Blog Tour: To Love and to Cherish by Lauren Layne - Review! (@TastyBookTours @_LaurenLayne)

After 8 years of waiting...he's got 1 month to make her his.

TO LOVE AND TO CHERISH

The Wedding Belles #3

Lauren Layne

Releasing Oct 18th, 2016

Pocket Books

Sex and the City meets The Wedding Planner in The Wedding Belles, a contemporary and witty romance series about three high-powered New York City women who can plan any wedding—but their own.

Alexis Morgan has spent the past six years devoted to turning her tiny start-up into Manhattan’s premiere wedding planning company, The Wedding Belles. Now that her business is thriving, it’s time to turn towards her much neglected personal life, and Alexis approaches her relationships like she does everything else: with a plan. Not a part of that plan is Logan Harris, the silent partner in the Belles, and the one person who’s been there for her since the very beginning. But Alexis needs someone fun, and Logan’s all business, all the time—except when a late night at the office ends with an unexpected kiss that leaves the usually cool and together Alexis reeling.

Logan has lusted after Alexis since the day he walked into the tiny Harlem apartment that used to double as her office. But the ambitious wedding planner has always been untouchable...until now. Alexis has made it clear that she’s on the dating market—and equally clear that he’s not in the running. But when Alexis finds herself in need of a date for her sister’s last minute wedding in Florida, Logan knows it’s the perfect time to show Alexis that there’s more to him than numbers and spreadsheets—and beneath the pinstripes and glasses lies a hot-blooded heartthrob. As Florida’s sultry days turn into even hotter nights, Logan’s out to convince Alexis that the fling of a lifetime could just maybe turn into forever...

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Don't Miss Any of the Wedding Belles Novels

Finally we are getting to know more about the matriarch of The Wedding Belles. Not only are we seeing what is behind that icy exterior of Alexis Morgan, but we’re finding out the real story between her and the Belle’s accountant, Logan Harris. For the last two installments of Lauren’s Wedding Belle series, we’ve been given kernels to what kind of relationship these two have. If they’re messing around or is it something more. Honestly, when I found out the answers to my questions, I felt a bit underwhelmed.

I thought that by the time we got to Alexis’ solo book, I would love her. She was going to blossom into this loveable person that has just had some rough times that has hardened her over time. I was somewhat right. Alexis is not in love with love. She has been burned in the past, some would say it was the ultimate burn ever, and it has made her even more focused on the business of her dreams. I did appreciate the fact that we got some good back story on what had happened. And how the Belles truly came to be and how Alexis' and Logan's relationship/partnership started. 

Speaking of Logan, I adored him. My heart broke every time he showed Alexis some affection or tried to convey that he was more than just a friend and she ignored the signs. But when the signs couldn't be ignored any longer, it felt like everything was in the sweet spot. I think the parts I didn't like the most when Alexis fought her feelings or reverted back to her shell. It made her not likable. 

In the end, I loved their ending. It felt justified and ended how it should have. What I didn't love was the overall progression. It felt drawn out in places that didn't really need it. Even though this wasn't the best Belle book in my opinion, I appreciated it. And it doesn't take away my love for this wonderful series.

My Rating:

Lauren Layne is the USA Today bestselling author of more than a dozen romantic comedies. She lives in New York City with her husband (who was her high school sweetheart--cute, right?!) and plus-sized Pomeranian.

In 2011, she ditched her corporate career in Seattle to pursue a full-time writing career in Manhattan, and never looked back.

In her ideal world, every stiletto-wearing, Kate Spade wielding woman would carry a Kindle stocked with Lauren Layne books.

For a list of all her works, please be sure to check out her official website!

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Book Review: Interborough by Santino Hassell! Happy Book Birthday @SantinoHassell!

Interborough (Five Boroughs #4)
Author: Santino Hassell
Publication Date: October 24, 2016
Published: Riptide Publishing
Source: Netgalley

My Rating:

The Raymond Rodriguez from a few years ago wouldn’t recognize the guy he is today. He’s left his slacker ways far behind him and is now juggling two jobs and school. But the balancing act doesn’t allow much time for the man he loves.
David is doing his best to be supportive, but problems at work and his own insecurity leave him frustrated—in more ways than the obvious—whenever he goes to bed before Raymond gets home. The heat and affection between them is still there, but they barely have the time or energy to enjoy it. And it doesn’t help that Raymond is still hiding David from his colleagues.
The stress mounts so high that a vacation in paradise is filled with turmoil instead of harmony, and culminates on their return to the five boroughs with broken promises and heartache. They have to figure out how to stop allowing their differences to overshadow their love. It’s the only way they’ll make it to forever.

New York to the heart, but got love for all

Lie and die in the fire, where I learned to ball

I am a New Yorker through and through. I was born and raised and never really left so when I read a series like Five Boroughs, it does something to my heart. Every character feels like I’ve seen them in my every day. The connection I have to these characters run as deep as the Hudson.

Book Review: The Summer Games: Out of Bounds by RS Grey!

The Summer Games: Out of Bounds
Author: R.S. Grey
Publication Date: August 1, 2016
Published: CreateSpace
Source: Author

My Rating:

I despise Erik Winter.
He’s arrogant and cruel—a man I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy—and by some twisted turn of fate, he’s my new Olympic gymnastics coach.
I’ve had to contend with gruff coaches in the past, but Erik is far worse. His stern demeanor complements a body built for intimidation, and his reprimands come from a mouth so cunning, I know it could strip me of my defenses—if I let it.
Though each of us would love to be rid of the other forever, we are bound to each other by need and necessity. I’m his rising star, his best shot at proving himself to his critics. And without a coach, I have zero chance of winning gold in Rio.
The easiest way forward would be to wave a white flag and make peace with the man I’ll be sharing close quarters with for the foreseeable future, but he is intent on war.
Fine. By. Me.
If he pushes me, I’ll push back harder. If he wants to test me, to play with my head, I’ll show him just how many boundaries I’m willing to cross. Because I know it’s not a choice between winning or warring—not if you can have them both. At the end of it all, I plan on leaving Rio with gold around my neck and his icy heart in the palm of my hand.

With this year being a summer Olympic year, this book couldn’t have come at a better time. The final five blowing it out of the water in Rio, and this final five doing the same. Add some romance into the mix, I felt like I had a front row seat to the action.

Blog Tour: Smash & Grab by Amy Christine Parker - Review & Favorite Quotes! (@amychristinepar @The_FFBC)

Smash & Grab
by Amy Christine Parker
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Release Date: July 19th 2016

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Mystery, Thriller, Fiction

My Rating:

Ocean’s Eleven meets the star-crossed lovers of West Side Story.Grab some popcorn and get ready for an adrenaline-filled heist!
LEXI is a rich girl who loves a good rush. Whether it’s motorcycle racing or BASE jumping off a building in downtown Los Angeles, the only times she feels alive are when she and her friends are executing one of their dares. After her father’s arrest, Lexi doesn’t think twice about going undercover at his bank to steal the evidence that might clear his name. She enlists her hacker brother and her daredevil friends to plan a clever heist.
CHRISTIAN is a boy from the wrong side of the tracks. The local gang has blackmailed him and his friends into robbing banks, and he is desperate for a way out. When the boss promises that one really big job will be the last he ever has to do, Christian jumps at the chance for freedom. In fact, he’s just met a girl at the bank who might even prove useful. . . .
Two heists. One score. The only thing standing in their way is each other.
Told in alternating points of view, this caper is full of romance and fast-paced fun. Hand to fans of Perfect Chemistry, The Conspiracy of Us, and Heist Society.

This was my first heist book. Where I was promised Ocean’s Eleven meets West Side Story, I ended up with something of a shadow of those two concepts. I didn’t hate what was given to me, but I was just left with wanting more.  

Lexi along with her brother Quinn and group of friends are adrenaline junkies. When Lexi and Quinn’s dad gets locked up for fraud, what’s the best way to relieve that stress? Base jumping off a building of course. That is until Lexi ends up running into Christian. Teenage bank robber going on his last heist before getting out of the business. So what is the logical choice? Team up together and do the ultimate rush, rob a bank.

I will say it now, I didn’t like Lexi. She felt too much to deal with as a character for me. She felt ignorant at times and there was nothing I could grab hold on to even care about her. I felt sympathy for her

I did appreciate Christian. I liked how his character felt a little more developed than Lexi. Maybe that was the influence of the Mexican mafia or his want to get out of the bank robbing business. Something about him felt more genuine. I could see the West Side Story comparisons when it came to him and Lexi.

Where the story lacked in believability, it made up in writing. The writing wasn’t bad at all. I quite liked the pace it all went through. If it wasn’t for Lexi, I would have liked this 10 times more but I didn’t hate it. The dual perspective helped a lot. Maybe I’m being greedy and just wanted more. 

"I did my best to flirt, but truth is, I always feel like a giant tool putting on the charm." - Christian

"You want me to enroll in UCLA so I can apply for this?" I ask. "That seems sort of over complicated, don't you think?" - Lexi

Follow the Smash & Grab by Amy Christine Parker Blog Tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.

AMY CHRISTINE PARKER writes full-time from her home near Tampa, Florida, where she lives with her husband, their two daughters, and one ridiculously fat cat. Visit her at amychristineparker.com and follow her on Twitter @amychristinepar.

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Blog Tour: To Have and to Hold by Lauren Layne - Review! (@TastyBookTours @_LaurenLayne)

To Have and to Hold (The Wedding Belles #1)
Author: Lauren Layne
Publication Date: July 26, 2016
Published: Pocket Books
Source: Tasty Book Tours / Netgalley

My Rating:

USA TODAY bestselling author Lauren Layne is the “queen of witty dialogue and sexy scenes” (Rachel Van Dyken)! Now, Sex and the City meets The Wedding Planner in The Wedding Belles, her sizzling brand new contemporary romance series about three ambitious wedding planners who can make any bride’s dream come true... but their own.
Discovering her fiance is an international con man just moments before they exchange vows devastates celebrity wedding planner Brooke Baldwin's business—and breaks her heart. Now a pariah in Los Angeles, she seeks a fresh start in New York City and thinks she’s found it with her first bridal client, a sweet—if slightly spoiled—hotel heiress. Then she meets the uptight businessman who’s holding the purse strings.
Seth Tyler wishes he could write a blank check and be done with his sister Maya's fancy-pants wedding. Unfortunately, micromanaging the event is his only chance at proving Maya’s fiance is a liar. Standing directly in his way is the stunning blonde wedding planner whose practiced smiles and sassy comebacks both irritate and arouse him. He needs Brooke’s help. But can he persuade a wedding planner on a comeback mission to unplan a wedding? And more importantly, how will he convince her that the wedding she should be planning... is theirs?

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Hold on. Back up. Back all the way up. What do you mean you’re getting married?” It was eleven p.m. on a Wednesday, and Seth Tyler was exactly where he always was these days: behind his expansive mahogany desk at the Tyler Hotel Group, suit jacket slung over the back of his ergonomic chair, tie begging to be undone, impeccably pressed white shirt cuffed at the wrists. He raked a hand through his thick light brown hair in frustration and fixed his younger sister with his best no-nonsense glare, an approximation—like everything else he seemed to do lately—of his deceased father. When Seth's father dropped dead of a heart attack eight months ago, Seth had thought the hardest part about his father’s passing—other than the mourning, of course—would be taking over the family company. Sure, Seth had been groomed for the role. He’d wanted the president and CEO title. He’d always wanted it. Eventually. But not yet, for God’s sake. Seth had no problem admitting that he was a perfectionist, and he’d been bound and determined to take over the family company his way. The right way. And the right way, as Seth had determined it, was spending at least a year shadowing each of the senior-level Tyler Hotel Group executives. Seth had wanted to learn every possible detail, every in and out of the business, before even thinking about taking over the reins of the Fortune 500 company. But his father’s heart had had other plans. Mainly, up and quitting during a routine round of golf. And so, quietly, per his father’s wishes, Seth had become CEO two years ahead of schedule. Not a day passed that Seth didn’t wish his father was still with him, but in truth, taking his place at the head of the boardroom table had been easier than Seth had anticipated. The investors hadn’t freaked out. The executive team hadn’t left in mass exodus. Even Hank’s longtime assistant, Etta, had stuck around, seemingly content to call Seth boss even as she busted his balls about not eating enough vegetables, getting enough sleep, or getting his hair cut. But if taking over the family company was easier than Seth had expected, there was one ramification of Hank Tyler’s death that Seth hadn’t been in the least prepared for: A wedding. Maya Tyler inhaled a long, patient breath, as though preparing to deal with a difficult child. “Well see, marriage, Seth, is when two people fall in love and decide to spend the rest of their lives—” “Yes, I’m aware of how marriage works,” Seth interrupted. Although, not as aware as well as he’d like, as it turned out. He wouldn’t be getting any firsthand knowledge of how marriage worked any time soon. Maya bit her lip. “I’m sorry. I didn't mean to remind you of Nadia.” Seth glanced down at his desk to avoid his sister’s too-perceptive gaze. She wasn’t wrong. He’d gotten to the point where he could go most days without thinking of his ex, but he hadn’t yet figured out how to think about marriage without hearing the incredulous laugh she’d let out when he’d gone on one knee and showed her the ring he’d spent months picking out. “Can we not?” he said curtly. “Don’t get pissed. It’s a wedding. You’re supposed to be happy.” “I’m not pissed; I’m just surprised.” That was an understatement. Seth had not seen this coming, and for a man who exercised precision in all things, he couldn’t say he was enjoying the shock value of Maya’s announcement. Especially not on the heels of his father’s death. A death that everyone but Seth had seen coming, because Seth had been the lone outsider on the knowledge that was his father’s longtime heart condition. Apparently, Hank had considered his only son a control freak—had known that Seth would have stopped at nothing to try to halt death in its tracks. His father had been, well, right. It was hard to admit, but if Seth had known about his father’s condition, he’d have devoted every waking hour to researching experimental treatment and the best doctors. Hank Tyler hadn’t wanted that for his final months. Not for himself or for Seth. Still, Seth resented not having the choice. Resented his father nearly as much as he missed him. But he’d put that behind him. Mostly. Hank was gone, and Maya was still here. Maya was all he had. He had known she was dating a new guy—Neil something or other. But Seth hadn’t thought a thing about it. Maya had whipped through a constant string of casual boyfriends since high school, and other than a two-year relationship in college, they had never been serious. And it certainly hadn’t gotten close to marriage. What’s worse, Seth hadn’t even met this man that was apparently to be his brother-in-law. But none of this would have mattered, not really, if Seth’s instincts hadn’t been buzzing that something was amiss with the way this was all going down. Something was off. He knew it down to his gut. “How long have you been seeing this guy?” he asked. Maya slumped back in the plush chair facing Seth’s desk with a groan. “Don’t do this. I knew you were going to do this.” He frowned. “Do what?” “The big brother thing,” she said. “Hard not to, what with me being six years older and all,” Seth said. He didn’t add that he was doubly obligated to be protective given Hank’s death just months earlier. Maya had definitely been Daddy’s Little Princess. She still got tears in her eyes every time their father’s name was mentioned. Maya leaned forward, her pale blue eyes much like his own, although her blond hair was lighter than his, thanks to her frequent trips to the salon. “I love him, Seth. I know you’re jaded these days, but Neil is exactly the type of guy we women spend our entire lives dreaming about.” Seth bit his tongue to stop from saying that he bet Maya was exactly the type of girl that guys like Neil dreamed about, too. Young, pretty . . . and filthy rich. Or so Neil likely thought.

Reading the novella, From This Day Forward, prepared me for the magic world of The Wedding Belles. Starting this series off in a good way is how I saw it. And the first book didn’t disappoint either. It made me want to watch every wedding movie I know or go out and find a husband. You can guess which option I went to. *Points to empty wedding finger.*