Luv Books Galore Blog!: Katie

Showing posts with label Katie. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Wildwood Spring by Allison Merritt

When Celia Landry and Turner Wildwood face their fears, they'll find the path to love.

No one goes to Wildwood Manor—a hulking stone house on a hill outside town. Legend has it crazy old man Wildwood owes his life to the magical water of the spring at the back of the property. Celia Landry needs that water to save her mother, and she'll brave anything to get it.

Turner Wildwood, the son of the house's eccentric builder, is growing as reclusive as his father. When Celia turns up at his door, he's drawn by her beauty and bravery. Wary of strangers, he doesn't reveal his identity, but agrees to her request. When she returns to Wildwood in wake of personal tragedy, he's waiting there with a stunning change in his heart. He knows he should tell her the truth, but he doesn't want to ruin their budding friendship.

Celia's curiosity leads her to part of the frightening answers hidden behind Wildwood's doors, but her own troubled past may lead Turner into danger neither of them suspected.

I was given this book for and honest review.

This book is phenomenal. It's a classic retold and done beautifully. This book is Beauty and The Beast for grown ups! I absolutely loved reading this story and could not put it down, at least not willingly. I found the imagery magical and could picture each scene as I read. The characters were sweet and fun, making me easily fall in love with them. I enjoyed this book so much I see myself re-reading it over and over again. Personally I loved Beauty and The Beast and it has always been my favorite, so naturally this book called to me. I think all fairy tale and Disney lovers should read this story and really any other readers as well!!!

5 stars overall
3 stars for steaminess

Buy The Book

Amazon

Monday, April 28, 2014

Elixir Bound by Katie L. Carroll

Katora Kase is next in line to take over as guardian to a secret and powerful healing Elixir. Now she must journey into the wilds of Faway Forest to find the ingredient that gives the Elixir its potency. Even though she has her sister and brother, an old family friend, and the handsome son of a mapmaker as companions, she feels alone. It is her decision alone whether or not to bind herself to the Elixir to serve and protect it until it chooses a new guardian. The forest hosts many dangers, including wicked beings that will stop at nothing to gain power, but the biggest danger Katora may face is whether or not to open up her heart to love.

I was given this book for an honest review.

A good adventure book. I found this book somewhat complex and immature for lack of a better word. Not in the writing, but in the characters' personality traits. Throughout the book Katora is trying to prove she is the leader, but goes about it like a child, with petulant temper tantrums and all around whining at times. If nothing else it provided a path for her to travel as she became a leader in every sense of the word. It is a journey of self discovery and finding the courage and strength to follow your heart instead of your head. The small, innocent twist of young love was a nice addition and brought a little sweetness to the victory. The author did a good job with her words and descriptions, easily painting a picture within the pages and between the lines. Overall I enjoyed this book and read it relatively quickly.

4 stars overall
2 stars for steaminess

Buy the Book

Amazon ~ Paperback

Friday, April 11, 2014

Stealing Promises by Brina Courtney

Promises are made to be kept, never stolen. But that's exactly what happened to Victoria Blane and Levi Manor. Tragedy strikes their perfect relationship leaving Victoria struggling to overcome the darkness that threatens to bury her.

Brighton Hanley knows what it's like to lose someone. He knows what it's like to be haunted by things that can never change. When he meets Victoria he recognizes the pain she's trying to bury deep in her eyes. He knows she's trying to hide, but he also knows that you can't hide forever.

Victoria is drawn to Brighton in ways she never expected. But is she ready to let go of the past and grab on to her future? Or will she run away from Brighton before she can be hurt again?

Excerpt:

The smell reached her nose before she even opened her eyes and Victoria knew where she was. Back in the hospital, the hellhole. It had the distinct smell of cleaning supplies and death. Victoria couldn't understand why she was back here when she had finally made the decision to take care of the pain herself. Why had Kate arrived when she did? Did she expect something like this to happen? Slowly Victoria tried to move her limbs and felt the scratchy sheets beneath her skin. She looked over at the multiple stitches crisscrossing back and forth over her pale skin. This was her life. This what Victoria had done to herself. Her arm would never be the same again. But would anything else? She wasn't sure.

Buy the Book

Amazon

I was given this book for an honest review.

This book was the most I've cried reading a story in a long time. I felt all the grief and pain and had to take breaks to clear my blurry vision. This author is very good at choosing words to evoke emotions from readers. I did have a couple issues with this book though. The chapters were numbered of course, but when I got to number fifteen it was blank and the next page was chapter sixteen. The story didn't seem to be missing anything though, so I think it was just a numbering issue. Then as I read the author seemed to use both first and third person point of view. The problem is that it became confusing as it bounced back and forth between "I" and "she" or "her", sometimes in the same section. My last problem was the ending. It felt unfinished and unsatisfactory. The story was too short and I felt that the characters deserved to have the rest of their journey told. Besides these issues I felt this was a very good, emotional read. If you like to feel when you read, then this is the book for you!

4 stars overall
2 stars for steaminess

This was such an emotional book that i was in tears almost three quarters away in this book. There is so much heartbreak in this book that you feel Victoria's pain all the way through this book. I don't know if i could have survived what she did. The details were so overwhelming sometimes, that i had to catch my breath sometimes. The only reason i gave it a four star was because of the abrupt ending. I was upset that it didn't progress farther than it did.

This is not a book that you are getting a very happy ending. You are getting a real book. Victoria and Levi have been in love forever, and they have been together forever. One fateful night things change drastically. When life changes so drastically that you don't know what to do, you have to learn to live again. That is not the easiest thing to do. You need to learn to survive again.

My first time with this author, and i will continue to read more from this author. Such a great book, I highly recommend it.

The Magic Words by Ana Koza

Genre: Children's Book

Publisher: Outskirts Press

Release Date: December 13, 2013

A wonderful book for ages 1-7 year of year. A boy named Tommy often forgets to say the magic words, but then he realizes how important those words are. Let Tommy remind us about those words in a fun and magic way!

Buy the Book

Buy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

I was given this book for an honest review.

This book was awesome! I loved the simple but effective language and easy to understand moral. Both of my toddlers were able to tell me what the "magic words" were right off the bat, and understood the boy's chosen words did not fit into the guidelines for good manners. I myself, as well as my kids, was drawn to the colorful pictures and felt they were bright without being overpowering. I really enjoyed reading this with my children and plan on reading this book many more times to come!

I read this to my five year old and he absolutely loved it. Both of us loved the illustrations and the meaning behind the book. He forgets to say please and thank you a lot, so this was a great reminder for him. We were very entertained and hope to read more books that my son will enjoy as much as he enjoyed this one.

Author Ana Koza lives with her husband and sons Ari and Eli in San Diego, California. She was raised in Guadalajara, Mexico. Interested in writing since she was in school, Ana is now writing two future books for children which she expects to publish later this year. More information about Ana and her books can be found at her author web site www.kidintheclouds.com. Her books are available at www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com and at book stores.

Author Links -

Website www.kidintheclouds.com.

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Ana-Koza/e/B00HX8RXAM/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

Around The World by Ana Koza

Genre: Children's Book

Publisher: Book Baby

Release Date: August 19, 2013

Buy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Around the world teaches kids about different culture and what make us unique and special. The book will give shot of each characters' lives and they will give us a glance of their country.

I was given this book for an honest review.

This book seems like a good choice for children in the elementary school age group. My three year old liked the bright colors and pictures, as well as the counting of continents as we met someone from each one. I liked that it talked about us having differences but still all being the same, teaching acceptance and friendship. I really liked talking about that with my son, and that no matter what we look like or where we are from, we love everyone just the same. I did feel the pictures were bright to capture children's attention, but that they looked generically computerized. There was nothing special or exciting about any of the graphics. I would've loved to have seen more detail to accentuate the different lifestyles and surroundings. All in all it is a good book and I believe parents will be happy when they read this to their children.

I have a vast age group in my house. 5, 9, 11 year olds and they seemed to have all the same viewing on this book. The illustrations were great. We all loved the colds and how it illustrated certain areas of the world, but that is where the likes stopped. Myself I believe it was a little wordy for my five year old. With the other two it would have been nice to see something that was completely different from america. Although I enjoyed reading this with my children, I must tell you that my kids pretty much said its not a book that would be something that would be continued to be read.

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Unsettled by S.C. Ellington

**Debut new adult author S.C. Ellington knocks it out of the park with this steamy contemporary romance!

After a horrific breakup with her longtime boyfriend, Brooklyn Caldwell is completely disenchanted with the notion of mingling with the opposite sex. Damon Williams had been everything she thought she wanted…until he wasn’t.

In an attempt to escape her heartbreaking past, Brooklyn seeks refuge in bustling Washington, D.C. where she folds into the fast-paced society unnoticed…until she meets a young entrepreneur, Logan Colton.

Brooklyn is surprised to find that while she has been successful in keeping the opposite sex at bay, somehow she is defenseless against Logan’s confidence and charm—and it doesn’t hurt that he is absurdly beautiful.

As much as Logan didn’t plan on pursuing her, he is drawn to Brooklyn’s muted beauty and her witty persona. For all his success, Logan is ensnared in the coveted world of unequivocal wealth and power, but behind closed doors is taunted by his own demons and an undeniable need to atone for a monumental mistake.

As the two embark on a tumultuous obstacle course saturated with unknown twists and turns, Brooklyn is left to question whether she can endure the journey ahead.

I was given this book for an honest review.

This book was a good read, but I felt that it lagged a little. I really liked Logan and felt he had a really sweet side. For the most part I liked Brooklyn except at the end where she acted immature and unfair. I honestly wanted to smack her upside her head and scream at her to grow up! The secondary characters were good additions, but I was a little thrown off by Damon and his brutish ways. The writing was good and I didn't see any errors in this book; which is a bonus for those who edit while they read. I will say the ending left me saying WTF, but not in a good way. I am so perturbed by the ending and that there was no hint of another book, that I don't believe I would read the next one if it ever came out. I would recommend this book to other readers just so they could meet Logan.

4 stars overall
3 stars steaminess

S.C. Ellington is an up and coming author who enjoys expressing her creativity through frequently writing adult, contemporary romance novels that readers can relate to, but more importantly, enjoy. Aside from writing, Ellington enjoys curling up with her e-reader and absorbing herself in novels loaded with emotion, desire, and passion. She also likes to spend sunny, wistful afternoons, in her hammock thinking up new ideas for great stories. Ellington currently resides on the west coast with her beautiful family and loving friends.

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