The Quackeroo

*ARC kindly provided by Belfire Press/Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

"So what's the job? An ad? Something for school?" All three girls lean forward. All three girls looked over their shoulder, back at me, then whispered: "We want you to break someone's heart."

Thats how Ellie get's roped into this and how the story really begins. She's not had an easy life and is need of serious money when she decides to take te job. It reminded me a lot of John Tucker must die for the first few chapters. But it's really not. This book is a bit of a wolf in sheep clothes. I was expecting a sweet fluffly romance novel like for example the love game by Emma Hart (Review). Instead, what you get is a story about two very broken people - one more broken than the other - who find each other and make each other better. 

Characters
Ellie was an interesting character with an interesting background. She's down to earth and unsure of herself. She takes the job because she needs the money. It's very obvious from the start that she'll fall in love with Julian (aside from it being said in the blurb). I mostly liked her, but she just didn't really feel like a normal person to me. She seemed like she could only live in this world created by Theresa Weir. I had a hard time connecting to her and I was glad when the chapters from Julian's POV came around. I liked Julian. He's hard a hard life and I liked following his story. I haven't read too many books where the guy is one with the most baggage and it was interesting to read about. Though, like with Ellie, I wasn't in love with him as a character either. 

""Once I realized I couldn't quit thinking about him, and once I realized I had a major crush on a guy who had sex with girls and then discarded them, I wanted out. I wanted to meet him with my real self so I could have sex and be discarded. No, wait""

Why 3 stars?
I think the biggest problem I had with the book is that it deals with serious issues, but it somehow never really got up close and personal with these characters. You watch them go through this little love story of theirs and I don't really feel connected to them or their story. It keeps feeling like you're looking through a window at them, but you're not right there with them. That takes a bit chunk out of my emotional response to this book and makes it hard for me to love it. Another thing that I wasn't too thrilled about is the speed in the novel. Some things seem very rushed and you jump from one thing to the next. In some books that works, but I feel like this book would benefit from a little more pacing and slowing down. I personally love a little build up to certain events, but that doesn't really happen in this book. I think it's the least angsty book I've read in this genre. Also the ending felt a bit rushed, but you'll have to read it for yourself to find out :).

Overall
I did enjoy reading this book and I liked it. It just never took it over the hill and made me love it. That's not to say that you won't. I think you'll really like this book if you're intested in characters who are damaged goods, a fast pace, difficult topics and little romance.

* ARC kindly provided by Entangled Publishing, LLC/Netgalley in exchange for an honest review *

4/5 shifting stars

"Curiosity killed the cat and, maybe soon, the Addison"

The blurb of the book interested me a lot since it's very different from other PNR books I've read so far. This is the first book I've read by author Jocelyn Adams and it's the first book of a trilogy with the next book - Midnight Dawn - being published in September 2014.

It took me a little while to get into the book in the beginning. This was mainly due to the fact that you get thrown into the story right away and I found it a tad difficult to get a feel for Addison - the main character in the book - and what exactly 'it' was that was happening to her. It felt a little bit ADDish, since it felt very rushed, hyperactive and jumpy. But once everything was a little clearer I was mostly hooked.

Addison - the heroine - is a timid girl who remains mostly unseen by everyone around her. She has always been drawn to old things and has seen the world literally unravel around her. For a large part, I really liked Addison. The only thing that bothered me a little bit about her, was the inconsisentency with her character. She is described throughout the book as a timid little rabbit who has to grow some balls and man up. But I didn't really see that in her. Yes, she grows into her powers and gets more secure, but she never let them walk all over her to begin with - so that didn't make much sense to me.

" What would Green have done if he'd discovered something had invaded his lecture hall from a black hole in his wall? Find some way to insult it, no doubt"

Enter the hot arrogant professor - Asher Green. I wondered if I would like him, since he really was an a-hole in the beginning. But he's interesting enough and eases up on her a little eventually. He's very closed off and a mystery to Addison - who he not so lovingly calls 'plaid'. Asher is an interesting character and I'm excited to read more about him in the next book. He's arrogant, cruel, mean, hot, sexy, sweet when he absolutely has to be and swoon worthy.

" "You're not weak, and I don't.... why do you have to be so ... so ... goddammit, I'm going straight to hell if I ever die." His lips covered mine before I even saw him coming."

The book also envolves several secondary characters - some of which get more 'screen time' than others. I really liked Sophia and Remy. They were sweet and funny and a great asset to the story. Sophia is a very colorful, honest and good friend to Addison and I created Remy in my mind as a big, sweet and funny huge teddy bear. I wasn't a fan of some of the others, such as Kat - whom I hated. But I'm pretty sure you're supposed to hate her for now.

I think the writing itself was a lot better in the second half of the book. The beginning was very rushed and jumpy and also a tad too descriptive for my taste.But the writing gradually improved and by the last 40% my rating went up from a 3.5 to 4 stars out of 5.

"Back there in the woods, I actually started to imagine we could have a life together while we fight this war. Once I finally had you within reach, it became so much harder to keep my hands off you."

Overall, I ended up really enjoying this book and I really liked the original take on the genre. It managed to suprised me at certain points and the ending - which is absolutely devastating - left me wanting more. It's not easy to suprise me with plot twist, but this book succeeded where others have failed - which is a major plus for me.
I'm sad that it's a cliffhanger and that I have to wait several months to find out how the story continues. I am planning to read the next book in the series and I'm curious to see where Jocelyn Adams will take this adventure, as it seems like it's only beginning.

I won't give anything away about the rest the plot, so if you want to find out what exactly is happening to Addison, who she turns out to be and the role of Asher in her story, you should really read the book - which is out tomorrow March 10 2014.

I'd recommend this book to readers who enjoy NA/PNR and are looking for a fresh take on the genre and don't mind USTand a cliffhanger.

to-read""

I just got book 1-4 with 75% off for only €5,14. So I'll be reading them soon!

I just got book 1-4 with 75% off for only €5,14. So I'll be reading them soon!

I just got book 1-4 with 75% off for only €5,14. So I'll be reading them soon!

I just got book 1-4 with 75% off for only €5,14. So I'll be reading them soon!

Maybe it's just me, but I didn't enjoy reading this book.

I'm not going to say too much about this book. I didn't like the heroine. She does drugs and her whole character just isn't my cup of tea. I hated the two hero's - one is her drug dealer and the other one just uses her.

There is tons of cheating and back and forth stuff going on. She get's mad at Jaxson, but when they meet they just sleep together and that's it. You expect him to fight for her, but he just turns out to be a big a-hole. (Again, I'm just not a fan of this storyline).

Her best friend betrays her. Then something happens to her and it the ending is very rushed. Even more rushed than the rest of the book. I found myself not really caring for the characters and couldn't care less about what would happen to them. The writing style didn't appeal to me at all (Mainly: too rushed and skipping big parts of the story).

I'm having a hard time rating this book. Some parts were worhty of 5 stars, some of no more then 2 in my eyes.

I ended up settling on 3/5 stars

It was a very rollercoastery read. I don't remember a book where I have switched so much between loving it and hating it. I didn't think the cheating storyline would bother me before I started reading this book, but it did. I liked Denny and he didn't deserve to be treated this way.

I didn't like Kiera at all. Not even a little bit. She was selfish, indecisive, she used both of them throughout the book and was very naive. She pretended like what they were doing wasn't wrong and like it was no big deal that she kept leading both of them on. She wasn't willing to let either one of them go and I really didn't like that either. I think I may have liked this book better if it was a dual POV - with Kellans POV in the mix. Getting the occasional break from Kiera might have made it more enjoyable and I was curious to read about Kellans thoughts.

I did really like Denny and Kellan though. I'm team Kellan and I enjoyed reading about him and how he became the guy he was in the end of the book. Denny was just a general good guy, maybe a little too good to be realistic, but it made Kellan and Kiera hard to root for. Though I guess in the end, Denny wasn't that 100% good guy anymore.

I enjoyed the parts of the book where Kiera and Kellan were together and on good terms. They have a nice chemistry and the steamy scenes were hot. I would give these scenes 4-5 stars.
But after that, she would just turn around and be indecisive again and my heart would break for Kellan. Then she would get back in bed with Denny and my heart would just break for Denny.

I liked a lot of the secundary characters in this book: Jenny, Kate, Matt, Evan and Anna. They were funny and/or sweet and added to the story. I wasn't a fan of Griffin, because I just don't really like this type of guy.

Another thing that I wasn't too fond of were the cheesy lines that sometimes popped out of nowhere and made me feel a little queasy, for example:

“He said I was his heart, and you don’t leave your heart behind. You can’t live without your heart.”

I mean.. really?!? It doesn't get more cheesy than that.

This book is very emotional and contains constant up and downs and I feel like I need a little break from the intense drama after reading this book.

It doesn't end on a cliffhanger - eventhough there are two more books about Kellan and Kiera. I'm not sure I'm going to read them. Maybe I'll just pretend that the ending in this book is really the HEA for them. I don't know if I can handle two more books of this drama-filled rollercoaster.

Actual edition: [b:Christmas in Lucky Harbor|10841305|Christmas in Lucky Harbor (Lucky Harbor, #1-#2)|Jill Shalvis|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1327939120s/10841305.jpg|15755617]

5/5 stars

I was doing a challenge for which I had to read a holiday book. I'm so glad I decided to read this one.

It's such a sweet, nice and romantic story. This book gave me what I didn't even know I was looking for. Just a good feeling book. I've read so many drama filled books that I'm happy to have read a book that just made me feel good.

It's not like it doesn't have any drama in it. Maddie and Jax have some hurdles to overcome and some serious and bad stuff happened. But overal the story is really funny and sweet.

The plot wasn't very predictable - though the ending was a little. I really liked the story, the town and all of it's inhabitants and I will read the next book in the series soon!

4/5 stars

I wasn't very excited to start reading this book, because I really disliked Marissa in the first two books. I didn't buy the whole 'I was kidnapped so I've seen the light'-thing and I wasn't anxious to find out how her journey went.

But for the most part, I was wrong. However, it did take me quite a while to get into the story. I'm suprised that the biggest reason for that was Nash. I really, really, REALLY disliked him in the beginning and that made them hard to root for as a couple. As the story went on, Marissa grew on me and I still really didn't like Nash. It was only after Nash started to be a little more nicer to Marissa and everyone else around them that I found myself really into the story. I stayed up too long because I needed to finish the story.

As the previous two books, it is well written and funny at times. There is lots of chemistry and steam and I enjoyed reading this book a lot. The whole series for that matter is well written, interesting and just very different from everything else I've read so far and I love that. This book does not contain major twists, but the entire story comes to an end in a great way and I loved the ending. It doesn't end on a cliffhanger. The story is told from a dual POV (Marissa and Nash) and by about the middle of the book I liked both of them equally.

There were two things I didn't like as much.
1. Olivia and Cash. The whole story began with them and I loved them in the first two books. I was a bit disappointed by the lack of them in the third book. It didn't seem like they got the send off they deserved - though they do have a great ending.
2. Some of the scenes between Nash and Marissa. I'm not sure why, but some of the scenes seemed more or less abusive to me than 'hot'. I didn't like the bottle thing, though I know many do. It's just not really my thing and was a little shocked at this (If you read the book, you'll know immediately which scene I'm talking about) and some of their steamy moments were just too... distant for me to really feel the chemistry.

I loved reading this series and I'll be checking out more books by M. Leighton in the future.
This series is for you, if you are looking for steamy scenes, interesting twists, suspense, a touch of crime, bad boys and romance for the new adult age group.

Great read!

4/5 stars

After the cliff hanger of the first book, I was really anxious to see how their story would continue. I still liked both of the main characters (see my review of the first book for more information on that)

The story is full of suspense and contains another major twist - though I did sadly see this one coming as well. t's a good twist and this book keeps you on the edge of your seat.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It's written mostly from the POV of Olivia and Cash. They go through a lot together but still have a lot of chemistry and they enjoy many steamy scenes.

I liked one of the new characters and disliked the other, but I can't tell you who they are or it will ruin the twist.

If you enjoyed the first book, give it a chance! It's a good suspence romance novel. Though sadly, it still ends on a sort of cliff hanger, so the story continues into the next book, which doesn't focus on Olivia and Cash anymore but on her annoying cousin Marissa. But I'll give it a chance anyway!

4/5 stars



After starting to undress the supposed stripper for the bachelorette party:

'She looks over at Jason, trying to piece together what just happened.
"Now, which one of you beautiful women is the bride-to-be?" Jason Asks.
I see it the instant understanding dawns. Her eyes widen again and, even in the low light, I see her cheeks turn red.
She looks back at to me and frowns.
"if he's the stripper, then who are you?"
"I'm Cash Davenport. I Own the club."

The book started great with this scene, it is however a little bit out there and the first half of the story I was reading a bit like this:

But after that I started figuring out the twist and the 'OMG-feeling' went a away.

So why did I give it 4 stars anyway? Because the story intrigued me. It was unlike any other new adult book I've read - something I've been desperately looking for.

It is well written, steamy and at times very funny. It had to get over some of the things that Olivia did, but in the end it didn't really bother me that much. Olivia is a nice lead character. She's normal, grounded and isn't a push over. She's not a virigin, which was also a nice change from other books for this age group. But I did find her to be a little slutty.

Olivia's POV isn't the only one in this book though, you also follow the story from the POV of Cash and Nash. So that is 3 POV in one sweet package and all three of them are enjoyable. Cash is a bit of the typical bad boy, but I found him different enough to not be bothered by it. Nash was a good/bad guy in one and is dating Olivia's cousin Marissa.

It isn't really insta-love, but they do immediately feel attracted to each other.

I won't give away anything about the story or the twist so you'll have to read it yourself if you're interested.
If you enjoy a new adult novel with a good lead and steamy scenes with a subject that is a bit out there, then I think you'll really enjoy this one and you should give it a try!

4/5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. It wasn't really what I was expecting. The story in itself was kind of predictable as I did expect, but I'm suprised I liked it as much as I did.

Maddie is a good character. I liked her. She's a strong, confident person and I enjoyed reading from her perspective. Meet Braden, I'm not sure why they can never pick normal names... though I'm not American, so maybe it is over there? Anyhoo, Braden is the typical sleep around with everything that moves kind of guy. I enjoyed his perspective as well, it seemed more genuine than some of the other dual POV books out there.

She plays the player and he tries to date the girl to get into her pants. Of course they find out that the real fun is in playing the game in stead of the result. But it didn't bother me at all. I liked reading how this story continued. I won't give away how 'the game' ends though!

The writing is good and entertaining. I liked all the characters - which include all of their friends. I like how they stick up for Maddie and protect her from her past. I also found it refreshing that Braden didn't have some sort of secret past that has left him damaged as well.

I'd recommend this book to everyone who enjoys new adult books and is looking for a nice fun read. This book doesn't end on a cliffhanger. The next book is about two of their friends.

4/5 marshmellowy stars

I wasn't really sure what to think of this book going in, but I ended up really liking it and I immediately started the second book after I finished this one.

I liked Fable, she was strong, sarcastic, honest and went after what she wanted. She comes from a troubled home - with an alcoholic mother - and jumps at the chance to make 3 grand to pretend to be Drew's girlfriend for a week. I liked the POV of Drew as well and I found myself entertained throughout the entire book and I was sad when the book ended and how it ended.

The writing is good and you can really feel the chemistry between Drew and Fable. One 'revelation' in the book was a little gross - well I thought it was anyway. Though it wasn't much of a suprise with all the hints in the story. But I guess some might not like this book because of this 'development'. It was a more original take on how these two characters got so damaged than most books have, so I was generally pleased with it.

It was a really enjoyable read and I'd recommend it to everyone who loves New adult books.

Sigh, I once again lost my entire review and I'm not really in the mood right now to write it all over again, so just in short:

4/5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. Fable and Drew were still very much the same people as the first book and I still really liked them. Though in the beginning, you'll want to slap Drew silly.

I enjoyed reading about them meeting again and how everything evolved from there on out. The book contains a few shocking twists, that actually suprised me when they happened so that was a nice suprise, since you can mostly spot them from a mile away.

Fable and drew still had lots of chemistry and you'll be looking for a fan on multiple occasions. The book is also written in dual POV and I liked both of them equally.

If you're looking for a new book series in the new adult genre, you should surely give this series a chance!