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erinarkin20
I have to assume that by now you know that Melissa West is one of my go to authors as I love her YA, NA, and adult romance books and I know that if I pick up a book by her, I will get what I want in a good book; great characters, an engaging story, and in some cases…some lovely romance. No Falling Allowed is the companion story to West’s previous NA, No Kissing Allowed and just like that book, this one hooked me immediately and I couldn’t put it down. No Falling Allowed gives us Grace and Noah’s stories and I loved these characters so much.
Grace grew up in a well-known, influential family and she has fought hard to get where she is on her own without relying on her father’s name. Hunter on the other hand, has not had an easy time of things and while visiting family in New York, and on one of the most important nights of Grace’s career, these two meet and the story goes forward from there. There is an immediate attraction between Grace and Hunter and they end up going back to her apartment but when Grace wakes up in the morning, Hunter is gone.
As I mentioned, Grace has her family to fall back on if she wanted to but when she loses her job she makes the decision to go against her father’s wishes to join his company and with that decision, she is cut off from all the financial support he has given her. When Grace is introduced to a new opportunity with a Wedding Planning company, she finds herself in Cricket Creek, SC.
I’m not going to give a lot of Hunter’s story away but be prepared my friends…he might just be your next book boyfriend. I loved everything about him…he challenges Grace, loves his brother and is pretty darn swoony. Unfortunately Hunter carries a lot on his shoulders and he doesn’t like to rely on others. Because of this, he isn’t really living his life but he continues to think about Grace, even though she lives in New York and he live in…you guessed it, Cricket Creek, SC.
I loved how West built the story around these characters and despite their setbacks, they are both very strong and motivated. Another thing I love about all of West’s stories is the friendships she writes. Grace’s girlfriends are there for her just like she is there for them and Noah has so much support from the people around him even though he doesn’t always want to take them up on their offers of help.
Of course, the other thing West does well is develop the swoony parts too. I loved these two together and they are probably one of my favorite couples from West. They have the romance, the sexy times, and of course the development of the relationship / friendship between these two was fantastic.
That’s about all I want to tell you about this one because trust me, you will want to read what happens yourself. This one is listed as a book two but you don’t have to read No Kissing Allowed to dive right into this book. Now, with that said, you definitely should read it because it is fantastic (Cameron and Aidan are some other great characters…)!
I know I have said this before, and you probably will hear me say it again. If you love romance and great stories, you need to pick up not only this book, but Melissa West’s other books. They always keep me turning the pages because I can’t wait to find out what happens and they also leave me wanting to know more about how the characters end up.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy!
Grace grew up in a well-known, influential family and she has fought hard to get where she is on her own without relying on her father’s name. Hunter on the other hand, has not had an easy time of things and while visiting family in New York, and on one of the most important nights of Grace’s career, these two meet and the story goes forward from there. There is an immediate attraction between Grace and Hunter and they end up going back to her apartment but when Grace wakes up in the morning, Hunter is gone.
As I mentioned, Grace has her family to fall back on if she wanted to but when she loses her job she makes the decision to go against her father’s wishes to join his company and with that decision, she is cut off from all the financial support he has given her. When Grace is introduced to a new opportunity with a Wedding Planning company, she finds herself in Cricket Creek, SC.
I’m not going to give a lot of Hunter’s story away but be prepared my friends…he might just be your next book boyfriend. I loved everything about him…he challenges Grace, loves his brother and is pretty darn swoony. Unfortunately Hunter carries a lot on his shoulders and he doesn’t like to rely on others. Because of this, he isn’t really living his life but he continues to think about Grace, even though she lives in New York and he live in…you guessed it, Cricket Creek, SC.
I loved how West built the story around these characters and despite their setbacks, they are both very strong and motivated. Another thing I love about all of West’s stories is the friendships she writes. Grace’s girlfriends are there for her just like she is there for them and Noah has so much support from the people around him even though he doesn’t always want to take them up on their offers of help.
Of course, the other thing West does well is develop the swoony parts too. I loved these two together and they are probably one of my favorite couples from West. They have the romance, the sexy times, and of course the development of the relationship / friendship between these two was fantastic.
That’s about all I want to tell you about this one because trust me, you will want to read what happens yourself. This one is listed as a book two but you don’t have to read No Kissing Allowed to dive right into this book. Now, with that said, you definitely should read it because it is fantastic (Cameron and Aidan are some other great characters…)!
I know I have said this before, and you probably will hear me say it again. If you love romance and great stories, you need to pick up not only this book, but Melissa West’s other books. They always keep me turning the pages because I can’t wait to find out what happens and they also leave me wanting to know more about how the characters end up.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy!
I couldn't put this one down but it probably won't be for everyone. Full review to come.
The Gilded Cage by Lucinda Gray is one I have had my eye on for a while. I mean, look at the cover! Also, the story itself was one I found very interesting. First, it is historical. Second, it is about a girl thrown into a life that is very unfamiliar to her and she does her best to survive. I will do my best not to spoil anything with this story but as a warning, there are some things I might happen to give away in the review.
Katherine is sixteen and finds herself moving from Virginia to England with her older brother. Due to the death of her paternal grandfather, they go from having almost nothing to being the wealthy owners of Walthingham Hall along with a title. Along with the house comes their cousins who at first appear to be there to help but I admit it, I figured something was up with these two. When her brother mysteriously drowns, Katherine finds herself very alone and unwilling to give up figuring out what really happened to him.
I did like Katherine as a main character. She never wanted the money, title, or lands ended up in their hands and it has been somewhat of a curse to her. All she ever really wanted was her parents and someone to love her like they loved each other. As she is introduced to the nobility around her and gets a better picture of what her cousins are really like, she knows she doesn’t really belong or even recognize herself any longer. With all of that said, she doesn’t lose her drive and/or motivation to find out the truth of things. When her brother dies and when John mysteriously dies and then is accused of some terrible things, Katherine knows that there is something happening that she needs to dig deeper into. Admittedly, she probably should have put more thought into some of her reactions/actions but as she is only sixteen, I figure most of them were due to her age.
As Katherine digs further into what is really going on at Walthingham Hall, she meets some interesting characters. First is William Simpson, a lawyer for her estate. I liked him but felt like he wasn’t fully developed. Pieces come out later in the story that reveal more but I wanted to have more about why he and Katherine connect. It wasn’t a quick development in any way but the interactions felt too few and far in between to really believe that these two loved each other. Bottom line…I wanted more of these two together.
There are also her cousins – Grace and Henry. It is clear they both have their own motives. Henry more so than Grace but they are both still horrible people. Grace clearly sees herself as better than everyone and tries to influence Katherine to follow in her footsteps. Henry is worse. He feels owed for everything and his payment should be Walthingham Hall and all the rights that and the title should bring to him. He does things without remorse and his sense of entitlement is frightening.
As Katherine digs into what happened to her brother, she finds out some things she was probably better off not knowing. When Henry finds out he has no chance of getting what he wants with Katherine in the way, he does what he does best. Plots and plans to get her out of his way.
Overall I thought Katherine was pretty well developed but wished we would have had a bit more of that with the characters surrounding her. The story itself was good but at times predictable. It was a fairly quick read and I did enjoy it. I do look forward to checking out more by this author and if you are looking for a historical YA, consider checking this one out.
Thank you to the publisher for the review copy!
Katherine is sixteen and finds herself moving from Virginia to England with her older brother. Due to the death of her paternal grandfather, they go from having almost nothing to being the wealthy owners of Walthingham Hall along with a title. Along with the house comes their cousins who at first appear to be there to help but I admit it, I figured something was up with these two. When her brother mysteriously drowns, Katherine finds herself very alone and unwilling to give up figuring out what really happened to him.
I did like Katherine as a main character. She never wanted the money, title, or lands ended up in their hands and it has been somewhat of a curse to her. All she ever really wanted was her parents and someone to love her like they loved each other. As she is introduced to the nobility around her and gets a better picture of what her cousins are really like, she knows she doesn’t really belong or even recognize herself any longer. With all of that said, she doesn’t lose her drive and/or motivation to find out the truth of things. When her brother dies and when John mysteriously dies and then is accused of some terrible things, Katherine knows that there is something happening that she needs to dig deeper into. Admittedly, she probably should have put more thought into some of her reactions/actions but as she is only sixteen, I figure most of them were due to her age.
As Katherine digs further into what is really going on at Walthingham Hall, she meets some interesting characters. First is William Simpson, a lawyer for her estate. I liked him but felt like he wasn’t fully developed. Pieces come out later in the story that reveal more but I wanted to have more about why he and Katherine connect. It wasn’t a quick development in any way but the interactions felt too few and far in between to really believe that these two loved each other. Bottom line…I wanted more of these two together.
There are also her cousins – Grace and Henry. It is clear they both have their own motives. Henry more so than Grace but they are both still horrible people. Grace clearly sees herself as better than everyone and tries to influence Katherine to follow in her footsteps. Henry is worse. He feels owed for everything and his payment should be Walthingham Hall and all the rights that and the title should bring to him. He does things without remorse and his sense of entitlement is frightening.
As Katherine digs into what happened to her brother, she finds out some things she was probably better off not knowing. When Henry finds out he has no chance of getting what he wants with Katherine in the way, he does what he does best. Plots and plans to get her out of his way.
Overall I thought Katherine was pretty well developed but wished we would have had a bit more of that with the characters surrounding her. The story itself was good but at times predictable. It was a fairly quick read and I did enjoy it. I do look forward to checking out more by this author and if you are looking for a historical YA, consider checking this one out.
Thank you to the publisher for the review copy!
Reliquary by Sarah Fine is a book I came across while skimming through my Facebook feed. I happen to follow Sarah and have read a number of her books so when I saw this one (have you seen the cover??) and read the summary, I knew I needed to get this one to read.
Mattie Carver is one of those characters that I found myself liking but at times found her annoying. I think it is mostly because of her relationship with Ben. It drove me crazy and I couldn’t believe she was willing to put up with the things she did. She made some decisions that I didn’t agree with which annoyed me. Other than that, she is a strong character. It is clear she is willing to do whatever she needs to (to the point where she is very willing to martyr herself if necessary) to protect the people she loves and cares about. Ben is a perfect example of this.
I loved how close Mattie is with her family. This is one of the things that impacts most of her decisions and when the book starts, it is actually at her engagement party where we get to see a bit of her relationship both with her parents and her grandfather. It is revealed that her grandfather isn’t doing so well (health wise) and eventually Mattie learns more about his past. I mention it because it relates to a secret that not a lot of people know about him. See, Mattie comes from a line of magic and it just happens that she is a Reliquary. Someone who can carry (absorb and transfer) magic within herself.
The story itself revolves around the magic and truly begins when the day after their engagement party, Ben goes missing. In her search to find him, Mattie learns a lot of his secrets and truly what he has been up to. While searching, she crosses paths with Asa, Ben’s brother and finds herself mixed up in some dangerous situations because of who Asa is, what Ben has been up to, and what Mattie herself is capable of.
I really enjoyed Asa as a character. He and Ben are not close but he is determined to find him and if he can, protect Ben from himself. He knows what Ben has been up to and while he doesn’t respect him, Asa is willing to do what he needs to in order to help him. At first, when Asa and Mattie cross paths, they definitely do not get along either but because they are spending a lot of time together and are in positions where they have to trust each other, an understanding builds between them and they eventually come to feel more for each other than they expected. Of course, Mattie is engaged to Ben so things are destined to be hard for both.
I will say here, that although their relationship changes, Mattie doesn’t really ever do anything to compromise herself (in my opinion) with Asa. With that said, I also don’t think she was making her decisions around Asa and Ben with any thought other than what her ideal perfect life should be. A handsome husband, a home, and a great business.
Fine always does a wonderful job of not only developing her characters but also the worlds they live in. In this case, the underworld of magic and all the different types of individuals out there that one could cross paths with. I loved learning all about the good ones and bad ones as well as who these characters truly were.
Overall I really enjoyed this book. I admit, I was very glad to see that book two is scheduled to come out really soon because I need to know what happens with these characters! If you are looking for a great paranormal fantasy that will take you around the world and introduce you to an interesting world of magic, definitely check this one out!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy!
Mattie Carver is one of those characters that I found myself liking but at times found her annoying. I think it is mostly because of her relationship with Ben. It drove me crazy and I couldn’t believe she was willing to put up with the things she did. She made some decisions that I didn’t agree with which annoyed me. Other than that, she is a strong character. It is clear she is willing to do whatever she needs to (to the point where she is very willing to martyr herself if necessary) to protect the people she loves and cares about. Ben is a perfect example of this.
I loved how close Mattie is with her family. This is one of the things that impacts most of her decisions and when the book starts, it is actually at her engagement party where we get to see a bit of her relationship both with her parents and her grandfather. It is revealed that her grandfather isn’t doing so well (health wise) and eventually Mattie learns more about his past. I mention it because it relates to a secret that not a lot of people know about him. See, Mattie comes from a line of magic and it just happens that she is a Reliquary. Someone who can carry (absorb and transfer) magic within herself.
The story itself revolves around the magic and truly begins when the day after their engagement party, Ben goes missing. In her search to find him, Mattie learns a lot of his secrets and truly what he has been up to. While searching, she crosses paths with Asa, Ben’s brother and finds herself mixed up in some dangerous situations because of who Asa is, what Ben has been up to, and what Mattie herself is capable of.
I really enjoyed Asa as a character. He and Ben are not close but he is determined to find him and if he can, protect Ben from himself. He knows what Ben has been up to and while he doesn’t respect him, Asa is willing to do what he needs to in order to help him. At first, when Asa and Mattie cross paths, they definitely do not get along either but because they are spending a lot of time together and are in positions where they have to trust each other, an understanding builds between them and they eventually come to feel more for each other than they expected. Of course, Mattie is engaged to Ben so things are destined to be hard for both.
I will say here, that although their relationship changes, Mattie doesn’t really ever do anything to compromise herself (in my opinion) with Asa. With that said, I also don’t think she was making her decisions around Asa and Ben with any thought other than what her ideal perfect life should be. A handsome husband, a home, and a great business.
Fine always does a wonderful job of not only developing her characters but also the worlds they live in. In this case, the underworld of magic and all the different types of individuals out there that one could cross paths with. I loved learning all about the good ones and bad ones as well as who these characters truly were.
Overall I really enjoyed this book. I admit, I was very glad to see that book two is scheduled to come out really soon because I need to know what happens with these characters! If you are looking for a great paranormal fantasy that will take you around the world and introduce you to an interesting world of magic, definitely check this one out!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy!