Author: Colleen Hoover
Genre: YA, Contemporary Romance
Format: Kindle
Published: 1 January 2012
Publisher: Self/Amazon Digital Services
Series: Yes!
Price: $2.99 (worth every penny and more)

Synopsis: {via GoodReads}

Following the unexpected death of her father, 18-year-old Layken is forced to be the rock for both her mother and younger brother. Outwardly, she appears resilient and tenacious, but inwardly, she's losing hope.

Enter Will Cooper: The attractive, 21-year-old new neighbor with an intriguing passion for slam poetry and a unique sense of humor. Within days of their introduction, Will and Layken form an intense emotional connection, leaving Layken with a renewed sense of hope.

Not long after an intense, heart-stopping first date, they are slammed to the core when a shocking revelation forces their new relationship to a sudden halt. Daily interactions become impossibly painful as they struggle to find a balance between the feelings that pull them together, and the secret that keeps them apart.

Review:

This review might be short because, frankly, I found very little wrong with this book. I loved it, it was fantastic, and to go on for too long would just be gushing. While I think this book probably actually deserves gushing, I'm not really a gusher. So, I'll be brief, but I'll say that I think anyone and everyone interested in a touching story should read this book. Yes, it's romance, but it's much more than that. Give it a shot.

The Characters:

Both Layken (or "Lake") and Will are believable, sympathetic characters. Lake is going through a great deal of turmoil throughout the novel, but I never felt like she was petulant. She does have fits, but they're understandable fits. In a lot of ways, she and Will are in a terrible place. They're drawn to one another, but can't be together and you feel for them. Even Kel and Caulder are great little characters, as is Julia, Layken's mom, and Layken's best friend Eddie (a girl). All in all, the cast is well-rounded.

One thing to look out for here is that the book is not only first person, it's present tense and from the point of view of a teenage girl. Lake is eighteen, but she's young and the perspective works beautifully. We see, in many cases, her immaturity in dealing with Will and the bad spot they're in. But, she usually pulls it together in time to see her priorities and make choices that lead her the right direction.

The Plot:

This book really touched me. There were moments I laughed out loud, other when I cried. Crying is not a usual reaction for me, but this book has moments when you really feel for, and relate to, the characters. The plot isn't overly complicated, and while it had the potential--if handled incorrectly--to be cringe inducing (particularly given the news and climate with regards to some of this book's topic), it turned out to be endearing. Hoover handled a somewhat touchy subject with grace and the book was fantastic as a result.

The Issues:

I did feel a bit like the book left me hanging at the end, it's over a bit abruptly for my tastes, but the epilogue is available to help rectify that. It does end on a nice note, and in a place that I think worked, I just tend to believe much more could have been said. Still, it's a stylistic choice and I can respect that. Something else I'm a little bit put off by is that the second book in the series, Point of Retreat, has a different narrator.  Rather than being narrated by Layken again, the book is narrated by Will. I literally stopped reading a book series (Kushiel's Legacy) half-way through (after book 3) because I couldn't handle the idea of a new narrator (Immriel). So, this takes me outside my comfort zone a little bit. I think, though, if I can like this book and remember who the narrator is, then maybe I can go back to Kushiel's Legacy with a more open mind. We'll see.

The Verdict:

Rating: 5/5

All in all, I really enjoyed this book. It's a self-published novel and it stands together really well with some of the other self-published (and traditionally published) works in this genre. The story is heartwarming and heartbreaking at turns, but has a happy ending. I said so in my introduction, but I think if you're looking for a quick read that you should check this out. I can't wait to get into the next book, which I bought at the same time as this one in anticipation that I'd like it. I hope, if you take the time to check this one out, that you'll love it too.

Author: Tina Reber {website}
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Format: Kindle/ebook
Published: 25 May 2011
Publisher: Self/Amazon Digital Services
Series: Yes.
Price: $3.99

Synopsis: {via GoodReads}

Ryan Christensen just wanted to be an actor. Never in his wildest dreams did he ever think that accepting a role in an unknown film would toss his career into overdrive. His new fame has cost him dearly; anonymity is no longer an option. His fans stalk him, the paparazzi hound him, and Hollywood studios all want a piece of him. Despite all of that, Ryan Christensen craves the most basic of human needs - to have love in his heart and privacy in his life.

Taryn Mitchell, the story's protagonist, is a realist. She's been feigning contentment, running the family pub in Seaport, Rhode Island, while quietly nursing her own internal heartaches. Her feet are fairly glued to the ground and she doesn't buy into all the hype that has descended on her tiny, coastal town. In her world, men are safe if they're kept at a distance.

Fate has other plans for these two when their paths cross one sunny afternoon. A group of female fans has attacked him, leaving his shirt torn, his face cut, and Ryan in obvious distress. Bonds between them form from the most dramatic of circumstances while jealousy, insecurity, and the stress of his celebrity life try to tear them apart.

Through all the tabloid lies, secrecy, and pressure, can Taryn's peace and Ryan's high-profile insanity live together in harmony?

Review:

I really, really wanted to like this novel, but I really struggled to finish it. Most books, I'll finish in one night, maybe two. This book took me almost four nights. I finished it, largely out of respect for the author, because not finishing a novel isn't really my style. If Tina Reber can put her heart into writing it, I can respect her enough to finish it. Also, I paid for it and wanted to get my money's worth. Finally, I finished it because I was curious--I had to see if it got better as it went along. Sure enough, it did, but not until late in the novel. Mostly, I'm feeling somewhat disenchanted, and frankly deceived, by all of the five star reviews this book has gotten. For a debut novel, it wasn't terrible, but five stars is a bit much. I never read the reviews before I buy a book, I just read the synopsis and check the star stats on Amazon. If enough people liked it, I'll give it a shot. This book got a lot of five star reviews, so I trusted the reviewers and they sort of let me down.

The Characters:

Okay, here's the thing. I think my biggest issue with this book was the characters. They start out very stiff and one dimensional. They're just not believable. Or rather, Ryan is just not believable. Nothing about him screams movie star to me. I get that he has issues, but he's quite juvenile. As the novel progresses we find that he lies to her, leads her to believe half-truths, is overly jealous and possessive, and expects her to become the one thing she really doesn't want to be, reliant on him. As a matter of fact, he can be downright mean and nasty. He shouts at her, tells her what to do, and behaves quite hypocritically.

Taryn also really bothered me. She starts the novel as a woman in control of her life. She's suffered loss and had bad relationships, but she's educated (she went to Brown!) and is a savvy business owner/business woman. Single, she's in control and able to fend for herself, even if she is sort of alone in the world--though we learn that she does have family, she just refused to spend any time with them preferring to be alone. She turns down every man who walks through her door, doesn't give a whit about Ryan Christiansen, the famous actor, but when she finally meets him, she becomes this sort of mushy, wishy-washy girl who wants to please him. Very frustrating for a female character to start strong and deteriorate into something needy and neurotic.

I did, however, like Taryn's friends and Ryan's parents. All of them were well written, distinctive, and colorful, even if some of them were a bit stereotypical. Marie was what you expect a best friend to be, Tammy and Pete were fantastic additions to the cast, and Ellen and Bill were lovely. I liked each of them. I even liked the new-hire bartender, Cory, even though he wasn't given much in the way of personality.

Kyle was a problem for me. Mostly because, well, I liked him for the most part. At least up until the end. I thought he was attractive and friendly, and that both Taryn and Ryan were overreacting when there was nothing to freak about. If he gave her the creeps, or was overly pushy, why was she checking him out every time he was around? It can't really go both ways. She admits to attraction to him, but it's a little bit strange the way he fits into the story. His threads are a bit wonky too, since the smart and capable Taryn can't seem to see what's right in front of her face--she reminds me a bit of Oedipus in that, he was a great problem solver who couldn't see what was so obviously right in front of him. 

The Plot:

Overall, the plot was slow, but wasn't bad. For my taste, it took far too long to actually get anywhere. It just seemed like it was dragging on and on, and there were a lot of scenarios I didn't understand being included because they did nothing to add to the overall story. Also, small things took pages, while weeks would pass in one sentence, made the pacing awkward. By about 80% the story started to really pick up and a lot of important things started happening, which was awesome. I think she probably could have gotten to some of it much earlier in the book and it would have made for a more interesting read. But, the story does evolve and the character development is there, and for that Reber deserves much credit. By the end, you're rooting for Ryan and Taryn, or at least I was, and they had somewhat grown on me. Love Unscripted followed a fairly standard formula for it's genre, but that's fine, especially for a first novel.

The (Other) Issues:

Other than what I've already mentioned, my biggest issue was the stiff writing and unnatural dialogue. Reber uses many colloquialisms, which really detracts from suspension of disbelief. Also, she uses phrases that really distracted me, like "leave it go" rather than "let it go," but I'm going to chalk those up to dialectic issues because I don't know if people talk like that in the northeast. I know we don't in the south or on the west coast, but who knows. Also, she's unnecessarily wordy with descriptions and tells a lot of things she should be showing. There are a lot of explanations about the character's motivations, which is problematic because a savvy reader should be able to tell, from the character's actions, what their motivations are. The author shouldn't have to tell us. In this case, Reber didn't need to tell us, her characters motivations were perfectly clear and she could have left it at that, but for a debut novel it's a mistake that, perhaps, she will overcome as she produces more novels. 

Finally, and my biggest complaint, is that there were a lot of threads that go nowhere and things that're thrown in that doesn't turn into a plot thread. Several notable examples include: the empty condom wrapper she finds in his luggage (which is very shortly brushed under the rug, way, way later) that Taryn just chooses to ignore, or the person in his room he's hushing while he's whispering that he loves her rather than just saying it. Those are just two of many examples and it bothered me. I feel like she should have brought those things up if she was going to seed them. Very frustrating, as a reader, to wait for something to come full circle that just simply never does.


The Verdict:

Rating: 2.5/5

I think, if I had it to do over again, I would have passed on this one. I am, however, glad to have read it and, strangely, will probably consider buying Love Unrehearsed whenever it happens to be released (though it seems like a long time between release dates, considering Reber is still writing that sequel). I think, for a debut novel, this one could have been better but Reber clearly reaches an audience with this novel and for that she has to be commended. Hopefully her next novel will be much more praiseworthy--I'm willing to give her another shot.

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Format: Kindle
Published: 25 February 2012
Publisher: Self (Amazon Digital Services)
Series: Yes!
Price: $3.99

Synopsis: {via GoodReads}

A continuation of the novel, Thoughtless...

A lot can happen in a year. You grow, you change, you learn from your mistakes. And Kiera had made a lot of mistakes to learn from. But she had learned, and she was determined to never cause a man pain again, especially the amazing man who currently held her heart. But life offers new challenges for every relationship, and when Kiera’s love is put to the ultimate test, will it come out the other side unscathed?

Love is easy…trust is hard

Disclaimer:

**First, please, please don't read this review if you haven't read this book or Thoughtless, the first book in the series, it could contain spoilers. If you have read Thoughtless, please take a moment to read my review!**

Review:

Just like the first book, I loved this book. I think I may have actually loved it more than I did the first one. And just like the first one, Thoughtless, I couldn't put it down. The characters and settings are just as amazing this time, with one little twist: Keira and Kellan are apart for much of the book. I think that's the one thing I didn't so much care for. I wanted them to be together, but for this story it worked. Right now, I'm eagerly awaiting the third installment of this series, but there's no release date just yet. Serious bummer, especially since this book, and Thoughtless, came out at really close together.

The Characters:

I love almost all of them and thought Keira isn't as much of a basket case in this one, she still gets there. She's grown up through her experiences in Thoughtless and she handles situations, like Kellan leaving, with much more maturity than she did in Thoughtless.  Something I really liked was seeing the dynamic between her and Kellan. They really click and work together, though they have issues. We see her family much more, too, and learn some new things about Kellan and his family, so there's a good deal of character development, which is nice.

I think one of the only characters I didn't much care for in this one was Denny, which was really surprising give that I really, really liked and felt for him in Thoughtless. In this book, to me, he comes across a bit of an ass. He comes back to town and meets back up with Keira, and though they're friends he treats her a bit harshly. It's understandable, for himself, but that he'd try to protect himself considering she crushed his heart into dust in the first book, but he feeds into her fears in a way that makes him an ass. Every time she thinks Kellan's being unfaithful, Denny is right there to tell her that she's probably right. It's really nasty, in my opinion. And you know, he has no desire to be with her, he has is own girlfriend, Abby.  Very uncool, but it reinforced my love of Kellan.

The Plot:

The basic idea is that Keira and Kellan must learn to trust one another, now that they're together. The underlying assumption is that they have trust issues because of how they got together. Being apart compounds their issues big time. This set up makes for amazing drama and when they come back together the drama is only heightened. Again, there are moments when you want to smack the characters or yell at them to do anything but what they're doing, but that makes the plot more believable.  There's also a sub-plot with Keira's sister, Anna, and her sometimes-boyfriend, Griffin, that's really good.  Overall, the book has really good flow and a plot that works really well. Sometimes, it's difficult to for an author to make a plot that travels around to different locations work, but Stephens pulls it off beautifully.

The Verdict:

Rating: 5/5

Buy this book!  I loved it, it was amazing. Stephens knows what she's doing, she knows what readers want, and she truly seems to care about her characters. I cannot wait for the next book in this series and will likely read anything else Stephen's writes. She's won a fan in me for sure. If you read it, I hope you enjoyed it!

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read 
• Open to a random page 
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page 
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) 
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Synopsis:  {via Amazon}

Ryan Christensen just wanted to be an actor. Never in his wildest dreams did he ever think he'd become the most sought after film star on the planet. Taryn Mitchell has been feigning contentment while running the family pub in Seaport, Rhode Island. Her peaceful life is tossed upside down when Ryan tries to outrun a group of fans by taking a shortcut through Mitchell's Pub.

Teaser:  {pg. 23, Loc 530 of 13791}

Ryan leaned over closer and smelled me again. I instinctively leaned farther away, almost tipping off-balance. His nostrils opened wider and a slight grin appeared on his lips.

"Peach scented perfume?" he asked.

I just started this book, but so far it's pretty good. Enjoy and happy Teaser Tuesday!