REVIEW: RICOCHET by Krista and Becca Ritchie

REVIEW: (ETA: this was written several years ago and been sitting in our drafts folder so.....)

SPOILERS to the first book...be warned...

The Ritchie sisters officially have a new stalker..ahem...fan in me. It started with Addicted to You and I'm actively trying to squeeze in every book in this series between the books we're obligated to read and review. I guess you could say this series is becoming my addiction...yeah I know..sooooo clever.

In Ricochet we live through the months of Lily and Lo's separation due to Lo's stay in rehab. It's the ultimate challenge: can he make it without alcohol and can she make it without sex? I'm not telling you. NOT TELLING..you must read it. I will tell you, though, that if the first one was hard to read because of how dysfunctional and co-dependent they were, this one is hard because of the struggle to deal with choices and decisions and to see Lily embark on her discovery of who they are and why they are. Her discomfort and day to day struggle was painful to witness and yet something that had to be done. I loved the way they handled her story and some more pieces of the Lo + Lily history came into the story. I loved that we learned even more about Rose and Connor and Ryke and Daisy..and even Lily and Lo's parents. 

I think of all of the things I'm loving about this series is that the subject matter of addiction is almost the main character in this book. It's taken seriously and it's hard to read and I loved that it's never, ever taken lightly. It's never belittled (by those who matter) and that Lily's struggle to deal with the truth, and her truth, was painful. I loved that the Ritchie sisters put her in real situations and made her live through them and deal with the hard stuff. I loved how honest Rose, Connor, and Ryke were. And I loved seeing Lo begin to take positive steps to recovery..and seemed determined that Lily do the same.

I also loved seeing the evolution of their love. Her fear, his strength...the anxiety and worry and need for the other one to be okay--I was rooting for them both the entire way.

It's really such a fantastic series. It's unlike anything else I've read and I'm eager to see what the other books have in store for us. Thanks so much Becca and Krista for writing these books; I love that you've given me (and your readers) something to think about.

Buy it: https://amzn.to/2ttbxjC

SYNOPSIS:

As a sex addict, Lily Calloway must do the impossible. Stay celibate for 90 days.

Cravings and fantasies become her new routine, but while Loren Hale recovers from his alcohol addiction, Lily wonders if he'll realize what a monster she really is. After all, her sexual compulsions begin to rule her life the longer she stays faithful to him.

Progress. That's what Lily's striving for. But by trying to become closer to her family--people who aren't aware of her addiction--she creates larger obstacles. When she spends time with her youngest sister, she learns more about her than she ever imagined and senses an unsettling connection between Daisy and Ryke Meadows.

With Lily and Lo's dysfunctional relationship teetering and unbalanced, they will need to find a way to reconnect from miles apart. But the inability to "touch" proves to be one of the hardest tests on their road to recovery. Some love brushes the surface. Some love is deeper than skin.

Lily and Lo have three months to discover just how deep their love really goes.

REVIEW: Regretting You by Colleen Hoover

OUR REVIEW:

I've enjoyed every single Colleen Hoover novel that I've read so it's a little crazy that I haven't read them all, I think. I don't know why I haven't read them all--maybe a fear that I'll find one I don't like? I don't know. What I do know is that the last few things I've read from her, I've devoured. 

Regretting You is my first read of 2020 and I stayed up way too late reading it and probably was way too invested in the story and characters than I should be, as noted by my inability to stop thinking about anything but how pissed off I was at both Morgan and Clara at different points in the novel when I should've been planning for my classes. Or how when I got to the 80% mark  on my planning period I was stressed out at how close I was to finishing and how much more story I wanted instead of running to the front office to make sure I got give a make up exam later this week. Or how I legit got to the last 5% and felt like the choice to stop reading so that I could spend a little more time with these characters was a hard one. Obviously I had absolutely zero will power and squeaked out the last of the reading before my last class of the day which just left me in a fog of Clara and Morgan and Jonas and Miller and thinking about what would happen next and where they all would end up. 

So who would like this novel that I've given an endorsement but not really analyzed it deeply? I think teenagers and readers with teens or readers who had challenging parental relationships may identify with some of the conflicts Morgan and Clara had. I think people who like YA fiction or romance will find this an enjoyable read. And I definitely think you have to like reading from two perspectives, as this is how the novel is structured. Finally, if you like really wonderfully kind male characters, you'll love Miller and Jonas. 

Happy reading, y'all.

BUY IT: https://amzn.to/2QwuKdv

SYNOPSIS:

Morgan Grant and her sixteen-year-old daughter, Clara, would like nothing more than to be nothing alike.

Morgan is determined to prevent her daughter from making the same mistakes she did. By getting pregnant and married way too young, Morgan put her own dreams on hold. Clara doesn’t want to follow in her mother’s footsteps. Her predictable mother doesn’t have a spontaneous bone in her body.

With warring personalities and conflicting goals, Morgan and Clara find it increasingly difficult to coexist. The only person who can bring peace to the household is Chris—Morgan’s husband, Clara’s father, and the family anchor. But that peace is shattered when Chris is involved in a tragic and questionable accident. The heartbreaking and long-lasting consequences will reach far beyond just Morgan and Clara.

While struggling to rebuild everything that crashed around them, Morgan finds comfort in the last person she expects to, and Clara turns to the one boy she’s been forbidden to see. With each passing day, new secrets, resentment, and misunderstandings make mother and daughter fall further apart. So far apart, it might be impossible for them to ever fall back together.

REVIEW: Release by Aly Martinez

OUR REVIEW: It's been a while since we've read an Aly Martinez novel so when I saw she was releasing a stand alone novel, I thought it would be a good opportunity to read her latest.

I went in blind so I didn't realize that after the prologue we'd be primarily reading about the origin story of Thea and Ramsey, building up to how he ended up in prison. Once I quit looking for the more current chapters and just let their story build and grow, I settled in for a sweet story of how Thea and Ramsey went from childhood frienemies to best friends to lovers; how they helped each other in neglectful circumstances and became a little family who could count on each other to get through the tough days and laugh on the easier days. It was only around the last 40-ish percent that the reasons for Ramsey's imprisonment and their estrangement started to click into place and his reactions to her made more sense. While there were a few more surprises and tense moments in this last half, ultimately this romance was a sweet one.

Part coming of age, part friends to lovers romance that focuses on a subject not normally seen in this genre: love after serious prison time, Release is a good weekend read that's warm and will quickly get you to that happily ever after.

Release, an all-new “mesmerizing” and “captivating” standalone romance from USA Today bestselling author Aly Martinez, is available now!

 SYNOPSIS:

Growing up, Ramsey Stewart branded my soul in ways time could never heal.

At twelve, he asked me to be his girlfriend.

At thirteen, he gave me my first kiss.

By sixteen, we’d fallen in love, planned a future together, and had our eyes set on the horizon.

Love never fails, right?

But for Ramsey, it did.

Love failed him.

I failed him.

The entire world failed him.

At seventeen, Ramsey was convicted of killing the boy who assaulted me.

Move on,he wrote in his first and only letter from prison.

Start a new life, he urged.

I don’t love you anymore, he lied.

There was no such thing as giving up on Ramsey. Love may have been our curse, but he was mine—then, now, and forever.

So here I am, twelve long years later, waiting for a man I don't even know to emerge from between the chain link gates.

Download your copy today or read FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2QOughI

Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/ReleaseAlyM

Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2oGE1oo

Excerpt

It was funny. I’d spent almost half my life surrounded by the biggest, baddest criminals the state of Georgia had been able to capture. Yet, I was terrified of a five-foot-five woman who for some asinine reason was still in love with me. I couldn’t be around her. Not if I wanted to keep my head straight and my eye on the prize. I had three years before I got off parole. I needed to get a job, tuck away some cash, and, the second I was allowed to leave Georgia, get the hell out of there. Maybe, if I was lucky, I’d be able to convince my sister to come with me. We didn’t have to go far. We could stay in the south if she wanted. South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee—there were schools everywhere. Nora wouldn’t have trouble finding a job. The hardest part would be convincing her to leave Thea. However, maybe if she did, Thea would finally move on with her life and stop obsessing about me. I’d known they lived together for a while. I didn’t want anything to do with Thea while I was locked up, but I was happy as hell Nora had someone to lean on. I had been under the impression that Nora had gotten her own place when she found out about my release. I had been under that impression because Nora had straight-up told me she was getting her own place after I’d declared there was no way I was living with Thea. Now, I was hiding in my room, waiting for Nora to wake up, open my door, and escort me to breakfast like a damn bodyguard so I could avoid confrontation. Next up in my efforts to kill time was a workout. Sit ups, push-ups, planks, running in place. This was when I realized Nora hadn’t bought me any deodorant. Another shower. Another naked lap around the bedroom, and this time, I managed to keep my hands off my cock. Finally, I got dressed. This required me to pick through a bunch of preppy shit Nora had bought for me to find tattered jeans and a fitted green tee that clung to my chest like a damn glove. In my closet, I found a belt and a pair of distressed brown lace-up boots that maybe could have doubled as combat boots if the war was taking place on a runway. But what the hell did I know about style? I’d been wearing orange or puke beige for almost half my life. When I was done with all of that and there was still no sign of Nora, I sat on the edge of the bed and decided to give the phone thing a try. I wasn’t totally out of the technology loop. We had computers at the library and we were allowed to use them if we earned the privileges. But they might as well have been dinosaurs compared to the phone she’d bought me. I couldn’t even get it to read my face with the fancy secret laser thing. I gave up trying pretty quickly. So there I was, bored out of my mind, starving, and poking at my newfound wrinkles in the bathroom mirror, when I heard a knock at my door. “Ramsey?” I froze, my eyes locked on the mirror, panic staring back at me. Thea. Jesus. I needed to find somewhere else to live. Leaning out of the bathroom, I stared at the door. If I was super quiet, maybe she’d think I was still asleep and go the hell away. When I didn’t reply, she knocked again. Her voice was timid and sweet, not at all like the fearless girl I’d grown up with. I hated it. “Ramsey? You hungry? I’m making breakfast? I was wondering if you wanted something?” Everything from my name to the fact that she was making breakfast was a question, as if maybe she was asking permission to cook in her own house. My stomach was currently feasting on my backbone. Still, I said nothing. She sighed. “Okay. Well, if you change your—” There were several seconds of silence. I quirked my eyebrow at the door, trying to figure out why she’d abruptly stopped talking, and then cursed my inability to develop x-ray vision. I held my breath, hoping to hear her footsteps as she walked away. No. Such. Fucking. Luck. The door swung open and she came walking inside with her hands stacked over her eyes. “Look, I know you’re awake. I heard you running earlier. I also heard you take at least three showers. Sorry, but the house isn’t that big. Neither is the hot water heater. Are you at least dressed so I can open my eyes?” Brave. Unapologetic. And completely oblivious to boundaries. Now that was the Thea I knew. “Get out,” I barked. “Dressed? Not dressed? Help me out here?” “Get. Out.” She kept her eyes closed. “You gotta eat, Ramsey. You can’t stay locked up in this room forever.” I wanted to tell her to get the hell out again. Honestly, it was on the tip of my tongue. But it never made it past my lips because my traitorous eyes stole a head-to-toe of her lithe body. She was barefoot, wearing jeans—tight ones that tapered at her ankle. They looked like mine in the sense that they had a rip in the knee. They didn’t look like mine in the sense that they hugged the curve of her hips and more than likely her ass too. A pink tank top stretched across her chest, and I swear on my life, fuck x-ray vision because I could see the pebble of her nipples beneath the fabric. It wasn’t a ridiculous dress. It wasn’t stupid fucking heels. She wasn’t wearing a face full of clown makeup. She was just Thea. The nostalgia pumped through my veins like acid even as my cock stirred. Fuck, I should have jerked off again in the shower. “I’m dressed,” I bit out, desperate for her to put her damn hands down and maybe use them to cover her tits instead. Her long, brown lashes fluttered as she opened her eyes. Those fucking eyes had once owned me. As a huge smile lit her face, I felt the claim all over again. “Oh, look, you chose one of the outfits I picked out for you.” Of course I had. Of fucking course. As soon as I got her out of my room, I was going to take the outfit off and light it on fire.

About Aly

Originally from Savannah, Georgia, USA Today bestselling author Aly Martinez now lives in South Carolina with her husband and four young children. Never one to take herself too seriously, she enjoys cheap wine, mystery leggings, and olives. It should be known, however, that she hates pizza and ice cream, almost as much as writing her bio in the third person. She passes what little free time she has reading anything and everything she can get her hands on, preferably with a super-sized tumbler of wine by her side.

Connect with Aly

Facebook: http://bit.ly/2RvbjCA

Twitter: http://bit.ly/2DUCq1Z

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2We92eT

BookBub: http://bit.ly/2V32S4B

GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2UKGUOM

Facebook Reader Group: http://bit.ly/2DEpPAh

Instagram: http://bit.ly/2DUgzrJ

Website: https://alymartinez.com/

Stay up to date with Aly by joining her mailing list today:

http://bit.ly/2WnkxjS

NEW RELEASE: Release by Aly Martinez

"I couldn't put it down! The incredible premise and the tension will keep you turning the pages until dawn." -Sarina Bowen, USA Today bestselling author

Release, an all-new powerful and emotional standalone romance from USA Today bestselling author Aly Martinez, is available now!

Growing up, Ramsey Stewart branded my soul in ways time could never heal.

At twelve, he asked me to be his girlfriend.

At thirteen, he gave me my first kiss.

By sixteen, we’d fallen in love, planned a future together, and had our eyes set on the horizon.

Love never fails, right?

But for Ramsey, it did.

Love failed him.

I failed him.

The entire world failed him.

At seventeen, Ramsey was convicted of killing the boy who assaulted me.

Move on,he wrote in his first and only letter from prison.

Start a new life, he urged.

I don’t love you anymore, he lied.

There was no such thing as giving up on Ramsey. Love may have been our curse, but he was mine—then, now, and forever.

So here I am, twelve long years later, waiting for a man I don't even know to emerge from between the chain link gates.

Download your copy today or read FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2QOughI

Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/ReleaseAlyM

Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2oGE1oo

About Aly

Originally from Savannah, Georgia, USA Today bestselling author Aly Martinez now lives in South Carolina with her husband and four young children.

Never one to take herself too seriously, she enjoys cheap wine, mystery leggings, and olives. It should be known, however, that she hates pizza and ice cream, almost as much as writing her bio in the third person.

She passes what little free time she has reading anything and everything she can get her hands on, preferably with a super-sized tumbler of wine by her side.

Connect with Aly

Facebook: http://bit.ly/2RvbjCA

Twitter: http://bit.ly/2DUCq1Z

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2We92eT

BookBub: http://bit.ly/2V32S4B

GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2UKGUOM

Facebook Reader Group: http://bit.ly/2DEpPAh

Instagram: http://bit.ly/2DUgzrJ

Website: https://alymartinez.com/

Stay up to date with Aly by joining her mailing list today:

http://bit.ly/2WnkxjS

REVIEW: Winter Tales by Tiffany Reisz

OUR REVIEW:

I could fill this screen with all of the reasons why I love the Original Sinners world and why you should buy this collection. I could tell you that even if you don't know the history of these characters you'd find that each short story stands on its own. I could tell you that the characters are well rounded, the banter lands perfectly, the inner monologues can be poignant, and the sex is intimate and sexy. I could tell you that even though I've read at least one of these shorts before, I willingly read it again because I just wanted to live in the space of these characters. But perhaps the most telling thing about my pleasure in this collection is that it makes me want to start at the very beginning of the novel series and deep dive back into the lives of these dynamic characters--and that's the thing about reading Tiffany Reisz: as soon as I start one of her novels all I want to do is push aside everything else and read her entire back list and get lost in the worlds she creates.

...and one more thing: While all of these short stories involve Christmas and it makes for cozy Christmas reading, these are really perfect for anyone who lives for the characters in the OS world.

BUY IT: https://amzn.to/39F3TDo

SYNOPSIS:

Return to USA Today bestseller Tiffany Reisz's Original Sinners series with "Winter Tales," a collection of three fan-favorite Christmas novellas plus a brand-new novella exclusive to this anthology.

In "December Wine," the long-awaited story of Nora Sutherlin's first meeting with Nico can finally be told. Nora enlists her editor (and sometimes lover) Zach Easton on a mission to track down Kingsley's long-lost son. Nicolas "Nico" Delacroix turns out to be young, strikingly handsome, and very French. He wants nothing to do with his father...but everything to do with Nora.

This special holiday-themed collection also includes the novellas "Poinsettia," "The Christmas Truce," and "The Scent of Winter" (previously available only as ebooks). A bonus short story starring Søren rounds out the "Winter Tales" anthology.