Cover Lust, No. 20

From strip clubs and truck stops to southern coast mansions and prep schools, one girl tries to stay true to herself.

These Royals will ruin you…

Ella Harper is a survivor—a pragmatic optimist. She’s spent her whole life moving from town to town with her flighty mother, struggling to make ends meet and believing that someday she’ll climb out of the gutter. After her mother’s death, Ella is truly alone. 

Until Callum Royal appears, plucking Ella out of poverty and tossing her into his posh mansion among his five sons who all hate her. Each Royal boy is more magnetic than the last, but none as captivating as Reed Royal, the boy who is determined to send her back to the slums she came from.

Reed doesn’t want her. He says she doesn’t belong with the Royals.

He might be right.

Wealth. Excess. Deception. It’s like nothing Ella has ever experienced, and if she’s going to survive her time in the Royal palace, she’ll need to learn to issue her own Royal decrees. 

I love the warm color scheme, the crown and how it's nearly textured looking, the simplicity...love it! I can't wait to dive into this one. 

TBR Thursday

Kimberly @ Kimberlyfaye Reads started a new weekly feature that I'm excited to join in! This feature is to showcase what's on your to be read shelf (or eReader, or Audible library) and see what others think of it. Have you read it? Should I read it or put it back on the shelf? It's a way to dust off the books on your self and decide if they're worth reading!

Overruled (The Legal Briefs, #1) by Emma Chase

Emma Chase, New York Times bestselling author of the Tangled Series, returns with the first installment of the Legal Briefs Series. 

As a DC defense attorney, Stanton Shaw keeps his head cool, his questions sharp, and his arguments irrefutable. They don’t call him the Jury Charmer for nothing – with his southern drawl, disarming smile and captivating green eyes – he’s a hard man to say no to. Men want to be him and women want to be thoroughly cross examined by him.

Stanton’s a man with a plan. And for a while, life was going according to that plan.

Until the day he receives an invitation to the wedding of his high school sweetheart and mother of his beloved ten-year old daughter. Jenny is getting married — to someone who isn’t him.

That's definitely not part of the plan.
***

Sofia Santos is a city raised, no-nonsense litigator who plans to become the most revered criminal defense attorney in the country. She doesn’t have time for relationships or distractions.

But when Stanton, her "friend with mind-blowing benefits" begs for help, she finds herself out of her element, out of her depth, and obviously out of her mind. Because she agrees to go with him – to The-Middle-Of-Nowhere, Mississippi – to do all she can to help Stanton win back the woman he loves. 

Her head tells her she's crazy...and her heart says something else entirely.
*** 

What happens when you mix a one stop-light town, two professional arguers, a homecoming queen, four big brothers, some Jimmy Dean sausage and a gun-toting Nana? 

The Bourbon flows, passions rise and even the best laid plans get overruled by the desires of the heart.

I finished the second book in this series (amazing!) and the third book (so good!), and am considering this one. I've enjoyed Stanton and Sofia in the other two novels, but I've heard that this isn't the best in the series and it got better the further it went.
What do you think? Have you read it? 

Waiting On Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking The Spine and is a fun way to see what books other bloggers just can't wait to get their hands on!

Swear on This Life by Renee Carlino - August 9th

When a bestselling debut novel from mysterious author J.Colby becomes the literary event of the year, Emiline reads it reluctantly. As an adjunct writing instructor at UC San Diego with her own stalled literary career and a bumpy long-term relationship, Emiline isn’t thrilled to celebrate the accomplishments of a young and gifted writer.

Yet from the very first page, Emiline is entranced by the story of Emerson and Jackson, two childhood best friends who fall in love and dream of a better life beyond the long dirt road that winds through their impoverished town in rural Ohio.

That’s because the novel is patterned on Emiline’s own dark and desperate childhood, which means that “J. Colby” must be Jase: the best friend and first love she hasn’t seen in over a decade. Far from being flattered that he wrote the novel from her perspective, Emiline is furious that he co-opted her painful past and took some dramatic creative liberties with the ending.

The only way she can put her mind at ease is to find and confront “J. Colby,” but is she prepared to learn the truth behind the fiction?

I've read Before We Were Strangers and Nowhere But Here, and wasn't a big fan (my god, the angst and fizzle out plots!), but this sounds interesting! 

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten New Adult Books to Read If You're Iffy About NA

Hey, everyone!

It's Top Ten Tuesday by The Broke and The Bookish! Today's topic is Ten Books Every X Should Read (historical lover, YA reader, ect). I'm doing top ten new adult books to read if you're unsure of the genre. It's definitely a hit or miss when it comes to finding a good NA read, but there are some real gems if you know how to look.


In no real order:

10. Sweet Filthy Boy by Christina Lauren

I talk about this one a lot, simply because I enjoyed it so much! Humor, sex, sweet romance and an amazing trip to Paris. 

9. Burying Water by K.A. Tucker

A romantic suspense with plenty of heat, a fantastic hero, and a wildly engaging plot. 

8. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

A very unique tale for the new adult genre, with spellbinding world building. I'm not 100% certain on my feelings on this one (and I really, really hope there isn't a love triangle in the next book...), but it was refreshing!

7. Racing The Sun by Karina Halle

Travel romance!!! I adored this heroine and was incredibly impressed with her thought processes on her relationship with the hero.

6. Killing Sarai by J.A. Redmerski

Action packed and kept me on the edge of my seat!

5. Archer's Voice by Mia Sheridan

Gah, I just loved this book. 

4. Addicted to You by Krista and Becca Ritchie

This book...I had the worst book hangover ever after reading this. It's full of angst (legitimate, well deserved angst), character development, and it made me think. I love the whole series, even if it's too heavy to marathon.

3. The Fall Up by Aly Martinez 

That cover! Beautiful love story with an incredible hero. 

2. Lick by Kylie Scott

Yeaaaaah....total guilty pleasure. 

1. The Hooker and The Hermit by L.H. Cosway and Penny Reid

Hilarious, hugely entertaining, and addictive. 

Book Haul!

Ahhh, another book haul. Feels so good bein' bad, and all that. ;) Lots of new releases!

Relationship starts up after a stolen phone and dirty texts between a carefree woman and a stuck up businessman.
Contemporary romance

Single father falls for his special needs son's nurse.
Contemporary romance.

Plane crash/survival!
Contemporary romance

Dark romance between a girl forced to see things no one ever should, and the boy who saved her life.
Contemporary romance.

Kidnapped victim returns to every day life, and the battles that come along with it.
Dark romance, I think?

Rags to riches with an apparent bitch of a cliffhanger.
Contemporary romance. 

Military man returns home to find his wife on the run from...something. :p
Contemporary romance

Forbidden romance between two deployed US military personnel, with a dash of BDSM with a male sub.
Erotic romance.
Now this I am curious about! I've only read one other book with a male sub and female Domme, and it was thoroughly lacking. I love the idea in theory, but that other book...I mean, if I wanted to fuck a pussy, I'd be a lesbian.
....
Too much?

Emma Chase. Enough said!
Contemporary romance.

Smut author must rewrite her entire novel under the supervision of a persnickety editor and there is drama. And BDSM.
Erotic romance.
I seem to be on a bit of a kink kick!

Bad boy!
Contemporary romance.

I'm actually not certain what this is about, but give the author's previous work,  it's probably depressing.
Contemporary romance

Crossfire, #5. Also known as a soap opera in book form.
Erotic contemporary romance

The Sunday Post/It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

Hey, everyone!

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. It's Monday, What Are You Reading is a fun weekly meme hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date where we share what we've read and reviewed over the past week and what we plan to read next. 

A fairly laid back week with plenty of sun and pleasant temperatures. The world has exploded in green after last week's rain, and everything is in bloom and growing like mad.

Season 2 of Outlander started yesterday, and I still need to get that hooked up with Amazon's Starz subscription thing. #procrastinator 

A decent walking week, and while my yoga sessions were fairly short, I raked the entire (large) front yard the other day, and that was an upper body workout to last the week. :p

Sunday - 13,690

Monday - 14,750

Tuesday - 14,060

Wednesday - 19,111

Thursday - 18,019

Friday - 20,084

Saturday - 19,036

Total - 118,750

This Week's Recap

March Recap

{Book Review} 44 Chapters About 4 Men by B.B. Easton

Waiting on Wednesday

TBR Thursday

Cover Lust, No. 19

Coming Up*

Book Haul or {Book Review} A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Books Every New Adult Lover Should Read

Waiting on Wednesday

TBR Thursday 

Cover Lust, No. 20

*As always, subject to change!

Read This Week

4 stars!
I'm so sad I only have one more of this series to read before I'm all caught up!
Audiobook

3.5 stars!
I loved the first four books, but this was just...too much. Way too soap opera-y, even for this series. And talk about cockblocking! I've come to expect pages and pages and even full chapters of just sex, and this one kept doing fade-to-blacks.
Audiobook

4 stars!
A very unique addition to the new adult genre, and one that left me quite conflicted. I was enthralled and blown away in some aspects, and thoroughly underwhelmed at others. Review to come!
Half audio/have Kindle.

Currently Reading

Last book until next year! *sniffs*

Got an ARC of this bad boy and can't wait to dive right in! Book one was so, so good. 

What Will I Read Next?

Everyone is loving this, and I'm excited to start!

Cover Lust, No. 19

Beloved #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover returns with an unforgettable love story between a writer and his unexpected muse.

Fallon meets Ben, an aspiring novelist, the day before her scheduled cross-country move. Their untimely attraction leads them to spend Fallon’s last day in L.A. together, and her eventful life becomes the creative inspiration Ben has always sought for his novel. Over time and amidst the various relationships and tribulations of their own separate lives, they continue to meet on the same date every year. Until one day Fallon becomes unsure if Ben has been telling her the truth or fabricating a perfect reality for the sake of the ultimate plot twist. 

I love how the scrapes of flying paper give the cover a textured appearance, plus the cityscape behind the title is cool. The book was good, too!