Category: Books


Sep
2020

Release Blitz: Playing with Fire by L. J. Shen

categories: Books

“Clear off a top spot on your Best of 2020 list. 

Playing with Fire is coming in HOT!”

–Harloe Rae, USA Today bestselling author

Playing With Fire, an all-new intense and all consuming small town standalone romance from USA Today bestselling author L.J. Shen is available now!

A broken boy on the path to destruction.

A scarred girl without direction.

A love story carved in secrets, inked with pain and sealed with a lie.

Grace Shaw and West St. Claire are arctic opposites.

She is the strange girl from the food truck.

He is the mysterious underground fighter who stormed into her sleepy Texan college town on his motorcycle one day, and has been wreaking havoc since.

She is invisible to the world.

He is the town’s beloved bad boy.

She is a reject.

He is trouble.

When West thrusts himself into Grace’s quiet life, she scrambles to figure out if he is her happily-ever-after or tragic ending.

But the harder she pushes him away, the more he pulls her out of her shell.

Grace doesn’t know much about anything beyond her town’s limits, but she does know this:

She is falling in love with the hottest guy in Sheridan U.

And when you play with fire—you ought to get burned.

Download your copy today or read FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/35scdah

Amazon Universal: http://mybook.to/PWFLJShen

Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/3bDlzRh

Add to PLAYING WITH FIRE to Goodreads –

About L.J. Shen

L.J. Shen is a USA Today, Washington Post and Amazon #1 best-selling author of contemporary, New Adult and YA romance. Her books have been sold to twenty different countries. 

She lives in California with her husband, son, cat and eccentric fashion choices, and enjoys good wine, bad reality TV shows and catching sun rays with her lazy cat.

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Website: http://www.authorljshen.com/


Sep
2020

Fiction Friday: Book Review- 10 Things I Hate About Pinky (Dimple and Rishi #3) by Sandhya Menon

categories: Books, Reviews

10 Things I Hate About Pinky by Sandhya Menon

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


When rebel Pinky Kumar is accused of burning down the family barn at a holiday (by her mother no less), she decides that she has had enough of her mother looking down at her and her eccentric protest ways.
She comes up with a plan to show everyone that even Pinky Kumar can find a “good boy”. Except Pinky Kumar doesn’t really know any good boys. So she calls in Samir Jha, a friend of a friend who is dull as can possibly be.
Samir has planned every second of his life. When his law internship falls through, he agrees to Pinky’s plan in exchange for the opportunity to work for her lawyer mother.
The two of them hate each other so pretending to be in a relationship might take a bit work. But they both get something out of it so it shouldn’t be that tough, right?
But as Pinky and Samir start to spend more time together to make their fake relationship look authentic, they both start opening up to each other and sparks begin to fly.
This reminded me alot of “When Dimple Met Rishi” but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
The two characters are polar opposites but surprisingly they work.
I strongly recommend this novel if you are looking for a light read.



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Sep
2020

Fiction Friday: Book Review- Love at First Fight (Dimple and Rishi #2. 5) by Sandhya Menon

categories: Books, Reviews
Love at First Fight (Dimple and Rishi, #2.5)

Love at First Fight by Sandhya Menon

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


“Love at First Fight” sets the scene for a romance between Pinky Kumar and Samir Jha. However I was just in it to see my favorites, Rishi, Dimple, Ashish and Sweetie. It is so cute how Ashish is STILL so smitten with Sweetie.
“Love at First Fight” follows the group as they tackle an escape room for Valentine’s Day. Of course the couples are together, leaving Pinky and Samir on their own team.
I actually cannot stand Samir. He seems like a totally dweeb. However I also hated Rishi at first read and he grew on me eventually so I am willing to give the other weird boy a chance.
I thought the whole set-up of the couples were kinda predictable but I really liked seeing these characters again.
Sweetie is sweet. Ashish is madly in love, Dimple is still raging against her mother’s anti feminist ways and Rishi is still superstitious and believing in Fate (Seriously, HOW are these two together?)
This was a quick read that I devored. Personally I don’t think you need to read this before reading “10 Things I Hate About Pinky” but it’s a great chance to see the characters from the previous books.



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Aug
2020

Fiction Friday: Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer (Twilight #5)

categories: Books, Reviews
Midnight Sun (Twilight, #5)

Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I was a major Twihard back in the day so purchasing this book was a must for me.
When I saw the size of the paperback (700 plus pages), I was a bit daunted by the size but convinced myself it was fine. It was Edward. I loved Edward. He was my first book boyfriend.
The synopsis was a bit over the top but again, it’s my book bae, Edward.
I opened the book and realized two things.
One- This was a really heavy book. Two- Edward has ALOT of thoughts. Like I used to think I was an overthinker but Edward put me to shame.
Incidentally reading this book calmed my anxiety (mostly), because with Edward doing so much overthinking, I didn’t have to.
I have mixed feelings about this book.
On one hand, WHY is it so big and WHY does Edward have so many thoughts?
However it was pretty interesting to see inside his head and hear his side of the story. Several moments from the book series and movie series make much more sense after reading “Midnight Sun.”
I definitely suggest you read this if you’re a “Twilight” fan. Just maybe a few pages at a time and maybe purchase the ebook instead?
There were several times I had to stop reading simply because the act of holding the book up was too much for me.
I’m not a fan of Edward’s thoughts or the size of this book. But by the last page, I was pretty disappointed that this was the last we would hear from him (although can you imagine how depressing “New Moon” would be from his perspective?)
Against my better judgement, this book had me hooked.



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Aug
2020

Fiction Friday: Book Review- Again the Magic by Lisa Kleypas

categories: Books, Reviews

Again the Magic by Lisa Kleypas

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Lady Aline has been in love with John McKenna since they were both kids.
However she is a lady while he works in the stables. When their budding romance is discovered, Aline is forced to make McKenna leave by lying to him that she never loved him.
Many years later, McKenna returns to the estate after having made his fortune in America. He is determined to extract revenge on Aline however it is clear that every after so much time, both their feelings have not dimmed at all.
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve read this book over and over again.
I love starting the Wallflowers series from the very beginning and seeing Westcliff’s background. This time was no exception. I finished this book and instantly started on the next one in the series.
I loved the pairing of Aline and McKenna especially seeing how they grow and evolve over time. This is a beautiful love story with a happily ever after that I enjoyed immensely.



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Aug
2020

Fiction Friday: Bookworm Buys

categories: Books

I have not spent as much time reading as I should. However the one bookish thing I do whenever I am not reading is scouring the internet and bookstores for great deals (both bookish and not bookish).

So I thought why not create a section here where I can share some of the deals I’ve found. Maybe someone would find something that interests them.

  1. Reader’s Warehouse has a special where you can buy two boxsets and get 25% off
  2. “Midnight Sun” by Stephanie Meyer is out! Bargain Books Umhlanga has it for R295. I went in-store to check it out and the book is HUGE! It actually looks bigger than “Breaking Dawn.”
  3. If you’re fine with venturing out in public, CNA is having a R20 sale. On some stores this applies to their cute stationary as well so definitely stock up if this applies to your nearest store.
  4. Not technically a sale but a bookish deal that you should not miss. “Awkward in Print” by Rachel Rhodes is $3.44 on Amazon.com

Jul
2020

Book Review: Holding the Dream (Dream Trilogy #2) by Nora Roberts

categories: Books, Reviews

Holding the Dream by Nora Roberts

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Kate meets an old friend of her father and learns about her father’s shady past. Still reeling from this discovery, Kate is even more shocked when she is fired for suspected embezzlement. She has put her whole life into her career and now she is left out in the cold.
Kate decides to join Margo and Laura at their store, “Pretenses.” But as her stress levels slowly rise with everything happening around her, so does her attraction to Byron, the Templeton’s new employee.
Kate drove me crazy in this novel. While I loved her relationship with Byron it drove me crazy that she just accepted the embezzlement charges.
From the get-go it was clear who was behind everything but Kate was busy with her life (no Kate, you worked hard for this career, dammit) and unable to see it.
Besides that small but annoying itch, I enjoyed this book. I love seeing the Templetons together. I almost feel jealous of their beautiful home and luxurious lifestyle (Actually I probably do).
The embezzlement plot is probably my least favorite part of this novel but I really did like seeing how Byron and Kate came together.



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Jul
2020

Fiction Friday: Book Review- Daring to Dream (Dream Trilogy #1) by Nora Roberts

categories: Books, Reviews

Daring To Dream by Nora Roberts

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Margo, Kate and Laura grew up in Templeton House together. The three girls were as close as sisters.
The daughter of the Templeton’s housekeeper, Margo always wanted more. So as soon as she graduated she took the first opportunity to leave their small town to become a model.
She had fame, success and money. Until it all came crashing down with a scandal.
Forced to return home and try to make something of her life, Margo decides to open a store and sell the last pieces of her pampered life.
I’m not sure why I picked up this book because there isn’t much that appealed to me in terms of plot. I guess it was just an impulse because of the pretty butterfly on the cover?
Surprisingly I loved this book. There’s a legend, close-knit friends and family. This is a feel-good novel though and though which I really enjoyed.
The relationship between Kate, Laura and Margo was beautiful to watch especially seeing how they were so different in personalities.
If you’re looking for a romance book with a lot of heart, I strongly recommend you start this series.



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Jul
2020

Fiction Friday: The Places I’ve Cried in Public by Holly Bourne

categories: Books, Reviews

The Places I’ve Cried in Public by Holly Bourne

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This was the first book I read by Holly Bourne and wow, IT IS ONE HELL OF A BOOK!
Amelie and Reese were in love. Or so she thought. But now that they are over, Amelie is beginning to see the cracks in their relationship. She is starting to see that maybe, just maybe whatever it is that they had was not love.
“The Places I’ve Cried in Public” paints a pretty accurate picture of what it’s like to fall into a toxic relationship. Ever so slowly that you don’t even know its wrong until you’re too far gone and then wondering what happened.
I knew a Reese in high school and this book really took me back to that time. I had to keep putting the book down to cry and then I sat and bawled my eyes out when this book was finished. I felt seen. I felt heard. I felt understood.
This book is so important and so relevant.
It is realistic and well-written and just sheer, utter perfection.


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Jul
2020

Fiction Friday: Red Lily (In the Garden #3) by Nora Roberts

categories: Books, Reviews

Red Lily by Nora Roberts

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


“Red Lily” is the final book in the “In The Garden” trilogy and oh how it breaks my heart to see these characters go (which is odd coz I barely remembered them in “Black Rose” but I guess I’ve gotten attached to them).
“Red Lily” follows Harper and Hayley as they try to start a relationship together. The two of them have had feelings for each other for a while which they’ve been pushing back.
However a short while after their first kiss, the Harper Bride has a temper tantrum and her violent behaviour starts to escalate. She then starts possessing poor Hayley who is no longer sure what is her and what is the Harper Bride.
I found it incredibly sickeningly that the Harper Bride would go after Harper as he is technically her family (insert vomit emoji here) however I was also moved by how she was clearly losing her sanity.
This was a great read that I devoured in one sitting (although it WAS lockdown so it could have been that too). I loved watching the entire family come together and I was glad to finally see the Harper Bride put to rest.



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