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Nicole Williams – Crash Trilogy Reading Order

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Much loved older YA “bad-boy” series that had so many of us swooning! Definitely a great option on my “What to Read After Beautiful Disaster” list! Check out my review of book #1 (Crash), and these enthusiastic recommendations, below! PLUS scroll all the way down for the awesome breaking news about the series!

Jessica: Looking for a good tug on the heart strings? Nicole Williams writes a couple good ones! Crash and then Clash. LOVED THEM! Clash is especially good. Im sure you have already read these but if not, they are a must read! Put em’ on top of your pile…..NOW 🙂 Yes, I know i’m bossy but I don’t want you to miss out. Jude is sexy as hell!!

Sue: I loved Clash!!! It talks your heart on a wild roller coaster ride!

Jeannie: I finished Clash last night and it was SO GOOD!! I did almost have to throw my kindle because there was so much going on that was making me crazy – but the ending was so worth it!! It was so perfect I had to read it twice (and maybe again today, just because).

Robin: Loved them both! I mean how delish is Jude?!?

About book #1:

Southpointe High is the last place Lucy wanted to wind up her senior year of school. Right up until she stumbles into Jude Ryder, a guy whose name has become its own verb, and synonymous with trouble. He’s got a rap sheet that runs longer than a senior thesis, has had his name sighed, shouted, and cursed by more women than Lucy dares to ask, and lives at the local boys home where disturbed seems to be the status quo for the residents. Lucy had a stable at best, quirky at worst, upbringing. She lives for wearing the satin down on her ballet shoes, has her sights set on Juilliard, and has been careful to keep trouble out of her life. Up until now.

Jude’s everything she knows she needs to stay away from if she wants to separate her past from her future. Staying away, she’s about to find out, is the only thing she’s incapable of.

For Lucy Larson and Jude Ryder, love’s about to become the thing that tears them apart.

  

As per the author’s blog post:

“Well, HarperCollins has picked up the series and and will be releasing both CRASH and CLASH in paperback on December 18th! …

Since I felt there was still more that needed telling, there will be a third book in the series.

Yep, a THIRD BOOK!

The third book is entitled CRUSH and will be coming soon to your e-readers and bookstores everywhere. This story is going to pick up where CLASH left off and is going to be even steamier and the stakes are going to be higher than ever. To everyone who begged and pleaded with me to write another chapter in Jude and Lucy’s story, you got your wish!”

Book Review – Butterfly Weeds by Laura Miller

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Butterfly Weeds
Another superb book find that kept me reading non-stop until I was done. I want to say “WOW!” but this book deserves more then just a wow, for me. And anyway, “wow” is almost a little too loud for this serene yet agitating read. Deep, but in a “hopeless romantic” kind of way. Beautifully written and gentle in it’s approach. Angst-y, yes, but bathed in a delicate, reassuring tone.

It’s subdued, building slowly until your heart just can’t take it anymore, until finally you say ENOUGH please… it hurts. A little give, a lot of take, when it comes to the readers emotions, but, isn’t that what us book-angst-addicts are all about? Moments of sweet relief only to be “caught up” again in the heroine’s head. Seeing things from our perspective, and yet feeling things from hers.

This one has been brought to my attention a few times, and once I clued into a few “key words”, my TBR list shifted and I jumped in:

Kirstie: Butterfly weeds by Laura miller was amazing! Its a modern day notebook with a rockstar. I pity the book I read after it!

Mandy: I liked this book too, it made me cry at the end!

Kristie: I felt like I cried the whole book. I thought their love was beautiful!

Amy: Ok so I’m 70% in and cannot stop reading. I’m going to need lots of coffee in a few hours!!!! I have been in such a reading slump since The Sea of Tranquility but I think I may have found its match!!  And who knew I could fall in love with another Will…….

Yep. “Cry”, “rock star” (in this case – country star) and “Sea of Tranquility” were definite motivators for me. Loving a book so much that you wonder what you can read after it? I LOVE books like that, and after a few rocky book starts from my TBR list, I found myself in this one, last night. It was a reading relief despite the emotional upheaval being inflicted upon me.

Did I cry? Hehe. Oh yeah. My throat muscles were hurting so bad by the end from trying to keep it together, but at a certain point, I gave in. And gave in BIG. (thank goodness for my Facebook crew! I was not alone in my mini-melt-down).

Maryse’s Book Blog: Ok I’ve had a few start & stops reading wise over the last 48hrs, but OMG this one HAS me. It’s been mentioned a few times, and it’s just so heartwarming and sweet and I’ve been sighing like crazy. Then I hit 20-something percent and I felt a familiar ache and at 30-something percent now and my heart just stuttered. Ohhh wow I’m going to love this, I know it.

Susan: What a Great Book!! It will make your heart very heavy!!! Loved it!!!

Maryse’s Book Blog: Yes!! Very heavy now, that I had to take a break and come here for a hug. Hehe

Kim: I loved it!!!!! It is a great story. I should’ve told you a long time ago!!! I cried at this one it just was so darn sweet/touching by the end!!!

Sherry: got it !!!

Dee: Thanks for the heads up! I bought it.

Anjanette: Excited a new read for the weekend Ty Maryse

Sandra: Are we going to hold hands while we read this?? Julie just sent me the book and I’ve been in a book funk lately

Amy: I started it last night & couldn’t put it down!! Needless to say I got 2 hours of sleep this morning. It was such a sweet story that literally made me ugly cry!!! I think I finally got out of my Sea of Tranquility slump since last month. And how can you not fall in love with another Will……

Julie: Yes!! Amazing book!!  This author really keeps you on your toes til the end!

Maryse’s Book Blog: Amy  I’m scared of the ugly cry!!

Amy: Don’t be scared bc it is so worth it!!! Just be prepared since I’m giving you time to prepare. I was seriously contemplating going to the last chapter bc I needed to know the ending (and I’ve only done that once before) but I stuck it out & boy was I glad I did. I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on it.

Maryse’s Book Blog: Stupid ugly cry!!! It got me. Oh wow.  Okay… time to cry myself to sleep… *hug* was so good. *sob*

Mint: You get me curious, Maryse!!! I have never dropped my current read to jump into something else. But that’s about to change now.

Megan: Ha ha stupid ugly cry, okay it is now moving right up the list!

Amy: Yay!!!! Stupid ugly cry . Seriously though how could you not cry at the end… Will!

Mandy: I loved this book but it didn’t half make me cry! Great read

Debbie: Omg….I just spent the last 15 mins crying…..but we’ll worth it…thanks again maryse for your great reviews

Kristie: It was best book I’ve read! So far!

And when my husband noticed I was in my “after-book-mope-mode” he humored me, and listened to the whole thing while I recounted it. Sure enough, my voice broke when I told him the end. He nodded and and gave me his own take… said something enlightening (but I can’t say it due to spoilers). But all that to say, he “got” it. *sniff sniff* It’s just soooo beautiful.

So what’s it about? It’s somewhat of a traditional (yet contemporary) love story, reminiscent of something we might see in a blockbuster movie (my husband brought up Christmas Hallmark movie… again. rolleyes *sheeesh* that boy and his Christmas movies.). The feel of this one is… “considerate” in it’s angst. It doesn’t beat you over the head with it, or get too crazy (although… we all know I enjoy that too! *grins*). This one tenderly builds to the point of no return. OK I admit, I rolled my eyes BIG TIME, once, but only in frustration, and I was still loving it despite my need to shake someone.

Will and Julia have known each other and have been best friends since they were children. They ran through the gamut of childhood miseries (him teasing her like the brat he was), until later in their teens, she realized he was no longer looking at her with his annoying smirk. In fact, it was more of a longing gaze. And she saw him in a new light.

Yep, it was him – the same guy. He looked so different now.

The handsome man that he was becoming, the talented country singer/songwriter that would play his guitar quietly just for her.

“That’s what I’ve waited my whole life to hear,” he said, smiling, as he kissed my forehead and then retook his place beside me.

We returned to unreserved silence then, as if emptying our souls without a word. It was funny how the same lips that had always incited so much speech – usually scolding – could also take it away so effortlessly.

And what an AMAZING man he was proving to be. *sigh* Now THIS one had me swoooooooooning. There doesn’t seem to be a bad-boy bone in his body, but he’s everything that could make a girl fall head over heels. His mama raised him right! *blush* (I couldn’t help myself, I had to say it!) Wait… wait! Of course I like ’em bad-boy (and I’m sure plenty of their mamas raised ’em right, too). 😉  But you know. You just can’t help but fall in love with Will. And neither could Julia.

And as reality would have it, life gets in the way. Plans for the future, that just might not coincide. Can the beauty of everything they are together, everything they once gave to each other, be enough to withstand the trials of life? And therein lies the story. Is this just a matter of “high school sweethearts” moving on, or… I’ll stop there.

In the end, I had to believe that when all of the pieces were touching, they would leave behind a beautiful depiction of life. And I knew that if Will and I could somehow find a way to be together in the final act that we would always find a way to combine the jagged pieces to construct a beautiful ending.

A gorgeous, enlightening, absolutely captivating read!

I’m going to give it 4.5 stars. I want to say a 5 star read for me, except for one thing. And I can’t even say it here because it would give away too much. My husband however, gave me a different perspective on it (very sweet and I totally saw his point), but he agreed that this was the perfect opportunity to ask the author for… more. Please Laura?

Have you read it yet? Want to discuss it in detail? I’ve started a discussion forum dedicated to the book, here: https://talk.maryse.net/threads/butterfly-weeds-by-laura-miller.372/

P.S. Book #2 (Will’s POV) is out right now!!! —> My Butterfly by Laura Miller

The old cover…

Latest Free & Bargain e-Books – Friday October 19th 2012

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Happy Freebie Friday DAY!! Lots of good “reader-recommendations” below and a few new finds that look interesting. Some rock stars… (um a boy band, too. tee hee!) and plenty of romantic comedy and angst-y reads to boot! Plus one with a cage-fighter that had me jumping with joy until I read the dark synopsis and realized this is not my usual read … but it still has me intrigued.

NOTE: Free and bargain priced when I added them, but prices can change on Amazon, so make sure to check before you finalize your order.

Free and bargain e-books that you can read on your Kindle, or even on your computer with the Kindle software. (NOOK USERS: I’ve been told that often, many of these freebies and bargains are also available on the Nook).

FREEBIES:

                 

Bargains:

  • Ruining Me by Nicole Reed –> recommended by a few of our fellow readers over the last few days (Tiffany, Kirsten…): Danielle said: “I just finished Ruining Me by Nicole Reed and it was a total tear jerker. It’s a mature YA story with love triangles, heavy issues, and other things…”
  • The Secret of Ella and Micha by Jessica Sorensen
  • Graveyard Shift (Lana Harvey, Reapers Inc.) by Angela Roquet <— was on the freebie list last week, and Joanna is enjoying it: “Starting reading Graveyard Shift last night and enjoying it. Not quite sure how to describe this one… It’s a fun paranormal that may or may not be a romance, haven’t figured that out yet…”
  • Exquisite (Exquisite Series) by Ella Frank <— this is the one I’m currently reading, and was thrilled to see a bunch of enthusiastic recommendations for it! –> Tracy: “Read Exquisite…hot guy, hot sex, strong woman!! Very good… loved it! 5 star good!”
  • Going Under (book #1) by Gergia Cates — Sabrina said: “The first book was good– can’t wait to read this one- thx for the reminder.” in response to Tiffany’s suggestion below!
  • Shallow (A Going Under Novel #2) by Georgia Cates <— brought to our attention by Tiffany: “Im reading Shallow by Georgia Cates and IT is SOOOO Good so Far..Im a Happy Camper right now…”
  • Faking It by Elisa Lorello <— “… the sight of an honest-to-goodness male escort shocks her—and fascinates her more than a little. Months later, Andi impulsively calls Devin…”
  • Unravel Me by Kendall Ryan <– another that has been frequently recommended. Book #2 will be out in November!
  • The Bride Wore Chocolate (Sweet and Savory Romances) by Shirley Jump <— “Two weeks before her wedding she wakes up in the wrong man’s bed. Candace thinks she’ll be able to run out the door and forget all about Michael Vogler, but the Boston millionaire has other plans for the jittery bride.” Ruh roh.
        

Don’t have a Kindle? That’s okay, you can read these on your computer or phone with Kindle Apps:

Download Kindle for PC
Download Kindle for MAC
Download Kindle for iPhone
Download Kindle for Blackberry
Download Kindle for iPad (that’s how I’m reading these!)
Download Kindle for Android

Tara Sivec – The Chocolate Lovers Series Reading Order

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The funniest contemporary romance/erotic series ever! I’m sure of it! Okay, I admit, I don’t have that much experience in romance comedy reads, but if you judge by the way I chuckled, hooted and snorted while reading book #1 (check out my review), I’m quite confident in giving it that title! THE PERFECT read when you’re in the need for a pick-me-up. Perfect to pull you out of that “dark-read” brood-mood. And just an all out *eyebrow raising* sexy, & romantic sugary-sweet, tantalizing treat (umm… and you can take that description as innocently or as innuendo-y as you want… hehe 😉 )

And if you go by what our fellow readers say, I think you’re all in for the laughing ride of your life. It’s a bit dirty, too. *blush* Okay…. a LOT dirty. Tee hee!!!!

Janet: I just had to write and tell you about this hilarious book I’m reading (at 35%), you may have already heard about it but if not you really should add it to the top of your TBR list.  It’s called Seductions and Snacks by Tara Sivec.  It is got to be the single funniest book I have EVER read.  It’s also a love story but this author does an incredible job with the story telling.  I HIGHLY recommend this book.

Maxima: I just have to tell you about a book I just read, it’s called Seduction and snacks by  Tara Sivec. It is the funniest book I have ever read, it would be great if you can also read it,  just try not to do it a 3:00 am I actually woke my husband up when I couldn’t stop laughing and tears were coming down my face, he actually sent me to the living room!  I loved it! I hope it makes your TBR list.

Bitchie: It’s called Seduction and Snacks by Tara Sivec. It’s awesome and funny and sweet, and I think I even teared up once.

Jen: I stayed up until the sun was up this morning finishing Futures and Frosting – I didn’t think it was possible that this book could come anywhere near the first one — but it totally did… I was literally shaking the bed with my laughter while my husband was snoring next to me… Seriously awesome follow-up to Seduction and Snacks… Loved loved loved it!!!!

About the series:

Claire is a twenty-something, single mom that grudgingly helps her best friend sell sex toys while she attempts to make enough money to start her own business to give her foul-mouthed, but extremely loveable (when he’s asleep) toddler a better life.

When Carter, the one-night-stand from her past that changed her life forever, shows up in her hometown bar without any recollection of her besides her unique chocolate scent, Claire will make it a point that he remembers her this time. With Carter’s undisguised shock at suddenly finding out he has a four-year-old son and Claire’s panic that her stretch marks and slim to none bedroom experience will send the man of her dreams heading for the hills, the pair will do whatever they can to get their happily ever after.

        

Kelly Favor – For His Pleasure Series Reading Order

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Another “short story” erotica/bdsm series that I’ve been hearing about, that seems to follow one specific couple. The reviews are… all over the place, but it would appear the reviews get better as the story progresses. Many mentioning/comparing this series to Fifty Shades and the Crossfire (Bared to You) series. A “what to read” if you’re looking for more like that (and then again, some of the more negative reviews also comparing, but on a less enthusiastic note). I am curious… after all, I LOVE Fifty and Gideon. I’d love to find another similar (and worthy) indulgence!

Jana: Have you read For His Pleasure series by Kelly Favor?!?!?! They are really good kind of like 50 !!

TL: I have been reading the, “For His Pleasure” series. Very good read.

Rebecca: I just spent 3 days engrossed with all 9 Kelly Favor “For His Pleasure” books. Most were short but none the less with the steamy stuff and the heart break and the hot guy billionaire. I did want to wait to read all at the same time I don’t do cliff hangers so good, I tend to obsess a little coming off a good book. So after I finish the series I Googled the author and found NOTHING! No website No Facebook…

Hrmmm… you are right Rebecca! I can’t find a thing. I shall continue to investigate…

IMPORTANT NOTE from Maryse: Unfortunately, (and this goes for each month that this author has released an installment in this series), I never know when the next one will be out or what the title will be. However!! The author has emailed me her twitter account info, and now we can all keep up to date!!

About book #1 ( (The Submission of Miss Masters, Domination, BDSM):

When twenty-two year old Nicole Masters gets a highly coveted internship working for one of the largest advertising companies in the world, she can’t believe her luck. But Jameson International isn’t just any company. It’s owned by thirty-two-year-old business mogul and celebrity, Red Jameson.

Red is known for his high flying lifestyle; dating models and hanging with the rich and famous.

The powerful billionaire can have any woman he wants, and the naive college graduate can’t imagine making much of an impression on her new CEO. But when Red Jameson takes notice of her and invites her up to his secluded office one day, everything changes.

As it turns out, the powerful businessman also has a voracious sexual appetite, and it’s been whetted by none other than Nicole herself. And Red needs to be in charge at every turn. Nicole isn’t just any girl though, and Red Jameson’s shocked to find that the young intern is more than a match for him in a battle of wits and will.

                 

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