Book Review: Sticks and Stones (Shadow Valley U #1) by S. Massery & S.J. Sylvis

Sticks and stones may break our bones…

Hockey is my life.

After Wren Davis puts my dreams of the NHL in jeopardy, I vow to make her life hell if she ever comes near me again.

But she’s my best friend’s foster sister, and even though they don’t live together anymore, their bond is still tight, which makes avoiding each other extra difficult.

Especially when I show up at Shadow Valley University and learn my new room comes with an unwelcome addition: Wren Davis.

As much as I try to make her life hell, she gives it right back, until she’s not just under my skin but constantly on my mind.

But some things can’t be forgiven, and fraternizing with the enemy is the last thing either of us want. (From: Goodreads)

Book Review & Excerpt: Do Your Worst by Rosie Danan

Sparks fly when an occult expert and a disgraced archeologist become rivals with benefits in this steamy opposites-attract romance from “go-to author” Rosie Danan (The New York Times Book Review).

Riley Rhodes finally has the chance to turn her family’s knack for the supernatural into a legitimate business when she’s hired to break the curse on an infamous Scottish castle. Used to working alone in her alienating occupation, she’s pleasantly surprised to meet a handsome stranger upon arrival—until he tries to get her fired.

     Fresh off a scandal, Clark Edgeware can’t allow a self-proclaimed “curse breaker” to threaten his last chance for professional redemption (or his traitorous heart). After he fails to get Riley kicked off his excavation site, he vows to avoid her. Unfortunately for him, she vows to get even.

     Riley expects the curse to do her dirty work by driving Clark away, but instead, they keep ending up on top of each other. Turns out, the only thing they do better than fight is fool around. If they’re not careful, by the end of all this, more than the castle will end up in ruins.

Book Review & Book Rec: Ice Bet (Bexley U #2) by S.J. Sylvis

She’s the coach’s daughter and his rival’s newest target.

Aasher Matthews is everything I detest. Arrogant jock: check. Coy smirk: check. Too hot for his own good: check. To make matters worse, he plays hockey. Unfortunately for him, my father is his coach. Fortunately for me, I’m deemed untouchable.

The only common ground I have with hockey players is our love of the ice, so staying away from them will be easy-peasy.

Until I overhear their bet—who can get Coach’s daughter in their bed first?

I’m ready to bring the entire Bexley U hockey team to their knees. Instead of fleeing, I flirt. Instead of hiding, I run just so they’ll chase me. Luring my father’s players into a trap has a certain appeal to it.

Except, Aasher isn’t fooled by my feigned temptation. He has too much riding on a perfect season and has plans to join the NHL after winning the Frozen Four.

So he proposes our own bet.

If he wins, I stay away from his teammates and stop messing with their heads.
If I win, he tells my father—his beloved coach—about his teammates’ dirty plans for me.

But the more Aasher crosses the lines we’ve carved into the ice, the more I find myself letting him. The only problem is, someone else is in on our gamble, and they aren’t willing to concede.

Ice Bet is a spicy coach’s daughter college sports romance. It is a complete stand-alone. The other books in the series do not need to be read in order, but you will see glimpses of future characters in each book. (From: Goodreads)

Book Review & Recommendation: Practice Makes Perfect (When in Rome #2) by Sarah Adams

Annie Walker is on a quest to find her perfect match-someone who nicely compliments her happy, quiet life running her flower shop in Rome, Kentucky. Unfortunately, she worries her goal might be too far out of reach when she overhears her date saying she is “sounbelievably boring.” Is it too late to become flirtatious and fun like the leading ladies in her favorite romance movies? Maybe she only needs a little practice…and Annie has the perfect person in mind to become her tutor: Will Griffin.

Will–the flirtatious, tattooed, and absolutely gorgeous bodyguard–is temporarily back in Rome, providing security for Amelia Rose as excitement grows for her upcoming marriage to Noah Walker. He has one personal objective during his time in town: stay away from Annie Walker. But no sooner than he gets settled, Will soon finds himself not only breaking his rule, but tasked with far more than simply providing security.

Will wants no part in changing the sweet and lovely Annie, but he can’t bring himself to say no to her request, so he officially agrees to teach her how to be the next leading lady of Rome, Kentucky, and find the love of her life-even if he doesn’t believe in love himself. Between faking a relationship so the meddling town doesn’t catch on to what’s really happening on their practice dates, and tutoring lessons that convince Annie to add passion to her list of must-haves in a mate, it doesn’t take long for the lines of their friendship to blur… (From: Goodreads)

Book Review: Fourth Wing (The Empyrean #1) by Rebecca Yarros

Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general—also known as her tough-as-talons mother—has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.

But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away…because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them.

With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter—like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.

She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.

Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom’s protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.

Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda—because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die. (From: Goodreads)

Book Review: The Problem with Perfect (Cedar Point #3) by Jillian Liota

Bellamy Mitchell is a meticulous planner. When her old flame returns to Cedar Point engaged, blowing apart her vision for the future, she claims to have a serious boyfriend. The problem? The first single guy she can think of is her brother’s much older, closed-off best friend.

Rusty Fuller likes to keep people at a distance. He’s been through enough to know that letting anyone too close is a mistake, unless it’s only for a little fun. What he definitely doesn’t need is his best friend’s little sister turning him into anyone’s boyfriend, especially her own.

For some reason, helping Bellamy is a challenge Rusty can’t refuse, and he develops a reluctant soft spot for the woman beloved by everyone in town. She’s too young, too innocent, but also too hard to resist. So he promises himself this fake dating gig is just that: fake.

When Rusty and Bellamy find more in each other than either of them expected, they’re faced with a difficult question. Is what they share too flawed to be real? Or did they stumble upon their own kind of perfect? (From: Goodreads)

Book Review: Stay Alive (Stay Awake duology #2) by Audrey Francis-Plante

Defeating the Shroud was one thing. Adjusting to life without rest vials is another.

Farren Bray is slowly learning to deal with the guilt and trauma attached to her sleep. She’s finding her place at the fields with Easton when someone she was hoping she’d never see again contacts her. Theo.

After running from the ISRR with Geoffrey’s research, he’s now developing a new product that requires the assistance of his darling “Cloudy”. Theo’s ambition knows no bounds, and eventually Farren is forced to get involved.

But the world has been precarious and unpredictable since the Shroud. This time, the challenge won’t be to stay awake…

It’ll be to stay alive. (From: Goodreads. Get yours NOW.)

Blog Tour: Would You Rather by Allison Ashley

Hello, beautiful bookish friends! How’s your summer so far? Mine’s okay but time literally FLIES, y’all; every time I feel like it’s just the beginning of the month, it’s actually edging towards the end. At least by the end of this month, there’s an exciting new release coming up in the Contemporary Romance genre so we’ve got something to look forward to, right? *wink*

Without further ado, please let me present my current favorite book, Would You Rather by Allison Ashley with you all!

Blog Tour: For Butter or Worse by Erin La Rosa

Hello, everyone! First of all, thank you for stopping by! I know it’s been a while since I last participated in a blog tour but I’m beyond thrilled to share this wonderful summer read with you! By the way, I’d like to thank the one and only Harper Collins Publishers for including me in this blog tour. 🙂

Without further ado, let the party begin, shall we?

The book I’m featuring today is For Butter or Worse by Erin La Rosa, and I’ll share the book info, author intro, exclusive excerpt for Chapter 1, my full review, and fun recipes inspired by the story. Just keep reading!!

Release Blitz & Book Rec: Somewhere Between Hello and Goodbye by Aisling Magie

Hansel

I never knew I needed her until she came into my life—my beautiful stranger. Bowie was everything I wasn’t. Free. Impulsive. Carefree. With a common destination, we embarked on a road trip. Little did I know, my life was about to change forever.

Bowie

I never thought he’d become more than a stranger—my dopamine hugger. Hansel was everything I wanted. Caring. Understanding. Giving. I told him we could remain strangers during the road trip but part with good memories. But the best and worst things lie in the unexpected.

We were never supposed to meet again, but when we did, I wished we had never said hello in the first place.