Nyx is a problem child, but she's trying to turn her life around. That means digging in and being responsible, following her aunt's directions or she's cut off for good. She's living her dream and attending theater school, but one bad boy may screw everything up for her.

Adam Morgan, she's been warned about him, but she just can't resist. The lead actor challenges her to expand her mind and her experiences. They experiment with mind games and acting out some pretty hot scenes. But in the long run, she's forced to make a decision between following her heart or following the rules.

This is a bit dark at times - and I love the way the story parallels the play they are producing. It was done very well and added an extra layer that I found very enjoyable.

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book**

I loved the movie Practical Magic. If you haven't seen this gem starring Sandra Bullock, then you need to go do it right now. The Rules of Magic takes you to the generations before the movie where we can see how the curse began, almost ended, and set the stage for the current members of the Owens family.

The focus of the story is on Franny, Jet, and Vincent. A generation raised to hide from their magical heritage - after all, if you ignore it, then it must not exist. But the children can't resist giving in to the magic inside them. Traveling to their Aunt's house, they begin to learn about their family history - it's quite fascinating, and I really enjoyed the looks back in time.

As the children grow older, then struggle to avoid falling in the love and triggering the family curse. Here is where we see the ultimate struggle. How can someone not love? The siblings struggle as they grow up and do that very thing - fall in love. But the curse is triggered, and things quickly go downhill.

But this isn't just a story about a curse and the death of love. Jet was my favorite of the three, and her reactions to the events of life really stood out to me. She was the flicker of hope and possible salvation that carries the story into the movie. Don't look at this as just a prequel. It a beautiful story on its own that is so very much worth reading.

Miss Behave is everything I hoped for. It's light, funny, super hot, and the characters were amazing. I loved the battle of the sexes vibe that came through with Ash and Lizzy both writing advice columns, and their different approaches were so much fun to read. Where Ash says he's more down to earth, telling it like it is, Lizzy tries to be more neutral and kind. But, to be honest, they both give pretty good advice from what I read.

When they are thrown together to write just one column instead of two, it gives them just the chance they need to fall head over heels for each other. But they seem to be from two different worlds. When Ash sticks his foot in it, Lizzy feels like he's betrayed her trust. Not sure I would have seen it the same way, but it led to one of the best apology scenes ever! It wasn't groveling or Lizzy being overly dramatic. She was hurt, and he made sure she knew he would never mean to do that.

I wish I could have read this in one sitting - but life prevented it. It's the perfect book to just dive into and not come up for air until it's done.

*I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of the book*

A Love for Leah was very different than what I expected when I first started reading. Many of the characters in the book were not what I have come to associate with the traditional Amish romance themes. Leah lad left the Amish community many years ago to follow her twin sister Hannah in her life among the English. However, now that her sister has returned to the Amish community, she has instead chosen to join the Mennonite church nearby.

Their lives seem to be going along just fine when Jamie moves to the Amish community with his young nephew Peter. Peter is a special boy that is dealing with a horrible tragedy that has led him to stop speaking. At first, Leah and Jamie seem destined to be enemies, but soon everyone realizes that there's more under the surface.

The part that stood out the most in this book was the way all the characters found their own path to the same God. While their lifestyles may be quite different, their core beliefs were so similar and the author was able to show them in a way that really highlighted the similarities. It also showed how a difference of faith and way of life shouldn't stand in the way of friendship and helping each other. Leah had to remind Jamie of that a few times, and I love how he was able to take her words to heart. Then when it came time for Jamie to share a lesson with Leah, she opened her heart to hear his words and wonderful things happened.

With a bit of a twist at the end that I didn't quite see coming, A Love for Leah was an amazing book. This may be a series that I need to pick up and read through so I can read more about the family and their community.

*I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of this book*

I really enjoyed learning more about the Air and Stone worlds. Each has their own particular weaknesses and strengths. And each Otherself is the same in so many ways, but also shaped by their unique environment into a unique person. The battle to save the Mirror Worlds is heating up, with Qeturah trying to sabotage the worlds for her own gain.

Air and Stone world really stood out to me. The fun steam-punk feeling of air with their dirigibles and technology, with the very almost sci-fi/fantasy feel of Stone with gargoyles and a more dystopian culture. As each Otherself meets their mate - in unexpected forms - I began to see the pattern. A pattern that was familiar without being repetitive.

I would have liked to see a little more from Fire and Water, but they just didn't have as large a part in this one. I'm curious to see how the game Qeturah is playing ends up. The powers of the Mirror Worlds are beginning to align against her.

*I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of this book*

In Truth & Ashes was a bit different from the previous books in the Otherselves series. It really focuses on one world - the True World. The True World sits at the "center" of the Mirror Worlds and somewhat exerts control over them, playing matchmaker to ensure the True World selves have matching selves on the Mirror Worlds. It was all a bit creepy and really relegated that elemental worlds to nothing much more than a source of resources and prestige.

Belinda is the center of our story and matching self for the characters in the Mirror Worlds. And at first, I hated her. I never really truly liked her, but she did earn my respect. The final book in this series tries to draw all the cords together into one place, but that means I really missed seeing more of the Mirror Worlds that I had really loved. Fire is the only one that really manages to take center stage other than the True World.

Things do come to some rather startling and unexpected conclusions. There is far more heart-pounding excitement in the final book than the others, and the way the day is saved was amazing. A few times we went over the top, but if you're going to go there, an explosive ending is the way to do it.

*I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of this book*

A Snowbound Scandal is a second-chance (we think we're) opposites attract story. Mimi Andrix is a environmentalist that loves the outdoors and teaching kids about what they can do to protect the environment. On the other hand, Chase Ferguson is the son of an oil family and is now deep into politics - but he's one of the good ones.



With a little bit of holiday spirit and a little bit of "I'm going to give you a piece of my mind," Mimi heads to Chase's vacation mansion with a Thanksgiving dinner so he won't be alone eating frozen food for the holiday. Stranded at his house by a snowstorm, Mimi and Chase decide to make the best of the circumstances and, well, this is a romance - so one thing leads to another - but eventually they part ways again. At least for a little while



There were only a few points of the story that I had a hard time with - possibly because I did not read the rest of the series and one of the side stories seemed to carry over from another book. Outside of this one small thing, the story does very well as a standalone holiday romance. I loved Mimi, her desire to do the right thing, and her ability to not really care what anyone else thought. Chase was a bit of a stick in the mud, but in the end I enjoyed seeing a more spontaneous and softer side.

I love that A Snowbound Scandal is more of a winter-theme than a true Christmas theme. While the holidays (mostly Thanksgiving) are mentioned, it's more about the snowstorm and being snowed in with the one that got away.

*I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of this book*

Holy cow! The Wife was a mind-blowing story. I didn't see any of it coming, and I loved each and every little or big surprise. Angela has a dark past that she has never really recovered from, preferring to stay behind the scenes and not take part in the spotlight of her husband's amazingly successful career. But when women make accusations against him for sexual harassment, Angela sees her life starting to fall apart.

But when these women disappear, Angela is forced even closer to the spotlight she has been trying to avoid. And here's where things get really really interesting. I had a least a dozen "say what?" moments that just led to yet another one. Nothing turned out the way I expected, but all made perfect sense in the end.

There were some moments in the story that really dragged though. I'm still not sure if they were just lying more groundwork or just in there to take up a little space and spread out the story a little. I feel like if I read this book a second, third, fourth time, that I'd see more and more every time. That's how deep things are layered, and maybe there is more hidden in the dragging scenes than I gave them credit for.

*I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of this book*

One of the first things that stood out to me in Maybe for You was that the ex-military wasn't the guy. It was the girl. And while this wouldn't fall into the category of military romance, her military past and the loss of her fiance while in the military were key parts of Alex's life and personality. When she returns after her last tour, she is ready to start over and move on, but it's hard. I thought her way of coping and confronting the loss of her fiance was amazing. She didn't lash out or hide but fought to understand what her feelings were and what they were rooted in. She also took control of them the best she could.

Jake had become close to Alex long-distance, and he was the shoulder she would virtually lean on through the hard times and long days and nights as she struggled through her feelings. But when Alex returned, things were a bit awkward at first. When they go on a promotional tour for the Stag, they both realize that the connection they build long-distance had grown into something more.

Their journey through romance and into love was incredibly sweet, but it still remained very real and very difficult for both of them to work through their pasts and reach for their future together. For followers of the series, you will see some wonderful moments from the past characters and couples.

*I voluntarily read a review copy of this book*