The Book of Lost Fragrances

The Book of Lost Fragrances
M.J. Rose
370 ebook pages
Publisher: Atria Books
Source: NetGalley
★★★☆☆

You can read the Goodreads summary here.

So, this was the first book I've ever read by M.J. Rose.  I have The Hypnotist and I'm planning on getting that to that someday, but when I saw The Book of Lost Fragrances on NetGalley I knew from the description that I had to read it.  It sounded so intriguing!

Jac grew up in France with her brother Robbie, heirs to their family's perfume historic perfume house, the House of L'Etoile, but she moves to America after her mother's suicide.  Back in France, Robbie discovers something in the family archives and then goes missing, so Jac is back in France trying to solve the mystery and find her brother.

This book had so many interesting aspects -  vivid descriptions of different fragrances, reincarnation and past lives, Tibetan monks and their art, very interesting stuff, especially all mixed together. To that end, I really liked the author's note at the end of the novel that explained the fact from fiction.

Three stars!  Unfortunately, by the end of the book I was getting bored and just wanted it to be over.  I would recommend this book for readers who like mysteries like The Da Vinci Code; the book didn't have anything to do with secret societies, but it had that same kind of historical mystery vibe.

The Book of Lost Fragrances will be out March 13th.

In My Mailbox (19)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

FOR REVIEW:

Starters by Lissa Price

WON:

the audiobook of Tempest by Julie Cross (Thank you Andrea at dark-readers.com!)

FROM THE LIBRARY:

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith (already read, reviewed, and LOVED!)

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Populazzi by Elise Allen

Forged: Writing in the Name of God by Bart D. Ehrman (I know this one looks out of place, but Ehrman is my favorite non-fiction writer and I love studying the history of religion, so here it is!)

PURCHASED:

Tomorrow is Today by Julie Cross (it's a short prequel to the book Tempest)

I think that's everything for this week...

Total TBR: 156

Some Girls Are

Some Girls Are
Courtney Summers
246 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Source: bought for myself
★★★★☆

You can read the Goodreads summary here.

Regina was part of "the fearsome five some," a group of girls who tormented other girls at school.   Then at a party, there is an unfortunate event invoking Regina and her best friend's boyfriend.  When the other girls in "the fearsome five some" find out, they play it like Regina did something wrong (when she in fact did not) and she gets frozen out.  Suddenly Regina is on the other side and it's really starting to affect her.

The first thing that struck me while reading this book was that the main characters name was Regina... also the name of one of the main characters in the movie Mean Girls.  Mean Girls was an entertaining movie about a serious situation, but Some Girls Are is a serious novel about the same thing.  This novel took bullying amongst teenage girls to a whole new level, a level that I never witnessed or experienced in my time in high school, but I know these things happen in real life and frankly, it's appalling.

The plot drew me right away.  That alone made me want to keep reading (for a long time I thought I would be giving the book five stars) but the formatting really kept me turning the pages.  There are no traditional chapters in this novel, instead there are sections that detail what's going on in Regina's life.  Some of them are a few pages, some are a few paragraphs, but I really felt like the formatting got me into Regina's mindset and it really aided in telling the story.

I also really liked that Regina became friends with Michael, a boy she and her friends used to torment.  I was rooting for them to get together though out the book.  I really liked that they both had to overcome their opinions of each other.

What I didn't care for was the climax and the ending.  Without giving too much away, I will say that things got very intense near the ending and, again, I know these things happen in real life, but I found it quite disturbing.  Then, the very end was a bit of a shock to me; things ended so abruptly I didn't feel like anything was really resolved after I closed the book.  That's where the book loses a star from me.

Four stars!  I loved reading this book.  The plot combined with the formatting left me turning the pages late into the night, but the end of the book was so intense and the ending came so abruptly, that I have to give it four instead of five stars.  If you liked the movie Mean Girls, you're going to want to check out this more intense and intellectual version.

PS: As of posting time, Amazon has this book bargain priced at just four dollars.  Seriously, it's worth it!

The Chosen One

The Chosen One
Carol Lynch Williams
213 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Source: library
★★★★☆

You can read the Goodreads summary here.

Kyra is just thirteen years old when she is told by a "prophet" in her fundamentalist, polygamous community that God has determined that she must marry her old uncle.  She's convinced this is punishment for her sins, which include visiting the bookmobile and having a male friend, but regardless of that she is determined to not marry her uncle.  Thus begins her journey to find a way out.

For such a short book, it certainly packs a punch.  This book took ahold of my soul and drew me in.  I felt very invested in what happened to Kyra, I was wishing I could jump into the pages and magically save her myself.  I was on the end of my proverbial seat by the end of the book to see if she would really make it out for good.  This is one of those books that seems important; it's scary to think that this happens in real life.

This a short, but must read book.  Four stars!

Playground

Playground
50 Cent
314 pages
Publisher: Razorbill
Source: library
★★★★☆

You can read the Goodreads summary here.

Burton, aka Butterball, is thirteen years old and has just moved from New York City to a Long Island suburb with his mom after her split from his dad.  They've moved because she wants to start her life over and give Butterball a better chance, but Butterball is taking the adjustment pretty hard.  When he beats up a kid named Maurice on the playground, he finds himself in therapy where, despite his protest, he might actually learn a thing or two...

This is not 50 Cent's first book, but it was the first one I'd heard about and the plot sounded good enough that I decided I had to read it, if not just to see what 50 Cent might write about.  The first half of the book had me kind of on edge - I wasn't sure if I was liking it - but by the end of the book I found I'd really enjoy it.  Not too many people can make me feel sympathy for a bully, and yet I had some for Butterball.

An interesting plot point, which I don't want to ruin for you, is the reason Butterball decided to beat up Maurice.  When we first find out about the incident we don't know why, but as the book goes on we find out and it makes a little more sense, not that it ever makes sense to just beat someone up.

Moral of the story: Bullies bully because they have personal problems and if they can sort those out and set life goals, they can be better people.

I definitely think this is a book bully's can relate to and something that could possibly be a successful learning tool in schools, particularly in inner-cities.  I was curious about what kind of YA book 50 Cent would write and that's the only reason I picked up this book.  But I think you should pick up the book because it's a great story with a fantastic moral.

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight
Jennifer E. Smith
236 pages
Publisher: Poppy (a division of Little, Brown)
Source: library
★★★★★

You can read the Goodreads summary here.

Warning - this is a gush worthy book and my review will probably reflect that.

Hadley is four minutes late to catch her flight to London for her father's wedding.  Because of that, she has to catch the next flight and ends up meeting Oliver, who is on the same flight.  You can pretty much tell from the title of the book what happens after that.

How much did I love this book?  I picked it up from the library just this very afternoon and I'm already done with it.  Unfortunately, I had to put it down to eat dinner with my husband, but cumulatively it only took me two hours to read.  And I loved every second of that two hours.  I wish it lasted longer, but the book was perfect as is.

The romance itself was swoon-worthy and innocent.  Yes, Hadley and Oliver fell in love instantaneously, but it wasn't forced and over the top like in some YA paranormal romance books.  Instead, their contemporary romance was adorable and sweet and certainly not too fast.  I loved the concept that the book took place over twenty-four hours.  Yes, they were in love at the end of the book, but those twenty-four hours seemed like a lot longer considering everything they went though.

Despite the short amount of time we have with the characters, I still felt like they were well-round real people.  They're both dealing with real and raw family issues and Hadley has a panic disorder.  As someone who suffers from panic attacks myself, I really related to this aspect of Hadley's character.  I know exactly what she was going through and that made this book really great for me.

If you loved Anna and the French Kiss, I think you'll also love The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight.  It was just adorable and I loved every second.  I will definitely be looking into some of the author's other works.

The Future of Us

The Future of Us
Jay Asher & Carolyn Mackler
356 pages
Publisher: Razorbill
Source: library/Paperbackswap.com
★★★★☆

You can read the Goodreads summary here.

The year is 1996 and, if you can believe it, the Internet it not such a big deal.  But when Emma gets a new computer as a gift from her father, her neighbor and longtime childhood friend, Josh, brings over an AOL CD so they can use the Internet.  Once they log on they mysteriously find their Facebook pages from 15 years in the future!

This book was not what I expected, but still interesting.  

Why I loved this book: The nostalgia factor.  I remember 1996.  I remember those AOL CDs.  I remember waiting four to six hours on my dialup connection every year to upgrade to the newest version of AOL.  I miss the voice of the AOL guy so much that I sometimes log onto my old AOL account just to hear him say, "Welcome [pause] You've got mail!"  Other references to that time period in this book made me giddy.


What I liked about this book: The moral of the story, such as it is.  Emma and Josh learn that things they do now affect the future and they also learn to not worry about the future so much.  This is an important lesson.  Worry less, go with the flow more.  It's a hard lesson I myself often struggle with.

What I didn't like: It was never explained how Emma and Josh got to see Facebook from fifteen years in the future.  Was it a time slip?  And if so, how and why?  The book comes off as very contemporary except for this one, unexplained aspect. 

Also, let's take a minute to note that Facebook has because such a massive part of our lives, that it is now prominently featured in our literature.  Holy cow.  Someone should write a book about what would happen if Facebook mysteriously vanished.  There would be mass hysteria, but I digress.  I was going to give the book three stars, but upon writing the review I feel it deserves four.  If you fondly remember those AOL CDs, check out this book.

New Girl

New Girl
Paige Harbison
314 pages
Publisher: HarlequinTeen
Source: NetGalley
★★★★☆

You can read the Goodreads summary here.

Appropriately titled, New Girl is a novel about a girl who transfers to a private boarding school named Manderly.  Upon arrival, she learns she's taken the spot of a girl who went missing at the end of the previous year.  The scandal is filling the school with rumors - Becca was either dead, alive and planning a flashy return, or pregnant somewhere in hiding, waiting to give birth.  Either way, the new girl was catching a lot of flack for taking Becca's spot.

It's been years since I've read the novel Rebecca, but I noticed several parallels, which I really enjoyed.  New Girl is filled with drama, in a good way.  I really felt bad for the new girl who had to come into all that drama and be targeted in it even though she never even knew Becca.

You might notice the "new girl" doesn't have name in my review - that's because her name isn't revealed until practically the last page of the novel - a plot device I thought was fantastic.  The new girl was treated so poorly by most of her fellow students, it was like she'd lost her identity.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, though it did get redundant for me.  The new girl would do something and then her roommate, Dana, would cuss her out for trying to emulate Becca.  This happened over and over.  By the end of the book I was like, "I get it already!  What happens in the end?"  The ending was super though, I really enjoyed it.

Four stars!  I loved the parallels between New Girl and Rebecca, but parts in the middle of the novel got redundant.

New Girl is out January 31st so be sure to preorder today!

The Fault in Our Stars

The Fault in Our Stars
John Green
313 pages
Publisher: Dutton
Source: purchased
★★★★★

You can read the Goodreads summary here.

Hazel has cancer and it's terminal.  Her days are mostly the same, moping around the house with her mother, watching reruns of ANTM, with occasional visits to her cancer support group.  But when one day out of the blue Augustus shows up to support group, Hazel is drawn to him for inexplicable reasons and he's into her, too.  From then on they start changing each other's lives.

This was another one of those books I picked up because I'd heard all the buzz about it.  No, scratch that.  I probably wouldn't have picked it up if it hadn't been signed.  I knew every first edition was signed and for some reason that meant I had to have it.  I'd heard nothing, nothing, but rave reviews for it.  I saw not one negative review.  So I read it expecting to be let down because that's been happening recently with over-hyped books, but I was not let down.

I loved this book!  I have not in my lifetime thus far been close to anyone who has died from cancer (this is a relief to me, but also worries me on a deep level), but I still found this book to be realistic.  Hazel, Augustus, and their cancer-ridden friends from support group all have their ups and downs.  The characters were fantastically written - they were intelligent and witty and yet also had their flaws.  The plot was disturbingly real and raw.  I didn't "ugly cry" (God, I hate that phrase) during the book, but it was heartbreaking and sad.  And strangely beautiful.

What I shouldn't have done: When I first started hearing about this book I assumed I would not be reading it and I found some spoilers for it.  Unfortunately for me, when I decided to read it I knew what was coming.  Do not do this to yourself, even if you think you won't read it, don't look up what happens.  You really just need to read the book yourself to find out.

I'm pretty sure this book is going to win some awards.  This book is important.

Even if, for some reason, I cannot convince you to read this book, look at the stats.  As of right this minute 5135 (in the time I wrote this post the number has jumped to 3150!) people have rated this book on Goodreads and the average rating is 4.76.  That says something.  It says people are reading this book quickly and at the very least you will like this book, but more likely, in my opinion, you will love it.

In My Mailbox (18)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at the Story Siren.

FOR REVIEW:

Harper sent Bewitching by Alex Flinn (Thanks Harper!  And now that I mysteriously have two copies of the ARC, look out for a giveaway!)

The author sent The Earthquake Machine by Mary Pauline Lowry

Guardians: the Girl by Lola St.Vil (this book is not on Goodreads and I don't have a cover image �� )

FROM THE LIBRARY:

Playground by 50 Cent

The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder

The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams

PURCHASED:

The Fault of Our Stars by John Green (currently reading this one, OMG)

If It Were Easy, They'd Call The Whole Damn Thing a Honeymoon by Jenna McCarthy

SWAPPED FOR: 

Would-Be Witch by Kimberly Frost

TTYL by Lauren Myracle

Victoria and the Rogue by Meg Cabot

Nicola and the Viscount by Meg Cabot

Total TBR: 156 books... OOPS.  My plan to acquire zero books this week failed miserably.

Ugly to Start With

Ugly to Start With
John Michael Cummings
177 pages
Publisher: West Virginia University Press
Source: the author
★★☆☆☆

You can read the Goodreads summary here.

Ugly to Start With is a collection of short stories that centers around Jason Stevens, a young man from Harper's Ferry, West Virginia in the 1970s.  Throughout the stories Jason battles his family's status and tries to become a budding artist.

Because the book is a series of short stories rather than chapters, they jumped forward in time and were a bit disjointed as a result.  I will admit, at times it left me slightly confused.  One minute Jason was living in a decapitated three story house and then next he was living in a shack?

Two stars - it was okay.  I don't want to say it was a bad book, it just wasn't for me.  I didn't feel like I got to know any of the characters well and the plot definitely didn't hold my attention.  Hence the short review.

For the record, this book is being billed as YA, but it reads more like an adult novel.

Allegiance

Allegiance
Cayla Kluver
490 pages
Publisher: HarelquinTeen
Source: NetGalley
★★★☆☆

You can read the Goodreads summary here.

ALERT: This review may contain spoilers to the first novel, Legacy.  You can see my review for that book here.

Allegiance picks up where Legacy left off: Alera has married the wrong man and has become Queen Alera of Hytanica.  Soon, the stressful atmosphere between Hytancia and Cokyrian comes to ahead and they are engaged in war.  Alera's sister is abducted and she along with King Steldor must get things in order before something even worse happens.

When I read Legacy over the summer I didn't know how to feel about it.  I feel a little more definitive about Allegiance, however.  The book, like it's predecessor, was long and bogged down with a lot of details, but it did manage to hold my interest over all - if only for the fact that I wanted to see how Alera's marriage was going to work out.  The tone of Allegiance was different from Legacy; it was much more serious and less frivolous.  There were far fewer parties.

About the love triangle - in the first novel I felt for sure that Alera had married the wrong man, but during Allegiance I felt a little differently.  Since she was of sound mind when she made the decision, I felt it was her duty to follow up on it.  I was rooting for her to actually fall a little bit in love with Steldor; I didn't want it to be head over heels because that wouldn't be realistic, but Alera put no effort into the relationship at all. She completely ignored her wifely duties in all aspects of the phrase "wifely duties," and that bothered me.

Three stars - I liked it and for someone who doesn't generally like the fantasy genre at all, that's actually saying something good.  If you like fantasy, check the series out.  Allegiance will be out February 28th.

The Name of the Star

The Name of the Star
Maureen Johnson
372 pages
Publisher: Putnam
Source: library
★★★★☆

You can read the Goodreads summary here.

Rory and her family moves from their native Louisiana to England for her senior year.  Just as Rory arrives at the school, "Rippermania" grips the small town as murders start occurring that mimic those of Jack the Ripper.  Rory is soon sucked into the drama as the murders occur near her school and she becomes a target of the new Ripper.

This is written by the same author who wrote 13 Little Blue Envelopes, but this book was nothing like that.  It had it's whimsical, humorous moments like in 13 Little Blue Envelopes, but the plot line was paranormal rather than contemporary and it had a much darker element.  I loved it!  I blew through the short chapters, sucking up Rory's experiences moving across the ocean, starting a new school and meeting new friends.

This book was scary.  Of course, my only chance to read it was at night before I went to sleep.  I'm not going to say it gave me nightmares, but every night after I read it I did have unrelated nightmares.  While I was reading, I kept thinking this would make for one gruesome movie.  There's definitely that element of suspense that could really be played up on the big screen.

Four stars - I highly recommend, especially if weird historic events like those of Jack the Ripper interest you.  According to Goodreads it's the first in the series though I definitely think you could read it as a standalone if you wish.  It will be interesting to see how Rory's story continues if there is a second book.

Shatter Me

Shatter Me
Tahereh Mafi
338 pages
Publisher: Harper
Source: library
★★★★☆

You can read the Goodreads summary here.

You can add Shatter Me to the list of books that didn't quite live up the hype.  You can also add Shatter Me to the list of books I loved for inexplicable reasons.

Juliette shouldn't touch people.  When she does touch them, they experience massive pain and die.  Shunned by just about everyone she knows, she's been locked away for a long time until one day an attractive young man joins her in her cell - and then helps her leave.  Soon Adam and Juliette are fighting The Reestablishment in their own way.

I thought Shatter Me was unique in its premise, though it wasn't exactly what I thought it would be.  For some reason I thought the people Juliette touched would explode.  There were no human explosions in the novel.  I also liked the unique narrative style, with some of Juliette's thoughts crossed out like she didn't really want to think them.  Aside from that, I can't think of any reason I would have loved this novel.  There wasn't anything hugely special about it but I still enjoyed it.

Four stars!  I would have given it five but I kept getting distracted near the end of the novel because it wasn't holding my interest anymore.  That might be in part due to my head cold.  Shatter Me is definitely a must read for you dystopian lovers out there.

PS: I need people to stop comparing this book to The Hunger Games - they weren't that similar.

In My Mailbox (17)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

Dudes, I almost forgot to write out this week's IMM.  Yikes!  I was going to do a vlog this week, but I just didn't have the time.  Here we go:

FOR REVIEW:
Fallen in Love by Lauren Kate

Red Heart Tattoo by Lurlene McDaniel (I loved her books growing up!  Can't wait to read this new one!)

First Date by Krista McGee

Venture Unleashed by R.H. Russell

PURCHASED:
Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler (already read and reviewed)

Impossible by Nancy Werlin

Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers

My Blood Approves by Amanda Hocking

Vesper by Jeff Sampson

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

Current TBR: 152
I need to set a goal - I will NOT buy ANY books next week.

Congrats, winners!

The three winners who each won a copy of A Cold Creek Secret by Raeanne Thayne are...

E.LF., Mona, and Brooke!  Congrats!  You three will be contacted by me shortly.

One day left! Don't forget!

There's only one day left to enter my latest, and cheesiest, giveaway.  Click here to enter.

Beautiful Code

Beautiful Code
Sadie Hayes
64 pages
Publisher: the author
Source: the author
★★★★☆

You can read the Goodreads summary here.

Beautiful Code is the third novella in Sadie Hayes' The Start-Up series.  The book picks up with Adam and Amelia arriving in Hawaii to participate in a conference where they will reveal their app to the public for the first time.  But when their demonstration goes haywire, it seems someone had it out for them.

This third installment of The Start-Up series was just as good as the first two.  I was drawn into the plot immediately and was interested to follow both the technological developments and the personal developments.  I think the part of the plot that intrigued me the most was the relationship between Patty and Chad.  Because of what went on between the two of them in the last novella, I was interested to see how their relationship would progress in this one.  It was definitely exciting!

Beautiful Code was extremely fast paced and drew me in just like the previous two novellas did and it ended on an even bigger cliffhanger.  I just wish that it was a little longer, sixty-four pages took no time to read.  I highly recommend this series to anyone interested in technology and gadgets and I'm looking forward to continuing on with the series.

Why We Broke Up

Why We Broke Up
Daniel Handler
354 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown
Source: purchased
★★★☆☆

You can read the Goodreads summary here.

I ordered this book and it arrived today.  I immediately opened it and started reading it (well, okay, I took a shower and got some lunch first) because it seemed like it was going to be such a great book.  I thought it was going to be a five star-er.  I was wrong.  Three stars.

Why We Broke Up is written entirely as a letter written from Min to Ed explaining, obviously why they broke up.  The letter accompanies a box of items that Min has collected throughout their five week long relationship.

The pluses:  I loved the concept of the book, going over each little thing about why Min and Ed Broke up.  I liked that Min was essentially giving her stuff back to Ed along with the letter.  I really liked the illustrations that went with the novel, as well.  If Ed and Min can see the physical examples of why they're breaking up, I'm glad I was able to see them, too.  Completely unrelated to the plot, I liked the way the book was printed on really nice shiny paper, which made the illustrations look spectacular.  Drawback: it was super heavy.

The minuses:  They only dated five weeks.  Why was Min so invested in Ed, especially knowing his past with girls?  Maybe I just don't remember what it's like to date when you're sixteen.  You probably feel like you're in love with your boyfriend after just five weeks when you're only sixteen years old.  What I really don't understand though, is why Min felt the need to write Ed this letter in the first place.  The way he was portrayed by the end of the book, I couldn't picture him caring at all.  I wonder if he even would have read the whole 300+ page letter.  Another minor annoyance - no one writes letters that long.

More minuses: I couldn't follow Min's obscure movie references and I watch TCM a lot.  Also, she spoke and acted nothing like a teenager.  On the whole, I found more than just a quirky teenager still doing the teenager thing; I found her pretty unbelievable.

Don't get me wrong, I liked the book and I'm sort of glad to have read it, it just didn't completely sit right with me.

Fateful

Fateful
Claudia Gray
328 pages
Publisher: HareperTeen
Source: library
★★★★★

You can read the Goodreads summary here.

When I first heard about this book last year I thought, "Warewolves on the Titanic?  Really?"  But I'm slightly obsessed with all things Titanic, so I knew I had to read it.  I picked it up last night around ten p.m. and didn't stop until I turned the last page a little after one thirty a.m.   FIVE FREAKING STARS.

Tess Davies is a servant to a very prominent English family, the Lisles.  Out of their thirty-five servants, Tess is selected to accompany the family to New York for their daughter's spring social season.  Once on board the ocean liner, Tess keeps having uncomfortable run-ins with a man named Mikhail who seems to have it out for her - as a werewolf.

I loved how the romance between Tess and Alec, the first class passenger who always managers to save Tess from Mikhail, developed.  It was paced just right and they didn't immediately fall in love.  It was a very sweet romance that I couldn't get enough of - in between the action.

There was lots of action in this book, as well.  Fight scenes, threats, lots of running through corridors - it was that aspect of the book, the fast pacing, that really kept me turning the pages through the night.  I don't know how accurate I was in my head, but I kept picturing the setting from the movie Titanic.

But as I kept reading the book, I kept forgetting what ship they were on.  I realized over and over that there was going to be an ending - the ship had to go down even though Tess and the others had no idea.  I kept realizing there couldn't be a happy ending.  Sure enough, I was close to tears near the end of the novel, but I can't really tell you why - I don't want to spoil the ending you don't know about.

I highly, highly recommend.  Five stars plus.  You need to read this book.  Seriously, add it to your library holds now.

Venture Untamed + FREE COPY!

Venture Untamed
R.H. Russell
171 pages
Publisher: the author
Source: the author
★★★★☆

You can read the Goodreads summary here.

When the author contacted me to review this book the plot summary intrigued me and I thought, "I"ll get to it when I get to it," but I'm sorry to have waited!  I really enjoyed this novel.

Venture is a young bondservant growing up in his master's house after his mother dies.  Left with no parents, Venture's anger gets out of control and he finds himself fighting and at one point, fighting to save the life of the master's own daughter.  It's after that scuffle that Venture is sent off to train to be a professional fighter.

What a fabulous book.  The plot drew me in and the characters kept me in.  What struck me the most was that even though Venture's own father died trying to win a professional fighting match, that didn't scare Venture off from the profession.  Venture knows he's good but that doesn't go to his head.  I can only hope that as the series continues on Venture has the opportunity to win both for himself and for his father.

The other aspect of the novel I really enjoyed was the budding romance between Venture and his master's daughter, Jade.  Jade is both charming and spunky and she can definitely hold her own.  She was a great character unto herself and I think she would make for a great spin-off story.

Venture Untamed has something in it to appeal to everyone.  I was afraid I might not like it because of all the fighting, but there wasn't too much.  The romance aspect of the novel really surprised me, too, and it's because of that that I think this book would be a great read for both boys and girls.  Definitely check it out if you have the chance.  The book ended in such a way that I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the sequel soon.

Want to read it?  It's currently FREE on Smashwords!  I highly recommend, since it was such a great book and it's free, that you go get a copy.  You can't go wrong.

Cheesy Romance Monday (6) + GIVEAWAY!

Every once in a while you want to read a mindless romance to distract yourself from the world - or at least I do!  Thus, Cheesy Romance Monday was born - a feature in which I review a romance that otherwise would not have gotten face time on my blog.  And this week Cheesy Romance Monday includes a giveaway!

A Cold Creek Secret
RaeAnne Thayne
Subgenre: Classic, Western
Goodreads link

I really enjoyed this book!  Home in Cold Creek, Major Brant Western is on leave from his tours of duty in Afghanistan when a big snowstorm hits.  As he's taking care of his horses, he notices an SUV crash off the slippery roads and into the creek. He saves the woman inside as well as her tiny puppy.  Turns out, the woman is well-known socialite/bad-girl/tabloid subject Mini Van Hoyt.  And she's got a secret - she's pregnant!

Ah!  I was drawn into this romance right away because the action started right away.  What kept me involved, though, was Mimi's secret and how the plot revolved around her knowing and Brant not knowing.  It also made me wonder - if tabloid bad-gril Mimi Van Hoyt can turn out to be a secretly wholesome and great woman, what about the bad-girls we see in the tabloids today?  Who knows!  This was definitely a heartwarming tale that I really enjoyed straight through to the end.

Now's your chance to score a copy!  Thanks for Harlequin, I have three extra copies I can give away so there will be three winners!  Just use the Rafflecopter form below to enter!  US only and since there wasn't anything too steamy in it, just be over 13 to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway