Book Review: Reign by Siobhan Davis

It has taken me a while to write this review...why?  Because I'm still not over this book, I still dream about it, I still think about it all day LONG.  And I'm just not okay that this series is over; when I finished this book, I was happy with how it ended and overall everything but now?  Now, I want more, I just greedy, right? Right...and let's just get to the review:

REIGN by Siobhan Davis

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Everything changed after the attempt on my life, and now, I’m more determined than ever to crush my enemies until they lie in pieces at my feet.
Sinner believes he has pushed me into a corner, but he underestimates my thirst for revenge.
Nothing will stand in my way.
And I’m no longer in this alone. Saint, Galen, Caz, and Theo have won my trust and my heart. Together, we are an unbreakable team and an unstoppable force.
Staying one step ahead of the game is critical to our success, so we’ve little choice but to partner with the most unlikely of allies. The situation is tense and fraught with danger, and it’s not just our lives at stake.
Everything rests on finding the evidence that links The Sainthood to Daphne Leydon’s kidnapping and murder, and we’re running out of time.
Sinner thinks war has already come to Lowell. But he has overlooked his deadliest enemy and the challenge that comes from within.
We won’t stop until he’s defeated and we have taken his crown.
Sinner is going down. 

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Reign picks up where Rebellion ended and damn was I glad to see our girl and boys okay after that cliffhanger.  Galen has come a long long away, and all my doubts and hate is totally, completely out the window.  He has won my heart in a million different ways and in this book I was more in love with him than I wanted to admit to myself.  The Saint boys, Oh Man; Harlow, Harlow you lucky girl. (fanning over here a little lol).

Guys, in this third and final book we FINALLY get to see our gang go all out to destroy the monster that have been trying to destroy not only them but a lot of more innocent lives too.  And this group was able to do so much and let's admit; I would never be able to do any of that crazy stuff (chicken over here).  But, one of the things that I loved to see in this book, was all of them admitting that they need extra help and reaching out to get the help to destroy all the people that needed to be destroyed.  And let's not forget they put themselves on the line so many times to see that goal reached.  

The goal was reached but not without consequences, loved ones were lost, others suffered along the way, but they never gave up and that's we need to remind ourselves, right? Even if we don't live in a world like Harlow and the guys, but we can take that little part with us to our own little battles; don't give up, fight, even when you don't think there is an end, fight more and you will succeeded.  

I'm never one to give up spoilers, however I can tell you this, you will not be disappointed with this final book, you will get to see how Harlow and the guys end and how their lives will be a little ahead, so what are you waiting for, go and read it.  And Thank Siobhan for the amazing story line and life lessons that she give us along the way :)

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced complimentary copy of this book.

And let's not forget my rating; 5 out of 5 stars, totally recommend, not only this book but the whole trilogy!

XOXO,

Nelia

Book Review: One Last Second by Sam Vickery

This book was deep and scary and so many feelings...a read that you'll not forget.

One Last Second by Sam Vickery

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What if your child was dying and no one believed you?


I never expected to be doubted, but if I can't make them believe me, what then? I sit here beside her stroking her tiny hands as she sleeps and she looks so perfect. It never crossed my mind that something would be wrong with my sweet girl and I’d be powerless to do anything to help her.

When Madeline's six-year-old daughter Tilly collapses one Sunday night, Madeline’s world is turned upside down. Racing to the hospital, she imagines the worst scenarios in her mind, but when they arrive the doctors say that Tilly is fine.

Madeline’s ex-husband Adam and her best friend Laura think Madeline is being overprotective, that Tilly fainted because of her fussy eating. But Madeline is sure something is seriously wrong with Tilly. She can feel it. And she believes that a mother’s instinct is never wrong.

As Madeline embarks on a desperate journey to have Tilly re-diagnosed, taking her in and out of hospital, Adam and Laura begin to wonder if Tilly would be safer in Adam’s care. Madeline just wants to keep her daughter safe, but the harder she pushes the closer she comes to losing her…


One Last Second is an emotional reminder of just how far a mother will go to protect her child. Readers of Jodi Picoult, Diane Chamberlain and Kate Hewitt will never be able to forget this heartbreaking and beautiful story.

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This book is hard to read, it will reach for your heart and squeeze it and then tear it out and then put it back in like nothing happened.  Man, was it painful to read it, I was in the edge of my seat reading this, I wanted to cry so hard and at the same time I didn't know who to believe and then I wanted to go and smack those doctors so hard it's not even funny.  Man, this book messed with my feelings so much, not cool, not cool at all.  

Well, after all that ranting, let me tell you a little what the book is all about it.  We follow Maddie and Tilly, her six year old daughter.  Maddie is recently divorced and Tilly and her tiny little six year old who has always had a hard time with food and for the last year she has gotten worse.  She eats less and less, she now is vomiting non stop when she eats and she has collapsed.  She knows there is something medically wrong with her daughter and she will not stop at anything to get to the bottom of it.

But her ex husband and best friend Laura think that Maddie is being overprotective, and think that Tilly is just fussy about her eating.  And because of both sides conflicting things go so wrongly wrong before they can go to the bottom of things.  And both Maddie and Tilly have to suffer the consequences of everyone not believing them.

Bottom line, never underestimate a mother's word...this story was so well written and it been a mother it touched me hard and I hope this really doesn't happen that often in real life.

5 of 5 stars for this wonderful written book.

XOXO,

Nelia

Book Review: Again Again by E. Lockhart

There is always something that brings me to read YA, comfort zone?  Maybe, more life definitely.  Whatever it is, I love when I find some that has deep stories within and this one was sure one of them.

Again Again by E. Lockhart

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In this novel full of surprises from the New York Times bestselling author of We Were Liars and Genuine Fraud, E. Lockhart ups the ante with an inventive and romantic story about human connection, forgiveness, self-discovery, and possibility.

If you could live your life again, what would you do differently?

After a near-fatal family catastrophe and an unexpected romantic upheaval, Adelaide Buchwald finds herself catapulted into a summer of wild possibility, during which she will fall in and out of love a thousand times—while finally confronting the secrets she keeps, her ideas about love, and the weird grandiosity of the human mind.

A raw, funny story that will surprise you over and over, Again Again gives us an indelible heroine grappling with the terrible and wonderful problem of loving other people. 

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In this book we meet Adelaide, a teenager on the summer before her senior year, her summer job is dog walking (dream job, right?).  Right at the beginning of the book we know that Adelaide and her boyfriend of always a year have broken up and she is pretty sad about.  But, at the park with the dogs she meets a boy and the book takes off from there.  Adelaide, plays a few scenarios of what could happen with this boy, if she talked to him or if she ignored him, or if an accident with the dogs happened and he helped her or if he just ignored her.  The world could go a lot of different ways depending on how one conversation starts or doesn't start.

We also get to see Adelaide's relationship with her brother, which in my opinion is the most important and the main point in this book.  Adelaide's brother has gone through something that changed their whole family, but especially change his and Adelaide's relationship and throughout the book we see what happened and how she can do to change their relationship to be the way they were before or leave how it is now or making worse.  What will she do?   

Again and again life can change and you make can the changes however you want, you just have to be careful how you do it.  Right?

E. Lockhart writes in a way that makes you think about life...think twice before you speak, and never forget to forgive!

4 out of 5 stars

XOXO,

Nelia

Book Review: Jackie and Maria by Gill Paul

Wow, this book was not I was expecting but somehow what I wanted...review time.

Jackie and Maria by Gill Paul

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From the #1 bestselling author of The Secret Wife comes a story of love, passion, and tragedy as the lives of Jackie Kennedy and Maria Callas are intertwined―and they become the ultimate rivals, in love with the same man.

The President's Wife; a Glamorous Superstar; the rivalry that shook the world...

Jackie Kennedy was beautiful, sophisticated, and contemplating leaving her ambitious young senator husband. Life in the public eye with an overly ambitious--and unfaithful―man who could hardly be coaxed to return from a vacation after the birth of a stillborn child was breaking her spirit. So when she's offered a holiday on the luxurious yacht owned by billionaire Ari Onassis, she says yes...to a meeting that will ultimately change her life.

Maria Callas is at the height of her operatic career and widely considered to be the finest soprano in the world. And then she's introduced to Aristotle Onassis, the world’s richest man and her fellow Greek. Stuck in a childless, sexless marriage, and with pressures on all sides from opera house managers and a hostile press, she finds her life being turned upside down by this hyper-intelligent and impeccably charming man...

Little by little, Maria’s and Jackie’s lives begin to overlap, and they come closer and closer until everything they know about the world changes on a dime. 

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The whole world knows Jackie Kennedy and that was my main reason to read this book, I wanted to know how her life would intertwine with this Maria Callas and man was it amazing how Gill Paul did this book and made a masterpiece.  I loved reading how these two women's life, so different and so far away from each other but at the same time so close together with each other.  

We get to follow Jackie's story line from when she met JFK and how they started dating and we even get some stories of her past boyfriends from before JFK.  From when she decided Jack was her love, we see how her life changed, for better or for worse?  Well, you be the judge, at least from this book.   However, from this book's point of view, Jackie is the wife that follow's Jack even if she hates politics, but she stays by his side and "supports" him.  She becomes the first lady that America loved, or hated at the beginning because of her expensive clothes (sounds kind of familiar).  She becomes legendary when JFK dies and even afterwards.  But years after she gets married to a very rich man, Aristotle Onassis.

Maria Callas, opera singer, a legend on her time.  Can you see her and Jackie's lives intertwined?  No, right?  Well, we are wrong, so wrong.  But back to Maria.  Maria started her career very, very young, but her voice was magic and she stole the hearts of millions with it.  But one thing that didn't go right for Maria?  The hearts of the people that loved her.  Starting with her family, her mother never loved her, and took advantaged of her even when she was a little girl,  Then, she got married really, really young to someone who was much, much older than her.  She thought she had found the love of her life, her husband did everything for her, he was her manager, managed all her business.  Why couldn't she trust him, she rescued her from her family so she trusted him, the only thing she was missing was a child.  And, as the years went by, the older she got and the older the husband got and the less he touched her and no kids for them, it was like he lost interest in her.  And then she met Aristotle Onassis.  He woke something in her that she didn't even realize she was missing, and she was so happy when she was near him and with him.  And she left her husband and him his wife so they could be together.  With Aristotle in her life, she finds that her life is turned upside down with this man, but being this happy she will do anything to continue to be this way.  Until Aristotle does the unthinkable.

And these two women's world collide with each other and they will never be the same.

Man, there was so much going one at all times, so much family drama, so much romance drama...it was epic and even at the end you wanted more because you knew there had to be more, right?

Beautifully done.

4 out of 5 stars.

XOXO,

Nelia

Book Review: The Little Teashop in Tokyo by Julie Caplin

Romance, travel, tea and, Tokyo, pictures and what else can I mention?  Let's just jump to this review, right now.

The Little Teashop in Tokyo by Julie Caplin

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Grab your passport and escape to the land of dazzling skycrapers, steaming bowls of comforting noodles, and a page-turning love story that will make you swoon!

For travel blogger Fiona, Japan has always been top of her bucket list so when she wins an all-expenses paid trip, it looks like her dreams of the Far East are coming true.

Until she arrives in vibrant, neon-drenched Tokyo and comes face-to-face with the man who broke her heart ten years ago, gorgeous photographer Gabe.

Fiona can’t help but remember the heartache of their last meeting but it’s not long before the Japanese art of contentment and a special, traditional tea ceremony work their magic…

Amidst the temples and clouds of soft pink cherry blossoms, Fiona and Gabe start to see life – and each other – differently.

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Ah, where to I start with this book.  I knew I had to read it when I saw that it was about a travel blogger and she was going to Japan (Tokyo) and she was going there to take pictures so it could be later displayed on a exhibit.  It sounded amazing and I wanted, no, I needed and once I started reading it?  It was more than I expected, it was beyond was I was expecting and I never wanted to leave this little paradise that I discovered.  I want all of Julie Caplin's books and why did I start on book number six of this series, where have I been?  Under a rock?  Yes, for sure.  Okay, okay, let's talk more about this book.

Fiona, is the travel blogger who has won the contest to travel to Tokyo and to work with a professional photographer while there.  She couldn't be more happy, this is something she has dreamed forever but she has the worst surprised ever when she arrives in Tokyo, right at the airport.  There, waiting for her is a professional photographer, but no the one she was expecting, but no the less one that she knows well, it's the one that ruined the last ten years of her life, Gabe.   But, it looks like Gabe doesn't remember her and she is just going to go along with it and enjoy her stay in Tokyo, she is there to work and enjoy this beautiful country.  What's the worst that can happen?  Fall in love again, Gabe recognize her and fall in love with her?  Ah, yeah right?  Right?  Japan is magical place and lots of things can happen.

I loved the romance in this book, it was slow and magical and funny, it was everything you want in a romance.  And Japan?  Ah, the way things were described, I want to go there, I want a tea ceremony more than anything.  I want to go live with a local family than stay at a hotel.  I want to visit all the local points that were mention in the book.  The cherry blossoms has been something in my bucket list and now more than ever.  

Maybe is the quarantine talking, but I felt more connected with this traveling more than ever and makes me want to travel more.  I loved Julie Caplin's writing and I'm so picking up all the previous books in this series. 

5 out of 5 stars for sure.

XOXO

Nelia

Book Review: The Queen's Secret by Karen Harper

Historical Fiction is a genre that I don't read often but Oh Man, do I love it when I do and when it is a really well done book.  And this book was everything that I was craving in one book. Let's get to it.

The Queen's Secret by Karen Harper

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1939. As the wife of the King George VI and the mother of the future queen, Elizabeth—“the queen mother”—shows a warm, smiling face to the world. But it’s no surprise that Hitler himself calls her the “Most Dangerous Woman in Europe.” For behind that soft voice and kindly demeanor is a will of steel.

Two years earlier, George was thrust onto the throne when his brother Edward abdicated, determined to marry his divorced, American mistress Mrs. Simpson. Vowing to do whatever it takes to make her husband’s reign a success, Elizabeth endears herself to the British people, and prevents the former king and his brazen bride from ever again setting foot in Buckingham Palace.

Elizabeth holds many powerful cards, she’s also hiding damaging secrets about her past and her provenance that could prove to be her undoing.

In this riveting novel of royal secrets and intrigue, Karen Harper lifts the veil on one of the world’s most fascinating families, and how its “secret weapon” of a matriarch maneuvered her way through one of the most dangerous chapters of the century.

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It's WWII and we get the story in the eyes of queen mother, who is Queen Elizabeth and man it is such a ride in this book.  King George is reigning after his brother has abdicated the throne so he could marry his American mistress and now both King George and Queen Elizabeth are facing the worst of their reign, a world war with the worst enemy ever, Hilter.  

While the whole world is at war, England is now part of it and Elizabeth and George have to prepare not only themselves and their two daughters but the whole nation two.  And it's not an easy task.  Even though Hilter calls Elizabeth the "Most Dangerous Woman in Europe" she is terrified in multiple levels.  She has to prevent Edward and his horrible wife to ever set foot in England again.  And she, herself has secrets that has been troubling her mind more and more as the war last more and more.  Should she tell George her secrets, should she keep them?  How much should she tell him?  

While everyone sees her a force of nature, deep inside she is just as troubled as everyone else.  But for England she must and she will power through to the end.

It was...refreshing in way to read this book.  Yes, it was during WWII and we read some troubling and devastating things, but at the same time?  We got to see a different side of the royals in this book, it felt like they were just another regular family.  Karen Harper did an amazing job with this book and I just want to read more of her books after this.  She makes you closer to the characters in a way you don't think it would be possible, by the end of the book, you just don't have a choice but to fall in love with all of these characters.

4 out of 5 stars.

XOXO,

Nelia

Book Review: The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult

I have nothing to say right now, so let's get to the review:

The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult

  

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Everything changes in a single moment for Dawn Edelstein. She's on a plane when the flight attendant makes an announcement: prepare for a crash landing. She braces herself as thoughts flash through her mind. The shocking thing is, the thoughts are not of her husband, but a man she last saw fifteen years ago: Wyatt Armstrong.

Dawn, miraculously, survives the crash, but so do all the doubts that have suddenly been raised. She has led a good life. Back in Boston, there is her husband, Brian, her beloved daughter, and her work as a death doula, where she helps ease the transition between life and death for patients in hospice.

But somewhere in Egypt is Wyatt Armstrong, who works as an archaeologist unearthing ancient burial sites, a job she once studied for, but was forced to abandon when life suddenly intervened. And now, when it seems that fate is offering her second chances, she is not as sure of the choice she once made.

After the crash landing, the airline ensures the survivors are seen by a doctor, then offers transportation wherever they want to go. The obvious option for Dawn is to continue down the path she is on and go home to her family. The other is to return to the archaeological site she left years before, reconnect with Wyatt and their unresolved history, and maybe even complete her research on The Book of Two Ways--the first known map of the afterlife.

As the story unfolds, Dawn's two possible futures unspool side by side, as do the secrets and doubts long buried beside them. Dawn must confront the questions she's never truly asked: What does a life well-lived look like? When we leave this earth, what do we leave behind? Do we make choices...or do our choices make us? And who would you be, if you hadn't turned out to be the person you are right now?

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This book, where to I even start? The book starts right off with a plane crash, so we know that Dawn, our main character is on a plane crash and she survives. But from there? We go back and forth, back to her past self and forth to some part of her future, but this back and forth? We don't really have dates of them, so what do we know? We know that she is telling us part of the past past, part of still past? And then part of her present? We won't know what the present is until...well you will have to read to find out or I will spoil you.

But, let's talk about so of the things that I did like and found interesting in the book.  I really enjoyed and learned about Egypt and Egyptology and learning about Dawn when she was just a college student, where she was fascinated by all things Egyptology and how she ended up in Egypt and the best time of her life.  Where she was just pretty much starting her life, find lost tombs and find pharaohs and learning all about Egypt life from thousands of years ago.  And about The Book of Two Ways, something she has always been wanting to find out more about it.  But one thing she didn't think it would happen was also finding love while there, and with the boy that she hated at first.  Both were young and students and stupid in love and thought that the whole world were theirs to see and learn together, however things don't always work out the way we want and Dawn learned it on the worse way possible.  One day she got a call that she never thought she would and her whole world and life changed and she never looked back.  Until many years later, when her life is as simple and complicated as a normal life can be.  And sometime simple changed everything for her this time and she decided to take charge and see it through this time.

This book is not an easy book to read, you need to pay attention, you need to have patience with it, but in my opinion, if you ask me if it was worth it?  Yes, it was, yes for sure.  I loved the history part of the book.  I loved the complicated part of Dawn's life and how she was struggling with it and let's be honest, it's how we all fell.  Life is not as easy as a book or a movie shows us all the time, and I loved how this book for once made a character as uneasy as Dawn, so unsure of herself and not knowing all the time if she was making the right the decision.  So, with that been said, was it a perfect book? No, it was still confusing at times with back and forth and not know which part of the characters life we were reading.  

Overall, still a solid 4 stars reading and I totally recommend it.  I'm still thinking all thinks Egypt and want to travel there more than ever now lol.  

XOXO,

Nelia

Book Review: Jackson by Siobhan Davis

Ah,, this book killed and put me back again and MAN, I'm finally ready to tell you guys all about it.  Let's do this.

Jackson by Siobhan Davis

The devil came to me in disguise. Too bad I didn’t notice until it was far too late.

Vanessa:

The devil doesn’t always wear an evil mask.

Sometimes, he appears in the most beautiful form.

Like the super-hot bad boy with the dirty-blond hair and a wicked glint in his blue eyes who swept in out of nowhere, stealing all the air from my lungs.

I thought he was my savior.

But he’s my ruination.

And he’s just taken a machete to my heart.

Jackson:

For years, my rage seethed under the surface. Hidden behind a cloudy haze of my poison of choice.

But now, the fog has cleared.

And I’m out for blood.

I will annihilate those responsible for taking my sister from me.

Except he’s not here, so I go for the next best target.

The woman he abandoned.

Until it suited him to drag her into this messed-up elite world.

Sucks to be her.

Because when I’m done with Vanessa, she’ll wish she was dead.

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Where do I even begin with this book?  Well, I have loved Jackson forever and I knew he had a mysterious and dark past and I knew I wanted to know more about him and this book DID NOT disappoint me at all.  

The more you get to know Jackson the more you want to know him, the more you want to get under his skin and never, never leave him alone, because once you know the real Jackson?  You will be ruined for life, the bad boy Jackson?  Yeah, he is nothing compared to this Jackson you are about to get to know, this one? He is even more hot, more sexy and more loveable than all the Jacksons you have in your head right now.   So, if you think you are already know Jackson from all the previous books?  Buckle up, because you are about to go on another crazy Siobhan Davis ride.  And it's amazing one for sure.  Not giving much away, because the best way to enjoy this book is going blind, but be ready to finally find out all about Jackson's past and all about his family and what happened to them and what made Jackson, Jackson.  And be ready, because in this book, our boy is ready to bring everyone down that has caused him all his pain.  And that means getting close to Vanessa, a girl he doesn't care to bring it down, or so he thinks.

And now we meet Vanessa, and OMG, OMG, OMG.  I loved Vanessa, I felt for this girl sooo much.  She is the girl that you will root when you don't want to root for.  And she is the girl that will make you question Jackson's decisions and hate him when you love him to death at the same time.  And be ready, because you will be right there, there where you ask?  There, in the middle of both Vanessa and Jackson, you will be the middle person, because you will just have no choice, because this book will play with your head and your heart like there's no tomorrow.  These two and so broken and need to mend themselves in order to be together, the question is will the be able to do it together?  Will they destroy themselves on the way?  Will they ask for help?

So much happens and you will hate and love everything at the same time.  So, buckle up people and enjoy this crazy ride because you will be amazed.

5 out of 5 stars.

Nelia

Book Review: Anne Boleyn By E. Barrington

It has taken me a while to get to this book but I finally did and...well let's get to the review:

Anne Boleyn by E. Barrington

A daredevil beauty stakes all and loses in the great game of kings and kingdoms…

Henry the Eighth was wedded to a total of six wives.

E. Barrington tells the romantic history of the most beautiful and vivid of them all - his second wife, Anne Boleyn.

Anne rises to fame when she captures the heart of King Henry.

He is married to Katharine of Aragon, but she is six years his senior, and though she has provided him with sons throughout their marriage, they have all died.

Henry is desperate for an heir, and he becomes captivated by the mysterious and shrewd Anne Boleyn.

But Christian law stands in his way, and their courtship is put on hold as he battles those in power to gain a divorce from Katharine.

And the moment Anne finally gets what she wants - the crown - is also the moment her downfall begins…

Barrington’s classic novel portrays Anne as shrewd, lovely, ambitious, generous, disillusioned, and resolved to capitalize her beauty for her own ends. This is the story of Anne, but also of the days of Anne - when the question over a woman’s virtue was paramount in the great game of kings and kingdoms…

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Well, I think we all know who Anne Boleyn is, she is the second wife of King Henry the Eighth and probably the most famous one of six of them.  And who doesn't like to read books about her, even if most of them are fiction?  I personally do, and when I saw this one on NetGalley, I'm not going to lie, the cover drew me in right away and it had been a while since I have read a Anne Boleyn story so I was glad that got a chance to read it and I have finally to some time to really sit down and read, since we are all in quarantine and more time in our hands, right?

I'm not going to lie, this was not was I was expecting, Anne Boleyn's books and movies are always full of action, and upbeat and on the go, do you know what I mean?  But this one?  It dragged a lot for the first three quarters of it, but I pushed through it and I got to the end of it and it was okay.  I was not in love with the writing and the way the story went from one point to the next it was confusing at times.  Anne was kind of boring too, and she was not supposed to be, in my opinion and towards the end I was expecting her to go more crazy and desperate and she really wasn't and that disappointed me too.  

Overall? It was an okay book to read, it took me a few more days that I like but I got to the end of it lol.

3 out of 5 stars

XOXO,

Nelia

Book Review: Charlie by Siobhan Davis

Guys, this book is EVERYTHING!!! Trust me, you will fall in love with this one for SURE.  Okay, enough for now, let's just get to the review:

Charlie by Siobhan Davis

Demi
Dropping out of college senior year was never part of my plan. But Dad needs me, and I'd move mountains for the only parent I’ve ever known—even working for the company that fired him.

My boss, Charlie, is determined to make my life a living hell, availing of every opportunity to undermine my confidence, to humiliate and threaten me.

Sleeping with him the night of his wedding might have something to do with his attitude.

Or the fact I’m the spitting image of the woman he really wants.

If our financial situation wasn’t so dire, I’d tell Charlie to stick his job up his delectable butt.

But I’m trapped, and things are only getting worse. Because the more layers I uncover, the more I realize he is nothing l expected and everything I crave.

Charlie
If there was a manual for all the ways a person could mess up his life, it’d have my name written on it.

I can’t undo the things I’ve done, no matter how badly I want to, and every day is a constant reminder of my epic failure.

Especially her.

It’s as if Demi has been put on this earth to punish me. To inflict more torture and pain. Because every second I’m around her, she makes me feel things I don’t want to feel.

So, I lash out. Doing my best to push her away.

Until I realize she’s everything I never knew I needed, and the fight becomes a new battle—one to win her heart.

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Alright, where do I begin with this book? Can I start by saying, I am in LOVE with Charlie?  But let me start by saying, he was NOT a favorite of my and when I started reading this book I did not have high expectations and OH MAN, was I wrong, so so so wrong.  And so glad at the same time that I was wrong, because I just couldn't get enough of Charlie in this book and I still cannot get enough of him, he has become one of my favorite book boyfriends, and I'm a little picky when it comes to them. Yeah, I have many book boyfriends but I read hundreds of books so I am can say that I am picky, right? lol.  Alright back with this book. 

This book is part of the Rydeville Elite series and if you haven't read the series yet, where have you been, you are for sure missing out on so much action and lots of steam romance and I leave it at that because I spoil it for you, but trust me you need to pick up the series now. 

We get to see Charlie managing his dad's business, a side that I was not expecting from him.  Life has never been easy for him, that's for sure, but the mistakes that he has made?  That was a lot and he knows that he cannot undo them, but he can do things to make up for all the wrong he has done.  And he can start with Demi, his assistant. 

Demi has drop off college and all her dreams, but she doesn't regret one bit.  She did it all for her dad, the man that has done everything for her and now is her turn to make sure he is taken care of and has everything he needs to get better.  Even if it means if she has to work at the company that fire him and to make matters worse, she made the mistake to sleep with her boss on the night of his wedding.  No matter how hard Demi tries to make things just professional, Charlie just makes her life miserable but he doesn't realize that Demi is stronger that she looks and she will put up with everything just to make sure her dad has the best care.

The more the two of them fight and try to push each other away, the more attracted to each other they are and at the end they realize they are meant for each other, but their worlds are totally the opposite from each and Charlie will do anything to keep Demi safe, even if it means to keep her away from him.

I loved these two together, I loved their fights, I loved their chemistry, their love for each other, I could feel their feelings through the pages, it was everything you wish for on a book.  Siobhan knows how to make you fall in love with characters, but she out did herself on this one.  Charlie was the bad boy that when you really get to know him, he is the good guy all along and you just don't have any choice but to fall in love with him.  And fall in love with him I did.

A million stars to this book! My favorite for sure.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced complimentary copy of this book.

XOXO,

Nelia

Book Review: Rebellion by Siobhan Davis

Ah, don't you love when your favorite authors send you ARCs, but specially when now that you are on quarantine?  And that's just want happen to me, and it was amazing and I cannot wait to tell you all about this book, well...this is the second book on a series, so you you haven't started reading go and read the first book Resurrection and then come and back read this with me.  Let's do this.

Rebellion by Siobhan Davis

Everything changed the night he betrayed me, and now, the game has entered a new level.

Galen did me a favor, reminding me the only person I can count on is myself, and I’m more determined than ever to avenge my father’s death and avoid the destiny Sinner has mapped out for me.

Saint is used to calling the shots, but there are new rules, my rules, and if he wants me in his life, and in his bed, he’ll toe the line. They all will, because I can’t pull this off alone, and they owe me.

Sinner thinks he’s in control, but forcing me into initiation plays right into my hands. War has come to Lowell as rival gangs battle The Sainthood for ultimate power, and I enjoy rebelling from the inside, placing more obstacles in Sinner’s path while I exact my revenge.

But I’m not some innocent thirteen-year-old anymore—I have blood on my hands and lethal enemies on my tail.

I’m playing a dangerous game, especially where my heart is concerned, but there’s no turning back. I haven’t come this far to walk away empty-handed, and the more secrets we uncover, the more we realize how far-reaching the betrayal and corruption extend, and there’s no choice anymore.

The Sainthood must be taken down, and we’re the only ones who can do it. 

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The gang is back together and man if this book is not even hot and more dangerous that the first one.  The boys are hotter than ever and they want their girl more than ever too and let's not forget that they will do everything in their power to protect her.  We get to see how much they will do to protect Harlow in this book.  And Harlow, this girl is above and beyond what you are thinking, she is fearless and she is ready at any moment to protect those she loves and let's not forget that she is the ONE is CHARGE now, the boys are following her rules, specially now after everything she has gone through.

But we cannot forget out guys, Saint was already falling deep for his princess and in this book he is all in and he is not afraid to show it.  But just because he is all lovey dovey don't think he is too soft, he still a badass and you should still be afraid of him.

Cal, man where do I even start with him.  He is my funny, cute, hot and everything in between, but at the same time he is not afraid to shot whoever gets in his way, he is dangerously funny and hot at the same time and miss princess loves him for it.  And me too lol.

Theo, oh Theo...we all know he is our wicked smart guy and smart and hot is everything, right?  But in this book, Theo opened up so much and we got to find out a lot about him and I can't wait to see more of him, it's going to be hot, hot, hot!!!

Galen, man, where do I begin, I was mad at him so much, but by the end of this book, my heart is getting there.  I think Harlow is better than me, but with that much hotness who can blame her.  Makeup sexy time is everything, right?

Alright, all hotness aside, these five together have a lot on their plate and their plans are finally coming together, but it will not be easy and by the end of this book and I realized that there is a lot more that they need to go through in order win their battle and I cannot wait for the next book.  I need it now, like NOW.

I voluntarily reviewed an advance complimentary copy of this book.

5 out of 5 stars 

Bood Review: All The Ways We Said Goodbye by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, Karen White

One in a while I love to read some historical fiction about WWI or WWII, I keeps me grounded and I know it will give me a good cry, which is why I don't read too many of them, but I do like to get a few of them in, do you know what I mean?  I hope so.  Anyways, when I saw that  Beatriz Williams, who I read Summer Wives last year, which I loved, was coming up with a book about not only about WWII but also WWI, I knew I was going to read it, but the book was also cowritten, so it give me another change to introduce to other authors, win, win for me!  Let's jump in to the revivew:

All The Ways We Said Goodbye by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig and Karen White

The heiress . . .
The Resistance fighter . . .
The widow . . .
Three women whose fates are joined by one splendid hotel

France, 1914. As war breaks out, Aurelie becomes trapped on the wrong side of the front with her father, Comte Sigismund de Courcelles. When the Germans move into their family’s ancestral estate, using it as their headquarters, Aurelie discovers she knows the German Major’s aide de camp, Maximilian Von Sternburg. She and the dashing young officer first met during Aurelie’s debutante days in Paris. Despite their conflicting loyalties, Aurelie and Max’s friendship soon deepens into love, but betrayal will shatter them both, driving Aurelie back to Paris and the Ritz— the home of her estranged American heiress mother, with unexpected consequences.

France, 1942. Raised by her indomitable, free-spirited American grandmother in the glamorous Hotel Ritz, Marguerite “Daisy” Villon remains in Paris with her daughter and husband, a Nazi collaborator, after France falls to Hitler. At first reluctant to put herself and her family at risk to assist her grandmother’s Resistance efforts, Daisy agrees to act as a courier for a skilled English forger known only as Legrand, who creates identity papers for Resistance members and Jewish refugees. But as Daisy is drawn ever deeper into Legrand’s underground network, committing increasingly audacious acts of resistance for the sake of the country—and the man—she holds dear, she uncovers a devastating secret . . . one that will force her to commit the ultimate betrayal, and to confront at last the shocking circumstances of her own family history.

France, 1964. For Barbara “Babs” Langford, her husband, Kit, was the love of her life. Yet their marriage was haunted by a mysterious woman known only as La Fleur. On Kit’s death, American lawyer Andrew “Drew” Bowdoin appears at her door. Hired to find a Resistance fighter turned traitor known as “La Fleur,” the investigation has led to Kit Langford. Curious to know more about the enigmatic La Fleur, Babs joins Drew in his search, a journey of discovery that that takes them to Paris and the Ritz—and to unexpected places of the heart. . . .

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The story follows three different woman, on three different time lines.  One woman during WWI, one woman during WWI and the last woman during the 60s.  What do these woman have in common?  Everything and nothing and the same time.

During WWI, we meet Aurelie, who is the daughter of Comte Courcelles and the American heiress.  She finds herself on the wrong side of the war and trapped with her father int he front of the war.  When the Germans move in to her family's estate, she discovers that Max Von Sternburg is among them, a German she first met during her debutante days in Paris.  Max and Aurelie find themselves falling in love despite all the wrongness going on around them, but much too soon Aurelie finds herself in Paris and the Ritz with her heiress mother with unexpected consequences.

During WWII, Daisy was raised by her American grandmother in the glamorous Hotel Ritz, she now has two kids and married to a Nazi collaborator after France falls to Hitler.  Daisy finds herself in a very difficult position between her grandmother and her husband.  After much thought she agrees to assist her grandmother's Resistance efforts and becomes a courier for a skilled forger.  What she didn't realized was by agreeing to it was that she would fall in love with the English forger named Legrand.  When Daisy and Legrand's lives are at risk, she will find out more than she wanted about her family history and lose more than she ever wanted at the same time.

France, 1964 we meet Babs, her husband has been dead for one year.  She receives a letter from an American lawyer, Drew, who's father served with her husband during the war.  He wants her help to find, Le Fleur.  She joins Drew, because she has heard that name coming from her husband before.  And together they will go on a journey to find not only Le Fleur but much more than they were looking for.

This book was amazing, it's love, war and everything in between.  I loved the going back and forth in the time frame.  I loved getting to know these three woman, getting to know what happen during WWI and WWII and what each of those two woman did, but also what different things people had to go through during those times.  And the different love stories, that was so touching and wonderful.   Just a warning, the beginning of the book may be a little slow but once you get through the first quarter of it, you will not be able to put it down. 

Totally recommend it, I also got an eARC from Netgalley.

5 out of 5 stars.

XOXO,

Nelia

Book Review: The Wrong Mr. Darcy by Evelyn Lozada and Holly Lorincz

Alright people, time for another book review...who's ready?  Let's do this!!!!

The Wrong Mr. Darcy by Evelyn Lozada and Holly Lorincz

From GoodReads:

The Wrong Mr. Darcy is a charming, multicultural, Pride and Prejudice--inspired romantic comedy from celebrity Evelyn Lozada and Holly Lorincz...

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Hara is a small town journalist who is looking to become a big city sports journalist but because she is young and she is a woman, those two things makes her job much too difficult for her.  Never mind, that her dad is in jail that wronging the sports industry, that makes her pursuing her dream job even more harder.  But she is not one to quick and she will do anything to accomplish it.  When an opportunity comes to her to interview the big and quiet Boston NBA star, she jumps at it right away and when she is the one to win that competition, she packs her bags and goes to Boston to do the interview.

There she meets not only the main star but his best friend and side kick, Derek Darcy, who she hits off right away, but things are not what they seem like it and as the days go by Hara starts to find out things that she shouldn't and she decides to stay a few more days to find out what really is going on.  

Alright, I'm going to say, the mystery was good, I was intrigued and I wanted Hara to go and figure all of that out.  Derek, he was more of a side kick and anything else for me, who else thinks like this?

And most importantly, I'm from Boston and I just couldn't let it pass everything that was wrong about MA...uh I just can't. 

The romance was just meh for me too.

I got an eARC from Netgalley. 

2 starts out of 5 for me.

XOXO,

Nelia