Top Ten Books I've Read in 2014 So Far

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish!

This week's topic: Top Ten Books I've Read So Far This Year

Scary Modsters...and Creepy Freaks by Diane Rinella: This book was so fun and quirky. I had a darn good time reading it, and with all that unique feel mixed with Diane's fabulous writing, this book was absolutely fantastic.

Stir Me Up by Sabrina Elkins: A sweet romance, a soldier, and a little twist that sets it apart from other books like it. I flew through this book and cannot WAIT for the next book by Sabrina Elkins. I also love how this book rides the line between YA and NA. It has a theme that gives off a NA vibe (to me, anyway), but the MC is still in high school. I just really want to cuddle this book.

Rome by Jay Crownover: It's not a secret that I heart me some Jay Crownover. I mean, I WAS Rule's advocate in the NA Crush Tourney last year. So the fact that Rome is my new fav Marked Men book is kind of a significant fact. I loved this one, and Rome and Cora were just great. SO GREAT, Y'ALL.

Be with Me by J. Lynn: I fell in love with Jase in the first chapter. The first. Effing. Chapter. Yeah, he ticked me off throughout the story, but my love was established early on so I was a fan of him, and I really liked Tess, and this book was completely up my alley. As are all of JLA's books.

King Cave by Scarlett Dawn: We remember that huge crush I had on Ezra, yes? Well, that crush has now exploded into something I don't even have a word for, thanks to this book. This was the first book I read this year and it was the PERFECT read to kick off a year of great books. I loved it and even though this one was quite long, it felt way too short. Remind me, when does King Tomb come out again?

A Tale of Two Centuries by Rachel Harris: I highly enjoyed My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century and I was expecting to go in and like this one the same way. Then I actually picked it up and NOPE. I loved this one sooooo much more, which baffles me since I had such a great time with the first one. But it happened and I loved it and this book makes me feel so happy!

Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck: Tigers (tiger SHIFTERS, no less) and romance. Need I say more? I think not.

Better off Friends by Elizabeth Eulberg: A cute story about friends growing into more and the struggles and accompany that process. This one was dual POV, which is something I adore, and I loved how this one started from when the two MCs met, instead of just jumping into their relationship and trying to catch us up to speed with explanations and whatnot. I fell for Levi and his realistically adorable tendencies and Macallan (dear god please tell me I spelled that right) with her stubborn need to stand up for others. These two characters were so perfect for each other and I ADORED their story so much.

The Warrior by Victoria Scott: Oh, Dante. Trust Victoria Scott to give us an ending like this. It was so magnificent, I just...I can't even. I laughed (because Dante's a hoot, as is Max and I mean...fanny packs), I cried (because REASONS), and I freaking loved this book. Whenever anyone asks me which book in this trilogy is my favorite, I'm always floored because I'm not sure. It's a tie between the first one and this one. Because this one is so kickass and such a phenomenal ending. I honestly can't imagine a better ending for Dante Walker and his people. POW!

Best Kind of Broken by Chelsea Fine: My favorite New Adult book! I felt so many things while reading this book. At one point, I legit hated it. But then I reached a point (30something percent through, if I'm not mistaken) and I realized how much I loved this book. The characters were so raw and I really enjoyed watching them work through their issues while trying to deal with each other at the same time. It was hard for them, and that made it even more wonderful when they finally found it, you know? Their own new little normal. Goodness, I love this book so hard.

What are your favorite books you've read so far this year? Have you read any of mine? Are there any books that aren't on this list that I NEED to have in my life ASAP?

Waiting on Wednesday (26)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted over at Breaking the Spine!

Better When He's Bad by Jay Crownover 
 
Release Date: June 17, 2014
Publisher: William Morrow
Series: Welcome to the Point #1

Description from Goodreads:
Welcome to the Point

There’s a difference between a bad boy and a boy who’s bad . . . meet Shane Baxter.

Sexy, dark, and dangerous, Bax isn’t just from the wrong side of the tracks, he is the wrong side of the tracks. A criminal, a thug, and a brawler, he’s the master of bad choices, until one such choice landed him in prison for five years. Now Bax is out and looking for answers, and he doesn’t care what he has to do or who he has to hurt to get them. But there’s a new player in the game, and she’s much too innocent, much too soft…and standing directly in his way.

Dovie Pryce knows all about living a hard life and the tough choices that come with it. She’s always tried to be good, tried to help others, and tried not to let the darkness pull her down. But the streets are fighting back, things have gone from bad to worse, and the only person who can help her is the scariest, sexiest, most complicated ex-con The Point has ever produced.

Bax terrifies her, but it doesn’t take Dovie long to realize that some boys are just better when they’re bad.
 
Why I'm Waiting: 
I have several reasons for being all kinds of excited for this book. It looks awesome. That description? Makes me break out the grabby hands every single time I read it. I mean, ahem, "Sexy, dark, and dangerous." And ohmygod. ALL OF IT. Looks so. Amazing. Just. Ahhhh! I also love the name Bax. Plus, this book is by Jay Crownover. I heart her and her books so freaking hard. (For real, if you haven't started on the Marked Men series yet, you need to get on that. Seriously. Now. DO IT.) 

So yeah. This book looks like a special brand of awesome, you know? 

What are you waiting on this week? Let me know! 

 

Blog Tour: Rome by Jay Crownover (Review & Giveaway)

Rome by Jay Crownover 
Release Date: January 7, 2014
Format: eARC, 384 pages
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Series: Marked Men #3
Source: Edelweiss
Buy It: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Barnes and Noble | iTunes | Indie Bound 

Description from Goodreads:
Sometimes the wrong choice can be just right . . .

Fun and fearless, Cora Lewis knows how to keep her tattooed "bad boy" friends at the Marked in line. But beneath all that flash and sass is a broken heart. Cora won't let herself get burned again. She's waiting to fall in love with the perfect man—a baggage-free, drama-free guy ready for commitment. Then she meets Rome Archer.

Rome Archer is as far from perfect as a man can be. He's stubborn, rigid, and bossy. And he's returned from his final tour of duty more than a little broken. Rome's used to filling many roles: big brother, doting son, supersoldier—but none of those fit anymore. Now he's just a man trying to figure out what to do with the rest of his life while keeping the dark demons of war and loss at bay. He would have been glad to suffer through it alone, until Cora comes sweeping into his life and becomes a blinding flash of color in a sea of gray.Perfect may not be in the cards, but perfectly imperfect could just last forever . . .

The Marked Men novels are some of my favorite New Adult books. They're just plain Awesome--yeah, with a capital A. We know I loved Rule (I was his advocate in the NA Crush Tourney, remember), and then Jet freaking rocked so hard. Now we have Rome, and...well, he is my absolute favorite.

Yeah, I said it. FAVORITE.

I don't say it lightly. As I said, Rule's my boy, and I'm always happy when we get to see him in this series, but Rome...he won me over. In general, Rome is the type of guy that I always have a soft spot for in books. I love soldiers and for some reason, I like to see them work through their issues to find their way to a life where they can be happy. So I LOVED Rome's character. His determination, his strength, his hotness, and even his flaws. 

Our dear girl Cora...I liked her. She was the perfect person to match with Rome. She is strong and independent herself, but she also isn't afraid to dream a bit. I admire that a bunch. Plus, there's the fact that she's just a darn cool chick. That's cool, too. 

There were smexy time, there were hostile time, but at all times I was positively loving this book. Jay Crownover is one of my favorite New Adult authors and she made me incredibly happy with this book. This book...it freaking HAD me, y'all. From beginning to end, I was in. I actually didn't expect this story to go the way it did, but it was awesome nonetheless and I enjoyed it so much.

Overall, Rome is my new Marked Men favorite. The book is fantastic, I loved the character, and Jay Crownover has rocked it yet again. I am more excited than I could ever possibly tell you to read Nash! But I must wait patiently for now... *GRABBY HANDS*

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

I’m supposed to share interesting details about myself so that my readers get to know me so here we go in no particular order: I’m an natural redhead even though I haven’t seen my real hair color in years, I’m a big fan of tattoos and have a half sleeve on either arm and various other pieces all over the place, I’ve been in the bar industry since I was in college and it has always offered interesting insight into how men and women interact with each other, I have 3 dogs that are all crazy, I live in Colorado and love the snow, I love music and in all reality wish I could be a rock star not a writer or a bartender but I have zero talent so there is that.

I love to write, love to read and all I’m interested in is a good story with interesting characters that make the reader feel something.

Connect with Jay: 

 Facebook | Twitter | Website | Goodreads  

GIVEAWAY 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Stacking the Shelves #2 ♥ OMG THE LIBERATOR OMG OMG!!

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews!

 

Another video, another fangirl freak out, and BOOKS! Eeeeep!

 

 

Books Mentioned:

Lovestruck in London by Rachel Schurig

Last Call by Alannah Lynne

If You Leave by Courtney Cole

Escaping Me by Elizabeth Lee

The Redemption of Callie & Kayden by Jessica Sorensen

Castles on the Sand by E.M. Tippets

Love in Darkness by E.M. Tippets

The Liberator by Victoria Scott

Unremembered by Jessica Brody

Hereafter by Tara Hudson

Between the Covers 

 

Bloggers Mentioned:

Nereyda @ Mostly YA Book Obsessed/YA Bound

Laura @ Little Read Riding Hood

Valerie @ Stuck in Books

Tiff @ Escaping... One Book @ a Time

Meredith @ Pandora's Books

 

YA/NA Crush Tourney Books:

The Collector by Victoria Scott

Rule by Jay Crownover

 

Comment things!!!!!!!!

 

♥Jessica(:

Team Rule in the NA Crush Tourney (Info & Buttons!)

Hey everybody! So, I know I was just representing my boy Dante in the YA Crush Tourney, but not I'm the advocate for Rule in the NA Crush Tourney! As I've said, I have a lot of time on my hands. :)

Just like with Dante, I've made a form where people (i.e. YOU!) can sign up to help me out. ALSO, I will be sending out links and everything you need on the day of Rule's match(es). I was told during the YA Crush Tourney that it was really helpful, and it's no trouble at all for me to do. So if you heart Rule, or you wanna be a cool cat and help me out, you can sign up using THIS FORM.

If you just took a second to sign up, you are my favorite.

Okay, now info. The wonderful people at NA Alley post the bracket and schedule. If you want to see all of that info, just click HERE, and that will take you to the post. But for now, the relevant information is:

Rule's first match is June 27th against Matt from Flat Out Love!

 

That is THIS THURSDAY, y'all! So be sure to drop by the Alley and vote for my boy. Sign up through the form for me to remind you. Or keep following my blog. Goodness knows I'll remind you here, too. ;)

 

Also, there is a Facebook page for Team Rule! All the info and links will be there, too, so head on over and like the page, too!

 

Oh, HERE IS THE LINK. To the Facebook page. Which you should like. Because how is it possible to not love Rule?

 

Seriously, how? I can't even fathom this.

 

And lastly: BUTTONS! There aren't that many this time around, but there are a few. As always, I'll update this post if I get any more, but for now this is it!

 

This one is made by Natasha:

 

And these ones were made by me:

 

 

(Out of my two, I like the second one infinitely better.)

 

UPDATE:

More buttons from Natasha! I LOVE THESE THINGS SO FREAKING MUCH.

 

 

 

*flails*

 

END OF UPDATE.

 

And that is it, my friends. Rule's match is Thursday, the 27th, be sure to sign up through the form to be a cool kid and help me out, and please grab a button to put on blogs/avatars, and whatnot! <3

 

(Of course I made another one of these. They're so fun!)

 

Thanks go to Natasha, too, for even making a button AND for being the mastermind behind the Facebook page. WOOT!

 

♥Jessica(:



JET by Jay Crownover Blog Tour! (Review & Giveaway!)

Follow the tour!

 

Review:

 

Jet by Jay Crownover

Release Date: May 28, 2013

Format: eARC, 400 pages

Publisher: William Morrow

Series: Marked Men #2

Source: Edelweiss

Buy It: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | B&N | iTunes | Kobo

 

Description from Goodreads:

With his tight leather pants and a sharp edge that makes him dangerous, Jet Keller is every girl’s rock and roll fantasy. But Ayden Cross is done walking on the wild side with bad boys. She doesn’t want to give in to the heat she sees in Jet’s dark, haunted eyes. She’s afraid of getting burned from the sparks of their spontaneous combustion, even as his touch sets her on fire.

Jet can’t resist the Southern Belle with mile-long legs in cowboy boots who defies his every expectation. Yet the closer he feels to Ayden, the less he seems to know her. While he’s tempted to get under her skin and undo her in every way, he knows firsthand what happens to two people with very different ideas about relationships.

Will the blaze burn into an enduring love. . . or will it consume their dreams and turn them to ashes?

 

So, Jet is the companion/sequel novel to Rule, which was pure awesome. Before I even get into all the hotness that is JET, I'm going to tell you this now: You don't need to read Rule to read Jet. Jet's story holds its own and explains everything so you know what's going on. I STRONGLY SUGGEST you DO read Rule first, though, especially if you plan on reading them both. Because this book does take place after the events of Rule, so there would be a wee bit of spoiling going on (though the big, main secret of Rule's story is NOT revealed in this book), and it would be nice if you already had an idea of who all the characters are. So yeah. That's my suggestion. Not necessary, but something that might make the reading experience better.

Now, onto Jet. I think my biggest problem this book was going in and expecting another story just like Rule's. I'm telling you right now, if you're expecting the same story again with different characters, you're going to be disappointed. Because Jet is not Rule, and Ayden is not Shaw. And you know what? Personally, once I realized this and got into the story, I LOVED that. I loved learning about the new characters and falling in love with Jet and his story. It was just...amazing. I'm not sure if it was AS amazing as falling for Rule was, but it was still pretty darn great.

Character Rundown:
Ayden: I have a love/hate relationship with Ayden. I wasn't too fond of the whole "two Aydens" thing she had going on. I mean, it was irritating sometimes. Because things would be so great! They would be. And then the greatness would just stop because of her being afraid of it. I get that she wanted to stay away from her old life, but I didn't like the way she went about it AT FIRST. As the story goes on and her character grows, changes, and comes to her sensed...well, I'd like to be her friend.

Jet: Oh, holy hotness. I wish this guy were real. Ahhhhh, man do I. Personally, I think that if they WERE real, Jet and Rule, I'd be more into Jet than Rule. Don't get me wrong, they're both hot, and Rule has that attractive protective thing going on, but Jet...he's in a band. He has a lot of feelings. He sings. He's just...AHHHH. I love both the boys, though. But this story is about Jet, and I am with him right now. Goodness. He got on my nerves sometimes, too, because he had his times where he would walk away, or let Ayden walk away and I'd be like WHHHHYYYY?!?!?! So yeah. But I heart him.

Plot. Jet and Ayden both had their own little stories going on, and they didn't intertwine as much as Rule's and Shaw's stories did, but I liked watching them both go through everything, with their own stuff happening side by side. Jet was doing this, Ayden was doing this, and they both wondered about the other. They were independent more. I liked that, because it fit THESE CHARACTERS well. This story was alternating POVs just like Rule was, and we all know I love that. I just think I wish Jet and Ayden could have had more time just...being together in this story. It's still hot, and it's still awesome, but I could have lived with more togetherness.

Romance. This is where I smile at my hands and tell you to just read the book. If you're looking for a love story, you'll find it here. You will.

The end. Well, I'm ready to read about Rome. ;)

Overall, Jet is not Rule. Why? Because JET is not RULE. But this book was still completely wonderful. I read it in a day (would have been less than a day if my freaking KINDLE HADN'T DIED) and fell in love so hard. Trust me, read this book and you will, too. Jay Crownover is an awesome chick, and she writes some kickass New Adult books. I can't wait for the next one AHHHH! :)

 

About the Author:

 

 

Jay Crownover is the bestselling author of Rule. Like the characters in her Marked Men series, she is a big fan of tattoos. She loves music and wishes she could be a rock star, but since she has no aptitude for singing or instrument playing, she'll settle for writing stories with interesting characters and that make the reader feel something. She lives in Colorado with her three dogs.

Social Media Links:

Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter

Giveaway:

 

There's a tour-wide giveaway! Fill out the Rafflecopter below to enter! WOOT!

 

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♥Jessica(:

 

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