BOOK REVIEW: THE CHASE BY ELLE KENNEDY

Title: The Chase

Author: Elle Kennedy

Genre: Romance, New Adult

Published on: August 6, 2018, self-published

Everyone says opposites attract. And they must be right, because there's no logical reason why I'm so drawn to Colin Fitzgerald. I don't usually go for tattoo-covered, video-gaming, hockey-playing nerd-jocks who think I'm flighty and superficial. His narrow view of me is the first strike against him. It doesn't help that he's buddy-buddy with my brother.

And that his best friend has a crush on me.
And that I just moved in with them.

Oh, did I not mention we're roommates?

I suppose it doesn't matter. Fitzy has made it clear he's not interested in me, even though the sparks between us are liable to burn our house down. I'm not the kind of girl who chases after a man, though, and I'm not about to start. I've got my hands full dealing with a new school, a sleazy professor, and an uncertain future. So if my sexy brooding roomie wises up and realizes what he's missing?

He knows where to find me.

Forbidden love stories are among my favorite in the romance genre. If it's also a New Adult novel that doesn't have a shirtless dude in the cover, I'm picking it up. The Chase is the first in a New Adult romance series. The books are named after the setting, Briar University. The protagonist/love interest in The Chase is Summer Heyward-Di Laurentis. That mouthful of a name is a hint at her status. Summer is a well-to-do student, though it's refreshing that she's not your usual trust fund kid. Summer's father is a prosecutor, which I found interesting (even though he's never physically in any of the scenes).

The book starts on New Year's Eve. Summer is at a bar, where she meets the love interest, Colin Fitzgerald. She already knew him, but this is the first time Summer tries to get him to date her. Colin finds Summer pretty much irresistible, but there's a big obstacle. Summer is his best friend David's little sister. Colin and David know each other from playing hockey for Briar. David's not on the team anymore, but Colin still feels loyal to him. In an attempt to persuade himself not to give in to Summer, Colin talks about her (imagined) flaws to one of his acquaintances. Of course Summer overhears this, and is seriously offended. She assumes that Colin sees Summer as little more than fluff.

BOOK REVIEW: MORE THAN HER BY JAY MCLEAN

Title: More than Her

Author: Jay McLean

Genre: Romance, New Adult

Published on: November 18, 2013, self-published

Please note that this is the second book in the series and should not be read prior to reading More Than This.

"For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction."
For every choice you make there are rewards, or there are consequences.
It was my choice to walk away the first time. And my choice to chase her the second.
But sometimes you don't get a choice, and all you get are the consequences.
Unless that someone is Logan Matthews.

Because loving him didn't give me the strength to walk away.
It didn't give me the courage to fight for him.
And when it was over, all it gave me was a broken heart.
"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”

Despite having liked More than This and More than Forever so much, I’ve hesitated to read this book. It’s part of a romance series, and each book focuses on a particular couple. Jake and Micky were great, just like Cameron and Lucy. More than Her focuses on the character of Logan Matthews. He was introduced in the previous book, as one of Jake’s best friends. Part of the reason I put this book off for so long is that Logan’s, well, a bit of a jerk. He loves girls, but isn’t as good at treating them well as Jake and Cameron are. I also confess that Logan seemed so much like high school me, except with the jerkiness dialed down two or three notches.

Like me, Logan absolutely worships women. He is very eager to meet the girl who’ll sweep him off his feet, like Micky did Jake. Actually, Logan happened to have met Micky first (by a few minutes). He had a big crush on her, but backed off as soon as Jake showed interest in her. It didn’t help that Logan made a very poor first impression on Micky. Things turned out more than fine in the end. Logan eventually meets another girl who gets way deeper under his skin than even Micky did. Pity that he once again had bad luck when it comes to how they met. It started out okay, but Logan seriously misread the situation and royally screwed things up.

BOOK REVIEW: BE THE GIRL BY K.A. TUCKER

Title: Be The Girl

Author: K.A. Tucker

Genre: Young Adult, romance

Published on: January 21, 2019, self-published

From the internationally bestselling author of Ten Tiny Breaths and The Simple Wild comes a poignant novel about a girl trying to change her future while evading her past.

Aria Jones is starting over. New postal code, new last name, new rules. But she doesn’t mind, because it means she can leave her painful regrets behind. In the bustling town of Eastmonte, she can become someone else. Someone better.

With the Hartford family living next door, it seems she will succeed. Sure, Cassie Hartford may be the epitome of social awkwardness thanks to her autism, but she also offers an innocent and sincere friendship that Aria learns to appreciate. And Cassie’s older brother, Emmett—a popular hockey player with a bright future—well … Aria wishes that friendship could lead to something more. If he didn’t already have a girlfriend, maybe it would.

But Aria soon finds herself in a dicey moral predicament that could derail her attempt at a fresh start. It is her loyalty to Cassie and her growing crush on Emmett that leads her to make a risky move, one that earns her a vindictive enemy who is determined to splinter her happy new world.

 

Most of the books I read are part of a series. I slightly prefer those because it means you spend more time with the characters (it’s great when you like them). Still, there are times I feel like reading a standalone book, which is why I picked Be The Girl. This is a young adult romance from an author who has written great novels in the genre. The main protagonist is Aria Jones. At the start of the story, she and her mother Debra have just moved to Eastmonte in Canada. It’s obvious something bad happened that caused the move.

Part of the reason the Joneses moved is because Debra got divorced. She found out her husband had a secret family somewhere in the city. The jerk didn’t even love Aria anymore. She’s starting to move past it, though. Aria is ready to start a better life. Debra and Aria decide to stay with the latter’s elderly Uncle Merv. He’s been living alone ever since his wife passed away. Uncle Merv’s house needs a lot of TLC, which makes Debra get a little carried away. She spends tons of money renovating first one thing, then another. Debra can afford it--she used to be a successful lawyer.

BOOK REVIEW: TWISTED BOND BY EMMA HART

Title: Twisted Bond
Author: Emma Hart
Genre: Romance, mystery
Published on: June 11, 2015, self-published

I’m an Italian-Texan woman in a family full of cops. I’m passionate and shoot before I think. You only f*ck with me if you’re stupid.

Photograph cheating spouses. Hand over the evidence. Cash my check.

That was my plan when I returned home to Holly Woods, Texas, and became a private investigator.

Finding the dead body in my dumpster? Yeah… Given the choice, I think I would have opted out of that little discovery, especially since all three of my brothers are cops. And my Italian grandmother is sure the reason I’m single is because of my job.

Of course, my connection to the victim is entirely coincidental. Until I’m hired by her husband to investigate her murder and shoved bang-smack into the path of Detective Drake Nash. My nemesis, a persistent pain in my ass, and one hell of a sexy son of a bitch.

Shame he still holds a grudge from that time I shot him in the foot twelve years ago, or we could have something. In another life.

So now all I have to do is avoid my nonna’s blind dates, try not to blackmail my brothers into giving me confidential police files, and absolutely do not point my gun at Drake Nash. Or kiss him. Or jump his bones.

All while I hunt down the killer.

Sounds totally simple—until a second body proves that sometimes things that start as coincidences don’t always end up that way…

I’m familiar with Emma Hart. She is one of the first self-published authors I discovered. Hart mostly writes romances aimed at women…the kind I don’t read. So I’ve only picked up a small fraction of her works, the few ones I wouldn’t mind others knowing I own. Twisted Bond caught my eye because of its genre. I was intrigued when I found out Hart branched into mystery. It’s one of my favorite genres. I had to see whether the author pulled it off.

Twisted Bond takes place in the fictional town of Holly Woods, Texas. I would know because, well, I’m a Texan. The main character is Noelle Bond, a 30-year-old hotheaded private investigator. She’s the owner of Bond P.I., an agency that mostly handles infidelity cases. Noelle is also part Italian, and it’s a huge part of her character. She has a grandmother (whom she calls ‘Nonna’) who is bent on finding Noelle a husband. And he has to be part Italian, like them. Noelle is too independent and self-assured to  care about having a man in her life.

BOOK REVIEW: WHEN I WAS YOURS BY SAMANTHA TOWLE

Title: When I Was Yours

Author: Samantha Towle

Genre: Romance, New Adult

Published on: November 10, 2015, self-published

“Marry me.”
“What?” I stared back at him, unblinking.
He moved closer, taking my face in his hands. “I love you, Evie. I look into the future, and the only thing I see clearly is you. Marry me.”

What’s an eighteen-year-old girl who was madly in love with her nineteen-year-old boyfriend say?

Of course, I said yes.

Twenty-four hours later, I married Adam Gunner at a Vegas chapel to the sounds of “Livin’ on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi. Not the best omen. I get that now.

Then, exactly one week later, I left him. I walked out, leaving behind my wedding ring, annulment papers, and my heart, and he never knew why.

I haven’t seen him since. Not in ten long years.

Now, he’s here, standing before me. Looking at me with nothing but hurt and hatred in his eyes, he wants answers.

Answers I can’t give.

 

I’d been looking forward to reading a Samantha Towle book for a while. She seems to write the kind of romance novels that appeal to me. When I read the synopsis for When I Was Yours, it made me piqued. The main characters are Adam Gunner and Evie Taylor (I know). They met one fateful summer, shortly before they were due to attend college. Adam is a rich guy, and the only son of two Hollywood moguls. In contrast, Evie’s family is barely able to make ends meet. She also has a younger sister, Casey.

Adam first notices Evie when she’s out on the beach not far from his house. She’s sitting on a rock, drawing on a sketchpad. Adam’s quite a ladies’ man, but there’s something about Evie that he can’t resist. Unfortunately, Adam takes a long time to pluck up the courage to talk to Evie. When they finally are face to face, it’s a coup de foudre. Adam thinks Evie is the most beautiful girl he has ever seen. Evie also really likes Adam, even knowing he spent weeks simply watching her.

BOOK REVIEW: WICKED SEXY BY J.T. GEISSINGER

Title: Wicked Sexy

Author: J.T. Geissinger

Genre: Romance

Published on: July 26, 2018, self-published

Connor Hughes is a bonafide badass. His private security firm is renowned for its effectiveness. He's renowned for his lethal precision and iron self-control. But when the former Marine meets a gorgeous young hacker with a mouth as smart as her brain, his control unravels in ways he never could have predicted.

Tabitha West is a genius MIT dropout with a bad attitude, an obsession with Hello Kitty, and piercings in unmentionable places. Known in hacker circles as Polaroid due to her photographic memory, she's as secretive as she is accustomed to working alone. So when Connor decides she's the only one who can help him catch a cyber criminal intent on taking down one of his clients, she tells him exactly where he can stick it.

But when the cyber criminal turns out to be a dark presence from Tabby's past, Tabby and Connor are drawn into a dangerous game of cat and mouse. They find themselves fighting not only their common enemy, but also an explosive desire that threatens to consume them. When the stakes are this high and the game this deadly, will falling in love be the most dangerous move of all?

 

After meeting Tabitha “Tabby” West in Wicked Beautiful, I felt eager to read her story. She was a prominent supporting character and is now a protagonist. I liked Tabby a lot mostly because she’s a tech genius. Tabby is so wickedly intelligent (couldn’t resist) she graduated from MIT at an age most other people are starting high school. I’m really into smart women--especially tech-wise--like Daisy Johnson or Caitlin Snow. Wicked Sexy takes place three years after the first book. Tabby’s love interest is Connor Hughes. He’s a whiz at technology as well…though not as much as Tabitha.

Tabby and Connor met while their respective bosses were at odds with each other. They both served as the go-to tech people. Connor even has his own elite private security company. He tried to uncover info on Tabby’s boss, and it didn’t end well. Tabby wasn’t just a tech whiz: she was the notorious hacker called Polaroid. Her security software fried Connor’s custom system, which drove him nuts. When Connor found out Tabby was his rival, he was incredulous. Connor couldn’t fathom how such a petite girl could best him.

BOOK REVIEW: CITY OF LEGENDS BY CHEYANNE YOUNG

Title: City of Legends

Author: Cheyanne Young

Genre: Science fiction, Young Adult

Published on: September 7, 2013

Maci Knight has grown up in the shadow of legends. Her father and her brother, Max, are Heroes, worshiped by humans and Supers alike for their strength and valor. All she’s ever wanted is to follow in their footsteps, to fight villains and protect humankind. But Maci has a secret—one that could change everything.

Maci had a twin sister who died the same day they were born. In their world, one twin is always good, while the other always eventually turns evil. There’s no way to tell which twin will go rogue . . . which means no one knows if Maci will suddenly become a villain.

The closer she gets to her eighteenth birthday, the more she has feelings she can’t control: Violence. Rage. Revenge. Maci wants to be a Hero. But she may not have a choice . . .

The first in a trilogy, City of Legends introduces a new superhero mythology and an unstoppable heroine.

Previously published by Amazon Publishing and Alloy Entertainment, LLC

 

This is a book I came across when searching for superhero-genre novels. In particular, I wanted to read something that wasn’t Marvel or DC. City of Legends sounded right up my alley. The main character is Maci Knight, a Super. In this world, Supers evolved from humans not long after the dawn of mankind. The reason given is that they were exposed to a special fictional element found in caves. This gave Supers an extra set of silver power veins that grant them strength, speed, enhanced senses, and an increased healing factor. In the present time, most Supers live in King City, a secured city in Utah.

Max grew up in King City with her older brother, Max. Their father is the President of the Super community. His name is not mentioned in the book, though. Max and the President are both in the Hero Brigade. This inspired Maci to follow the same path. She’s been training to become a Hero ever since she was a kid. Now that Maci is about to turn eighteen, she’s going to take a test that will decide whether she gets into the Brigade. Fate may have other plans for Maci, though. She discovers a family secret that rocks her world. It causes Maci’s already short temper to be more on edge.

BOOK REVIEW: WICKED BEAUTIFUL BY J.T. GEISSINGER

Title: Wicked Beautiful

Author: J.T. Geissinger

Genre: Romance

Published on: December 1, 2015, self-published

Life coach and best-selling author Victoria Price has it all: a successful career, fabulous friends, a fantastic penthouse in Manhattan. What she doesn’t have—and doesn’t want—is a husband. Fifteen years ago her high school flame broke her heart so badly she swore she’d never love again.

Drop-dead sexy restauranteur and infamous playboy Parker Maxwell has only three rules for the women he dates: no questions about his past, no expectations for the future, and no spending the night. When he meets Victoria, however, he’s willing to break his own rules if it means sating the explosive desire she arouses in him. What he doesn’t know is that the alluring Victoria Price used to be the mousy Isabel Diaz, the girl he deflowered and dumped long ago.

Presented with a perfect opportunity for revenge, Victoria decides the game is on. But when her connection with Parker proves more than just skin deep, she has to make a choice: continue with her plan for payback, or risk her career, her reputation, and her heart by taking a second chance on love?

 

When it comes to romance novels, I tend to choose optimistic ones, like those by J.A. Redmerski or Samantha Young. I haven’t read anything like Wicked Beautiful, which is what drew me to it. The protagonist, Victoria Price, hates the romantic interest, Parker Maxwell, from the start. I found this intriguing (having read only one enemies-to-lovers romance before). This novel is written in the first-person POV. It lets you see how strong Victoria’s feelings are toward Parker. She recounts how Parker broke her heart several years ago. The experience made Victoria into what she is today.

Victoria is a famous celebrity who lives in New York. She made her fortune working as a life coach of sorts. Victoria’s fans are exclusively female. She’s known as the Queen B****. Victoria heads seminars where she teaches women how to own their power and to not let anyone take advantage of them or treat them wrong. Bitter much? You bet. As for Parker, he’s also wealthy in his own right. By this time, Parker is the owner of around 20 restaurants all over the country. Victoria encounters him again when visiting his newest restaurant with her friend Darcy. The latter’s a food blogger with formidable influence. To Victoria’s relief, Parker doesn’t recognize her. He does feel an intense attraction toward her, though.

BOOK REVIEW: ON THE WAY DOWN BY ELLA FOX

Title: On the Way Down

Author: Ella Fox

Genre: Romance, New Adult

Published on: October 16, 2018, self-published

What happens when one of the most famous actors in Hollywood falls head over heels in love with a high school senior?

She was too young

Shaelyn Monroe believed larger-than-life action star Garrett Riordan was out of her league.

He was too famous

Garrett knew the mysterious girl who ignored him like it was her job was something special.

Against all the odds, Garrett and Shaelyn worked.

Right up until the moment unthinkable happened.

On The Way Down is book one of The Retake Duet 

Are you a fan of star-crossed lovers in books? Then you might enjoy On The Way Down. It’s a contemporary romance about a superstar and an average person. The main character is Shaelyn Monroe. She’s a seventeen-year old with shallow pockets and modest aspirations. The love interest is Garrett Riordan, a popular Hollywood actor. They meet because Shaelyn’s mother is a low-level worker at the set of Garrett’s latest movie.

Garrett and Shaelyn notice each other at pretty much the same time. Shaelyn’s mother has been bringing her to work. Having nothing to do, Shaelyn spends her time reading at one of the trailers. Garrett spots her and breaks the ice. There’s easy rapport between them, which surprises Shaelyn a bit. She doesn’t fangirl over Garrett despite knowing who he is. Garrett seems to appreciate that Shaelyn isn’t a groupie. She treats him like a regular person.

BOOK REVIEW: PURE BLOOD BY MELISSA PEARL

Title: Pure Blood
Author: Melissa Pearl
Genre: Fantasy

Published on: February 15, 2012, self-published

It is only a matter of time before Gemma's parents find out she traveled through time to bring Harrison back into existence. The fear of being found out is a heavy weight on her shoulders, but she refuses to give up on everything she's fought for. Harrison is worth the risk.

The couple draws closer together as they battle opposing forces from all sides. They stay strong until Gemma's parents welcome an exchange student into their home. Simeon, a gorgeous Californian, is as smooth as coffee and, supposedly, a fellow time spirit. Gemma's parents expect her to take him everywhere and, of course, fall in love with him. After all, he is the boy they have chosen for her.

No longer able to sneak off alone, Gemma must watch every step as she waits for the inevitable nightmare to catch up to her. Her parents ultimate goal is to get that last necklace and open the box hidden in their safe. If they do, Gemma knows her entire world will unravel.

As the danger mounts, Gemma must decide if she has the courage to make the ultimate sacrifice to save the ones she loves and stop to her parents' destructive plans.

It’s here, the conclusion of the Time Spirit trilogy. The previous book, Black Blood, ended in a pretty big cliffhanger. Protagonist Gemma Hart managed to save the day, though narrowly. It almost seemed as if a HEA wasn’t far along. Then the cliffhanger came and threw a wrench into that potential future. Now Gemma faces opposition from two fronts.

The good news is that Gemma has her boyfriend, Harrison Granger, back. He was wiped out of existence by Alistair and Penelope, Gemma’s parents. The Harts are time spirits, human beings who can time travel into the past. Alistair and Penelope have a very specific future in mind for their daughter. Harrison didn’t figure in it, so they got rid of him. Gemma was able to learn how to time travel thanks to Gabe Hunter, a former time spirit. I say former because time spirits lose their power when they become old.

BOOK REVIEW: IN THE DARK BY MONICA MURPHY

Title: In the Dark

Author: Monica Murphy

Genre: Romance, New Adult

Published on: August 19, 2015 by Monica Murphy

The girl next door isn't what she seems...

Stuck spending the summer with his screwed up family, Gabriel Walker is bored out of his mind and looking for an adventure. And he seems to find it with the hot girl who lives next door. The attraction between them is instant. Electric. Soon they're spending every stolen minute together. Talk about the perfect summer fling...

Lucy isn't what she seems. She doesn't live next door--she's the girl who's been hired to house sit. If Gabe wants to believe she's a spoiled rich girl looking for some fun, she can go along with that. After the summer, she'll never see him again.

They don't count on running into each other at college. Now Lucy must keep up the pretense of being a rich girl--and it's exhausting. She knows she's falling in love with Gabe and she's scared he feels the same. Will he still care about her when he discovers the truth?

After reading Fair Game, I liked it more than enough to continue this series. In the Dark is book two of The Rules series. It’s a standalone romance, meaning this isn’t part two of Jade and Shepard’s love story. These are the sort of romance novels where each book focuses on a different couple. The protagonists of In the Dark are Gabriel Walker and Lucy (whose last name wasn't mentioned, not that I recall). The former is Shepard’s best friend, who had a small but significant role in Fair Game.

Like Shepard, Gabriel doesn’t do commitment. Their sole concern is to have fun while they’re in college. Once they graduate, then they’ll be responsible adults. This means Gabriel never dates or sleeps with the same girl more than once. Things start to change as soon as this book starts. Gabriel is spending the summer with his family at their Santa Barbara beach house. The vacation would have been boring if it weren’t for a certain someone. Gabriel’s been spending a good part of his time ogling the next-door neighbor. She’s a girl around his age who likes to use the backyard pool.

BOOK REVIEW: BLACK BLOOD BY MELISSA PEARL

Title: Black Blood
Author: Melissa Pearl
Genre: Fantasy

Published on: December 14, 2011, self-published

Gemma's parents have put enough rules around her relationship with Harrison that she feels like she's living on parole. But she wins one battle—a summer job working for Harrison's step-father. It is the perfect chance to spend the steamy, hot Florida days with her boyfriend. It's also a great distraction from the cellphone hiding in her underwear drawer—her only contact with Gabe, the mystery man who's stalking her.

When she confronts Gabe, he tells her that her parents are not who she thinks they are, and Harrison has the gall to believe him. Surrounded by conflict, Gemma doesn't know what to believe, and it takes a trip back in time for her to glimpse the sickening truth.

Thanks to her parents, she returns to the present to find the love of her life no longer exists. His family line was broken and now, so is she.

This betrayal forces her to seek out Gabe. Setting aside her fear of the truth, she must trust this man and learn what he can teach her... otherwise, she'll never get her boyfriend back.

After reading Golden Blood, I bought the next two books right away. It was a quick but riveting novel. This sequel picks up shortly after Golden Blood ends. The book’s main heroine is Gemma Hart, a time spirit (a human who can time travel). She’s dating Harrison Granger, a normal human she’s had a big crush on for a small while. The two fell in love rather quickly, but I found nothing wrong with that. Some people are just made for each other.

Gemma’s family are also time spirits. Alistair and his wife Penelope use their time travel power to improve the world. They’re very traditional and strict, though, bordering on archaic. Gemma's parents forbid her from dating anyone who’s not a time spirit. They found out about Harrison by accident and didn’t take it well. Alistair in particular is furious about it. Gemma had to coerce them to let her have her happiness. They ended up agreeing, as long as Gemma and Harrison break up after their high school graduation.

BOOK REVIEW: FAIR GAME BY MONICA MURPHY

Title: Fair Game

Author: Monica Murphy

Genre: Romance, New Adult

Published on: May 12, 2015 by Monica Murphy

When your boyfriend bets YOU in a poker game, you better know when to run…

Bad enough Jade Frost’s boyfriend drags her to a boring poker game. Even worse that he actually threw her into the betting pot during an intense round…and lost. Talk about the perfect excuse for Jade to make him her ex-boyfriend.

Now she supposedly belongs to the ultra rich, extremely gorgeous Shep Prescott. He could have anything he wants yet he seems to be in hot pursuit of her. No matter how rude, how snarky, how impossible she acts, it doesn’t stop him. More like her horrible behavior seems to make him want her more.

When she finds herself starting to fall for him, Jade’s confused. There’s more to Shep than the carefree rich charmer he portrays. No way could he want a serious relationship with her…or could he?

This is one of those books in which the premise drew my interest. It sounded like it would be an entertaining read. Fair Game has two protagonists, Jade Frost and Shepard “Shep” Prescott. The story is written in first-person POV, alternating between their perspectives. Jade and Shepard meet under unusual circumstances. Jade is with her boyfriend, Joel. He’s playing blackjack against Shepard at the latter’s clandestine gambling house. When it seems like Joel may have a winning hand, Shepard makes a bet. If Joel wins, he’ll get fifty thousand dollars. But if Shepard wins, he’ll get Jade.

That surprising bet made me intrigued to find out what happens after. Why would Shepard want a girl he doesn’t even know? He’s been watching Jade all night using a mirror meant to catch cheaters. Something about her intrigued Shepard. You can guess how the bet turns out: Shepard wins Jade. She’s irritated about it and storms off. Jade is fully aware of Shepard’s playboy reputation. He’s a one-and-done kind of guy. Not to mention Jade dislikes his pretentious-sounding trust-fund-baby name. I kind of agree with her. Names hardly get any more preppy than Shepard Prescott.

BOOK REVIEW: RIPPLER BY CIDNEY SWANSON

Title: Rippler
Author: Cidney Swanson
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult

Published on: March 8, 2013, self-published

Discovering she can turn invisible terrifies Samantha, especially when she learns a geneticist who murdered her mom wants her too. Handsome Will Baker offers help and secrecy, but soon Sam will have to choose between keeping her secrets and keeping Will in her life. Suspenseful and romantic, Rippler and its sequels capture the collision of the beautiful with the dark.

Two further sequels form a complete trilogy. Four additional books in series for those who fall in love with the Ripple world and want even more!

RIPPLER is the free first book in a teen and young adult paranormal fantasy series set in a contemporary world where invisibility has long been a well kept secret. It combines the heart pounding action of a thriller with a touch of clean romance and a science fiction twist.

Looking forward to reading another contemporary sci-fi novel, I picked up Rippler. It’s the first entry in a trilogy, and it was free when I got it, so that was a boon. I began reading it, not expecting to be significantly wowed or anything. After finishing it, I was eager for more. Books that have characters with special abilities are among my favorite, and Rippler does not disappoint.

The main protagonist is Samantha Ruiz, a teenage schoolgirl from some tiny town called Las Abuelitas. Supposedly, it’s located somewhere in California. The town doesn’t actually exist, just so you know. Personally, I found the name a bit silly, no offense to the author. Anyway, Rippler starts out drawing your interest right from the first page. Samantha’s just suffered an incident in front of her classmates while rowing: she turned invisible. Lucky for Sam, no one notices…except for a boy named Will. He pulls off a well-thought distraction to allow Sam to return to normal.

BOOK REVIEW: THE MAN WITH TWO PASTS BY DAN RIX

Title: The Man with Two Pasts

Author: Dan Rix

Genre: Science Fiction

Published on: March 28, 2016 by Burning Ember Press

She was too smart to be popular. Too pretty to be ignored. Too conceited to be tolerated.

Seventeen-year-old Iris Strasser can’t seem to blend in to save her life, and she just made everything ten times worse. Time travel must have seriously compromised her judgment, because somehow she’s blundered into a relationship she’s not ready for with way-too-popular-for-his-own-good Cory Holland, the one boy she hates more than anyone—and now, infuriatingly, has a crush on. Now every girl at Lakeside wants her head on a stick.

Screw her feelings for him. They can have him back. She can’t stand Cory’s prickish cockiness for one more insufferable second. Except breaking up with him also breaks something in the past.

Now, all that’s left of the boy she almost loved is a lingering hint of déjà vu. That, and a confused ache in her heart.

Because everyone knows Cory died a long time ago.

After the first three books wowed me so much, I couldn’t not finish the series. It’s got romance and cool tech, two of my favorite topics to read about. The protagonists have gone on such a journey. First is Cory Holland, a young genius who’s on his senior year at Lakeside High. Next is Iris Strasser, Cory’s overachieving rival turned love interest. Noah Wright is Cory’s best friend, who attends the school on a scholarship. The Timeloopers series centers around a quantum computer prototype named the Chronos. A renowned tech lab donated it to Lakeside. Despite being off limits, Cory snuck out to check the machine and discovered its true nature. Lured by the thrill of time travel, Cory, Iris, and Noah kept using the Chronos for weeks afterward.

In the previous book, Cory barely managed to rescue Iris after mistakenly trapping her in an infinite loop. The ordeal caused them to develop a strong attraction. Cory and Iris are now dating, but their relationship is precarious. Iris has never had a boyfriend and fears that Cory will break her heart. He's an arrogant womanizer and used to treat Iris with disdain. Cory’s never been in a serious relationship either. As expected, Cory messes up bad and Iris breaks up with him.

BOOK REVIEW: GOLDEN BLOOD BY MELISSA PEARL

Title: Golden Blood
Author: Melissa Pearl
Genre: Fantasy

Published on: November 4, 2011, self-published

Gemma Hart never knows when her father is going to whisk her back in time. Her toes start tingling and she has a few minutes to find a secret haven where she can disintegrate and appear in another time and place. While “across the line,” her training and skills are put to the test as she completes a mission that will change history for the lucky few her father has selected.

Gemma's parents are adamant that secrecy is paramount to her family’s safety. If people knew what they were capable of, they could be "used and abused", as her mother always says. Afraid she might accidentally utter the truth and break the ancient oath of her people, Gemma spends her school days as a loner. Only one thing can throw her sheltered life askew... Harrison Granger.

Harrison never expected to talk to the strange Hart girl, but after a brief encounter he can't stop thinking about her. He begins a campaign to chisel away her icy veneer and is met with unexpected consequences. As he slowly wins this girl over, he enters a surreal world that has him fighting to keep his newfound love and his life.

I found this book while browsing the fantasy and sci-fi section of the Kindle store. The synopsis caught my interest. Golden Blood is the first entry of the Time Spirit trilogy. The main character, Gemma Hart, is a high school student with a supernatural ability. The reader doesn’t learn about this right away, though. Most of the first part of the book introduces Gemma, her family, and her friends. You learn about their normal lives and the status quo before anything supernatural is revealed.

The love interest, Harrison Granger, shows up early in the book. He and Gemma have a crush on each other. They’re a bit too intimidated to make the first move, though. Gemma has a curious reputation at school. Students see her as a weird girl. Some of them go as far as calling her a “freak”. Even Harrison himself wonders if Gemma is a witch or an alien. Gemma earned this reputation for a reason. She and her family have a big secret. Because of it, Gemma’s parents compel her not to get too close to anyone. They only allow casual friendships. Gemma’s ended up a sort of outcast because of this.

BOOK REVIEW: 10 YEARS LATER BY J. STERLING

Title: 10 Years Later

Author: J. Sterling

Genre: Romance, New Adult

Published on: March 25, 2015, self-published

Cammie:

It’s been ten years since I've seen him. Ten years. I have no idea what he’s doing, where he’s been or if he’s even still single. Have I thought about him over the years? Of course. Absolutely. But that doesn't mean anything, right? Just because you think about the boy you used to be in love with doesn't mean you’re still in love with him now. Does it?

Dalton:

I haven’t seen her in ten years. She’s the whole reason I’m even coming to this reunion. If it wasn't for her, I would have stayed home. I made mistakes back in high school. Hell, I was just a kid then. But I’m here to right my wrongs, tell her I’m sorry and win her back. She changed my whole life and she doesn't even know it. It’s time she knew.

Before I bought this book, I had some doubts about it. The reason isn't that I've yet to read a J. Sterling book that wows me. No, I simply cringed at how long the couple in this novel stayed apart. Going a whole decade without seeing the love of your life would be unbearable. It’s much like the situation in The Best of Me, in which the lovers are kept apart for a long while. How these couples did it, I have no idea. Even if I don’t have a significant other, I still feel for these characters.

10 Years Later is a somewhat quick read, compared to other books I’ve finished. The main characters are Cammie Carmichael (that’s a cute first name) and Dalton Thomas. They’ve known each other since their freshman year of high school. Cammie claims that she’s had a crush on Dalton since the first moment she saw him. They became friends for the next few years, until they started dating near the end of their senior year. Their happily-ever-after doesn’t come that quickly, though. Due to a silly misunderstanding, Cammie and Dalton fall apart.

BOOK REVIEW: AN INFINITE LOOP BY DAN RIX

Title: An Infinite Loop

Author: Dan Rix

Genre: Science Fiction

Published on: May 7, 2015, self-published

Time travel sucks.

You have to squeeze inside this fridge-sized quantum computer and suffer hours of mind-numbing boredom while it loops back in time. No light, barely enough air, total solitude. All the time in the world.

It’s also like a drug.

After her first nine-hour timeloop, teenage loner Iris Strasser craves another loop, if only for the rush. Determined to one up her, pretty boy Cory Holland ignores the warning signs that they’re meddling with something dangerous and programs in his own timeloop, daring Iris to make increasingly reckless trips into the past.

But when Iris steps into a timeloop and never steps out, leaving Cory with an empty time machine and an ache in his heart, he must come to grips with the unthinkable truth—he’s lost her inside an infinite loop from which she can’t escape. He’s trapped her in the past, and this time, time travel can’t reach far enough back to save her.

Young geniuses Cory Holland, Iris Strasser, and Noah Wright are back for another adventure. It didn’t seem like they’d be up to more time shenanigans, though. In the previous book, the trio clashed against the creator of the Chronos. Edgard Faye didn’t like that they discovered his machine’s secret. He tried scaring them into leaving the Chronos alone. But the huge cliffhanger means Cory and his friends must use the machine yet again. An Infinite Loop starts right where book two left off. Iris gets a strange call, but Cory isn't sure she should answer, lest they open another can of worms.

The trio resume classes the week after their retreat. They’ve resolved to stay away from the Chronos. Of course, the temptation is too great. Cory is stung that Iris one-upped him by getting to time travel before he did. He doesn’t care that she did it out of need rather than fun. Cory wants a go as well. He comes up with a way to use the Chronos without Faye knowing about it. Iris had secretly wanted to sneak into the machine as well. Time traveling left her with an itch, an urge to do it again.

BOOK REVIEW: BEAUTIFUL BROKEN MESS BY KIMBERLY LAUREN

Title: Beautiful Broken Mess
Author: Kimberly Lauren
Genre: Romance, New Adult
Published on: April 7, 2015 by Montlake Romance (first self-published in 2013)

Jace Riley and Audrey Mills had a tender and irresistibly passionate romance…until Audrey shattered his heart. Years later, she still can’t stop thinking about him. They shared kisses that she’ll never forget, and one brief, explosive encounter that she wishes she could. But no boy could rescue Audrey from her nightmarish home life, so she rescued herself, got through college and got into graduate school…only to find herself at the same school as Jace and his identical twin brother, Jaxon, who has his own complicated history with her.

It takes only one glimpse of Audrey’s long legs and brown eyes for Jace to ache for her once more. Yet he’s determined not to fall for her again. She ripped apart his heart and betrayed his brother…or so he thought. But what if Jace made a terrible mistake about Audrey? And what if he has one last chance to fix it?

After a few sporadic appearances in Beautiful Broken Rules, a minor character returns as a protagonist. She’s Audrey Mills, a young woman attending college. Beautiful Broken Mess takes place after book one, but the beginning is from an earlier time. It introduces readers to twins Jace and Jaxon Riley before they met Emerson Moore. The Riley brothers are from a wealthy Texas family. In contrast, Audrey lived in a trailer park with a seriously abusive father.

One day, Audrey meets Jace Riley by chance. The two quickly hit it off and agree to stay in touch. Later, Audrey goes to a party Jace invited her to. Things become an absolute mess that day. Audrey makes an inadvertent mistake she’ll regret for years to come. She distances herself from the Riley family and goes on to become a model college student. Audrey hasn’t forgotten Jace, though. Despite having known each other for a few hours, they left a lasting impression on the other.

BOOK REVIEW: OUT OF TIME BY JEN MCLAUGHLIN

Title: Out of Time
Author: Jen McLaughlin
Genre: Romance, New Adult

Published on: December 1, 2013, self-published

Desperate to keep him...

I've finally gotten everything I ever wanted: love, freedom, happiness, and, most importantly, Finn. Our love is everything I expected it to be and more. We've finally found each other, but the world seems determined to tear us apart. We thought my father was the only obstacle between us, but now it's the military. With Finn’s departure looming, we’re squeezing in every moment together before we run out of time.

Trying to make every moment count…

Being Carrie’s bodyguard was one thing. Being her boyfriend is another. Every day she’s mine is a day the sun shines in my life. Yet our time together is running out. Her father will never think a tattooed Marine will be good enough, so I’ll do whatever it takes to be worthy of her love. But the road will take me away from the girl who makes me feel alive--the girl I can't live without.

Time only gets us so far...

This is book two in the Out of Line trilogy. It’s a New Adult romance, and the main character is Carrie Wallington. She’s a college freshman who moved from the East Coast to LA to have more freedom. Her father, a prominent senator, takes overprotective to the extreme. The senator wanted to send Carrie with bodyguards, but she put her foot down. He deployed one anyway: Finn Coram. He’s a Marine, selected to protect Carrie in secret because his youth allows him to blend in among college students.

Carrie and Finn are now dating. She spotted him early on, and he couldn’t stay away from her. They ended up falling deeply in love. Carrie was furious when Finn told her who he really was. That’s all over now, and Finn promised Carrie there wouldn’t be any more lies. Senator Wallington can’t know about their relationship, though. Carrie is sure her father would not approve of her dating a guy like Finn, partly because of his tattoos. Finn is acting as if nothing had happened, keeping Senator Wallington updated about Carrie.