Trust by Kylie Scott

Being young is all about the experiences: the first time you skip school, the first time you fall in love…the first time someone holds a gun to your head.

After being held hostage during a robbery at the local convenience store, seventeen year old Edie finds her attitude about life shattered. Unwilling to put up with the snobbery and bullying at her private school, she enrolls at the local public high school, crossing paths with John. The boy who risked his life to save hers.

While Edie’s beginning to run wild, however, John’s just starting to settle down. After years of partying and dealing drugs with his older brother, he’s going straight—getting to class on time, and thinking about the future.

An unlikely bond grows between the two as John keeps Edie out of trouble and helps her broaden her horizons. But when he helps her out with another first—losing her virginity—their friendship gets complicated.

Meanwhile, Edie and John are pulled back into the dangerous world they narrowly escaped. They were lucky to survive the first time, but this time they have more to lose—each other.

Kylie can definitely write high-school angst, teenage feelings, and lust. She'll make you contemplate life, death, and the what ifs through the eyes of a traumatized teenager. 
Though, in true Kylie fashion, all this is done while making you laugh! Her characters are sarcastic, witty, and hilarious.
My husband asked if I was enjoying my book, because the entire time he watched me I'd had a smile on my face while reading!! 







Edie and John couldn't be any more different. 
A straight-laced, body-conscious, timid virgin has absolutely nothing in common with the gorgeous, playboy, high school drug dealer... until they share one unbelievably terrifying and life-changing night.
From then on, it seems nobody understands their thoughts, actions, and, least of all, their fears...except each other.


I enjoyed every minute of this book, reading it all in one afternoon, nonstop.
I can honestly say Edie is one of my favorite heroines. 
She's real!
And her internal thoughts had me constantly laughing out loud.

"Summer had a smell, but so did he. I don't think I'd ever wanted to rub my face in someone's sweaty chest before."

"Nipple viewing should really be reserved for special occasions. Christmas, birthdays, bar mitzvahs, stuff like that."

I also loved the secondary characters, which really, secondary is not really an accurate label for them. Hysterical antics!
I would definitely read a book all about Anders someday!


"In life, unless you're willing to run away and live in the woods and risk being eaten by bears, some things just were unavoidable."



 It honestly doesn't matter what Kylie writes—rock stars, bar owners...high schoolers unexpectedly thrust together through tragedy—she is a master storyteller, and she does it all with hilarious banter and a sarcastic flair!

US / UK

Fighting to Be Free (Fighting to Be Free #1) by Kirsty Moseley

Synopsis

The original Wattpad sensation -6 MILLION READS - fully revised and with brand new content

Jamie Cole has just been released from juvenile detention. Determined to go straight, he tried to cut ties with crime boss Brett Reye--but Brett has no intention of letting him go. Jamie's life is already more complicated than it needs to be, yet when he meets a beautiful stranger at a bar, Jamie knows he's in over his head.

Ellie Pearce has just gotten out of a terrible relationship and isn't looking for anything serious...until she meets Jamie. Their attraction is overwhelming and intense-she can't seem to shake her growing feelings for him, even though she's trying to keep it casual.

But when fate goes horribly wrong and Jamie's family is faced with ruin, he's forced to strike a deal with Brett. Despite his struggles, he wants nothing more than a future with Ellie. That's until Ellie finds out that he's been hiding more from her than she could ever imagine...

Fighting To Be Free, previously released on Wattpad and read by over 6 million readers, has had a makeover inside and out. I am beyond excited to finally to be able to share this cover with you!

My Review

High school senior Ellie is Miss Popular, all around all-American girl next door. Typical cheerleader with typical quarterback boyfriend.

Jamie has been dealt a bad hand at life. Jailed at a young age for an incident that significantly changed his life.

You feel for him for sure. 

"Your past is the past."

"Everyone deserves a second chance."

I wasn't sure what to expect at first and not sure what I got in the end, besides it being a cliffy! 

Have no fear... book two is on its way.

I read some reviews where they said Ellie seemed immature and childish. I didn't see that, no, but I do think there were moments, including the use of their nicknames is what threw me off a little making moments seem silly and immature, and although they had "sexy-times" and all the "criminal activity" it had a very high school/Young Adult overall feel.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

I also had a bit of a hard time understanding how badass everyone saw him. He was so young when he went to jail... was he really that much of a scary mofo at 14 that now everyone was so afraid of him?

He said so himself at one point that rumors must have been flying making him out to be more than he was... but it didn't make a lot of sense to me.

Regardless of those things, there's sweet and sad moments to this story, action and an open-ended ending.

As always, these are just my feelings... please take them with a grain of salt and read for yourselves!

Amazon US AmazonUK

Kick Push by Jay McLean

BLURB

There’s a single defining moment within every skater.

It lasts only a second. Two if you're good.

Three if you’re really good.

It’s the moment you’re in the air, your board somewhere beneath you, and nothing but wind surrounds you.

It’s the feeling of being airborne.

The sixteen-year-old version of me would’ve said it was the greatest feeling in the world.

Then at seventeen, I had my son.

And every single second became a defining moment. Even the ones that consisted of heartbreak when his mother left us.

Seventeen. Single. Dad.

That’s what my life became.

Yet, every day, I managed to find that feeling of being airborne.

Or at least I convinced myself I did.

But I lied—to myself and to everyone around me.

Until she showed up; Tanned skin, raven dark hair, and eyes the color of emeralds.

You know what sucks about being in the air?

Coming down from the high.

Sometimes you land on the board and nail the trick.

Then kick, push, and coast away.

Other times you fall.

You fall hard.

And those are the times when it’s not as easy to get back up, dust off your pads and try again.

Especially when the girl with the emerald eyes becomes your drug...

And you become her poison.

REVIEW

Holy Fire Truck!!
I cried! Boy did I cry!!
Read the blurb people! I am not going to tell you too much more! 
There's a lot of both beauty and sadness here and I had a field day highlighting quotes that touched me.
So... that's what you're getting from me today!

This is the story of genuine love, selflessness, and utter heartbreak!

Yes there's laughter, there's an adorable child, there's funny best friends, but there's also grief, broken and lost souls, and unbearable sadness!

Josh is my hero. He was only a child when left alone to raise a child of his own.

"There are some sacrifices greater than love. And some loves greater than any sacrifice."

You feel his pain, his struggle and his happiness with every smile given from his son.

Becca. 
She's beautiful, intriguing, talented and different. She's also very broken.

Josh immediately falls for her. 
How could he not?
Her emerald eyes are mesmerizing, and she has an immediate bond with his son. 
He's a goner. 

"I don't control my actions-fear does."

But unfortunately for these two broken and lost people...

"real life-it was a fucking asshole"

Unfortunately, there was a point I started double and triple checking my percentage left. Things didn't seem to be going where I thought they'd go.
No spoilers here, but there's a couple of surprises, and I can't say I was all too happy with what I got! I was a little frustrated at times and a little confused.

Regardless of that, 
Jay McLean has written a beautiful story about so much more than skating 
and being a single dad. 
It's inspirational. 
It's heartfelt,  
and it's left me needing MORE!

"There's a big difference between being happy and being selfish. Choose to be happy. Fire truck the rest."

AMAZON

21 Stolen Kisses by Lauren Blakely

When I first met him I resisted. 

Like any forbidden love, I told myself he was a crush, and it would pass.

That was a lie. It never faded.

And I never expected he would fall for me just as hard. 

There were so many reasons that should have kept us apart, least of all, the decade that separated us. Growing up in New York City, I learned early on that love is a double-edged sword. Love broke up my parents, love took away my friends, and love — the big, intense, never-been-like-this-before love — landed me in therapy. Now I’m heading to college, and it’s time to give love a clean slate again. But, can I really start over when he’s still in my life Because the one man I’ve always wanted, is also the only guy I absolutely can’t have…And he wants me just as fiercely.

Can I settle for anything less than the love of my life?

This was my first read by Lauren Blakely. 

Crazy, right? I thought so too! 

I have a handful of her books, but just haven't had the pleasure of reading them yet! 

Where have I been?

Forbidden love. 

She is in high school. 

He is eight years her senior.

Did I find it shocking?

No.

Did the age difference really matter?

No.

Kennedy grew up surrounded by adults. 
People coming and going.. celebrities, artists, parties. 
She was immersed into the adult world at a pretty young age. 

I never really saw the age difference between her and Noah.

They were alike in many ways. Their love of music and theater. Their upbringing.

Was she an old soul or was he a young soul?

Maybe a little of both.

"She was some kind of magic to me. She was everything I never knew I wanted, and she'd quickly become the one and only person I felt like myself with."

Kennedy has a skewed look on love and she's figured out a way to remedy it. 
Through famous quotes and paintings, we're taken on a journey of discovery, of forgiveness, of letting go and ultimately... love.

"It's like I'm putting the love back into the world that was taken."

This story is about so much more than simply Kennedy and Noah's relationship told through stolen kisses. It's about Love.
Love letters. The love of a parent and child. The love of a close friend.
The love between companions.

 The forbidden factor is there with the age difference, but in all honesty I never felt there was anything taboo going on. Regardless of her age, Kennedy was mature and had an amazing look on life and love. 
This was a sweet and thought provoking read. 
You can't help who you fall in love with, nor can you help when that love will happen.

"It was a tragic love, and a wrong love, and yet their letters were beautiful and spoke to the kind of deep, abiding, lifelong love you could feel for someone."

AMAZON

Art & Soul by Brittainy C. Cherry

 I had always been the invisible art student in high school. 

Passed by. Glossed over. Unnoticed. 

Now I was Aria Watson…that girl. 

After one bad decision, and being labeled a slut, I was no longer unseen. I was the whore. The ignoramus. The tramp. 

I would never be invisible again. 

Particularly to Levi Myers. He was the odd boy with the beautiful soul who accepted and understood the broken girl inside me. 

Falling in love wasn't the plan. But how could I resist his promises of hope? Of forgiveness? Of a future I had stopped dreaming of? 

We were shattered. We were scarred. We were something strange and beautiful. 

We were two lost souls holding on to the only thing that could keep us together. 

Each other. 

     

Words can not describe how much I adored this book.

Words!! 
You'll see them differently after reading this book!

I had read Brittainy's Loving Mr. Daniels and had absolutely loved it.. so when I had the opportunity for an advanced copy of her newest book, I jumped at it. 
She informed me that it was a YA, and not an NA as originally planned....
 did I still want to read it?? 
Um.. YES! 
If the writing was anything like what I read from her before, then absolutely yes! 
Well, it was that and so much more!

So many emotions in this story. I laughed and I cried. I laughed while I cried! 

Family bonds, heartache, friendship, pain, tragedy, hardship, love and 

sacrifice. So many obstacles and struggles for such young characters to endure.

These main characters were brilliant. Not only were Aria and Levi the most relateable and likeable characters, who were also smart, quirky, and talented... but the supporting characters were equally endearing. I loved 
Simon, with his red hair and OCD! O.G.A.A.!!! 
And also Lance and Daisy! Too funny.

I don't want to spoil the experience for you, so I'll just quote a few of my favorite lines and let you go in blindly, the way I did.

This is a story that will tug at your heartstrings. But it will also inspire you through words, music and art. 

"He looked like a whisper sounds. Sweet, gentle, and romantic. It was making me dizzy."

"She was the only one who could call me a dork and make me feel like Superman at the same time."

"One truth stings far less than a thousand lies."

"Art was everything right and wrong in the world. It understood what words couldn't say."

 "Maybe it's okay to no longer be the person we thought we were meant to be. Maybe it's okay to just be who we are now and accept that." 

"Sometimes loving someone means knowing they're better off without you."

      Amazon

Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma

She is pretty and talented - sweet sixteen and never been kissed. He is seventeen; gorgeous and on the brink of a bright future. And now they have fallen in love. But... they are brother and sister.

Seventeen-year-old Lochan and sixteen-year-old Maya have always felt more like friends than siblings. Together they have stepped in for their alcoholic, wayward mother to take care of their three younger siblings. As defacto parents to the little ones, Lochan and Maya have had to grow up fast. And the stress of their lives—and the way they understand each other so completely—has also also brought them closer than two siblings would ordinarily be. So close, in fact, that they have fallen in love. Their clandestine romance quickly blooms into deep, desperate love. They know their relationship is wrong and cannot possibly continue. And yet, they cannot stop what feels so incredibly right. As the novel careens toward an explosive and shocking finale, only one thing is certain: a love this devastating has no happy ending.

WOW! Just WOW!! 

Forbidden is a beautifully written story of sadness, family and love.

I don't want to give anything away to future readers.. just know that all I knew before I started was brother and sister who fall in love and be ready to cry! That's enough right? It was for me and it will be for you!

"I refuse to let labels from the outside world spoil the happiest day of my life.

The day we finally broke free of our restraints and gave way to the feelings we had so long denied just because we happened to be brother and sister."

I found myself rooting so hard for Lochan and Maya despite being siblings. This story messed with my brain!

Yes this is ultimately about the love between a brother and sister, but there is so much more than that. 

I felt so deeply for this family of five children, especially Lochan. He was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders and it was breaking him. It was breaking me reading it.

Even with all the sadness and heartbreaking moments I wasn't crying tears!

I made it all the way to 85% and then the dam broke!!

I was flabbergasted at what was happening and was kicking myself for wondering where my tears had previously been. They caught up to me and didn't stop until the very last sentence. More than once I gasped in shock while continuing to cry.

I woke up the next morning immediately thinking of what happened and why???!!! 

Why did it have to happen this way? Why couldn't things have been different?

This beautiful story will have you turning the events over and over in your mind for days after.

A must read in my opinion!!

Amazon

Flawed by Kate Avelynn

Sarah O’Brien is alive because of the pact she and her brother made twelve years ago — James will protect her from their violent father if she promises to never leave him. For years, she’s watched James destroy his life to save hers. If all he asks for in return is her affection, she’ll give it freely.

Until, with a tiny kiss and a broken mind, he asks for more than she can give.

Sam Donavon has been James’ best friend — and the boy Sarah’s had a crush on — for as long as she can remember. As their forbidden relationship deepens, Sarah knows she’s in trouble. Quiet, serious Sam has decided he’s going to save her. Neither of them realize James is far more unstable than her father ever was, or that he’s not about to let Sarah forget her half of the pact . . .

                                               

WOW!! I can't stop the tears. 

Flawed is a gripping tale of family, fear, love and tragedy. It's truly a heartbreaking read and at times quite disturbing.

What would you do to protect those you love? Would you do anything it takes? 
Even the unthinkable?

James and Sarah are the closest a brother and sister can be. They had to be, growing up in the house with abusive and absent parents.

But James takes his role as protector a little too far at times. 

From the very beginning I had a terrible feeling of how things would end, but I pushed it out of my mind. I was SO expecting and hoping for a different outcome.

Flawed is dark and twisted.  And trust me.... you will never listen to the song 

"You are my Sunshine" the same way again! 

It will have you cringing and crying. 

Please don't let my warnings of tears and heartbreak scare you away. 

This book was as awesome as it was disturbing.

It's definitely a must read!


Amazon