Vogel

I really like Christina Lee's Between Breath series (especially Promise Me This), and There You Stand being the fifth book about Cory and Jude York. We briefly met Cory in the previous books, as the tattoo artist who works with Jessie and Bennett, and new British skateboarder in town named Jude York. This book is Christina Lee's introduction to M/M romance, and I thought she did well with Cory and Jude.

So, Cory and Jude both have their own struggles to deal with that kind of effects them forming any kind of friendship or relationship throughout the book. Cory is dealing with the loss of his love, his partner, due to not being honest about their relationship that ended tragically. It's something that causes Cory to need to always stay busy, not drowning in silence or his thoughts, and also to evaluate the sort of people he gives his heart to.

And Jude. He's just this silent-type British dude that mysteriously rolls into town, that starts some talk around town. He's the silent-type who keeps to himself and with reason. This boy has got trouble written all over him. Some people say he's affiliated in something dangerous and probably illegal, which may or may not involve the towns motorcycle gang. When they finally cross each others paths for a tattoo appointment begins a rocky start with their differences and current struggles, but Cory finds himself attracted to Jude. He thinks he knows that Jude isn't into guys, so he tries to keep his attraction to himself every time Jude is on his tattoo table or at the skate park. Learning from his past, Cory knows better than to get involved in another closeted relationship. But the more time they find themselves near each other, and alone together, both of their attraction toward each other ignite. And hell yeah are they fucking hot together!

Over bonding with the dogs, hours and days on Cory's tattoo table, motorcycling, and skinny dipping *wink wink* together, their friendship forms and turns into much more than that. Remember how I mentioned before, about how Jude may be in some kind of trouble? Well, he is all thanks to his past. Let's just say that his safety is in jeopardy, so it's difficult for him and Cory to be together. And Jude is scared that the same thing that happened to his sister will happen to Cory, and he can't live like that. This is why he moved into town. To get away from his old life and start new.

As much as they heat up the couch in the back room or the bed that just makes readers need to fan themselves, what I really enjoyed the most is how they bond over the dogs and how they let each other in, in a way they never did with anyone else. I think that was the heart of this story. Those, and being true to yourself, to the ones you love and not being afraid to go after what your heart truly wants.

Rusk University is where it's at, and Cora Carmack is totally responsible. Not that we're complaining. Pretty much everyone that has read this and had the chance to meet Silas ended up with the Silas virus. There are a few reasons why.

So Dylan Brenner and Silas Moore are polar opposites: Dylan is a good girl who is deeply compassionate and will fight for what's good of nature and the people; while Silas is a football player who flirts with a pretty face and gets into trouble almost everywhere he goes -- yet they both end up in the same place....in jail, of all places...which is where they first meet. It's definitely not where you expect to find a Brenner at. This encounter was rather entertaining, and it gets interesting in . It involves Silas after a bar fight, and Dylan and her environmental-friendly companion/friend Matt conversations (silent and aloud), Silas flirting, Dylan's snarkiness and a surprising decision to get them all out.

With Silas's future in football on the line due to his behavior, he needs some taming. And who is perfect for the role other than Dylan? Let me tell you, no one. I think this is where they compliment each other. They ground each other as well as keep each other on their toes. It does not come with out effort and difficulty, but they eventually get the hang of it. I enjoyed their banter, steamy times and their growth of friendship that turned into something more. Especially when they opened up to each other in a way they haven't before. You know what they say about opposites: they attract. And boy do they heat up the place. In the bathroom, on the kitchen island, you name it. There are quite a few things in their life they have to deal with and it was a journey to see how they dealt with it all.

The secondary characters were great assets in this book. Dylan's friend Matt knows how to have fun in any situation. And Nell, Dylan's roomie, and their dynamic with each other and Matt. And then the guys on Silas's team. Mateo Torres... He is quite the character. I'm so glad his book is next. I'd definitely like to know more about him, and see how he grows up. And Stella, one of the few girls that's tight with the group. I was afraid that I wouldn't like her at first, being a certain someone's old hookup, but she's really awesome. And unfortunately, something bad may or may not have happened to her near the end of the book at a party, and I can only hope that it's not as bad as it seemed. Whatever the case, I can't wait for Stella to tell her story, and I'm glad that she gets to share it with Ryan. Yes, we've all been shipping them even though it wasn't in Cora Carmack's plans in the beginning.

The follow-up companion to Chase Me, book 1 in the Broke and Beautiful series follows Lucas's buddy Ben who is a professor at a college. While Tessa Bailey's men are usually such alpha hunks to die for pieced with humor that will laugh in an unlady-like fashion. Or if you're a dude, you'd still laugh the way you always do, but you'd still laugh at some parts. She is seriously that funny! Although the humor in Need Me didn't measure up to the humor in Chase Me, I still enjoyed nonetheless.

Oh, Ben. This guy surprised me in a few ways. Not all good, and not all bad. I'm so used to Tessa's alpha men, that it surprised me when the times Ben blushed on several occasions. Yes, blushed! It was actually adorable. With that type of side to him, comes his struggle to stay professional at all times in every aspect, that makes him make bad decisions a lot. Poor, poor, Ben. I really felt for the guy a few times. I didn't expect this from one of Tessa Bailey's harem. Ben being the professor, and Honey turning out as one of his students, he really does try to stay as professional as possible. Because student/teacher relationships are forbidden, even in college. There's just too much at stake to risk it, but boy do they ever take a dive in places they shouldn't be going. This brings the question what is more important. To pick dating Honey and risk losing his job and her place in the school? Or transfer his job to the other school that offered him a position? He won't get to see Honey during work/school time, but they are free to open date each other. Honey's parents worked their asses off to get her to that school, so it would be such a waste to throw it all away because of their relationship. And this is where they came to a crossroads. Some adulting takes place considering what to do when it comes to priorities and following your heart. Decisions, risks, consequences, opportunities should not be taken lightly. It's a good thing that they have good people by their side to help them see sense.

Side note: Ben makes tweed look hot! Never thought that adjective would be used when it comes to that thing. After reading Need Me, you'll probably not be able to look at tweed the same way again.

Holy classroom scene! Hooking up in classroom may be a no-no from some, while it's a turn on for others, and with how it went down between them in this scene, it was definitely a turn on. And with your hot as hell professor? Even better. No seriously, it was hot hot hot! This is where we see a completely new side of Ben. Okay, we've seen this side whenever they get it on or whenever he's in the same proximity as Honey. He knew what he wanted, what Honey needed and he freaking delivered. It was rather tasteful. As was them on the field that Honey built back home.

After much groveling and letting each other in, I'm glad that things eventually worked out for them. 

I've heard a great deal of a hype for The Hook Up, and I finally got to get to it. There was a whole lot of circulation going on surrounding one Drew Baylor, football star, total hunk, ladies man. That might turn a lot of us off as much as it turns on the groupies, but there's this side to him that Anna really brings out in him. That side was fun, especially when it's directed at Anna in class. The playful banter and debating Anna's points just to get her to talk to him was highly entertaining.

It all started with their encounters in class that spiraled into a hookup. Anna is not looking for a relationship, especially not with the likes of Drew Baylor, so they make an agreement of hooking up. Those two together... phew! Someone get this reader a fan or something! Definitely scorching up the walls with their chemistry and sexy times. Then Drew realizes that he wants more than just a hookup with Anna.

Shit hit the fan. Pardon my French, but holy WTF, Drew! Something causes Drew and Anna get into this heated argument (to put it lightly) that brought a really hideous side of Drew. The things he said (yelled) to Anna was completely out of line, and half of that shit would so not fly with me. I remember reading that part while shopping with my family and I was brimming with steam coming out of my ears, I was so ready to scream and throw my kindle at something. I probably growled at someone. I know I walked into a mannequin and told it to "watch it." Yeah, it just really turned me off and pissed me the fuck off. Knocked a few notches off of Drew for me. It was just outrageous. But luckily Drew realized what he did and apologized in several different ways. In that, is where a lot of growth between them both together and individually really blossomed.

Gray Grayson... (yes, you read that right) is Drew's best bud and teammate. What I liked about him was that he seems to have a good head on his shoulders who looks out for the people he cares about, and that he calls Drew out on his BS. He's the kind of friend that Drew, or anyone, needs in their life. He was great, and I am so excited to see how things go between him and the owner of the pink Fiat he's borrowing, in the companion book The Friend Zone!

I'd forgotten Dakota and Shane were in Whisper To Me, but it was so nice to see them again all grown up and delve deeper into their relationship. Christina Lee never fails to make me swoon with her boys. Shane...wow. He's all grown up and going after his heart—Dakota. What a journey these two went through apart and together. I finished with happy tears. (Just waiting for the day they have little Dakota's and Shane's running around the house ;-P)

This made me ugly-sob so hard (still not over that, btw) it was so good. Colleen Hoover, what did you do to my feels? I had to get pizza and a milkshake to get me through this. The obstacles they go through, and their feelings for each other connected me with them and got me invested in them together. They brought out all kinds of fucking feels--hopeful, mushy, heart-wrenching, and swoony feels. In my opinion, Confess might be Colleen's best yet. Slammed and Hopeless are hard to contend with, but Confess is up there with them.

There are books that read you, and Volition is one for the dark and hidden crevices of my gypsy soul. It’s probably why it resonated in me. The tumultuous friendships and relationships between the characters, the depths of Tate’s soul and how it’s explored, the lush New York City and the South Carolina plantation’s that spark the wanderlust, and Hayden are all what makes up this book.

Hayden is the only one who truly understands the darkest corners of Tate’s mixed-up soul, and vise-versa. And for that, he is a book boyfriend in a way that no other is. If that’s what you look for in guys, you’ll want to meet him. That’s not to say that he is perfect because soon you’ll find out that he’s not. He has demons of his own that plays well with Tate’s. 

Volition was such a me book, and although it might not be for everyone, I hope that you find yourself to enjoy it as well. However, this book may not be for everyone, and that's okay.

The only thing I had a problem with is the relationship between Tate and Jesse, and his supposed feelings for Tate. Usually, there are those couples with a tumultuous relationships that only the couples understand and those outside of it won't understand

Check out my Story Diary here!

Courtney Cole is a gun, and this book is going to blow your brains out. I am still honestly shocked at the ending that changed the whole entire series from even before the first book even started. It felt like both books was an entire lie. It changes everything, and for that, I NEED Lux right now. Dare, oh, Dare baby. I hope it's not true about him. This wait is going to slay.

Less love triangles; more threesomes is what I always say. I just wished that all of these three broken characters got their HEA together in the end. Well, in a way they did, but not exactly how I wanted...which is almost how it always is. It's bittersweet.

J. A. Huss knows what she's doing with each of her books that made me forever a fan of her dark and gritty work.

First rule of dealing with hot vampire bodyguards? Don’t fall in love. You guys thought the Vampire theme is tired out? Oh, no. Temple West’s vamps will not blind you by sparkling under the sun or burst into flames. And in the place of cheesy “romantic” lines, is banter for daaaays. It's also doesn’t hurt that our heroine, Caitlin, is a snarky little thing. And then there’s that hot, Harley-riding half-vampire bodyguard Adrian De La Mara. Adrian is thee best little spoon, trust me, you’ll want to meet this guy. I dubbed him the Adrian de la Little Spoon. Oh, and he also defies the laws of physics. Just throwing that out there because I love it when he talks science to me Caitlin. He might not give my Adrian Ivashkov a run for his money (yet), but it’s still early as there will be TWO MORE BOOKS in this trilogy! After that ending, I can’t wait to see what will happen next!

Check out my Story Diary here!

My Story Diary for BETWEEN THE STARS AND SKY here!

I don’t even know how to write a review for Between the Stars and Sky, let alone explain what it’s about. It’s minimal but beyond complex in context. The story-telling is unique and this book means so much to me, even if it broke me to pieces. I highlighted the hell out of this book…even a sentence in the acknowledgements and note from the author. Is that weird? I bought another copy so I can have a clean copy too. It’s definitely one of my favorites of the year. I’m taking it to the grave with me (morbid, I know. No surprise there.).

Between the Stars and Sky starts off with Jackson’s introspection and self-reflection on life, family, loss, insecurities, love, heartbreak, memories, lies, fear, and the future. There’s a lot of thought that goes into all of those throughout the book, with new things added or changed to his perspectives on those topics. At the start, we also get a glimpse of Jackson’s relationship with his father, and memories of how it was with his mom. And Jackson returns to his hometown of Huntington after moving away a few years ago. He reconnects with a couple of old friends he left behind. Attempting to adjust back to the town he once called home, reuniting with old friends and rekindling an old flame, deciding whether to follow his dad instructions for what to do with his summer there, and trying to find himself and figure out life in general, thinking about his mom and the upcoming firelight festival.

Jackson is a dreamer, an artist who uses words, metaphors and symbolism as his paintbrush to express his insights and feelings. I don’t know whether I want to climb inside Jackson or David’s mind and live there forever. It made my mind explode with color. David James articulated metaphors and vivid imagery to convey emotions and to tell this story. David threw caution to the wind in the best way possible and defied the odds by not being afraid to show Jackson’s sensitivity and vulnerability. It’s often easy to forget that guys can feel so fiercely. Jackson’s dad tells him that he lives in his head just like his mom did and that is true in every sense. As the story progresses, Jackson’s journey of self-discovery goes into war with what is expected of him and where his heart truly lays. Jackson colors outside the lines of life and love. He’s unwilling to be confined by the worlds expectations.

The Firelight Festival is a mystery with history and meaning behind it for which I will not elaborate on; you’ll just have to find out for yourselves, and don’t worry, it’ll be worth it. Basically what it is, is like an inside thing that only people in the circle knows. To take a quote from the book, “The Firelight Fall is something no one ever talks about but everyone knows.” So the whole town is in on it, whether they participate or not, and us readers are the outsiders who don’t really know what goes on until we learn about the story behind it all. There’s another side of the significance to the Firelight Fall that no one tells until it is revealed in a journal from one who knows it inside and out, from one who lived it. It takes a while until we get the full extent of what exactly the Firelight Festival is.

About halfway in, I was chanting please don’t let this be foreshadow what I think it will as if it were a spell or a prayer or something. And then the Firelight Festival came around, I got anxious and it turned out for a very good reason. You know where you have that gut feeling that something very wrong is about to happen? Well…trust your gut is all I have to say and be prepared for feels. What a way to tear my heart out. Buuuuut, David doesn’t leave us that way, he finds a way to mend hearts back together. And boy did Jackson need that in the end.

Jackson and Sarah may be OTP, but Miles and Sean are ENDGAME, THAT IS ALL. Oh, and Jackson and Miles are brotp, of course.

Between the Stars and Sky is vivid, evocative, profound, lyrical, metaphysical, timeless, imaginative, atmospheric and painfully beautiful. . .a story of self-discovery, love, loss, hardships, the finer points that are often overlooked and everything in between and out of this world. Makes you pay attention to the finer details, the little things we overlook. There’s a lot of life-lessons between the pages, each line. It is beautiful and sad and everything in between. It made me break out in smiles and tears all at once. I thought I was going to explode into a supernova or something. Between the Stars and Sky tells of not one, but of a thousand stories.

The book I’ve been waiting for is finally here! It’s time to get to know the man behind his partying and flirty ways. This is the very first full-length New Adult I created a story diary for on the blog and I couldn’t think of a better choice to pop my NA story diary cherry than with Nate– I mean Promise Me This! We briefly met Nate in the first book All of You as Bennett’s best friend, the life of the party and major flirt with the nice dress shirts; and Jessie, Bennett’s co-worker at the tattoo shop in Whisper to Me. In Promise Me This, we dig deeper to who Nate really is, how he has lived and where he came from. Underneath that flirty dress-shirt-wearing party boy lies a misunderstood, troubled yet compassionate boy with a less than stellar home and family. And Jessie, the girl underneath the blue hair and tattoos and behind the camera lens.

Nate and Jessie have had a steady friendship going for them for some time by the start of the book. Diving into their POVs, first, we notice Nate’s ways that he’s notoriously known for around campus and we see him in action. In that comes the differences between the two that somehow makes it work for them. They make the best of friends without the fear of hooking up or any awkwardness because they know they’re not each others type. Their friendship is solid and fun, fully equip with nicknames, and the banter between them is hilarious. The things they dish out had me laughing several times. And the innuendos had me giggling like a 12 year old boy. Anyway… Soon enough, little things start to shift in their friendship and feelings they didn’t understand festers. They quickly dismiss it and they go about their days as per usual. Then as the more they hang out, or open up, the things that lead them to need each other and spend even more time together, those feelings take notice again and intensify as the story progresses.

Meanwhile, not only are they trying to fight their attraction to each other, they have struggles of their own. Especially Nate. He grew up in a facade of big houses and white picket fences when behind closed doors, his family is anything but polished. All I can say is that his father does not deserve the best dad award. His mom still sticks around that man for reasons he doesn’t understand. I have to give Nate’s mom all the kudos and credit for sticking with a husband like that for the sake of her children. Such a selfless and headstrong thing on her part. As Nate was growing up, he noticed his brother start acting like their father or seem to take his side over their moms, and worried for his mom even more. He constantly worries about his brother turning into their father, and leaving his mom with them to fend for herself while he’s out in college.

Then there’s Jessie, who may have tattoos and blue hair, but has a great relationship with her mom, and struggles with the loss of her dad with whom she had a close relationship with. Something Nate envies for. She’s different than those tattoo-working/wearing, blue-haired girl. She’s honest, down-to-earth, strong, intelligent and perceptive, has passion for photography like her father, and not explicitly over-active/talkative. She lives by this inspiring saying from her father everyday that turns out to help balm Nate and his inner demons. We also get to see some of our favorite couples from the previous books again! I almost forgot that Nate and Kai (from Whisper To Me) are cousins. So we get to see a bit more of that hunk. He becomes the voice of reason, the one who stands by his side once he knows the truth about Nate’s father.

Nate constantly struggles with himself due to his father, and his sexual deviancy that went sour with an old girlfriend sometime ago. Since then, he tries to keep his true inner sexual desires to himself when he hooks up. He sees his sexual deviance as a darkness within himself and he’s afraid of going there with Jessie in fear of hurting her and pushing her out of his life. He fears of turning into his father and believes that indulging in his sexual desires the way he wants, that he would turn out to be just like him. What he slowly learns is that we have to tap into our dark side of our nature and face our demons before we can embrace our future. Pepople, like Nate, are afraid of that because it holds a piece of us that we’re too busy denying. But Jessie, sticking by his side, opens up to him and shows him that he’s not as bad as he thinks and she’s not going anywhere. It’s a work in progress (hey, Rome wasn’t built overnight), and Jessie is just what he needs to see that.

I want to address the sex in this book a bit. Nate turns up the heat to an all-time high! I’d blame it on Christina Lee, but we know by now that it’s all Nate’s doing. Teehee. No complaints, though. The previous books in the series were mild and limited to one sex scene or two, equip with plenty of steamy encounters that leads up to it, and I liked that there wasn’t sexual overkill. However, we get more in quantity and a bit kinky in Promise Me This. The sex was hot, intense and erotic though, even if a little risky (don’t worry, no one gets hurt). Public sex–what? Le gasp! Leave it up to Nate, wink wink. The scene at the bar was so sensual and erotic, it’s one of my favorite scenes. And don’t even get me started on what happens on that bridge! And the hotel? Who knew ice-play can be downright HOT? Excuse me while I fan myself. I’m taking him on the Sydney bridge climb with me, no not for THAT reason, but because he has a love for bridges and I’d think his adventurist side would like it.

In pretty much every book of this series, I had a knack for underestimating the characters. The same thing happened in this one too. I just thought that Nate was a carefree guy who likes to have fun and looks out for his friends, all the while sporting a devil-may-care smile and getting his flirt on. Although it was mentioned a time or two that he comes from a rich family and always dresses to kill who drives a nice car and is perpetually flirty, he didn’t throw an arrogant asshole vibe to me. I’ve mentioned in my review for All of You that I didn’t think much of him at first, it wasn’t until we saw how good of a friend he is and how he helped Avery and his buddy Bennett see sense that I found myself wanting to get to know him and wished he was more present. You can ask Christina, I’ve let it known of my crush–to put it mildly–on Nate. He can hold my hand for always. :)

Promise Me This kicks it up a notch in the Between Breaths series in many ways. Plenty of laughs, hungry stolen kisses, steam, friendship and family values, hard truths and hard lessons, adventure, innuendos and sexytimes. I’m so glad Nate got to tell his story. He knows how to deliver on all fronts. Seeing all the sides and depths of Nate made me love him even more. It was a long time coming, but oh so worth the wait! And I must admit that I am little curious about his brother, especially the way he surprised Nate (and me) by standing up to their father.