss, smoke a cigarette, get a fake ID, go skinny dipping. Have sex.” When I opened my eyes, Ryan was staring at me. My heart pounded. He was so close I could feel the heat radiating off his body. It made the blood sizzle in my veins. “All that before you turn twenty?” he whispered. I nodded and his eyes went over my face, lingering on my lips. “How long do you have?” My heart pounded in my ears, drowning out the ocean and the wind. Even the music from the party. “A year. I turn nineteen September fifth.” “Seems doable,” he said, scooting closer. “How many things have you marked off?” “Four before tonight.” My heart pounded even faster, and I inhaled sharply. His eyes were still on my lips and it made my brain even fuzzier than the alcohol. “Now I can cross off getting drunk, and Cami says we’re going to stay out all night.” He pulled back a fraction of an inch. “How drunk are you?” I shook my head and blinked a few times when my temples pounded. “I don’t have anything to compare it to.” He frowned, then his eyes went to my lips. “We can cross something else off, if you want.”

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╣Teasers╠

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╣About the Author╠

Kate L. Mary is a stay-at-home mother of four and an Air Force wife. She grew up in a small town just north of Dayton, Ohio where she and her husband met at the age of twelve. Since their marriage in 2002, they have lived in Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, and California. Kate enjoys any post-apocalyptic story - especially if zombies are involved - as long as there is a romantic twist to give the story hope. Kate prefers nerdy, non-traditional heroes who can make you laugh to hunky pieces of man-meat, and her love of wine and chocolate is legendary among her friends and family. She currently resides in Oklahoma with her husband and children. Be sure to check out her bestselling BROKEN WORLD series, which is a top 100 book in dystopian and post-apocalyptic fiction on Amazon.  

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╣Social Media╠

   

Website │ Facebook │ Twitter

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THE ONE THING by Briana Gaitan: Cover Reveal

Title:  The One Thing

Series: Hollywood Timelines Book Two

Author:  Briana Gaitan

Genre:   Contemporary Romance

Release Day:  January 9th 2015

Synopsis:

When everything falls apart, he's the one thing that holds me together.


Ginger Teague isn't your typical Hollywood actress. Sure, she has a famous boyfriend, designer clothes, and money. This is the life she always dreamed of, but constantly being in the public eye has its downside. Behind the facade, she hides secrets. Secrets that help her deal with all the stress.
Caspian is a struggling musician, but he isn't in it for the fame or the money. He's happy making music for whoever will listen. He sees something in Ginger that he can relate to. A girl just as lost and unhappy as he once was.


There's only one problem. They can't fall in love. Friendship is all they can risk

The One Thing is a standalone novel in the Hollywood Timelines series. It is recommended for age 17 and up for language and adult content.

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About the Author

Briana Gaitan grew up in the South, but calls herself a geek at heart. She is a blogger,author,and fangirl who loves Star Wars, Star Trek, and Jewelry (bet you never thought you'd hear those three things in a sentence together) For fun, she loves watching any show on the SyFy channel, relaxing with her family, reading, and listening to indie music (sometimes all at the same time). Briana loves to write stories where there are no limits to the imagination. She is also the co-author of the fantasy Ethereal Underground series.

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