mignon mykel { reviews }: review || TEMPTING FATE

Friday, November 7, 2014

review || TEMPTING FATE

Tempting Fate by Brinda Berry

Publisher: Sweet Biscuit Publishing, LLC (10/1/2014)

Series: Serendipity, book 2

Genre: New Adult

Source: NetGalley

Buy It From Amazon&Kindle | BN&Nook || Goodreads

My Rating: ★★★★1/2

*New Adult Standalone Novel*

When two worlds collide, it can only be fate.

Collin knows trouble when he sees it. A beautiful girl crashing into his car? She should be flashing a neon DANGER sign. He knows better than to get involved with a fresh-faced babe who could break his already-tattered heart. After graduating from college, he's on track to start over in a new place. He's discovering what he wants from life, away from the shadow of his overbearing father and the betrayal of his cheating ex-fiancé.

Veronica's home life morphs from trailer park to homeless after a bloody fight between her brother and her ex. She's on the run from a situation that promises to be deadly. Without a home, money, or friends, she's at Collin's mercy.

Fate brought them together. Will a secret from her past tear them apart?

- - -

First she slams into his car, then leaves marks on his car -- much like she has slammed into his life.

She's distrustful of him, but he's been the only savior she's encountered. She's incredibly apprehensive when he wants to help -- after all, that's not something she's used to.

“I like things clean,” he says as I stare at the baked potato caddy he balances in one hand.

“Ah.” I brush some errant breadcrumbs from the seat into my palm.

“It’s okay for now. I’ll have the car detailed tomorrow.” He makes a brisk bobbing gesture with his head. “Don’t worry about it. It’ll come clean.”

I smooth my muddy T-shirt. I’m probably the messiest thing that’s been inside his car in forever. I can’t wait to find this homeless shelter and let him get on with his day. He’s a nice guy … a little bizarre with the crumbs comment, but we all have our quirks. He’d be wise to get rid of me and my trouble fast. My eye twitches at the thought. I’m one huge crumb.

I like the way Brinda writes. I enjoy the way she writes in Collin's mind, too.

'I shake me head at the tremor in her voice. For the love of weak men everywhere, don't cry.'

I had to chuckle at that... I also had to chuckle at him a bit later (even though it's in Veronica's voice):

'[Veronica] swallow[s], hoping to push it down. "I have a problem."

'He shakes his head. "It's clear to me that you have lots of problems."

'Is there such a thing as a nice jackass?'

Oh, and while we're on the topic of liking Collin and his cute-ness...

'"You have ten minutes to get ready. Is it possible? I could give her a half hour, but I figure this will make her hurry.

'"Any girl who takes more than ten minutes to get ready is not that cute." She gives me a sleepy wink and closes the door in my face.

'"I'm timing you. We'll see how cute you really are."'

Ah, Collin... don't fool yourself. You think she's cute regardless of how long it takes her to get ready. But oh, when Jordy joins the timing... I loved it and their 'dude, check the time' talking.

I really enjoyed Collin and Veronica's story. It was, wait for it... cute. I do wish, though, that Veronica trusted Collin with her secret sooner than she did, but thank goodness for small favors and Collin showing up when he does.

Also, I wish the epilogue (err... Chapter 23) was a bit fuller. A bit more substance right there and I'd have been a super happy camper.

...and while it would be back-tracking (oh, let's be honest... I do a lot of back-tracking whenever I pick up a book in the middle of a series) I'm pretty excited to read Malerie and Ace's story, CHASING LUCK.

Who will be book 3? I'm really hoping for a Gunner book at some point. He could use a happily ever after. Jordy, too, but he has some growing up to do.

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a quick note from { mignon } ...

I AM NO LONGER ACTIVE IN REVIEWING

The last two years has been incredibly rewarding, giving me the opportunity to pick up new-to-me authors, as well as new-to-the-world authors. I have enjoyed supporting publishing houses as well as the indie author, and in doing so, I learned a lot about the marketing aspect of writing a book and selling it as a self-published author.

I have re-focused my journey to more writing-minded. I still read and review! But not nearly at the rate I was; three books a day has turned to three books a month.

I will no longer be accepting individual review requests (unless it's specifically author-to-author, then it will be highly considered).

I will definitely be posting reviews for commitments I have already made, though.

Thank you for understanding, & thank you to all those I have worked with over the last year plus!

~ Mignon

http://mignonmykel.com

GOODREADS updates

Dirty Saint: A Secret Baby Sports Romance by Vesper Vaughn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book almost failed to get my attention. Why?

The hero.

He is the exact public person I despise. You know the type -- all biblical with publicized praying and verses all over his public persona. Great. Good for you. Bet you're not like that behind closed doors...

Which is exactly what Esther thinks of him.

Saint and Esther attend the same super religious college. Esther is on the fast track to becoming a nun, and no I do not kid, and Saint, given name Francis, can do just about whatever he wants, because he is the star athlete and the school knows he has connections. What in the world can these two have in common? The actions of their parents.

But where Saint does what his father says, usually, because his father is pushing him toward a pro-football careers, Esther follows her parents (father) because if she didn't... Her life would literally be a living hell.

I really enjoyed these two, once we started to get to know Saint a little bit better. My only drawback with the book would be the last half goes by in super-fast time. While it helped to keep the story moving, I would have liked to see more of that time drawn out so the feelings and emotions of our two characters felt more genuine and real -- rather than simply a two month courting that their lives demanded.

I'm giving the book the full 5 stars because it came out of left-field for me. It was a book that I didn't expect to like, but the author wove it in a way that I fell hard for our characters both as individuals and as a couple. I liked watching Esther grow and find her voice in life, just as I liked watching playboy, always for the chase Saint, settle down and find a person to be terribly protective over. I loved him most in the last two chapters.

*ARC received in exchange for an honest review

Everything by Erin Noelle
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Here's something you may know about me if you've followed my reviews -- I'm an epilogue reader. I will almost always read the epilogue first. Call me a spoilsport or no fun, or whatever but that's how I've been reading books for years. It's no wonder that when I write books, I tend to have the epilogue all figured out before I even start with "Once upon a time...".

That said... I read this epilogue and while I liked it, I just couldn't get past the ages of our characters. Couldn't do it. So I read the beginning. Still... If anything, the age of our characters was even more pronounced. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to read this. You see, I have an issue with "Happily ever after" and the hardly-twenty crowd, let alone an eighteen year old.

But that's my hang-up.

Another thing you may know about me? I will sometimes read a book in what I call a inside-out fashion. I jump all over the place until I find a snippet of story that absolutely grips me. And people -- there are a few of those parts in Everything. So because I found those gripping parts, I put my faith in Erin Noelle, and I started from page one -- and I gave Everett and Belle a chance.

And I'm so glad I did.

Everett and his twin sister have been making music forever -- literally. They're the children of a rockstar; music has always been their life. When their father's group decides to get back together (dad always said he'd go back when the twins were done with school), Mason tells the label -- if you take me, you're taking my kids: thus, giving Everett and Ashlynn the opportunity to take their music to a larger level than they have before.

Along the way, with a local gig, Everett meets Belle -- and so begins their story.

This is a story about growing up. This is a story about following your heart -- be it for a person or a career, or even both. It is about learning to trust the person you are giving your heart to, and about taking the ever-looming jump into unknown feelings. When you put your life, your wants, your desires in someone else's hands, the world opens up -- and it certainly does for Everett and Belle.

The part I most appreciated was that the author made Everett true to his age and situation. Belle was too, yes, but it was Everett and his new lifestyle that had me wanting to see true characterization for. He's a guy; he's a musician; he's new to love. He makes mistakes. And for those mistakes, I truly got on board with this story.

Everett and his Tinker Bell were incredibly cute. I liked that there's a decent time jump at the end, further allowing -- you guessed it -- growth of our characters. I'm excited to watch more of them when (if?) Ashlynn's story comes out.

*ARC received in exchange for an honest review

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Friday, November 7, 2014

review || TEMPTING FATE

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