(R) Blue Lines by Toni Aleo

A one night stand with the man of her dreams lands Piper Allen pregnant.  The father of her bun in the oven?  None other than the star of the hockey team Nashville Assassins, Erik Titov.  Piper has been in love with him for a long time so when he finally notices her one night and offers to show her a good time, she jumps at the chance.  She just didn't expect to get pregnant.

Erik is on thin ice with his team.  Being put on probation for his behavior off the ice, he knows he needs to shape up.  And what better way than by marrying the woman carrying his child?  He manages to get Piper to agree to get married, knowing they will split up once the baby is born.  The marriage is for looks alone but they are going to tell everyone they are hopelessly in love.  Even though everyone around them knows Erik is a womanizer and certainly had no plans to settle down when he and Piper announce their marriage.

As time progresses, they begin to see just how good they are for each other.  You know they will end up together.  But I have mixed views on how I feel about this couple.  I think this was the first time I was rooting both for and against the couple.  I felt that Erik needed a good kick in the pants to get his act together and Piper needed some sense knocked into her because she could have done SO much better than Erik.  But I also wanted them together.  Once Erik got his head out of his behind and realized that everything he ever wanted was standing there in a Piper-shaped package, they worked as a couple.  And I rooted for them until the very end.

I understood Erik had some childhood issues that resulted in his inability to have good, stable relationships but he was also adopted by a wonderful couple who DID show him just how to love and be loved.  Erik was his own worst enemy in that sense.  I felt like once he started showing some of that love he has for Piper, the book took a turn for the better.  (Side note:  I do think he made the switch from "can't be with Piper" to "I'll be with you forever" was a little too abrupt for my taste but I digress.)  Overall, the book was pretty good and certainly worth a read if you're looking for a good, quick read.

The silver lining?  Erik's best friend Phillip.  I want this guy to have his own book!  He is way too funny to NOT have his own book.  My favorite scene, where Piper trashes Erik's game systems and his beloved TV (and I was screaming, "You go girl!" the whole time), Phillip is present.  When Piper leaves the two of them, Erik turns to see Phillip with a hockey helmet on his head because he felt like he needed protection with the swings Piper was throwing.  And that made me laugh SO HARD!!!  I can't explain it but I totally fell for Phillip and his crazy ways.  Hopefully, the author will give Phillip is own HEA because he deserves someone special too.

An ARC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

(R) Fighting Love by Abby Niles

Tommy "Lightning" Sparks has lost his MMA title and his career.  When Tommy loses his home in a fire, Julie lets him move in with her until he's back on his feet.  The only problem is that she's in love with him and he has no idea.  When Tommy finally starts to see Julie as someone other than the "little sister" he spent most of his life protecting and caring about, he fights his urges.  But then Julie starts to date a fellow fighter, Tommy realizes that he wants her only for himself.  And Julie is thrilled!  But when Tommy starts fighting in a cage again, their relationship suffers.  Julie is scared that the old Tommy - the one who ignored her and cast her aside - is returning.  Can their relationship survive Tommy's biggest fight of his life?

I want to say that LOVE this book!  Honestly, one of the best books I have read the entire year.  I think Ms. Niles wrote these characters beautifully.  You really feel like you're inside these character's brains.  You really understand why Tommy wants to keep Julie at arm's length.  And you understand why Julie loves him so very much.  You can feel the long life behind these two friends and just how much they mean to each other.  I've never rooted for a couple more than I have these two.  As you read and watch the love grow between these Julie and Tommy, you really do just want to stand up and cheer when they finally get together and have a relationship.

When their relationship hits the inevitable wall, even though you are rooting for them, you completely get why Julie feels the way she does.  But you're cheering nonetheless.  And when Tommy offers to give up the big fight for Julie, it just makes you SWOON!  Just to see the love between these two... oh my goodness.  When you reach the end of the book and you see these two have their HEA, you don't know whether or cry tears of joy or shout to the rooftops over their happiness.

This book was a HUGE surprise for me.  I was not expecting to love it as much as I did.  Most romance novels seem like they are just following a form and injecting different character names.  This book was a breath of fresh air in the romance category - this book will certainly be reread time and time again.

An ARC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

(NA) Three Broken Promises by Monica Murphy

We met Jen and Colin in Ms. Murphy's previous book, Second Chance Boyfriend, and I was eager to read their story.  Unfortunately, I spent most of the book wanting to slap both of their heads together.

Jen has known Colin since they were kids.  But life tore them apart when Jen's brother left for Iraq and never returned.  Colin was supposed to join with him but was offered the chance of a lifetime and took it.  Filled with regret over letting down Jen's brother, Colin takes it upon himself to take care of Jen.  He finds her stripping in a club and promptly rescues her from that life - offering her a job and a home (with him) to get her back on her feet.  They are both in love with the other, even though neither one knows it.

And that is my hang up for pretty much the ENTIRE book!  They spend so much time going over how they aren't good for one another and how Jen wants freedom and thinks Colin is taking that away from her... Colin spends the book thinking he's not good enough for Jen and even though he loves her, he wants her to be free.  Since they both are in love with the under and have undeniable sexual chemistry, Jen thinks the only way to have Colin is by offering to be friends with benefits, even though both of them want more.  But when he finds out about the other things Jen did in that club he rescued her from, he begins to wonder if he can ever love her.

She leaves him and when he finally realizes he can't live without her, the book is almost finished.  I honestly feel like the author could have sped things along quite a bit if they didn't spend the majority of the book bemoaning how wrong they are for each other, even though they are completely right.

The ONE redeeming quality about this book is Fable.  God I loved this chick - even in the first two books, I really loved her.  She always called people on their crap and she did so in this book as well.  I feel like we could've had a novella with Fable sitting Colin and Jen down and sorting them out all within 100 pages.  And it would have much better than what this book gave us.

An ARC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

(R) Stranded with the Billionaire by Jessica Clare

Bronte Dawson is living MY worst fear - being in the Caribbean in the middle of a hurricane.  After winning an all-expense paid trip to the Bahamas, the small-town waitress was having a terrible time, even before the hurricane.  The trip came with the option to bring a friend.  Not having many friends, Bronte brought along a co-worker.  A co-worker who spends more time complaining about how bad the hotel they are staying in is or running after the first man she sees.  The call for evacuation rings out, putting the cherry on the "worst vacation ever" sundae, her coworker tells her she cannot find her passport.  Uncertain if she left it at the bar the night before or up in the room they just left, they split up - Bronte taking the room and the friend taking the bar.  After searching the room and coming up empty handed, she takes the elevator down to the floor.  Entering with her, a handsome stranger.

Billionaire Logan Hawking is pissed.  The hotel he's just bought is a dump and is in need of a complete overhaul.  And now he's in the middle of a hurricane with little chance of escape.  When he walks onto the elevator with an attractive young woman, neither of them realize the turn of events about to happen.  The elevator halts, trapping them inside.  And Logan thought things were bad before the hurricane.  Now he's stuck in an elevator with some random woman who has a nervous giggle and quotes Plato.  (Can I just say that I adore the fact that she quotes Plato?)  Not wanting this woman to know his true identity, he introduces himself as Logan, the manager of the hotel.

Their sparks fly and before either of them know it, Bronte finds out he is a billionaire and is whisked off to New York.  She fears that she will turn into one of those women that Logan despises - a gold-digger.  Bronte doesn't want to spend his money but he wants her too.  Logan doesn't want her out working but Bronte is tired of spending all of her time at his penthouse, where she sees the stark difference between their lives.  After Logan comes up with a scheme to ensure that he isn't being used by Bronte, she passes and he declares his love for her.  She feels used and flees from him.

Logan is frantic to find her and when he finally does, he realizes that he needs to show her that he can be a normal man.  To be the man Bronte fell in love with on the island.  And Bronte realizes that she needs to stop being so hung up on his money that it lets her cloud her judgement.  Once they stop second guessing themselves and allow each other to be happy just as they are, they both get their Happily Ever After.

This is a great feel-good story, a very easy read.  The good sex scenes certainly help things along as well!  I did have some issues with Bronte constantly over-thinking things and feeling like Logan never wanted her just for herself, because she was so different from the other women he'd dated.  I really liked it when Gretchen put her in her place at the end of the book and helped her to realize that the problem was Bronte, not Logan.  However, Logan's scheming to find out if Bronte really was with him for his money was a terrible idea.  I know he was burned in the past but after spending time with Bronte on the island, where she was content being with "Manager Logan", he really should have known better.  I really like Jessice Clare's writing and look forward to her next book!

(This series continues with Beauty and Billionaire, with Gretchen and Hunter.)

(NA) Escaping Reality by Lisa Renee Jones

"Run to me Amy, not away," Liam Stone

Amy Benson is on the run. From what, we do not know. From the moment you begin the first paragraph, you know that whatever it is is something terrible. She is uprooted from the life she has built in New York and moved to Denver. Ms. Jones does a wonderful job of showing Amy's fear, paranoia, and distrust of everyone around her... until she lays eyes on Liam Stone in a crowded airport terminal.

Their connection is immediate. Tangible. Despite her fear that everyone around her could be a threat, she feels that she can trust Liam. She has not trusted anyone in years, save for the man she calls her "handler" and even he she does not fully trust. And yet in Liam's bright blue eyes, she finds a kinship and despite her own back-and-forth with herself of whether or not she can trust Liam, she does finally let him in.

As the book progresses, you begin to wonder how much is Amy's own mind hiding from herself. She suffers from blackouts, where she has flashbacks of her previous life. She has been on the run since she was eighteen years old. All she remembers about her REAL life is that her parents were killed in a fire. During one of her flashbacks, she recalls her brother calling out for her, "Amy!" Only her name then was Lara.

Through it all is Liam. He never pressures her to answer any questions about her past and that causes her trust in Liam to grow. His trust allows her to feel like she can take back control of her own life, despite the fact that she does not even know what exactly it is she's running from! When she finally feels ready to let him in and allow him to go along for the ride of figuring out her own life, she finds out information that causes her to question whether her trust in Liam has been misplaced.

The book ends with a cliffhanger and her final words:
"I'm not running at all Liam," I whisper. I'm going back to Texas.

I adored this book.  I fell in love with Liam the moment I met him.  I truly hope that his initial attraction to Amy was real and not his way of keeping an eye on her.  I feel like his feelings towards Amy are true and that his inverted triangle tattoo are proof that Amy can trust him and not some terrible coincidence.  The author does a wonderful job at allowing the reader to really connect with the characters and giving us all a taste of the confusion that comes with not knowing who to trust or where to go.  I cannot wait to read Ms. Jones' conclusion for Amy in Infinite Possibilities!

(ARC provided by NetGalley for an honest review.)

(NA) Wrecked by Priscilla West

 

Lorrie has had a rough life thus far. Her mother was murdered by her stepfather and her biological dad took his own life shortly thereafter. Driven by the rumors surrounding her, she dropped out of college to collect her life together. Finally returning to school after three semesters away, Lorrie meets Hunter Jensen, college student and MMA fighter, on a cold night after she fell into a river, being startled by a cat. There is an immediate attraction between the two of them but Lorrie decides that she cannot handle a relationship, despite their mutual attraction. Hunter agrees and they begin a casual friendship.

After Lorrie realizes the depth of her feelings for Hunter (which happens when she finds out Hunter received a blowjob), they both realize that they cannot ignore the attraction between them. They become a couple and spend a glorious weekend holed up in his apartment having more sex than should be legal (albeit very hot sex). The world for them was right.

Lorrie's world is then shattered by a letter from her stepfather. She becomes a recluse, missing classes, sleeping constantly. She receives no contact from Hunter. Unsure of what's happening, she goes to find him only to see him entering the college's health facility with his ex-girlfriend, Ada. When Lorrie confronts him, he begs her not to go and Ada yells to Lorrie that she would not be upset with Hunter if she knew what was wrong with him. Pleading with Ada not to reveal anything, Ada leaves him and Hunter follows her, leaving Lorrie behind. Feeling the her world is collapsing around her, she decides to drop out of school, break it off with Hunter, and return to Indiana with the little family she has remaining. She leaves Hunter a note after waiting for him at his apartment for hours saying she is leaving.

The following day, she decides she wants to see and speak with Hunter one final time before she goes. Unable to find him, she learns he is at an MMA fight. Feeling something is very wrong, she rushes off to find him. When she reaches the fight, Hunter is beaten so badly that both his eyes are nearly swollen shut. He is knocked out and when medics rush in to treat him, she finally makes it to his side. Hunter is barely able to know what is going on around him and she allows the ambulance to take him to the hospital. When she is told by one of his friends that Lorrie is no good for Hunter, she decides that neither of them is good for the other and takes the bus to Indiana.

I desperately wanted to love this book but instead, I only ended up liking it. I LOVED Hunter and Lorrie's playful banter with each other. It seemed so realistic - just how two friends and lovers would interact. The sex was HOT. However, I felt the writer just could not get into a groove. I could easily tell where she stopped and picked up again. There were parts of the book that were smooth and flawless, like she had been writing for hours and then stopped. I felt the book was choppy and just didn't flow right to me.

Another issue I had with the book is her decision to devote TWO chapters to Hunter's point-of-view. The rest of the book is told from Lorrie's perspective. Almost as if Ms. West could not figure out to let the reader know what Hunter's problem was without telling it from Hunter's point of view. She should have finished the book in Lorrie's voice and then devoted an epilogue to Hunter, where we could find out what his problem was and how he was going after Lorrie.

And my final problem has completely NOTHING to do with the plot. Kittens are involved. Hunter finds and adopts a litter of kittens from his gym - a wonderful, sweet gesture. Yet he knows nothing about kittens, not even enough to know they need kitten food/formula when he and Lorrie visit the pet store. So how exactly are they able to determine the sex of the litter if they know so little about cats?? Having a veterinary background, I know sexing kittens is a very difficult task (I've worked with vets for over 6 years and I still have trouble). I realize this is probably not something the author even wondered about and just carried on so this is just a little bit that irked me.

Would I recommend this book? Sure. Overall, it was a pretty good read (and probably no one would notice the kitten thing unless they had veterinary experience) and if you're just in it for the sex, you're good. Will I read the second book? Yes, because I want Lorrie and Hunter to have their happily ever after.

(ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.)

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to One Final Word!  This blog is going to be where I review book after book after book.  Some will be old, some will be new.  Some may not even be published yet (Thank you ARCs)!  I really hope that you'll enjoy your stay here.  I'll try to keep all my reviews as spoiler free as possible.  If I can't, I'll be sure to let you know.  With each title that's posted, I'll be sure to include what kind of book it is:

B - Biography
NA - New Adult
E - Erotica
R - Romance
HR - Historical Romance

etc., etc.

I hope you enjoy your stay and feel free to list in the comments what books you are reading and which books you think I'll enjoy!