mignon mykel { reviews }: { arc } review || CONFLICTED by Ruby Black

Sunday, May 8, 2016

{ arc } review || CONFLICTED by Ruby Black

Self-Published | May 10, 2016 | New Adult Contemporary
Lucas & Lacey, book 1
★★★★

SOURCE: INDIESAGE PR

She’s the only one I’ve ever needed and the only one I’ll never have.

The only problem is…she’s my best friend.

I’ve always felt the connection, but I just can’t go there. Not with her. She deserves better than what I can offer her. So I drown myself in women and booze, certain I’m doing the right thing, keeping her at a distance.

Or so I thought.

When Lacey tells me about the internship she’s scored with a hotshot criminal attorney, I’m happy for her. This could make her career. If anyone deserves success, it’s her.

Then I learn who her new ‘mentor’ is.

My father.

Now, the secrets I’ve been keeping may cost me the very friendship I’ve been trying to protect.

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While it's not truly advertised as a 'series', this is part one of Lucas and Lacey's story -- there's at least one other part coming out in the future. That said, please be advised -- while this story does end solidly, there are still questions and possibilities that need to be cleared up, things that even Lacey states in her monologue at the end.

That all said...

Ruby Black is new to the New Adult world, and I think she will fit in nicely here. In her first book, we have two individuals with family issues, who find solace in one another -- even if Lucas will never take his friendship with Lacey farther than he has, and Lacey is comfortable in the friend-zone. Both have trust issues to an extent, and love isn't something they've seen too many positive examples of. Lacey is all Lucas has in the world, and Lucas is the one person who accepts Lacey for who she is, and supports her along the way.

When Lacey is chosen for a lucrative internship, only to later learn her mentor is Lucas's father... things start to get dicey.

Here are takeaways...

I did not like Aaron -- at all. Dirty old man...

Lacey... I felt that if her friendship meant what it did with Lucas, she should have thought things through a little bit more.

Lucas... his hurt burrowed deeply; while I don't expect him to forgive and forget, I think being cordial would at least be a step in the adult direction.

I didn't agree with thought processes that our leads had; their young ages certainly were evident (so KUDOS, Ms. Black, for properly writing them to their ages). I ended the book a bit upset with Lacey, and am curious to see how the rest of their story is going to play out -- Lucas's trust issues haven't really reached through to Lacey (a bit here, but his friendship with her ultimately wins out) but I'm afraid of the damage Lacey is able to do where Lucas is concerned.

The next book is properly titled Consequences, so we shall see what it brings!

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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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Sunday, May 8, 2016

{ arc } review || CONFLICTED by Ruby Black

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