Blog Tour: UNDERSTUDY by Cheyanne Young

UNDERSTUDY
Author: Cheyanne Young
Standalone
Publication date: February 15th, 2014
Publisher: 336Love
Number of pages: 142
Date read: June, 2014
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Source: Review Copy provided by Oops I Read Tours
Format: Ebook
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(Description source: Goodreads)

The high school play is in two months and senior Wren Barlow just became director. Wren still isn't over the fact that she got stiffed as a stagehand instead of the lead role that she totally deserved. Now she is in charge of rehearsals, costumes, navigating around cast member hookups and managing the real life drama at home.

The principal counts on her to succeed because tickets have been sold and the money has been spent. But when he drops a gorgeous bad boy on her and wants him to help the play for extra credit, she falls hard for someone she knows she can't date. With everything spinning out of control, the mysterious and secretive detention king named Derek has a few tricks up his sleeve and wants to help—too bad Wren is scared to give him a chance to prove himself.

Purchase links: Amazon | B&N

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Wren is only auditioning for the school play as it will help her get into her dream college, however Wren gets lumped with the roles of understudy and stagehand. 

Add a guy only known as trouble and she almost has her hands full.

When their director, Wren's overly dramatic aunt, quits her jobs as their teacher and director, Wren is coerced into taking over the reins and then she really does have her hands full. Busy dealing with set designs, casting issues and personal troubles, the "bad" boy is her one bright spot, but will she give him the chance he's hoping for?

Understudy is a very fast-paced read, time passing is a little difficult to tell throughout the novel because of the fast pace, as in months have passed in the story but it doesn't quite feel like it.

Wren is very self-absorbed, she doesn't tend to consider how others feel or anything except how circumstance affect her chances at her dream college and how she isn't getting what she wants. Despite not really caring much about acting, she really is quite dramatic. This is not to say that I didn't like Wren's character, but she did irritate me a great deal.

The times I liked her character best were when she was being nice and relaxed while having fun hanging out with Derek.

It was also awesome to see how she loved creating things in her wood workshop class and was interested in interior decorating.

Her friendship with her best friend is tried throughout the novel but I loved the resolution between the two.

Derek is my favourite character in this story, I just loved him, he had to deal with rumours and comments and yet managed to always remain the sweetest guy. 

I really like how even though Wren has heard had things about Derek, she stills hangs out with him and gets to know him.

Although, Wren does struggle with the fact that Derek can't tell her the whole truth about his situation and I feel she really should have been more understanding and less over-the-top about it all, but the situation was unique and the truth is something you will find yourself wondering about until the very end of the novel when it is all revealed.

The secondary characters are well-rounded, each of them had their own issues going on, and I liked the way Gwen seemed to end up happy.

Wren's aunt however, is unchanging and poorly behaved.

I liked the ending, although I would have liked Wren to apologize for her hot-and-cold behaviour which was a little much.

A very quick read, with a sweet romance and theatrical characters - Understudy contains some really cute moments. 

I rate UNDERSTUDY Three out of Five!!!

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Excerpt:

School has been out for thirty minutes so I’m surprised to find a student in the back of the warehouse using the skill saw. I don’t recognize him from behind, but from what I can see of his backside, he’s too hot for Lawson High. Maybe he’s a movie star researching his next film role. He’s wearing jeans a tight fitting black shirt. His brown hair touches his shoulders and is as silky smooth as mine is after an hour of flat-ironing it to death. Ugh, why do guys always get the best hair?
Mr. Harrison gives an old man arthritic grunt as he settles onto his work stool. He slides the longest piece of molding across the workshop table toward me. “Cut this on the chalk line.”
I slide open my tape measure, but he stops me. “Use the square. Come on girl, I taught you better than that.” Of course he did. The normal me would have known to grab the square to mark a perfect line, but right now I can’t think over the thudding of my heart in my chest. How is it that I’m more nervous standing across the room from a guy who hasn’t even noticed that I exist, than I was moments ago while auditioning for the biggest role in the school play?
I head over to the pegboard wall with all the tools on it. The square, which actually looks like a triangle, should be on the lower left corner but it’s not. I check the workspaces around me but still can’t find it. I’m about to tell Mr. Harrison that someone stole his tools again when I see it.
It’s shoved in the back pocket of the hottest ass I’ve ever seen. I make my way over to the possible movie star, miraculously not dropping dead from cardiac arrest. A sheepish grin falls over my face. “Can I have that square?”
Hot Boy turns around, a carpenter’s pencil sticking out of his mouth. He takes the square from his pocket and hands it to me. “Thanks,” I say. He glances over at my project and then back at me, and I’m pretty sure his eyes graze over my entire body in a split second, but it feels like it takes an hour.
“Crown molding?” He says it like he’s confused. Like we’re in a shoe factory instead of wood shop.
I give an awkward shrug. “I want my room to look like a French boudoir.”
He nods and this smirk spreads across his lips as he looks at the molding and then back at me, as if suddenly understanding my entire personality.
There’s something in his smile that makes me want to rip off my shirt and throw myself into his arms, declaring my soul as his love slave, like some lunatic in an Axe body wash commercial. He holds out his hand. “I’m Derek.”


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About Cheyanne Young

Cheyanne is a native Texan with a fear of cold weather and a coffee addiction that probably needs an intervention. She loves books, sarcasm, nail polish and paid holidays. She lives near the beach with her family, one spoiled rotten puppy and a cat who is most likely plotting to take over the world.

She also writes under the pen name Amy Sparling.

Website: www.CheyanneYoung.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/NormalChey

Instagram: http://instagram.com/NormalChey

Newsletter: https://tinyletter.com/CheyanneYoung

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Young Adult DNF Review: V IS FOR VIRGIN by Kelly Oram

V IS FOR VIRGIN
Author: Kelly Oram
Series: V Is For Virgin (#1)
Publication date: December 5th, 2012
Publisher: Bluefields
Number of pages: 360
Date read: June 24th, 2014 - DNF
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Source: Bought
Format: Ebook
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(Description source: Goodreads)

When Val Jensen gets dumped for her decision to stay a virgin until marriage, the nasty breakup goes viral on YouTube, making her the latest internet sensation. 

After days of ridicule from her peers, Val starts a school-wide campaign to rally support for her cause. She meant to make a statement, but she never dreamed the entire nation would get caught up in the controversy. 

As if becoming nationally recognized as “Virgin Val” isn’t enough, Val’s already hectic life starts to spin wildly out of control when bad boy Kyle Hamilton, lead singer for the hit rock band Tralse, decides to take her abstinence as a personal challenge.

How can a girl stay true to herself when this year’s Sexiest Man Alive is doing everything in his power to win her over?

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"Dish the drama."

I've read up to 60% of the way through this story on my Kindle Cloud Reader, and sadly, I jut cant' bring myself to read anymore, I'm really just tired of this book and it's characters.

Valerie is determined, assertive and blunt, but she is also very short sighted, I felt.

She takes on the cause of letting teens know that not everyone is having sex and encourages abstinence - which is great, it's an awesome thing to read about. 

However, she's very short-sighted in that she does everything because of what happened to her birth mother and she's so sure that she is never going to change her mind about the subject of not having sex before marriage, even though she has never been in a serious or loving relationship, she's never been put in a situation where her resolve is genuinely tested as it seems as though she tries to avoid such situations. 

If her resolve had actually been tested she may still have decided to stay a virgin until marriage, but we don't get to see anything like that which I feel is a let down to the plot, as is the fact that she never thinks about any method, other than abstinence, of preventing teen pregnancy - like contraception, or being careful with your decisions. Val is extremely one-sided.

I will admit that the whole reason I wanted to read this book, the (pretty much) whole reason I picked up V Is For Virgin is because it sounded as if it had a really compelling romance - this is not the case.

Kyle was not very charming and was rather obnoxious and arrogant, I wanted to like him despite him not really being very sexy, nice or likable. His song was something I actually found to be disrespectful.

Cara started out witty and definitely wearing the best friend shoes, but Val became concerned with her cause and Cara got a boyfriend and... their friendship seemed to very quickly evaporate, with Cara seeming like the one to blame, being jealous of Val's new friends and being too concerned with her boyfriend.

This book started out strong (witty, audacious and funny), but quickly dwindled until I couldn't be bothered with the characters or the story, or any of it anymore, so I decided to not finish the book.

After deciding to DNF V Is For Virgin, I read a few spoilerific reviews to find out how the story ended, and from what I read, I'm glad I put this one down - it covers some great points but fails with the romance and doesn't cover more than one side of the issue.

Did Not Finish!

Young Adult Review: BABE IN BOYLAND by Jody Gehrman

BABE IN BOYLAND
Author: Jody Gehrman
Standalone
Publication date: February 17th, 2011
Publisher: Dial Books
Number of pages: 292
Date read: June 21st, 2014
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Source: Borrowed from Library
Format: Paperback
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(Description source: Back of Bookcover)

What do guys REALLY think?

Natalie

is going to find, 

even if it means disguising herself as a guy, 

enrolling at an all-boys prep school, 

and trying not to crush on her hot roommate

to get the answers.

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“The point is, feelings can change - and often do - abruptly. It's one of the riskiest aspects of falling for someone, especially during these tumultuous years when we're young and restless.” 

I've been wanting to read this book for SO long, so it was great to finally get my hands on a copy and get to read it.

Natalie has an alter-ego, Dr Aphrodite - her schools newspapers' love columnist, and that alter-ego is receiving a lot of hate from the male population of her school. They're saying things like: she doesn't know what she's talking about, and her advice never takes a guy's view point into consideration, so she's come up with a plan to remedy this.

Natalie decides to undercover at the local all-boys prep school as Nat.

She thinks that this way she can get honest answers to the seven questions girls' most want answered, but she never counted on having a hot roommate...

Natalie isn't very experienced in the love department, in fact, she doesn't really know much at all. She is amazingly determined and does her best to do right by people, she grows so much throughout this novel and becomes a better person along the way, however she does struggle as her situation becomes more and more convoluted.

Chloe and Darcy are Natalie's best friend and wholly support her with her undercover mission. Chloe is strong-willed and often comes across as bitchy, she also is somewhat obsessed with cleanliness. Darcy is sweet and friendly, she is a little weak-willed about a guy in the beginning, and acts as a kind of mediator between her two best friends upon occasion.

I love the friendship between these girls, it's so real and full of the ups and downs and unconditional support of real-life friendships.

Tyler is a sweety, he's totally awsome.

Emilio is gorgeous, sweet and down to earth, however he loves his privacy.

The friendship that starts awkward but quickly developes between Nat(alie) and Emilio is intriguing and very well written.

By going undercover as Nat, Natalie learns so much more than she ever expected, about girls and boys, and what it really means to appreciate being a girl. She also learns that there's more to people than looks or social status, and that everyone has different faces they put on when with different people.

She sees a whole new side of her friends and of herself as well.

The part of the story concerning Emilio's sister was really awkward, mostly at the end of it, while I understand how most of that story-line served a purpose of illustrating how girls' put up fronts when trying to impress guys and it was successful in getting that message across, I just felt that it shouldn't have ended the way that that single branch of the story did - it was a bit too much and it's really the only thing I didn't like in the story.

Aside from that, I LOVE the way that the overall story wrapped up, how all the facets came together. This is a fast-paced, light and fluffy kind of read that you can get through easily, it has depth, humour and is incredibly well thought out.

Anyone who likes the movie She's the Man will absolutely love this novel, without a doubt.

“Supposedly, guys think about sex every eight seconds. If that's true, how can they talk to their grandmothers?” 

I rate BABE IN BOYLAND Four and a Half out of Five!!!

Young Adult Review: ASSAULT by Brian Falkner

ASSAULT
Author: Brian Falkner
Series: Recon Team Angel (#1)
Publication date: November 1st, 2011
Publisher: Walker Books Australia
Number of pages: 365
Date read: June 19th, 2014
Genre: Science Fiction, Action, Adventure, Suspense
Source: Borrowed from Library
Format: Paperback
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(Description source: Goodreads)

The first in a high octane sci-fi adventure series by best-selling and award-winning author, Brian Falkner.

It is 2030, and the world is at war with an alien race. The Bzadians. The battleground: Earth. 

Recon Team Angel, made up of teenagers from around the world, has been training for years. They have learned Bzadian languages. Learned how to operate their weapons. How to work, eat, and think like them. 

Now it is time to act. Recon Team Angel must slip behind enemy lines, work their way into the top-secret alien facility under Uluru, and uncover the truth. But what they discover will shock not just them, but all of humanity.

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What drew me to this novel was the name of the series (Recon Team Angel) - it just sounds so cool, and the cover - it's so intriguing.

Set in the year 2030, Earth has been invaded and what is left of humanity is at war with an alien race: the Bzadians - a race of ugly, vomit-coloured beings who have no care for human life, other than the desire to eradicate it.

Recon Team Angel is a group of teenager of multiple nationalities joined together to go undercover, infiltrating the enemy to learn their secrets and report back.

Disguised as their enemies, a team of six "Angels" goes behind enemy lines to learn truths, but their mission is compromised from the get-go: there's a traitor.

Not every Angel is going to make it out alive...

Very interesting introduction, it surprised, but then again I probably should have actually read the blurb before I started reading the actual book...

There is also a glossary that helps you to understand some of the language the characters in the story use.

Chisnall is brave and easy for anyone and everyone to under-estimate. Seargeant Holly Brogan is tough and icey, "Phantom" Price is awesome (one of my favourite characters) - she's fast and determined, Monster likes to talk about "The Monster" in third person which is amusing, Wilton is funny and skilled, and Hunter is a smart-arse.

They all come together to make one hell of a team. The story os told from Chisnall's point of view, with a few scenes evry now and again from the view point of a Bzadian.

The author does reiterates the meaning of words that are included in the glossary at the start of the book, throughout the novel for the first time each of the words is used, which is useful as it means you don't have to keep racking your brain to remember the definitions or keep flipping back to where the glossary is.

There is suspense throughout the novel as you are kept genuinely wondering who the traitor is, I did have a feeling about who it would be but it wasn't even slightly confirmed until about halfway through part two of this book.

The story only reveals small amounts of information pertaining to the plot at a time, and only as they become relevant - this allowed the story to continually hold my interest as I had no idea what was coming next.

Assault sticks to a steady pace and has an incredibly interesting concept.

I thought some of the names/labels in the novel were a little juvenile, but they add some fun to the story, especially when paired with witty and sarcastic banter and general teenage antics.

Intriguing, pacey, funny and action-packed - definitely an enjoyable read.

I don't know how I feel about the epilogue, it seemed not very happy, and a little too final, plus it made me a little sad,  and it made it so I really, really want to read book two: I have to know what happens next, I need to know everything!

....just ordered book two.

I rate ASSAULT Four out of Five!!

Young Adult Review: THE AVERY SHAW EXPERIMENT by Kelly Oram

THE AVERY SHAW EXPERIMENT
Author: Kelly Oram
Standalone
Publication date: May 4th, 2013
Publisher: Bluefields
Number of pages: 278
Date read: June 15th, 2014
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Source: Bought
Format: Ebook
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(Description source: Goodreads)

When Avery Shaw’s heart is shattered by her life-long best friend, she chooses to deal with it the only way she knows how—scientifically. 

The state science fair is coming up and Avery decides to use her broken heart as the topic of her experiment. She’s going to find the cure. By forcing herself to experience the seven stages of grief through a series of social tests, she believes she will be able to get over Aiden Kennedy and make herself ready to love again. But she can’t do this experiment alone, and her partner (ex partner!) is the one who broke her heart.

Avery finds the solution to her troubles in the form of Aiden’s older brother Grayson. The gorgeous womanizer is about to be kicked off the school basketball team for failing physics. He’s in need of a good tutor and some serious extra credit. But when Avery recruits the lovable Grayson to be her “objective outside observer,” she gets a whole lot more than she bargained for, because Grayson has a theory of his own: Avery doesn’t need to grieve. She needs to live. And if there’s one thing Grayson Kennedy is good at, it’s living life to the fullest.

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I think that it is actually impossible to not love this book right from the get-go. I was drawn to this book by the interesting title and the really cute and romantic cover, and knew I'd be buying it as soon as I'd finished reading the summary.

The Avery Shaw Experiment is an absolutely genius book, it had me laughing from the very start and totally swooning.

Avery has just had her heart broken and she doesn't know how to fix it.
So, she deals with things the only way she knows how: scientifically.
Avery figures out a way to heal her heart and to try to win the up-coming science fair all at once, and she enlists Grayson, the older brother of the guy who broke her heart, to help her out in enchange for helping him pass physics - for her experiment she's going to experience the stages of grief and hopefully cure her heart along the way.

I loved the alternating viewpoints, switching between Avery and Grayson.
Avery is sweet, unsure, and thinks she's in love with Aiden (Grayson's younger brother). Avery also suffers quite severe anxiety (which was great to read since not many YA characters suffer any mental health issues).

Grayson is gorgeous, flirty and beyond swoonworthy. He is the sweetest thing and does his best to help Avery in any way he knows how.
Aiden is a dick, for the most part.

Libby is Avery's best friend and she has to be one of the most hilarious characters ever written, she's blunt, no nonsense, a total smart-arse and is totally outgoing.
The interactions between Libby and Owen throughout the novel are so funny, it's insane.

This novel is witty, sweet, gorgeous and deal with things like social status, social science, mental health and what it means to gain and lose friends.
I loved this book, so incredibly cute! And the characters grow so much all throughout.

All I want right now is another novel by Kelly Oram to read because one is simply not enough!

I rate The Avery Shaw Experiment Five out of Five!!!

Young Adult Review: CHARM AND CONSEQUENCE by Stephanie Wardrop

CHARM AND CONSEQUENCE
Author: Stpehanie Wardrop
Series: Snark and Circumstance (#2)
Publication date: May 28th, 2013
Publisher: Swoon Romance
Number of pages: -
Date read: June 9th, 2014
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Source: Bought
Format: Ebook
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(Description Source: Goodreads)

Sixteen-year-old Georgia Barrett is no expert on guys, but her bio-class partner is harder to dissect than anything in their lab tray. He’s smart, almost as sarcastic as she is, and cute in that preppie way. Things are great . . . until he decides her vegan activism is ridiculous and suddenly can’t refuse a date with her fast enough.

So why does he seem so upset that a senior hottie has taken an interest in her? 

Could he be interested in Georgia after all?

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In this sequel to Snark and Circumstance, Georgia and Michael are getting along a little better, however he's still making fun of her stand on veganism, and when it seems like they might actually be becoming friends, he flat out refuses to go to the movies with her, no "maybe" about.

However, he doesn't like it when a fellow ex-Pemberley student starts taking an interest in her. So, where exactly does that put the two of them?

It's frustrating, at the end of the previous novella, it seemed as though they were finally getting their act together and starting to move forward, only we get to this novella and the whole thing is almost a one-step-forward-two-steps-back scenario.

Luckily things do improve reasonably quickly.

Georgia can sill seem extremely judgmental on some front, while Leigh gets a little more screen(?) time. 

Michael's behaviour can be more than a little confusing but he without a doubt proves that he is genuinely a decent guy. He and Georgia have a couple of potentially cute moments and he starts to make more of an effort and I really, really hope this continues into the next novella.

I am most definitely not a fan of Jeremy - he just seems kind of slimy (you know: untrustworthy, a user, someone with ulterior motives) and I don't like the way Georgia can get a little swept up with him at times.

While there were a few small annoyances in this novella, I will be reading part three because I simply must know what happens!

I rate CHARM AND CONSEQUENCE Three and a Half out of Five!!

Young Adult Review: SNARK AND CIRCUMSTANCE by Stephanie Wardrop

SNARK AND CIRCUMSTANCE
Author: Stephanie Wardrop
Series: Snark and Circumstance (#1)
Publication date: February 5th, 2013
Publisher: Swoon Romance
Number of pages: -
Date read: June 8th, 2014
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Source: Bought
Format: Ebook
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(Description source: Goodreads)

One superior smirk from Michael Endicott convinces sixteen-year-old Georgia Barrett that the Devil wears Polo. His family may have founded the postcard-perfect New England town they live in, but Georgia’s not impressed. Even if he is smart, good looking, and can return Georgia’s barbs as deftly as he returns serves on his family’s tennis courts. After all, if Michael actually thinks she refuses to participate in lab dissections just to mess with his grade, he’s a little too sure that he’s the center of the universe. Could there be more to Michael Endicott than smirks and sarcasm? If Georgia can cut the snark long enough, she just might find out.

Snark and Circumstance is the first title in the Snark and Circumstance series of young adult romance novellas from Stephanie Wardrop. First title available 2.5.13.

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Snark and Circumstance follows Georgia as she starts a new school year at Longbourne High School (a school she only arrived at the year before), and there at the very beginning of the day she has a run in with new student Michael Endicott.

Michael Endicott's family founded the town and Georgia is not at all impressed by this fact, nor by his looks, intelligence or supposed charm. Georgia's refusal to participate in lab dissections leads Michael to accuse her of messing with his grades.
Both can deal out the snark to one another, but can they learn to be real with each other for long enough to see beneath the surface?

I liked getting to know Georgia's characters, she's strong-willed, passionate and a little righteous, as well as more than a bit of an outisder. Georgia's ranting about being a vegan can be a bit much at times, though. It was nice seeing her make an effort to meet and be nice to others (even if her and Michael started out on the wrong foot).

Michael seems snobby and self-important to begin with but he starts to seem like a much nicer person as the story progresses.
The sarcastic and snarky banter between the two is amusing, despite the fact that you sometimes want to smack them over the head for some of their silly misunderstandings.
I loved the ending, it shows great promise for the next novella.

A nice short read that was quick to get through and was quite enjoyable, definitely reading the next installment in this series: Charm and Consequence.

I rate SNARK AND CIRCUMSTANCE Four out of Five!!

Adult Review: TEMPTING THE BODYGUARD by J. Lynn

TEMPTING THE BODYGUARD
Author: J. Lynn
Series: Gamble Brothers (#3)
Publication date: May 12th, 2014
Publisher: Entangled Brazen
Number of pages: 264
Date read: May 31st, 2014
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Suspense
Source: Bought
Format: Ebook
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(Description source: Goodreads)

He can protect her from everyone except himself.

Alana Gore is in danger. A take-no-prisoners publicist, her way with people has made her more than a few enemies over the years, but a creepy stalker is an entirely different matter. She needs a bodyguard, and the only man she can ask is not only ridiculously hot, but reputed to have taste for women that goes beyond adventurous.

Chandler Gamble has one rule: don't protect anyone you want to screw. But with Alana, he's caught between his job and his increasingly hard libido. On one hand, Alana needs his help. On the other, Chandler wants nothing more than to take the hot volcano of a woman in hand. To make her writhe in pleasure, until she's at his complete mercy.

She needs protection. He needs satisfaction. And the moment the line is crossed, all hell will break loose...

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I have been waiting for this book for such a long time and while it was enjoyable, it definitely did not live up to the first two books in the series (which were incredible), which was disappointing after such a long wait.

Alana Gore has made quite the list of enemies while working as a publicist, but she never imagined she'd end up getting stalked across the country. She needs protection, and the only person she can think of for the job is Chandler Gamble, the older brother of an ex-client she pissed off.
Chandler Gamble runs his own security firm and while he hasn't mixed work and pleasure before, he's ready and willing to when it comes to Alana Gore, the uptight publicist who seems to be the star of his fantasies of late.
There's a line of professionalism that will definitely be crossed, and while Chandler is sure he can provide the best protection for Miss Gore, he's not so sure he'll be capable of protecting either of their hearts.

When reading this book, I couldn't really connect the Alana Gore of Tempting the Bodyguard to the Alana Gore of Tempting the Player (maybe it's because I haven't read Tempting the Player in a long time, but I don't think it is), there just seemed to be a divide to the two as J. Lynn tried to redeem her character for readers, which made it difficult to totally sympathise with everything going on.

The chemistry was there between Alana and Chandler but it felt off as while they did talk to get to know each other, what they talked about were pretty much only the things that would make Alana seem like a decent person to the readers after her horrible actions in Tempting the Player, while the rest of the time they're together, they're either avoiding one another, or having sex, and I expected more than that. I really hoped that they'd engage in an activity together (aside from sex) that would bring them closer while letting them get to know each other - there was a mention in book two of this series about how Chandler loved to garden and had a real green thumb, I was hoping there'd be something more than a mention of this in this book, but it didn't happen.

In this book, Chandler is a dominant, pushy alpha male who just wants Alana. He's meant to be a bodyguard but he's not very professional at all and the only bodyguard-like thing he does for the majority of the book is determine security hazards of buildings and surveil Alana when she's working and at the start of the book. 
Alana actually only appears cold and threatening on the outside, while actually being a very caring character who only does horrible things to people to better their lives and she is actually quite a timid and flighty person (see how this doesn't really line up at all with how she is in Gamble Brothers #2).

A lot of this book felt rushed and pushed together - the characters, their chemistry, the suspense, Alana's redemption and especially the ending.
I think it all would have worked better if the characters of the previous books hadn't been pushed so much to the side, if they had have had a part of Alana's redemption then forgiveness might not have seemed such an unlikely thing. 
The suspense was predictable and wasn't actually much of a main plot. Chandler wasn't all that appealing to me, the "rough sex" thing didn't work, I think him being the more gentle, protective type might have rung truer with his character.

The steaminess was definitely there and I loved seeing all the characters from the previous books (even if it wasn't always in the nicest of scenes), this book was enjoyable but not my favourite, I am definitely a huge fan of this series and I recommend reading them - especially the first two.

I rate Tempting the Bodyguard Three out of Five!!

Young Adult Review: OVERDUE by Richie Tankersley Cusick

OVERDUE

Author: Richie Tankersley Cusick

Standalone

Publication date: 

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Number of pages: 212

Date read: 2007

Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller

Source: Bought

Format: Paperback

Add on Goodreads

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(Description source: Goodreads)

BOOK DROP

It was after hours. Kathleen was preparing to close the library when somebody returned five grisly books about death. One was slashed. All were overdue. Then Kathleen found the bookmark with the deadly warning.

Now people close to her are falling victim to tragic accidents. Someone is out for blood. Is it Robin, silent, shy, withdrawn? Is it Alexander, the dark, handsome stranger who haunts the library stacks and says he wants to help? Kathleen can count on only one thing: the killer will strike again - her death is overdue...

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I originally read Overdue when I was eleven or twelve after my brother gave it to me, and I loved it, I reread it every few years and always enjoy it.

Kathleen hates working in her local library, the place is creepy and the librarian is grumpy.

However, she never expected that books would become warnings as teens in their town start to become victims in strange circumstances. Alexander is new to town and very mysterious, while Robin is the shy and withdrawn mute. 

Kathleen doesn't know who the killer is, but she is sure that there is one, and that there is one death overdue - hers!

Kathleen is a little bit of a damsel, but when you put yourself in her shoes as she goes through everything it is understandable. Kathleen puts the clues together quickly but struggles when she is doubted by everyone, as she is the only one 

Bran is Kathleen's childhood friend and is adorably sweet, while Alexander is confident and a little self-deprecating, and Robin is sweet and protective.

The setting is a creepy, damp, old library and each scene is perfectly set with detail that sets the mood. There is misdirection, mystery, suspense, foreshadowing and doubt.

I love the interactions between the characters, the sarcasm, joking, teasing and familiarity.

This story shows the intricacy of knowing people, as well as what it means to make assumptions, not be trusted and begin to not trust yourself and doubt everything you think you know.

I love, love, love the ending, it is perfectly suspenseful, followed by absolute sweetness that I could just read over and over. I will always enjoy reading this novel and am sure I will continue to read it throughout the years.

I rate Overdue Five out of Five!!!

New Adult DNF Review: THE ACCIDENTAL SOCIALITE by Stephanie Wahlstrom

THE ACCIDENTAL SOCIALITE
Author: Stephanie Wahlstrom
Standalone
Publication date: April 15th, 2014
Publisher: Swoon Romance
Number of pages: 330
Date read: DNF - April
Genre: New Adult
Source: Review copy provided by YA Bound Blog Tours
Format: Ebook
Add on Goodreads



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(Description source: Goodreads)

Quirky and clumsy twenty-two-year-old Paige Crawford arrives in London on a cold Saturday in January. Just when Paige starts to think that moving thousands of miles away from home with no real plan was a bad idea, Jason Frost appears. Confident and classy, Jason is the complete opposite of Paige and just what she needs in her life, or so she thinks. 

But before their romance has time to blossom, Paige trips and falls into the arms of a mysterious man on a drunken night out. She’s snapped by paparazzi, and newspaper headlines the next day suggest that she’s having an affair with a married footballer. 

Paige finds herself instantly elevated to tabloid celebrity status which isn’t exactly a picnic, particularly when trying to juggle her new job at Fashionista magazine, a catalog of dating disasters and a nagging doubt that she maybe she can’t conquer London after all. 

When a trip back to Canada for Christmas reminds Paige why she left her old life behind, she returns to London with renewed vigor realizing that while jobs, flats and men may come and go, friends in London are forever.

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Paige Crawford is twenty-two and has just up and moved from Canada to England, and is hoping to build up an amazing new life.

Things don't exactly go to plan, however, when she trips out of a club and is saved by a famous soccer player. Photos of this incident inspire rumours that Paige is having an affair with the married footballer, and propel her into the limelight...

Paige is not very lucky, especially when it comes to guys, she really doesn't have the greatest taste - Jason, for example, is an arrogant user who you somewhat would like to punch.

Paige was funny to begin with, though the pacing of her thoughts is at almost break-neck speed. Some cultural misunderstandings (Paige doesn't always understand European meanings) missed the mark for me.

The pace is too fast, Paige asks her self too many questions (constantly), and there is no real emotion shown.

This story was also told in a way that did not make for an enjoyable reading experience for me, with some parts of the narration being somewhat disturbing, and explained.

The best part of the novel (of what I read) is Paige's friendship with Lucinda, Lucinda is sweet to her from the get-go and treats her as a real friend would.

I liked the very beginning of The Accidental Socialite, but the reading experience for me quickly spiraled downwards - I won't be finishing this novel.

Did Not Finish!