Searching for Beautiful is an amazing story - it's a story that could come straight from real life. Brynn has found herself in a horrible spot. Lied to by a much older boy, lieing to her friends, and losing something more precious than anything she has ever known. She shuts down and pushes everyone everyone away. She begins to doubt that anyone will ever believe her again and decides to swear off boys forever.

When a blast from the past shows up next door with problems of his own. Now, this may have a boy meets girl storyline, but I don't know that I would call it a romance. It's a story about Brynn finding herself and her life again - trying to remember who she was before everything happened and get it back.

This book is full of very subtle life lessons and one or two not so subtle ones. Brynn is a great character - amazingly flawed and she knows it. Christian has a bit of arrogance in him, but it sort of makes him more charming (most of the time). Each character has such a unique and different personality and life that they are easy to relate to and fall in love with.

The book has a mostly happy ending in a very surprising way. This is one that will stay on my mind for awhile.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

- See more at: http://hotofftheshelves.blogspot.com/2014/03/review-searching-for-beautiful-by-nyrae.html#sthash.OTniNFR5.dpuf

Welcome to the Crusades - only a little different. Horace is a ship's carpenter and finds himself shipwrecked on the shores of the heretics - the Akeshians. Horace seems to be the main player in the story as he discovers he has a magical ability not seen in ages. Because of this ability, he is offered a place at court where he meets Alyna. Alyna's role in the story is that of a spy for another country. Through her we see some of the inner workings of the Akeshian court that we may not have realized was going on. Our third player is Jirom, a slave-fighter that helps Horace at the beginning, but I'm not quite sure what his role long term is going to be.

There is a lot going on throughout this story. There is political and religious strife and conflict that the story is built around. Horace is lost as he tries to navigate this deadly set up and there are times he makes critical errors that come back to haunt him. You must like the political and religous intrigue/strife storylines to enjoy this story. While there is some good old fashioned sword and sorcery fighting, much of the tension and build up doesn't involve actual fighting.

I thought the author did a great job keeping the story on track (with the exception of Jirom - I still don't understand his part long run, but maybe book two will explain more). There were a handful of times that I thought the story moved a little too slowly, but never to the point that it became burdensome. This is a great read for fantasy lovers that like a little more of the politics in their story than you traditionally see.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

- See more at: http://hotofftheshelves.blogspot.com/2014/03/review-blood-and-iron-by-jon-sprunk.html#sthash.dEHIwZgy.dpuf

The Duke's Quadary scored points just by using the word "quandary" in the title. It's a fun but awkward work and it suited this novel perfectly. Most of the book revolves around two fun (but awkward) people trying to navigate the haute ton to varying degrees of success.

First we have Miss Penelope Clayton. She is a bit of a hermit, a future blue stocking, and set against marriage and all the restrictions it may impose. Then we have the Duke of Manchester, or Drake, who seems to have a stick so far up his butt most of the time that I'm not sure how he manages to sit without injuring himself. When you throw these two together, along with a houseful of unmarried sisters, and you have quite an interesting story.

Callie Hutton does a good job of throwing some fun things their way, but they are drawn to each other no matter how hard they try to stay away. And no matter how many times they swear not to let anything happen, it does anyway. This was the biggest downfall of the story - their professions of un-love for each other, their promises to stay away and remain proper - got a little tiring and I think there could have been less of those conversations.

I loved how Penelope was a scientist and it led to a very great sequence of scenes near the end that had me chuckling. Drake's sisters are all very dear and sweet and trying very hard to remove the stick from his butt - the perfect background characters to help push things along. Drake's mother is a sweet lady as well and maybe there will be stories of her finding great love matches for Drake's sisters as well.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

- See more at: http://www.bittenbyromance.com/#sthash.ulRKaVSi.dpuf

In Pursuit is a very dramatic new adult novel. Eddie has decided to move to Chicago to pursue her interior design business and blog. She is set up with Claire as a roommate by a mutual friend. Now I think Claire should have her own book - she is quite a piece of work. While she initially brings Eddie into her inner circle it quickly becomes apparent that something isn't quite right with the girl. Then we have Claire's brother, Harris. He seems to be a bit off as well, but not quite so much in the wrong direction as Claire is.

I haven't mentioned our star character much yet. Eddie is a fun and energetic girl that seems to make friends and business relationships everywhere she goes. She seems a bit too perfect and I was waiting to find her flaw for a very long time. Her relationship with Harris is a very unusual one - he seems willing to anything for Claire but that seems to interfere with him living his own life - and having Eddie in his.

There are a million ups and downs in this book and the story is very fast paced. I enjoyed watching Eddie come into her own and living a life she chooses, but Claire, Harris, and crew seemed a little over the top for my taste at times. I am interested to see what Eddie is going to do after the cliffhanger of an ending though.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

- See more at: http://hotofftheshelves.blogspot.com/2014/03/review-in-pursuit-by-olivia-luck.html#sthash.oFYqknP3.dpuf

These books can be read as stand alones - the characters do not cross over for more than a couple paragraphs in passing.

This book is about more than just one man's second chance - it's about a second chance for both Cole and Melanie, just in drastically different ways. Cole is grump and short and doesn't seem to like anything since his wife died several years ago. Even though he promised her to move on, he never really has. He is determined to see the ranch succeed and doesn't need some high society girl like Melanie to help him do it.

Melanie is not what she seems to most people. Coming from a incredibly wealthy family, most look at her and think "trust-fund kid". But she left that life far behind her for a variety of painful reasons that she chooses not to speak about - ever. She's now a struggling business owner just like most people in Passion Creek.

Melanie was hired by Cole's sister to plan her wedding - which has placed her in his path more than he really likes. Especially since there seems to be something special, different, about Melanie that he can't seem to wrap his mind around. This is the story of them trying to open up and heal each other's hearts - trying to find a way to move forward and past all the painful memories and moments that have been holding them back.

A very sweet story with some sass that Victoria James seems to enjoy spreading around - and I really appreciate her doing so. Some of the dialog about short people with blotchy faces was great (you'll know what I mean when you get there).

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

- See more at: http://www.bittenbyromance.com/2014/03/review-ranchers-second-chance-by.html#sthash.AJOSvPfo.dpuf

Pampered city girl meets displaced European rich man turned cowboy. When Kate's brother-in-law shows up to claim his son after his wife dies, Kate is determined to keep them apart. If he had cared about his sone then why didn't he come to claim him two years ago after his wife died. Kate suspects that something isn't right and agrees to allow Stephen to take the boy, but only if she can come with, and if he proves to be a poor father (by her standards) he will give the boy back.

This trip takes them from the civilized city of St. Louis to the frontier in Colorado. Along the way they meet the Ute Indians. I loved the way they were handled in this story. They weren't the mindless savages that many authors use when they write about the Indians. In fact, I hadn't seen anything quite like their story in a book before and they really added a special and unique quality to it.

Kate and Stephen slowly begin to trust each other along their journey, but of course there are secrets lying in wait, ready to break them apart. When everything begins to come out, it is a truly tragic and heart breaking story. Much of how Stephen has acted becomes more clear as we learn more about him, and Kate seems to see this right along with you. This was a great romance.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

- See more at: http://www.bittenbyromance.com/2014/03/blog-tour-review-and-giveaway-loves.html#sthash.NyXurQNw.dpuf

I fell in love with the sisters in Snake in the Grass and it seems many others did as well. So Staci decided to write a little of the history - where Aphrodite and Hera go head to head in a battle for love. This gives us a look not only into the mortal past, but gives us a glimpse of the rivalry that has existed for a millenium between the two goddesses.

The story isn't as eventful as the others in the series, but it is written a lot shorter as well. That doesn't stop th characters from really shining though. Katsu seems to be such a hard-ass tough guy, but when he's around Kim he just melts into a gooey ball of lovingness. It's incredibly sweet how much he cares about her, and how caring about her completely changes his life. We don't seem to get a lot about Kim though. If there had been just a little more about getting into her head I think I would have given this another full 5 stars.

- See more at: http://www.bittenbyromance.com/2014/03/review-what-heart-wants-by-staci-hart.html#sthash.FLJcVItS.dpuf

When I first started Fallen Beauty I thought the story was going to be about heart break, but I was so wrong. Taking me back in time to the late twenties, where times were changing quickly (but not quick enough for some), I was captivated by everything and everyone. Laura is a character that we can all latch on to for different reasons, and as she grows into a such a wonderful person I was constantly amazed, but at the same time she remains incredible, beautifully flawed.

Vincent Millay is her perfect foil. Living life hard, fast, and rough, she is addicted to the rush of something new. Laura is at first just a pretty new shiny toy for the famous poet, but something about her changes even the most wild thoughs in Vincent's head. They become friends of a sort and I never would have imagined the life lessons they manage to learn from each other.

Fallen Beauty was not about a broken heart. It was about the power to mend hearts and minds and learn to live with others (no matter how different they may be).

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

- See more at: http://hotofftheshelves.blogspot.com/2014/03/review-fallen-beauty-by-erika-robuck.html#sthash.0TUpQcif.dpuf

There were several parts to this quick read and each had their strong and weak points. As spies, the mystery and finding out who is selling state secrets is a very large part of the story. I wish there had been a little more background as to what led Remington and Emma to be spying on their marks, but with a novella sometimes something has to go, and the background was it in this one. Since we don't get much backstory on the marks, I found it hard to relate to this aspect of the story and settle into the intrigue.

The second part is the romance. This one was pretty good. Emma was warned that it would be difficult working with a male partner. Close proximity can sometimes mimic intimate feelings, and that's just what they both think at first. But when they separate and still can't keep their minds off each other, they know it may have been more - but now it may be too late.

There was also a bit about women's rights of all things - after all how many female spies were there in the 1800's, and were they respected. The author did a good job of throwing the thought out there, beating it around, and then letting it lie for awhile. Overall this was a fun read, I just wish I could have gotten more into the actual spy part of the story. *This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

- See more at: http://www.bittenbyromance.com/#sthash.qzjh5CVR.dpuf

The final chapter of The Hunger Games doesn't hold anything back. Katniss doesn't understand why she is alive and hiding out in District 13 while Peeta is held captive by the Capital. The small underground rebellion that has been slowly building has only needed a figure head - and they have just the thing when Katness becomes "The Mockingjay". With this boost of morale, what was once a small time survival operation turns into a full scale revolution - declaring war on the Capital and all it stands for, bringing the battle straight to their doorstep.

Not to stray from the theme of the games and the arena - Mockingjay keeps the tradition true in a very different yet even more deadly way. The very streets and cities of Panem become a giant arena with tools designed by the Gamemakers set like booby traps. With Mutts (animal/human mutations) on the loose there is a lot of death to go around. With this setup there is non-stop action on every page, making it incredibly difficult to put the book down for any reason.

The relationship between Peeta and Katniss and Gale becomes even more strained times a million. Katniss is lost enough trying to understand who she is not, let alone what each of these amazing men mean to her. Don't worry romance fans, there is a HEA with one of them. This was a stunning conclusion that I couldn't stop talking about when I was done. This entire series will definitely be added to my must re-read shelf.

- See more at: http://hotofftheshelves.blogspot.com/2014/03/review-mockingjay-by-suzanne-collins.html#sthash.3ykqOTxH.dpuf