admin

A FEW THOUGHTS. . .

Every Last Word is not only an endearing love story, it is a fascinating peek into the mind of a girl with OCD. I couldn’t put it down!

The thoughts Sam had, the secrets she kept, the adjustments she had to make every day of her life were truly a struggle for her, and it was amazing to see her journey through all of it.

Her struggle with balancing two very separate and different groups of friends was so true to life. Tamara Ireland Stone captured this aspect of high school perfectly with her incredible writing. Every one of Sam’s emotions were felt and understood completely. Sam’s worry—her wish—to be “normal” was so heartfelt and honest that you wanted to just reach in and give her a hug.

And the twists! Truthfully, I had a hunch about what was happening pretty early on, but there were still many surprises that I never saw coming. And my hunch did not affect my enjoyment of the story in any way. In fact, I think it enhanced it!

Sam’s relationship with AJ was sweet perfection. I loved how they started on pretty rocky ground, but they worked through it and created a beautiful relationship from it. He loved her just as she was, even when she wasn’t sure how she felt about herself. His unwavering honesty was exactly what she needed.

After reading this book, you will forever remember Every. Last. Word.

SYNOPSIS:

If you could read my mind, you wouldn’t be smiling.

Samantha McAllister looks just like the rest of the popular girls in her junior class. But hidden beneath the straightened hair and expertly applied makeup is a secret that her friends would never understand: Sam has Purely-Obsessional OCD and is consumed by a stream of dark thoughts and worries that she can’t turn off.

Second-guessing every move, thought, and word makes daily life a struggle, and it doesn’t help that her lifelong friends will turn toxic at the first sign of a wrong outfit, wrong lunch, or wrong crush. Yet Sam knows she’d be truly crazy to leave the protection of the most popular girls in school.

So when Sam meets Caroline, she has to keep her new friend with a refreshing sense of humor and no style a secret, right up there with Sam’s weekly visits to her psychiatrist.

Caroline introduces Sam to the Poet’s Corner, a hidden room and a tight-knit group of misfits who have been ignored by the school at large. Sam is drawn to them immediately, especially a guitar-playing guy with a talent for verse, and starts to discover a whole new side of herself.

Slowly, she begins to feel more “normal” than she ever has as part of the popular crowd . . . until she finds a new reason to question her sanity and all she holds dear.

Buy Every Last Word on Amazon

A FEW THOUGHTS . . .

Fun, sweet, and hilarious!

Bust out the Aquanet and spray up those mall bangs, ladies! Because Remember When is like a time machine back to all your best high school memories!

Layla, the central character, is not girly-girly. She’s strong, she’s feisty, she’s quick-witted. She’s your best friend in a book.

And she is at the center of this witty, heartfelt story all about one of the most essential elements of high school – the high school crush. Enter…Trip.

Her friendship with Trip flourishes, turning into a crush, and inevitably…denial. Yes, their misunderstandings and insecurities might bother you a bit, but that’s part of what makes this story such an accurate accounting of a high school romance. They’re 17 years old! They have no clue how to navigate this experience. They’re still learning how to be confident and how to express these confusing feelings they’re having. Personally, I find their hesitation and awkwardness totally endearing! And the hilarious 80’s references keep it all light and fun!

Now, full disclosure…this is a continuing series which takes you into their adult years (so yes, there is a cliffhanger). But no worries, the story just gets better and better, and you’ll be dying to find out what happens next with Layla and Trip. I just loved it!

SYNOPSIS:

Head back to the 80s with this coming-of-age romantic comedy about a pre-fame Hollywood movie star and his high school sweetheart!

Years before Trip Wiley could be seen on movie screens all over the world, he could be seen sitting in the desk behind me in my high school English class.

This was back in 1990, and I cite the year only to avoid dumbfounding you when references to big hair or stretch pants are mentioned. Although, come to think of it, I am from Northern New Jersey, which may serve as explanation enough. We were teenagers then, way back in a time before anyone, himself included, could even dream he’d turn into the Hollywood commodity that he is today.

I’m sure I don’t need to tell you who Trip Wiley is. But on the off chance you’ve been living under a rock for the past decade, just know that these days, he’s the actor found at the top of every casting director’s wish list. He’s incredibly talented and insanely gorgeous, the combination of which has made him very rich, very famous and very desirable.

And not just to casting directors, either.

I can’t confirm any of the gossip from his early years out in Tinseltown, but based on what I knew of his life before he was famous, I can tell you that the idea of Girls-Throwing-Themselves-At-Trip is not a new concept.

I should know. I was one of them.

And my life hasn’t been the same since.

Buy Remember When on Amazon

A FEW THOUGHTS . . .

I devoured this book. Soaked in every word like it was my air. I had to get to the end, but I knew I would be ruined when I arrived there.

Helena will captivate you from the first page. Her raw, tortured honesty is mesmerizing. My heart is still pounding. Days later, and it still pounds every time I think of Helena’s story.

I love all Alessandra Torre’s books; her writing and story development is always impeccable, but this book is extra special. There is such poetry in her writing that is simply beautiful.

This BOOK, Helena’s WORDS, her ACTIONS . . .will make you FEEL in the most profound way.

SYNOPSIS:

From New York Times Bestseller Alessandra Torre…

Four years ago, I lied. I stood in front of the police, my friends, and family, and made up a story, my best one yet. And all of them believed me.

I wasn’t surprised. Telling stories is what made me famous. Fifteen bestsellers. Millions of fans. Fame and fortune.

Now, I have one last story to write. It’ll be my best one yet, with a jaw-dropping twist that will leave them stunned and gasping for breath.

They say that sticks and stones will break your bones, but this story? It will be the one that kills me.

Buy The Ghostwriter on Amazon

A FEW THOUGHTS . . .

Excellent. Truly excellent.
I closed this book and then spent 30 minutes raving about it to my husband. I just didn’t want it to end! I wanted the story to continue on forever!

Jessie, the main character, is so heartbreakingly lost you just want to jump into the book and give her a hug!
She takes you on this journey through her heartache and anger, but also through her learning how to heal and forgive.
And the great mystery (Who is SN?!) will have you grasping desperately at anything you think could possibly be a clue, causing your guesses to change again and again.

Julie Buxbaum’s writing is incredible! She has truly perfected the mind and emotions of a high school girl. And she added just the right amount of angst. You feel the weight of every emotion coupled with enough lightness so it doesn’t feel draining.

Julie Buxbaum is a new go-to writer for me. I can’t wait to dive into more of her books!

SYNOPSIS:

A New York Times Bestseller

What if the person you need the most is someone you’ve never met?
 
Funny and romantic, this tug-at-your-heartstrings contemporary YA debut is perfect for readers of Rainbow Rowell, Jennifer Niven, and E. Lockhart.

Everything about Jessie is wrong. At least, that’s what it feels like during her first week as a junior at her new ultra-intimidating prep school in Los Angeles. It’s been barely two years since her mother’s death, and because her father eloped with a woman he met online, Jessie has been forced to move across the country to live with her stepmonster and her pretentious teenage son.

Just when she’s thinking about hightailing it back to Chicago, she gets an email from a person calling themselves Somebody/Nobody (SN for short), offering to help her navigate the wilds of Wood Valley High School. Is it an elaborate hoax? Or can she rely on SN for some much-needed help?

In a leap of faith—or an act of complete desperation—Jessie begins to rely on SN, and SN quickly becomes her lifeline and closest ally. Jessie can’t help wanting to meet SN in person. But are some mysteries better left unsolved?

Buy Tell Me Three Things on Amazon

A FEW THOUGHTS . . .

Ok, let me break it down…Rachel Hollis and I are the same age. We share a love for sweet romance novels, cuddling our babies, and jammin’ to 90’s hip hop (come on, you know you love it too). We’ve lived through the same decades, and historical moments, and bad fashion trends…

But Rachel Hollis has a level of wisdom about life that is purely astronomical!

She’s been through traumatic events, built companies from the ground up, and navigated the obstacle-ridden adoption process with true grace. And she has learned and grown with each and every experience.

Ladies, I have the same level of admiration for Rachel Hollis as some people do for Oprah, or Beyonce, or Tony Robbins!

So, wouldn’t it be great if Rachel took all of her knowledge (or even just a fraction of it) and wrapped it up nice and neat in a beautiful book that is available to all of us?

“Why yes, that would be fantastic!”

Well, she did it! It’s “Girl, Wash Your Face!” And I only have one word to describe it: LIFE-CHANGING!

Each and every person (women AND men!) who read this book will gain SOMETHING from it!

It could be inspiration to turn your dream into a goal and make it happen.
It could be the knowledge that you are not alone in how you feel and that it is okay.
It could be the motivation to finally do that one thing that will change your life!
It could – and probably will – be ALL of these things!

This book will impact your life in ways you don’t even know yet!

I simply cannot recommend it more highly! You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll soak in every word like it’s your next breath.

Thank you, Rachel, for sharing your wisdom and strength with all of us.♥

SYNOPSIS:

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Do you ever suspect that everyone else has life figured out and you don’t have a clue? If so, Rachel Hollis has something to tell you: that’s a lie.

As the founder of the lifestyle website TheChicSite.com and CEO of her own media company, Rachel Hollis developed an immense online community by sharing tips for better living while fearlessly revealing the messiness of her own life. Now, in this challenging and inspiring new book, Rachel exposes the twenty lies and misconceptions that too often hold us back from living joyfully and productively, lies we’ve told ourselves so often we don’t even hear them anymore.

With painful honesty and fearless humor, Rachel unpacks and examines the falsehoods that once left her feeling overwhelmed and unworthy, and reveals the specific practical strategies that helped her move past them. In the process, she encourages, entertains, and even kicks a little butt, all to convince you to do whatever it takes to get real and become the joyous, confident woman you were meant to be.

With unflinching faith and rock-hard tenacity, Girl, Wash Your Face shows you how to live with passion and hustle–and how to give yourself grace without giving up.

Buy Girl, Wash Your Face on Amazon

AND ARE YOU READY FOR A BONUS?

Rachel has ANOTHER amazing book coming out in March!!! 

A FEW THOUGHTS . . .

I’m honestly not a poetry person. I’ve tried, but I just never found any poetry that I felt provided the romance, and truth, and emotion of our current world and time.

But when Brittainy and Kandi announced this book, I KNEW . . . I JUST KNEW . . . that it would be the exact kind of poetry I would love. And it completely was!!!!

From the very first lines of the introduction, Brittainy and Kandi paint an image that hints at the emotions that are sure to come from their exquisite words.

These girls who feel everything . . .

You want to wrap them in a hug.

You want to shout alongside their anger.

You want to drown with them in their tears.

You want to sing with the rays of their joy.

And then it occurs to you . . .  you are one of them. And you feel EVERYTHING too.

If you’ve ever read even one of Kandi’s or Brittainy’s books, you know they have the most profound gift for putting the deepest, most aching feelings into words. But this. These words.  These are beyond personal. These gorgeous words will seep into your soul and find a home.

These are the kind of poems that you read. And then read again. And then read again.

Not because you don’t understand them, but because you want to absorb and reflect on every single gorgeous feeling over and over again.

SYNOPSIS:

Bestselling authors Brittainy C. Cherry and Kandi Steiner come together for the first time in an emotional compilation of poetry and prose. Written and collected over the course of more than two years, A Love Letter from the Girls Who Feel Everything is an intimate, honest, and raw assemblage of two women’s feelings in a modern world that often quiets any kind of emotion past indifference.

Discussing themes of love, worth, loss and hope, A Love Letter from the Girls Who Feel Everything is a journey of discovery and healing.

“We are the girls who feel everything.

And this is our love letter. To you, to them, to us, to the world, to no one at all. Whether it’s the brightest, sunniest day where everything is perfect, or the darkest, dreariest night of rain where life seems unbearable — we have lived it, we have survived it, and we have felt every, blissful, aching second.

Here’s to embracing the feels, to the brave souls that listen to the way their hearts beat and aren’t afraid to ask someone else if they feel those same beats, too. Here’s to the girls, the boys, the love we sometimes share and the love we all-too-often conceal.

And more than anything, Reader — here’s to you.”

Buy A Love Letter from the Girls Who Feel Everything on Amazon

A FEW THOUGHTS…

I don’t know what I’m going to do once I’ve read all of Amy Harmon’s back catalog of books. I may just die having to wait for more of her gorgeous words!

As I close A Different Blue, I feel honored to have shared in the journey of Blue Echohawk. A stormy, tormented girl whose path to peace is not an easy one and will quickly reach your heart.

You want to heal her scars.

You want to shake her of her self-condemnation.

You want to open her eyes and show her just how special she is.

And so, you can’t help but feel grateful to be taken along on her journey to literal self-discovery.

In addition to all that, the slow and subtle evolution of her relationship with Wilson is pure perfection. I love a slow burning, resisted love, and Wilson and Blue had it in droves. His comfort….his guidance…his unwavering support of Blue is deeply heartwarming. And his subtle strength that he lends her when it is most needed is unbelievably touching. You know he loves her even when he refuses to acknowledge it himself.

I must also acknowledge Amy Harmon’s gift for creating a tale full of gorgeous imagery and the most fascinating history. Maybe this is the nerd in me coming out, but Amy’s historical references are so gracefully woven into the story that you end up learning in the most enjoyable way. Better than any classroom or the best of teachers.

Overall, this is an achingly beautiful story. Amy Harmon carves away Blue’s hard edges and chips away at Wilson’s restraint to create a love that fits perfectly together.

SYNOPSIS:

Blue Echohawk doesn’t know who she is. She doesn’t know her real name or when she was born. Abandoned at two and raised by a drifter, she didn’t attend school until she was ten years old. At nineteen, when most kids her age are attending college or moving on with life, she is just a senior in high school. With no mother, no father, no faith, and no future, Blue Echohawk is a difficult student, to say the least. Tough, hard, and overtly sexy, she is the complete opposite of the young British teacher who decides he is up for the challenge, and takes the troublemaker under his wing.

This is the story of a nobody who becomes somebody. It is the story of an unlikely friendship, where hope fosters healing and redemption becomes love. But falling in love can be hard when you don’t know who you are. Falling in love with someone who knows exactly who they are and exactly why they can’t love you back might be impossible.

Buy A Different Blue on Amazon

A FEW THOUGHTS:

Are you all caught up on the Winston Brothers Series? Because Dr. Strange Beard will blow your mind!

Honestly, every time another Winston brother’s book comes out, I think there is no way I’m going to like this story better than the last one. But OMG I absolutely do! Each brother’s love story is so original and inviting!

Penny Reid’s clever plotting and foreshadowing of things to come always blows me away, too. She, once again, delivers a riveting plotline that only adds to the romance at the heart of the story.

Roscoe’s unique memory abilities are really intriguing, and Simone’s internal struggles with rejection and protection are spot on. I loved the push and pull of their relationship. And Roscoe’s intense dedication to her, despite their unfortunate past, is nothing short of swoon-worthy.

And all I can say about the ending is that it had me literally holding my breath! (But that’s all I can say! GAH!)

What a fabulous new piece of the Winston Brothers saga! I don’t know how I’ll be able to wait for the next one!

SYNOPSIS:

Hunches, horse races, and heartbreak!
Ten years after Simone Payton broke his heart, all Roscoe Winston wants is a doughnut. He’d also like to forget her entirely, but that’s never going to happen. Roscoe Winston remembers everything–every look, every word, every single unrequited second–and the last thing he needs is another memory of Simone.

Unfortunately, after one chance encounter, Simone keeps popping up everywhere he happens to be . . .

Ten years after Roscoe Winston dropped out of her life, all Simone Payton wants is to exploit him. She’d also like some answers from her former best friend about why he ghosted her, but if she never gets those answers, that’s a-okay. Simone let go of the past a long time ago. Seriously, she has. She totally, totally has. She is definitely not still thinking about Roscoe. Nope. She’s more than happy to forget he exists.

But first, she needs just one teeny-tiny favor . . .

BUY ON AMAZON

A FEW THOUGHTS…

Get ready to SQUEE, ladies!!
Seth is everyone’s favorite kind of bad boy…

Fast car…check.
Surly attitude…check.
Tortured past…check.
Hidden, soft heart that melts for that one and only girl that changes all of the above…check.

LJ Evans’ writing blows me away every time. She took a broken, life-hardened bad boy and molded him into a man with a depth and power to love that will melt your heart into a puddle and have you rooting for him 100%!!!

This is a true love story full of passion, heart, and even suspense! It’s incredible!

SYNOPSIS:

“They took broken and made it art.”

From award winning author LJ Evans comes a novel inspired by Bon Jovi songs that shows how love and acceptance can heal even the toughest scars.

SETH
I’m a trash artist.
I’m a recovering alcoholic.
I’m a rude bastard.

It’s why I was better of alone until feisty blogger PJ Hensley entered my life with her fairy-like quality. Suddenly I couldn’t imagine a life without her in it. And when she loved me and left me, it was what I expected but it isn’t what I wanted.

And because I couldn’t just let her go, I’ve spent the last five months writing her letters trying to convince her to come home even though I know she won’t. I don’t deserve for her to come back.

PJ
I was ignoring my screwed up past and a bunch of stalker like posts while focusing on graduating college. The last thing I needed was a moody trash artist entering my world. But like all things Seth, he entered my life anyway with an intensity and focus that left me breathless.

And when the summer collided into one big mess, I ran. To try to heal. To try and escape. But Seth’s letters are tearing at my soul and slowly reeling me back in. He’s almost convinced me that he can weld our lives back together into something beautiful. Almost…

SPOILER ALERT this book can be read as a stand alone novel, but it has spoilers to both the 1st and 2nd book in the MY LIFE AS AN ALBUM series.

BUY ON AMAZON

SYNOPSIS:

What if you are my dream?

From Award Winning Author LJ Evans comes a novel inspired by Ed Sheeran love songs about forgiveness, love, & healing!

I’m Good Girl Mia. At least that’s what my brother called me before my kidney killed him…

Four years later I’m still trying to do penance for that single act of failure until all my promises fly out the door when a beautiful musician saunters into my life.

Derek Waters and his band have just signed on with a major record label and are touring the country. He has his own set of baggage that he hides behind a huge smile and a famous Johnny Cash quote.

Derek says he isn’t into sex just for sex, and yet he’s also told me that he can’t leave unless I come with him. I’m a little confused, but I find myself unable to say no to Derek and the adventure he promises me.

I’m hoping this three-week trip will help us both find a way to live with ourselves. To forgive ourselves. But I’m afraid that we’ll be left more broken than before.

SPOILER ALERT: This book can be read as a stand alone novel but contains significant spoilers to the first novel in the series MY LIFE AS A COUNTRY ALBUM.

BUY ON AMAZON