One Small Thing by Erin Watt

A perfect summer read.

Did you know I am a huge Erin Watt fan?  If I haven't screamed it from the roof tops enough - hopefully this review will finally get my point across ;)  I almost pee my pants every time I open my kindle and see that I've received an ARC of one of their books.  EVERYTHING they write is amazing - I've never been disappointed!!  Without further ado... your next favorite book:

"One Small Thing" by Erin Watt is a quick read about loss, grief, love, family, control... it touches on a lot of heavy topics in a way that's both frustrating and eloquent.  Beth and her family are grieving the death of her older sister, Rachel, in very different ways.  Trying to control her every move to keep her safe, Beth's parents are suffocating her.

When Beth finally snaps and sneaks out to a party on the wrong side of town, she meets Chase... who has an even bigger secret than Beth's stifling home life.

Chase has demons and guilt by the bucket loads.  But, Beth gives him a second chance when no one else does... and Beth is the one person who has every reason not to give him a second chance.  The two embark on a secret and forbidden romance with everything working against them.

I LOVED Beth.  She's feisty and independent.  Reading her struggles with her parents was flustering and I felt like Erin Watt nailed the feelings of having overprotective parents.  The way EW wrote about grief was new and eye opening.  Everyone grieves differently, and some steps in the grieving process take longer than others.  Seeing how Beth and her family went through the process was eye-opening, sad and thought provoking.  Even though Rachel has been gone for three years, and one would assume their grieving process would be complete, they are still struggling and using all sorts of coping mechanisms to survive each day.

Chase -- what an epic male lead.  His story is heart breaking, from his part in Rachel's death to his current home life and bullying at school.  His need for atonement pulled at every single one of my heart strings.  His journey to finding his personal redemption was my favorite part of the book.

I felt a little cheated with the ending - it happened quickly, and I wanted MORE!!!!  I loved the story - every part to it.  And I'll be rereading One Small Thing many times.

It made me feel grateful and introspective about my life and finding the one small thing that makes every moment great.

Playlist: One Small Thing

Brawler by Scott Hildreth

Up for review today is a standalone 18+ romance novel by Scott Hildreth called Brawler!  First, let me tell you that I have a hard time getting into urban, everyday, non-paranormal books.  Why? Who knows... I find them cheesy and so unrealistic.  At least in a fantasy book, you know it's unrealistic.  With that being said, I adored this book.  Having never been a boxer myself, I couldn't tell you if it's an accurate portrayal of the professional boxing world.  But, I can tell you it's a damn good book.  I promise you - if you like erotica, you'll love this story.  I would highly recommend it - I'll be rereading for sure.  It felt so genuine.  So believable.  Heart wrenching and hilarious AND romantic - I dare you to find a book with all of that PLUS action, boxing, steamy sex and a list of characters that you'll completely fall in love with.

Final Score: 10/10 - I can't really find anything I don't like about this book!
BRAWLER  - Available on Kindle Unlimited!

Quick Rundown

Jaz, a poor waitress who ran away from home and never looked back, impresses a world class boxing coach when she beats the shit out of a thief trying to steal her backpack.  Her new trainer, Ripp, ushers her back into the world of competitive boxing.  She meets Ethan and they start a very kinky sexual relationship (including boxing each other during).   The story follows Jaz and Ethan in their boxing careers and love story.

Rundown Over

Heat Index:

5/5 - All of Scott Hildreth's romance novels are erotic with just a touch of kink.  This novel (I've read a few of his others), had just enough heat to make it really flow with the storyline.  It didn't feel like there were sex scenes just to have a sex scene, you know what I'm saying?

Awakened by Brenda K. Davies

On the chopping block today is an 18+ Vampire romance book by Brenda K. Davies and first in the Vampire Awakening series!  But, all the novel in this series can be read as standalone novels.  I'll just jump right in and tell you I liked it until about half way through.  I thought it was going to be a GREAT story until the similarities to Twilight started popping up - and, let me tell you, the similarities were glaringly obvious and frequent.  HARD PASS.  There is only one Twilight... sorry bud.  Anyways - let me step off my snark box.  The book was well written and edited well (typos make me want to curl up and die).  The first half, like I said, was fantastic.  Interesting and complex and addicting.  Then, BAM, she finds out homeboy is a vampire (also annoying since 'Vampire' is in the freaking title of the book, ZERO element of surprise) and it's a steamy twilight.

Final Score: 5/10 - It was okay.
Awakened

Quick Rundown

Sera is in college and slowly recovering from a horrible experience in her past that involved a level ten douche of a boyfriend.  She is reserved and off standish until she meets the new heartthrob transfer, Liam.  They have a strange connection and he eventually tears her walls down.  After a murder, a scandal and Sera losing her virginity, the couple is hunted by Liam's creator - who is hellbent on having Liam for her own.

Rundown Over

Heat Index

5/5 - This is a graphic, erotically charged novel with strongly worded depictions of sex.  I felt the good bits were very well written and not such strong language that I felt like I needed a shower afterwards.

Starbound By J.L. Weil

This is a standalone novel!! Cue chorus of heavenly angels!! I love a good series, but something it's nice to just hit and quit it - you know what I'm saying?  I know you do.

I love J.L. Weil!! She is my kind of chick.  All of her novels have the good stuff - swearing, sex and a snarky female lead.  I particularly loved this novel because it's a dual point of view book.  The narrative switched seamlessly between Katia and Seth, and J.L. did a bang up job of giving each of them their own voice.

Next - the reviews on Amazon are complete BS!  I would give it 5 stars any day of the week.  It's fast paced and creative!  If you need a huge, lengthy explanation of how things came to be as they are this book is not for you.  It jumps right in to the story - it gives adequate back story for sure, but there's no waiting around for the good stuff the start.

Final Score: 8.5/10
Starbound

Quick Rundown!

Katia and Seth are witches.  They are also a part of a centuries old curse that will result in their deaths if they ever get together.  Katia left her circle to climb the social ladder, and Seth is hell bent on keeping Katia at arms length so they will both make it out of high school.  Can you see where this is going? Forbidden romance... it's just begging for it.

Rundown Over.

GAH! I love a good standalone novel

Heat Index

3/5 - J.L. Weil's stuff is always fun to read! It's just perfectly steamy without being smutty.
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