Review: Spellbinding by Maya Gold

FINISHED! I enjoyed this book so much! It’s very teeny bopper (lol, my sister in law still uses that term), but I loved it. Sometimes we just have to indulge in our guilty pleasures even if it entails reading a book about teenagers and high school and proms when we are at the ripe old age of 25, lol.

Does anyone remember the movie Teen Witch? It came out in the 80’s? It was one of my favorite movies when I was a kid; I watched it over and over with my Aunt and Uncle. Parts of this book reminded me so much of that movie, I’m sure that’s what caused me to be so drawn into it. Our heroine, Abby hides in the background. She has one friend that she talks but, but doesn’t really confide in her. I’m getting ahead of myself on this, but what reminds me of Teen Witch is that she is not a popular girl, the popular girls hate her and she has a major crush on Miss Popularities boyfriend. So what would a growing witch do that has a crush on someone? Make a love potion of course!! Ok, ok, so back to the beginning of the story, lol.

Abby discovers that she is a descendent of one of the women accused of witchcraft during the Salem witch trials. This gets her brain moving. She has noticed a lot of weird thing happening around her, like objects moving, things doing what she thinks, but she hasn’t really put 2 and 2 together until she makes this connection.

Abby is literally pulled to Salem one afternoon with her friend Rachel. She can’t explain it but she just has to go there. While in Salem she meets Rem J Ahhhh Rem. Super cute coffeehouse waiter that Abby has an instant connection with. As Abby and Rachel are leaving the coffeehouse she sees a now hiring sign in the window of a local shop. She jumps at the opportunity of getting a summer job, and can’t place exactly why this place has called to her.

Now that Abby is working in Salem she has more time to spend with Rem. They are just friends but she has this connection to him. Problem is, he is holding back. It’s like he wants her, then he doesn’t. He is SOOOO frustrating!! But I loved him all just the same.

Abby is trying to harness her new powers, but finds out pretty quickly that magic is not something you play around with.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story. I didn’t find that I had any disconnect with it. I was drawn in from the beginning and stayed glued to my kindle until I finished. If you are looking for something light, with a teen romance and magic spells I would recommend Spellbinding. Also if you are a fan of The Secret Circle, check this out. I loved Secret Circle and got the same vibe off this as I did the show. 3.75 stars.

Reservation (Preservation #2) by Rachael Wade Tour Stop

Blurb:

A sequel to the Amazon bestselling romance, Preservation, told from Ryan’s point of view.

Old Habits Die Hard.

Ryan Campbell is not only leaving his title of Professor behind to move on to bigger and better things at Simon and Warden Publishing, he’s also become Seattle’s rising literary star. Sitting on the overwhelming cusp of newfound fame, he learns soon enough that being popular has its downside.

Attracted to the buzz surrounding his new career, former lovers begin to creep back into his life, and potential ones emerge with enticing advances. While he works to juggle reserved, yet stressful, wedding plans with Kate and his new public image, he has enough to manage without worrying about Carter and Dean—Kate’s loveable albeit eccentric friends—and their latest shenanigans.

Surrounded by a lifestyle that includes temptation at every turn, Ryan finds himself immersed in a world full of scandal and lies, where his oldest weaknesses thrive and his ghosts return to haunt him. Questioning whether his life with Kate is his best path, he must discover if he’s still capable of being the man he aspired to be when she first became his, or if happily ever after is only an illusion.

Love and Relativity (Stand alone but characters appear again in Preservation series)
Preservation, Book One (Kate's story)
Reservation, Book Two (Ryan's story)
Declaration, Book Three (2013, Carter's story)

About the Author:

Rachael Wade is the Amazon bestselling author of The Resistance Trilogy, The Preservation Series, and the upcoming sci-fi series, The Keepers Trilogy. When she's not writing, she's busy learning French, watching too many movies, and learning how to protect animals and the environment. Visit her at www.RachaelWade.com and www.LightsOnOutreach.com, or come chat with her on Twitter via @RachaelWade.

Connect here:
Twitter @RachaelWade
Facebook Fan Page
GoodReads Author Page
LightsONoutreach.com

Giveaway:

If Reservation hits the Amazon Top 100 between 3/6 (release day) and 3/13, a winner will be drawn for a brand new Kindle Fire. Contest is international and winner will have 3 days to claim prize via e-mail confirmation before another winner is drawn.

Use the rafflecopter to enter: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/OTQ3NTJhOGIyNjljMDQ3NDdhNWZjOTM1MDhmN2UyOjE4/

Pulled by Danielle Bannister

I have been in a bookie kind of funk lately. Nothing I am reading is grabbing me and holding me. I really think this is a case of "it's not you, it's me" in my book love life, lol. I can't say if I finally came out of the funk, or if Pulled was just that good, but I really enjoyed it! I didn't put it down all afternoon and am excited to move on to the second book.

I think I may be on a soul mate kick this week and didn't even know it. This is the 3rd book this week I have read that involves soul mates, or in this books terminology, Twin Flames. Pulled, was by far, my favorite of the soul mate books I have recently read. I just can't place what it was exactly that drew me to this book. I loved the characters, they were easy to like and easy to follow. The story line was awesome. There are a few typos, but that doesn't bother me, the writing was smooth other than the typos. So, I guess if you throw all of that together, it must be the reason why I couldn't put it down, lol.

Naya hasn't had a perfect life. She lost her parents at 13 and has lived with a foster family until she enrolled in college. She is alone on campus other than her controlling boyfriend who decided to follow her because he loves her......(I hate him!).

Great. Not only am I a freshman with no friends (because let's face it, boyfriends shouldn't count), I am also that girl; the one who is always early, eager, and ready to learn.

Naya is used to the numbness that she always feels. She never feels anything, until she meets Etash. When she sees him for the first time she gets this all over sensation that she can't explain. She is pulled to him.

"Whenever I'm... close to him, it's like someone has a rope tied around my waist and is pulling me to wherever he is, and I can't break free."

The book changes between the POV of Naya and Etash. When we read his POV we learn that he is also pulled to her. There is no explaining it, other than the tale his grandmother used to tell him of the Twin Flame, or soul mate. His grandmother believed that everyone has a Twin Flame and the flame will spend eternities searching until the other half is found.

Naya has always thought that she would be with Seth forever. She is used to him, and at time he is known to take away the numbness that becomes her. When she meets Etash she knows that Seth is nothing compared to him. Getting away from Seth may be harder that Etash realizes. He thinks Naya can just leave and be with him, what he doesn't realize is the abuse that Seth causes to Naya.

The ending almost killed me! I'm so glad there is another book. I could have lived if this were a stand alone, but just knowing there is more....that just makes my day!

This book stands between a 3.5 and 4 star for me. I really enjoyed it, couldn't put it down and had to know what was going to happen next. I connected with the characters and fell in love with the story. It's currently bargain priced for .99, what more could we ask for, lol.

Rocked Under (Rocked #1) by Cora Hawkes

Did you love Thoughtless? Did you love Beautiful Disaster? You know I did….. this book reminds me of both meshed together with a little something else added. I loved it! Don’t get me wrong. Thoughtless and Beautiful Disaster are both one of a kind and hold a special place in my heart, but if you enjoyed them, I know you will enjoy Rocked Under. I see book 2 morphing into something fun, emotional and angsty.

I loved the book, but there were a few parts when I was like really, is this happening again? And I had my, just shut up and kiss her already moments, but all of that builds up to the end, and the wanting and waiting and getting pissed off was all worth it.

I liked the characters, but something was missing. I can’t quite place it. I connected with them, but at the same time I didn’t. I wish I could pin point exactly what it was, it’s just like I needed something more. Scott’s character was great. He is a womanizing, bad boy, rock star. I swooned over him, but not near as much as I hoped I would.

Even though I didn’t connect with the characters as much as I wanted, I still really enjoyed the book and storyline as a whole.

Emma moves with her mom to the US. She lives with her cousin, Ashley below Ashley’s long time friend, Scott. Ashley warns Emma from the beginning Scott is a womanizer. He doesn’t do girlfriends, and is pretty much a one night stand guy.

Ashley talks Emma into going out with her one night to the local bar. She hasn’t met many people yet and thinks it will be a good way to make new friends. Emma is immediately drawn to the guy on stage singing his heart out.

I was blown away again at the beauty of him. Dark, silky overgrown hair, which was a sexy mess, hung over his right eye until he swept it back. He had high cheeks and full lips, which were almost making out with the mic. He was outstanding…

Emma later finds out that the guy she was oogling on stage is Scott. She is disgusted with herself. She has never looked at someone like they were man candy before. This isn’t the person she is. She’s also disgusted that she is attracted to the womanizer, she doesn’t do one nighters, so she knows there is no way she can ever get involved with Scott.

Emma and Scott have a rough start. She is determined that he is some horrible person and demands all kinds of answers from him.

“I’m not into relationships.” He shrugged as if it was nothing, but I knew he was lying. “So basically, you sleep around because you can get away with it and you think that having a girlfriend would hinder you and you’d get bored.”.

Emma and Scott finally make it over the hating each other part of their “friendship” as Emma starts to see another side of him.

To the outside world he was Scott Mason; bad boy and womanizer, In private, he was Scott Mason; caring and loyal friend.

Scott has this crazy protective thing going on when it comes to Emma. If she is ever I a situation that is slightly inappropriate he breaks it up and always threatens to beat any guy that touches her. Emma is confused. Scott hates her, then he is her friend and now he acts like a crazed lunatic whenever she is just trying to have fun.

There was a storm gazing at me, and anger emanating from him that made me flinch. “I can’t stop wanting you and seeing you with As is- it’s driving me fucking crazy.”

This leaves Emma even more confused. It like, she wants him but she knows the kind of person he is so she avoids him. He says he wants her, yet he brings home a different girl every night and has all of these anger issues when Emma questions him about anything.

Scott continues trying to tell Emma what to do, who she can and can’t see. She is going insane with the back and forth that she keeps getting from him.

“I don’t belong to you. In fact, no one belongs to you,” I sniped and then felt bad. Why didn’t I know when to keep my mouth shut?

Okay, so I loved the story. I liked the characters, but I needed a little more. I swooned over Scott some, I’m pretty sure I will swoon over him way more in book 2 since it looks like his band is going on tour J I can’t wait for book 2. I have this gut feeling that it will be awesome!

Groupie by Ginger Voight

GROUPIE WAS AMAZING!! I love my Rockstar books. This has been on the Rock Star Love- the EPIC list of Rock Star Books  for some time and I finally got a chance to read it. LOVED IT! If you ever fantasize about what it would be like to actually be with a Rockstar, you need to read this. It not only goes into details about the steamy situations you can get in with a Rockstar but also goes from before the band ever really hits it big and how they can change and manipulate when they hit that rock stardom point. You will find out exactly why you should never fall in love with a rock star, lol. I couldn’t put it down; I wanted more and more…..and now I’m getting more. I’m currently reading book 2, Rockstar and book 3 was released yesterday, Mogul.

The emotional frenzy I was sent into was intense. I had to hide away in my room all day just so my family would stop talking. Normally, they leave me alone to read, but they were in a VERY            chatty mood today (or maybe I was just being insensitive, lol). This book made my stomach upset. Just when I though, whew, okay, we are safe now….something else would happen….and that happened A LOT! I don’t know if my guts can take reading Book 2, but my heart says I have to. Everyone says book 2 is more intense and even better than book1, I’m almost scared…the intense part heeds warning, lol.

The book starts off fast and intense, I was in 1%, maybe page 2 or 3 and read:

All I wanted in that moment was to forget. To go back in time and erase an unbalanced relationship that had been doomed from the start. For his sake, and for mine.

I know I was in for a crazy ride.

Andy is a freelance writer. She has a few friends in high places and lands a job writing for an up and coming rock band. Awesome, right? WRONG! At first it is pretty awesome, Andy gets to go to parties and concerts and even bump elbows with a few celebrities. She is warned by all of her friends not to fall for Vanni (the front man for DIB), he is not a relationship kind of guy and can’t give her what she needs. Does anyone ever listen to their friends warning…hell no!

I had just been hit by lightning- and his name was Giovanni Carnevale.

Vanni and Andy become closer and closer during the months after they first met. They have late night conversations, text and emails. She is hooked. She needs Vanni more after each time they talk. When she finally gets to see him again and HUGE issue is dropped in her lap. She hates him after this. She doesn’t want to be used as a toy and lead on for his game. But in Hollywood, nothing is ever as it seems…. right?

It was photo after photo, press clipping after press clipping, of Vanni with a beautiful, lithe brunette who looked like a South American supermodel.

Andy gets tangled in a web of lies. Everyone is fake and like Vanni’s warning, nothing is ever as it seems. Andy tries to find a balance between the fake and her reality but the lines keep getting crossed. She is a whirlwind of mess and the drama that Vanni puts her through makes it worse. Over the course of 3 years Vanni and Andy become almost as close as 2 people can become, only to be ripped apart again by Vanni’s selfishness and lies.

The ending will fuck your mind. After a stalker issue gone wrong, leaving 2 people injured and one dead Andy is forced to make a life changing decision.

This book was so much fun. It was filled with ups and towns and twists and turns; many happy moments, and many, many angry moments. I can’t wait to continue the story with Rock Star. I hope the lies and betrayal continue….it probably wouldn’t be much fun without it, lol.