Unteachable Review

 

Unteachable

Author: Leah Raeder

Published: July 27th, 2013

 

I met him at a carnival, of all corny places. The summer I turned eighteen, in that chaos of neon lights and cheap thrills, I met a man so sweet, so beautiful, he seemed to come from another world. We had one night: intense, scary, real. Then I ran, like I always do. Because I didn’t want to be abandoned again.

But I couldn’t run far enough.

I knew him as Evan that night. When I walked into his classroom, he became Mr. Wilke.

My teacher.

I don’t know if what we’re doing is wrong. The law says one thing; my heart says screw the law. I can’t let him lose his job. And I can’t lose him.

In the movies, this would have a happy ending. I grow up. I love, I lose, I learn. And I move on. But this is life, and there’s no script. You make it up as you go along.

And you don’t pray for a happy ending. You pray for it to never end.

 

I rated Unteachable 4.5 leaves! The story is about an eighteen year old girl that has a relationship with a teacher that she meets under false pretenses at a carnival.  Evan and Maise have an intense relationship that breaks all rules and is forbidden by society. The moment they set sight on each other, everything in their world is turned around.  The book is told in Maise's point of view. With that being the case, we see that she is a mature girl for her age but like every teenage girl her emotions are a roller-coaster. Her feelings are ten times greater than the average person. Maise is tough. She hasn't been raised in the best childhood and she has reflected on that growing up. She is confident in who she is, not worried about fitting in to any particular crowd. Evan is wow... he is sexy and sweet all wrapped up in a pretty bow.  Who couldn't resist that forbidden fruit?! This book is about so much more than just a student falling for her teacher. It's about finding out who you are, and what your actions are in life and how you make yourself be a better you.

The author created a world where the lines between right and wrong are really thin.  The author gives you the ability of being objective and you never feel like she is trying to convince you that the situation is right or wrong. I loved this book and will read more from this author again! I recommend this book to anyone that enjoys reading the forbidden stories about real people and a story that will let you think about your idea of love.

 

 

I was born in the 80s, which means I have fantastic taste in music and atrocious taste in hair. I knew at eight years old that I wanted to be a published author when I grew up. Of course, when I was eight, “published author” was a glamorous daydream where I spent all day in bookstores, signing hardcovers and posing for photos with fans. In reality, authordom involves lots of bourbon-scented tears and neurotic self-doubt. At least there are fewer mullets.

As well as being a writer, I’m a voracious and omnivorous reader. Seriously. I read everything from contemporary Young Adult to dense, doorstop literary fiction. Some of my favorite writers are Vladimir Nabokov (Lolita), Virginia Woolf (Mrs. Dalloway), F. Scott Fitzgerald (Tender is the Night), and Jeanette Winterson (Written on the Body). I’m a total poetry geek, too—my two absolute favorites are Emily Dickinson and Sylvia Plath.

All the pretty colors on this website were made by me. In my non-bookish life, I’m a graphic designer.

I’m from Chicago and have lived all over the world, from NYC to LA to Tehran, Iran. I currently live in the Windy City with my partner, Alexander, who’s very understanding about all this girlsmut business.

 

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Meet the NAturals

Meet the NAturals!

The authors of the NAturals are hosting an event with giveaways AND have written a juicy story just for you! To kick things off we have the beginning of the story below. The remaining story will unfold over the next several days on the NAturals site. Don’t forget to check back to their site each day for a new installment and other surprises! Who are the NAturals? Lucy Stark, Melanie Harlowe, Sophia Bleu, Tamara Mataya, Laurelin Paige, and Sierra Simone!   

The Boy Next Door

by the NAturals

When your Friday afternoon plans involve being crammed in a half-squat between hanging shirts and pants while stark-freaking-naked, it’s time to reevaluate your life. And I was going to do just that as soon as Derek rescued me from the closet. It had occurred to me before that dating a guy who still lived at home was going to be a problem, but it was hard to be choosy when nearly every guy my age had already taken off to college. I was on the delayed-start plan myself, trying to save up enough money by working temporary and part-time jobs to go away next year. That’s how I’d met Derek and wound up naked in his closet. I had a knack for situations like this. “Make sure you water the rhododendrons every afternoon or they’ll die, and do it today, please.” His mother had been listing all the chores she needed done when she left on her Alaskan cruise in the morning. So far she’d been here for what felt to be an hour. I didn’t actually have a watch. Hello, naked. But I had a cramp in my thigh that was getting worse by the minute, and it felt like I’d achieved a level sixty in discomfort. “And no overnight visitors,” she finished. “Of course, Mom,” Derek said. “Especially not that Natalie girl. I don’t think she’s a good influence.”   To continue the story and for even more chances to win great prizes, visit us at our blog: The NAturals http://thenaturalauthors.blogspot.com Event is August 19^th-26^th   a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Graceful Mess Review

 

A Graceful Mess

Author: Nacole Stayton

Genre: Contemporary Romance/Erotica

Publication date: August 27, 2013

Hosted by: Literati Author Services

 

Hiding behind the anguish from my past, my coyness seeps off of me like an aroma. I have felt like a stranger in my own skin, trying to claw my way out for far too long, allowing very few people to see past my façade…until my eyes met with his. I felt a sudden rush of energy all the way to my core. It jolted me in ways I never thought possible.
Never in a million years would I have expected to be in the mess I am today. It all leads back to the night Parker Porter turned my world upside down. The night his hazel eyes undressed me, peeling away the layers of the woman I tried so hard to be. He awoke desires that burned deep within me and changed me in one quick glance, leaving me vulnerable and exposed, picking up the shattered pieces of my carefully constructed life…a life I should not be living…a life I was not born into, but placed into by the state of Maine.
Parker opened a door that I am far from closing until I have answers and am able to face the life I was destined to live. I just have to decide if his love is worth the mess.
“They say be careful of the quiet ones.” –Grace
Warning: This book is intended for readers 18+ due to explicit language and sexual encounters.

 

 

I rated Nacole Stayton’s A Graceful Mess three and a half wonderful leaves. Let me start off by saying that this book was nothing like I expected it to be. However, it was very riveting from the moment I started. Talk about unputdownable. I wasn’t expecting there to be a dark past in the storyline. I loved the hint of suspense that it brought to the plot. I loved Parker, he was sexy, protective, dominant, and intense. I am still up in the air about the protagonist, Grace. She was strong, exceptionally strong given what you find out about her messed up past towards the middle of the book. But, she just wasn’t the strong, feisty girl I look for it most protagonists. I’ll give her credit though, because she grew confident and sexy around Parker. The two of them together is explosive. They have a strong magnetic pull that I found doubtful at times, but, hey it makes for a great story. It all happened a bit fast if you ask me, but when you know you know right? Besides, they make it well worth it for us readers.

The prologue is a scene of a little girl at an adoption shelter who is holding her stuffed bunny and is deathly afraid of the storm. We also know that her best friend is Brody and he is leaving to be adopted. Fast forward in the next chapter and Grace is graduating college with her best friend, Maci. Grace is not too excited because now she is heading to law school and also because she is broken and depressed on the inside. Why? We don’t know yet, but it has to do with an ex. Maci is our standard best friend who brings Grace out in an attempt to make her more normal. I think I would have hated A Graceful Mess if it didn’t switch POVs between Grace and Parker. I loved getting into Parker’s head. He is being groomed to handle the family business which is private investigation. The first project his father entrusts to him is to watch Grace, whom he immediately falls in love with after one picture. He doesn’t fully know it yet, but he is completely captivated by her. The legislator that has hired them to watch is her biological father but she was given up for adoption. Parker’s part of the story is fairly predictable. He has to watch her, he can’t stay away, they fall in love, but, oh wait, he’s keeping it a secret that he was hired to follow her. All the twists come from Grace’s past, but even they can be predictable. And that’s only if you can calm yourself down from the steamy scenes in this book. Damn, Parker is dirty in bed. And Grace’s shy façade lasts for maybe half a night with him. She matches him in and out of the bedroom.

All in all, I found this to be a pleasant, quick read. A Graceful Mess was a perfect way to wind down by the pool. Actually, maybe not given all the hot scenes and the adrenaline-inducing plot twists. But, anyway, it was a wonderful book from an author I have never read before and I look forward to seeing what she comes out with next. A book about her best friend Maci maybe? 

 

 

 

Christian “Nacole” Stayton is twenty-something years young and currently resides in the Bluegrass state. She spends her days working at a local hospital in the billing department and nights writing vigorously on her current novel. She has a passion for helping others and wears her University of Kentucky gear proudly. While her husband loves all things outdoors, Nacole enjoys the finer things in life like getting pedicures while reading on her Kindle Fire. She is passionate about her faith, family and The Bachelor. Her hair color changes with the seasons and she has a weakness for tattoos, iced coffee, and happy endings.

 

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Striving For Normal Release + Giveaway

The most intimate relationship Drew Clayborn had with a man in the last four years has been with her therapist. With a past that has left her broken and scarred, she tries to piece herself back together enough to make it through each day. Whether she’s ready or not, life brings her back among the living, and Drew needs to learn quickly how to deal with her troubled past. When the perfect opportunity presents itself to pursue her dream career, it also provides Drew her first encounter with a compelling man since her devastating breakup with the last one. Carl Williamson is rich, powerful, and gorgeous. The desire she feels when he’s near makes it impossible not to melt into his arms. He wants Drew and will stop at nothing to have her. Carl promises to be her protector, but he brings familiar concerns to the surface. Dennis Brooks is a nice guy her best friend thinks would be her perfect match. He’s strong, honest, and sexy as hell, and he makes her smile in a way no one else can. Drew feels safe and secure with him, but she isn’t certain he is strong enough to handle Drew and give her what she thinks she needs in a relationship. When Drew’s demanding, controlling ex comes back to stake his claim on her, the carefully crafted world she built for herself is turned upside down. Does she need a powerful man like Carl to help her? Will Dennis step up and be the man she needs? Or does she finally become strong enough to deal with her past on her own? Who is the true hero in her quest of striving for normal? 

 B.L. Mooney started writing when the voices and storylines in her head ran out of room. They were getting too cramped and neither B.L. nor the characters could take it anymore, so she did the only thing she could do—she made room. She always knew she wanted to write, but vowed to make time for it later. Now that she’s made time for writing, most everything else falls to the wayside. That seems to suit the characters that keep popping up just fine. B.L. lives in the Midwest and her other talents include in-demand cookies, a very dry sense of humor, and stealth eavesdropping. Some mannerisms, attitudes, or twists come from random sentences picked up while passing by strangers. So speak up the next time you have something to gossip about. You never know, it may just end up on the pages of the next book you read.

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Destination Wedding Review

 

Destination Wedding

Author: Robyn Neeley

Hosted by: Tasty Book Tours

 

Wedding planner Kate Ashby’s fear of flying is eased by a sexy stranger and one slow lip lock that rockets her into another obit.

CEO Luke Cannon has just traded seats with his identical twin. Little did he know that an innocent kiss while pretending he was his brother would soon create havoc.

What happens in the air doesn’t stay up there. Once on tropical land, Kate believes that the handsome stranger who gave her the best kiss of her life is now her new client, Drew Cannon, fiancé to the beautiful and wealthy Lauren Kincaid. While Kate struggles with the intense feelings she thinks she has for Drew, Luke discovers Kate’s been hired to plan his brother’s destination wedding. He also realizes the initial sparks they shared 30,000 feet up are now mistakenly aimed at Drew.

Can Luke get Kate to realize that the feelings she has are for him? He’s got forty-eight hours in paradise to try.

Sensuality Level: Behind Closed Doors

I rated Destination Wedding with FOUR AND ONE HALF LEAVES! This was a really cute book. It is one of those books that has you smiling to yourself. Kate Ashby has a wonderful job. All she is missing is the man of her dreams. She is even lucky enough to be traveling to Hawaii for work. She is planning a destination wedding. Kate meets the perfect guy on the plane ride to Hawaii and they even share a kiss. She finds out when she gets to Hawaii that the only problem with this perfect man is that he is her new client...or so she thinks! Drew Cannon is on the way to Hawaii to marry the love of his life. He gets seated next to an annoying, fearful flyer. He runs to the back of the plane to see his brother, Luke, and to make him trade seats. The rest is history.

Robyn Neeley did a wonderful job with this book. I was hooked and it was definitely hard to put down. It's a fun and easy read and perfect for a day by the pool or at the beach. I sure wish I could have read this from a beach chair in Hawaii! I recommend this our FALLowers who are looking for a quick read that will leave a smile on your face. 

 

 

Robyn Neeley is an East Coaster who loves to explore new places; watches way more reality TV than she cares to admit; can’t live without Dunkin Donuts coffee and has never met a cookie she didn’t like. If you have a must read romance suggestion or a fabulous cookie recipe, she wants to know. Visit her at robynneeley.com

  

 

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