Avoiding Commitment by K.A. Linde

I am not completely sure what to say about this book. I've never read a book where the characters and their actions got me so upset and frustrated that I was screaming at the book. If I would have been reading the physical book and not an e-book, I would have thrown it across the room. The fact that AC can evoke so many emotions in me at once...uggghh I FREAKING LOVED IT!!!!

Jack and Lexie became friends in college. Then after one bad incident they don’t speak for 2 years. That is until Lexie gets a phone call from Jack that unbeknownst to her at the moment will shift her world upside down. Jack wants Lexie to convince his new girlfriend Bekah that he is ready to commit to her. How insane is that? That after everything that has happened, he has the nerve to call her just so she can convince another woman that Jack isn’t afraid of commitment. That description alone spells out emotional rollercoaster.

At first I was in love with Jack, but that love swiftly turned to anger. There were so many times when I wanted to reach through the book and not punch him the face, but do some major damage to his manly-hood if you know what i mean. Such a douche bag!! He is a master manipulator who loves to toy with the emotions of other people just so he can have his cake and eat it. I mean how selfish can you be? It's like he cannot even think about anyone else but himself.

And Lexie....she seemed so blinded by her love/obsession for Jack that it clouded her thoughts and there were moments when I wanted to shake some sense into her. There were signs and things that were said and it was like she still did not get a freaking clue.

“I don’t know if I can do this anymore,” Jack’s husky voice muttered sounding defeated… “I know what you mean,” she whispered sadly, her chin dropping to meet her chest. “I’m not sure I want to break up with Kate though,” he said miserably.”  - K.A. Linde, Avoiding Commitment

What I got out of that statement was Jack felt a little torn between Kate (A past girlfriend), and Lexie, but he just cannot bring himself to make that big leap to Lexie. In my opinion it’s because he doesn't really want to. He enjoys using her, knowing he can have her whenever he feels like it. He feels like there is no reason for him to make a commitment to Lexie. Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free (Weird statement I know, but I think it makes sense LOL).  I so wanted Lexie to realize that and say “Hey, I deserve more…I deserve better F*** off Jack!”

But no, instead this is what Lexie hears: “That snapped her right out of her own pity party.   Break up with Kate!   Holy shit!   Where had that come from?   Maybe they were talking about two different things.   “Uh, Jack?” He tilted his head to look at her under his thick dark lashes.   “Yes, my dear?” “You’ve been thinking of breaking up with Kate?”   She couldn’t keep the disbelief out of her voice. He nodded choking on his own words.   “Ever since I saw you like a vision on the beach the first day you got here.” “Wh…Why would you do that?”   She knew the answer.   But she wanted to hear him say it. “I thought that was quite obvious… for you.”

 -K.A. Linde, Avoiding Commitment

Call me strange, but I didn’t think it was obvious. He has a girlfriend and then he sleeps with Lexie…how is it supposed to be obvious to Lexie that he actually wants to be with her and make a real commitment?

 At first I felt bad for her, but after a while, I was like come on sweetheart wake up, 6 years of this guy manipulating you… how much more are you going to take?!?! Her BFF Chyna had him pegged exactly when she said that he would always choose the other girl over Lexie, and when he was done he would throw her out like yesterday’s trash. I just hope she actually has taken off her rose colored glasses that she has been looking through all these years when it comes to Jack. She totally deserves much better...real love.

Bekah...she is such a twisted crazy nut who I would take great pleasure in seeing her ass kicked on numerous occasions. Enough said.

For the moment, I am on Team Ramsey. Even though I do not completely trust him or his motives...I hope he is not playing her and actually does have feelings for her.

To say that K.A Linde's writing is "just okay" or "pretty good" is a big flipping understatement. Her writing flows and she definitely knows how to create a delicious story worth devouring. I never thought I would become invested in a type of book with people who cheat and lie (not usually my style), but it grabbed a hold on me from the first chapter, dragged me through all of the twists and turns in the middle, and would not let me go until the very end.

Avoiding Commitment will have you waiting on pins and needles for book 2 in the series, Avoiding Responsibility, which is not out yet. So you will have to bide the time, but hopefully the wait won’t be super long.  Happy Reading J


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Book Review: The Marriage Bargain by Jennifer Probst

A business like marriage that was supposed to be in name only; beneficial to both parties, with no romantic feelings involved. The catch? The happy couple have to stay married for a full year. Sounds easy enough… But like a lot of things, this particular situation is a lot easier said than done.

The Marriage Bargain is a cute romance read with a few good doses of humor thrown in the mix. The story starts with Alexa McKenzie creating a spell in the middle of her living room in order to get a man (one with $150,000 to give would be awesome). She makes a list of all the qualities she wants her dream guy to have and throws into the bucket along with her other ingredients; one hair from a male family member, a mix of scented herbs, and a small stick. I know what you are probably thinking at this point. Sounds completely crazy, right? That is what I thought at first. Then it seemed like the whole spell thing went along with her quirkiness. So I went along with it.  Turns out Alexa is not a crazy gal just trying to snag a rich man so she can live the good life. She is the owner of a diverse bookstore, who truly values her family and needs the money to help save her parents’ home.

Enter Nicholas Ryan (Nick happens to be the brother of Alexa’s best friend since childhood, Maggie) who works at a company called Dreamscape that his uncle owned.

“As Nick had drifted in and out of relationships, one thing became clear— all women wanted marriage, and marriage meant messiness. Fights about emotion. Children tearing them both at the seams, wanting more attention. Needing more space, until the end became the same as every other relationship. Divorce. With children as the casualties. No thanks.”

-         --Jennifer Probst, The Marriage Bargain

As you can see, Nick did not believe in love, real marriages, or the whole white picket fence deal, but his Uncle Earl did and therefore left a special clause in his will when he passed on. If Nicked wanted to inherit the majority of Dreamscape, he needed to get married and have it last for a total of one year. Now the hunt begins.

He ends up making a list himself, of all of the qualities he would like in his trophy wife and tries to think of a woman he knows who would fit the bill. Luckily his sister Maggie calls him and tells him she thinks she has found a wife for him, Alexa. At first his balks at the idea, but regardless he does feel like he could trust her even though they haven’t seen each other in several years.

So they met at his office and go over the terms of the marriage. They do not exactly hit it off when they meet.

“You want a hostess, an orphan, and a robot all rolled into one. Is that fair?” He took a deep breath. “You’re exaggerating. Just because I’d like to marry someone with grace and business sense doesn’t mean I’m a monster.” “You want a Stepford wife without the sex. Haven’t you learned anything about women since you were fourteen?” “I learned plenty. That’s why Uncle Earl had to force me into an institution that favors women in the first place.” She gasped. “Men get plenty out of marriage!” “Like what?” “Steady sex and companionship.” “After six months the headaches start and you bore each other to tears.” “Someone to grow old with.” 
“Men never want to grow old. That’s why they keep seeking out younger women.” Her mouth dropped open. She closed it with one quick snap. “Children… a family… someone who will love you in sickness and in health.” “Someone who spends all your money and nags you every night and bitches about cleaning up your mess.” “You’re sick.” “You’re deluded.” She shook her head, causing her silky black curls to lift around her face, then slowly settle. The flush was back in her skin. “God, your parents really screwed you up,” she muttered. “Thank you, Freud.”

-        -- Jennifer Probst, The Marriage Bargain

Though they do not agree on everything, Nick is attracted to Alexa almost immediately which scares the crap out him. Here he is looking for someone who is safe and restrained, and calm….instead he gets this lovely deep blue-eyed woman, who is fiery, full of life, and unpredictable.

Alexa was attracted to Nick as well, but he was a bit annoying and cold, and thought he still looked at her like she was his little sister’s best friend. And after all this was just business and the only way to keep things untangled was to not develop feelings.

They do end up coming to an agreement and they attempt to convince Alexa’s family that they are the real deal so they can get married. Nick does agree to give her the $150,000, but she does not want to tell him the real reason she needs the money. She wants him to think she is untrustworthy, so that when the year is up it would be a lot easier for her to walk away from him.

There is a fire and chemistry between these two that works. It reminded me of the old saying opposites attract. They may be opposites, but they have some things in common with each other and they bring out nice qualities that they will soon discover during their marriage. But of course it won’t all be rainbows and butterflies during their time together.

It was a bit predictable, but that did not take away from the story. At least for me it didn’t. My only complaint is that towards the end of the book, things happened a little too quickly. Other than that, I thought it was a very fun read, and I just may read it again before the second Marriage to a Billionaire story comes out which tells Maggie’s story. According to Jennifer Probst’s website the book is called the The Marriage Trap and will be released on October 4^th! 

If you like this story make sure to mark your calendars for the next installment. I am excited to see what will happen with Maggie.

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Book Review: Read Me Dead by Emerald Barnes

“I sit up in bed alert.  I’m sweating, and my breathing comes in quick, short gasps.  My long, thick curls stick to my neck, and I can still feel his large hands covering my mouth preventing me from breathing.  The outside lamp casts an orange glow through the blinds into the dark room.  I stare at the shadows around me.  I put my head in my hands and wait for the fear to pass, and I’m afraid.  Afraid of what hides in the dark, what always hides in the dark. Secrets.”

-       -  Emerald Barnes, Read Me Dead

That is the paragraph that first caught my attention. And how could it not? Emerald Barnes paints a clear vivid picture with lots of details, that get the imagination going.  

 Read Me Dead is the story of 17 year-old Alexia Wheaton, as she struggles with the absence of her parents after witnessing their murder 7 years prior.  After her parents died, Alex (Alexia) and her twin brother, Matt moved in with their aunt, uncle, and their cousin.  Alex oftentimes has nightmares about her parents’ murder and even her own murder, so she doesn’t care to sleep. Fairly early on in the book, I learned that Alex is keeping a secret, a secret that she has not revealed to a single person. She not only witnessed her parents’ murder, she saw the person who killed them. The sole reason she has not told anyone is because the killer told her if she ever revealed what she saw, he would come back to town and kill her. She is torn on whether she should tell someone all the while possibly ending her own life in the process or just keeping silent and staying alive. In the middle of all that craziness she is also dealing with romantic interests from her two best friends Landon and Christian (ex-boyfriend).

 One night at a football game, Alex thinks she sees the man who murdered her parents’ and she has a little panic attack. When Matt, Christian, and Landon see Alex they grow concerned and question her…she finally confesses and Matt gets very upset with her for not at least telling him about it. Not long after the newspaper prints the story and now her fear that the killer will find her practically quadruples. I found it a little surprising that a lot of people in the story did not really think that her life was in danger. They were thinking why would the killer come back after all these years? Even her brother didn’t really think she had anything to worry about. Luckily her aunt, uncle, Christian, and Landon want to take extra precautions to make sure Alex stays safe just in case.

Seeing what Alex is going through, I started to feel for her right away. All she wants is for the weight of the situation to be off her shoulders and to live a normal teenage life where she can breathe easy and free of fear.

Throughout the book Alex is trying to sort through her jumble of feelings for Landon and Christian while trying to help catch her parents’ murderer and stay a live at the same time.

The bad person in the story was a bit easy to pinpoint. Although it was easy for me to figure out the who, figuring out thy why was not. This is good because I like some element of surprise left in the story. Trust me when I say, the ending will definitely leave you wanting more. I am hoping Ms. Barnes writes a sequel because of that.

Read Me Dead is an entertaining thriller/suspense YA book. Even though it is for YA, I would say anyone can enjoy this book, not just young adults. At Approximately 362 pages, it is a good sized read, though I was so absorbed in the story it took me less than two days to finish it. So if thriller/suspense books are your thing, take a chance with Read Me Dead.

You can find Read Me Dead at some of these booksellers:

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Book Review: A Week to Be Wicked by Tessa Dare

Normally I read books that are on the contemporary side, but my love is historical fiction. It just seems a little harder for me to find a good book that I can sink my teeth into when it comes to historical. I heard about A Week to Be Wicked and after reading the synopsis of it, I thought it might be a good book to check out. And it did not disappoint me.

The story starts out with Minerva Highwood, a bookish young woman who is also a budding Geologist trying to prevent a possible marriage between her sister, Diana and Lord Payne, a well-known ladies man. Minerva concocts a scheme to get him out of town. She is interested in attending a Geological Symposium in Scotland and wants Lord Payne to accompany her there.  Hoping that the towns-people will believe that Minerva and Lord Payne have run off and eloped, leaving her sister free to marry someone else. Minerva doesn’t plan to marry Lord Payne, so according to her plan when they return to town, they won’t be together, she will tell people she left him. I love how much she cares about her sister in order to risk the ruin of her own reputation so her sister won’t marry a rake.

I have to say I have never had so much fun reading a book in some time. I laugh a billion times. I loved the chemistry between Colin (Lord Payne) and Minerva. They had this constant back and forth banter that is a lot of fun to read. One of the things I liked was that Colin would rarely if ever call Minerva by her actually name. He would call her anything that started with a “M”, like Marissa, or Miranda except her true name.

“He drained the wineglass and set it aside. Then he cleared his throat and began, “That is brave of you, pet. Offering to wed me in your sister’s stead. But truly, I—” “My name is Minerva. I’m not your pet. And you’re deranged if you think I’d ever marry you.” “But I thought you just said—” “Run away with you, yes. Marry you?”  She made an incredulous noise in her throat. “Please.” He blinked at her. “I can see you’re baffled.” “Oh, good. I would have admitted as much, but I know what pleasure you take in pointing out my intellectual shortcomings.”

-Tessa Dare, A Week to Be Wicked

I love sarcasm, and when a couple like these two get together, they are always ready with the quick wit. As the story continues to unfold, I saw a couple who could barely stand being in the same room with each other, starting to see the nice and oftentimes surprising qualities the other had to offer. They encounter some calamity along the way to Scotland and the stories they told to travelers where crazy. But I think a little excited and adventure is always good to have in a romance, especially this one. Every now and then, I was able to see what the ladies of Spindle Cove where doing in regards to Minerva and Colin leaving town, which was a bit of an added bonus I think.

 I laughed a ton, and highlighted almost have the book with favorite passages. A Week to Be Wicked was a thoroughly enjoyable read, and if you like historical romances with a good amount of banter between the main characters, then grab this book up.

And if you like this book; A Lady By Midnight Spindle Cove, #3) which tells Kate’s story comes out on Tuesday, August 28, 2012!! 

These are just three of the many places you can purchase A Week to Be Wicked at:




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Book Review: Pulled by A.L. Jackson

Last month, I began searching for a read that some intensity and angst in the story. I decided to try out Pulled by A.L. Jackson. I had been hearing about the book and well sometimes even though people say not to, I sometimes tend to judge a book by its cover. The cover of this book is so striking. The beauty of the picture just grabbed me.  Well that and the plot of the story.

Pulled is the story of two people; Melanie and Daniel who met when they were teenagers and felt an intense and immediate connection towards each other. Through just plain bad luck, timing, and other things I won’t mention so I won’t ruin the story for you…things did not turn out too well for the young couple. Fast-forward into the past, 9 years later and we see were Daniel and Melanie are at in their lives. Without each other. Daniel focusing extremely hard on his career and Melanie stuck in a love-less marriage.

 But what I found inspiring in this love story was that even though 9 years have gone by, they still pine after each other. That is a feature I like in love stories; when couples aren’t together, but they cannot ignore their feelings or the pull they fell when they meet again. It’s like that with Melanie and Daniel. They both think about the other person and what went wrong. They feel terribly unhappy in their lives and cannot seem to move past the hope that one day maybe they will find their way to each other again. And one day thanks to chance they do, and once again they feel that same strong connection just like had 9 years ago.

“My hands started to tingle with the palpable energy that connected Melanie to me, what made us one, and an intense longing filling my chest. I had to pull myself together. I stood to take a few minutes to clear my head when a strangled sob grounded me to the floor. My head jerked up, my eyes desperate to find what I so longed to see. My knees went weak, and I grasped the table for support when my eyes met with the emerald that owned my soul.”

-A.L. Jackson, Pulled

Can’t you just imagine that scene playing out after reading that? I totally could.

More than halfway through the book, it seemed like the author was really emphasizing Daniel and Melanie’s love for each a little much. I kept thinking okay I get it, they are destined for each and their connection is stronger than ever, but does it really need to be stated so frequently? I don’t know, maybe it was just me, but that was how I felt.  

If you like angst, Pulled has it in spades. I could feel their pain and struggles as they navigated through their lives and fought to reclaim each other once again.

A.L. Jackson knows how to create a story with characters you immediately care and cheer for. Her words sucked me in from the first chapter.

If you liked the angst and intensity of Beautiful Disaster, then I recommend giving Pulled a read.

These are just some of the places were you can find Pulled:

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Hello!

  

Hi World :)

I'm Cristal, a lover of good books, movies, clothes, coffee, and ice cream. I have always enjoyed reading, ever since I was a little girl, but it was not until recently this year that my reading picked up. It all started with Bared to You, and from there the reading bug bit me hard. I have been devouring books as fast as I can. Since I have been reading more often I decided to start this book blog and write about my reading adventures. I hope to get my first book review up soon, so please bare with me. I hope you enjoy what I have to say and perhaps get inspired to read a book, or two, or three....