Review—A Duke Changes Everything (Duke's Den #1) by Christy Carlyle

Publisher: Avon

Published: November 26, 2018

Genre: Historical Romance 

Source: Print copy

Rating: 2.5 Stars

GOODREADS

Blurb:

In the first novel in Christy Carlyle’s sizzling Duke’s Den series, three men, intent on making a fortune, discover irresistible opportunities . . .

Nicholas Lyon gambled his way into a fortune and ownership of the most opulent, notorious gentlemen’s club in England. But when Nick’s cruel brother dies, he inherits a title he never wanted. The sooner Nick is rid of the estate that has always haunted him, the sooner he can return to the life he’s built in London. But there’s one obstacle—the exquisite Thomasina Thorne.

When the new heir to the Tremayne dukedom suddenly appears in Mina Thorne’s life, she’s flustered. Not only is he breathtakingly handsome, but he’s also determined to take away her home and position as steward of the Enderley estate. If Mina learns what makes the enigmatic duke tick, perhaps she can change his mind—as long as she doesn’t get too close to him.

With each day Nick spends with Mina, his resolve weakens as their colliding wills lead to explosive desire. Could she be the one woman who can help him finally bury the ghosts of his past? 

Review:

A Duke Changes Everything has all the makings of everything I love about historical romance. It has a sassy and snarky heroine—and a hero that doesn’t know what’s he’s in for once he meets the main lady. 

That’s where the positives end, unfortunately. I’m just going to go right ahead and say it, pull the bandaid, so to speak. This was very hard to get through because for most of it, I was so bored. 

The initial meeting between the two was cute and I liked it a lot. Mina shows Nicholas that she won’t go down without a fight and that’s what I loved most about her. You could clearly see that Nicholas did as well. It’s too bad I felt the execution didn’t quite match up to what I felt could have been amazing.

Overall, I would like to see the second book to see if it improves—but if you’re looking for something that will completely take you away from this world, I don’t think this is the one for you. Of course, I never truly want to deter people from something you may enjoy. So if this is something that sparks an interest, try it!

*Thank you to the author for providing a copy for an honest an unbiased review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

AMAZON US 

ANAZON UK 

About the Author:

Fueled by Pacific Northwest coffee and inspired by multiple viewings of every British costume drama she can get her hands on, USA Today bestselling author Christy Carlyle writes sensual historical romance set in the Victorian era. She loves heroes who struggle against all odds and heroines who are ahead of their time. A former teacher with a degree in history, she finds there's nothing better than being able to combine her love of the past with a die-hard belief in happy endings.

Blog Tour Review—The Reckoning of Noah Shaw (The Shaw Confessions #2) by Michelle Hodkin

I'm so happy to start off the blog tour for our boy, Noah! We have a lot of fun blog posts planned for you. Please make sure to check out the schedule below! 

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Published: November 13, 2018

Genre: YA PNR

Source: Print ARC

Rating: 3 Stars

GOODREADS

Book Synopsis

In this sequel to The Becoming of Noah Shaw, the companion series to the New York Times bestselling Mara Dyer novels, legacies are revealed, lies are unraveled, and old alliances are forged. Noah’s reckoning is here.

Noah Shaw wants nothing more than to escape the consequences of his choices. 

He can’t. 

He’s sure the memories that haunt him are merely proof of a broken heart. 

They aren’t. 

He thinks he can move forward without first confronting his past. 

He’s wrong.

Review:

Well...that was something. I can’t quite put my finger on it but I feel like something was missing. That being said, of course I enjoyed this. It’s Noah Shaw for goodness sake! If you haven’t yet read Mara Dyer Trilogy and/or the first book in The Shaw Confessions—then I highly recommend that you do. Why? Well for one, a lot of spoilers and you’ll be lost. Things that happened in Mara Dyer are making a comeback in this book. 

Proceed with caution. 

With the way the first book ended—on a cliffhanger, no less—I knew that I needed the next book to see how the story would go. It was weird seeing Noah in such a pessimistic light. Which is kind of the same way he is in The Reckoning. Only, I kind of feel like nothing happened. Plot? Non existent. Mara? Not in the book! For real, I was a
little upset about that.

The ending has definitely made me want to get the next book. Yes, it’s one of those endings again! Noah is an interesting character and being in his head was a bit of a mind game in itself. A bit confusing, if I’m being honest. But this is Noah we’re talking about and nothing can keep me away from him. 

*Thank you to the publisher for providing a free copy for an honest and unbiased review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

BUY NOAH HERE US
BUY NOAH HERE UK

Author Bio

Michelle Hodkin grew up in Florida, went to college in New York, and studied law in Michigan. She is the author of the Mara Dyer trilogy, including The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, The Evolution of Mara Dyer, and The Retribution 
of Mara Dyer. Visit her online at MichelleHodkin.com.

Blog Tour Schedule

November 5 – The Lovely Books

November 6 – Too Fond of Books

November 7 – Downright Dystopian

November 8 – Pure Imagination

November 9 – The Book Loving Nut

November 10 – a GREAT Read

November 11 – The Eater of Books!

November 12 – My Guilty Obsession

November 13 – Arctic Books

November 14 – A Gingerly Review

November 15 – Ex Libris Kate

November 16 – Girl in the Pages

Review—Little White Lies by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Publisher: Freeform

Published: November 6, 2018

Genre: YA Mystery

Source: Print ARC

Rating: 3 Stars

GOODREADS

Blurb:

“I'm not saying this is Sawyer's fault," the prim and proper one said delicately. "But."

Eighteen-year-old auto mechanic Sawyer Taft did not expect her estranged grandmother to show up at her apartment door and offer her a six-figure contract to participate in debutante season. And she definitely never imagined she would accept. But when she realizes that immersing herself in her grandmother's "society" might mean discovering the answer to the biggest mystery of her life-her father's identity-she signs on the dotted line and braces herself for a year of makeovers, big dresses, bigger egos, and a whole lot of bless your heart. The one thing she doesn't expect to find is friendship, but as she's drawn into a group of debutantes with scandalous, dangerous secrets of their own, Sawyer quickly discovers that her family isn't the only mainstay of high society with skeletons in their closet. There are people in her grandmother's glittering world who are not what they appear, and no one wants Sawyer poking her nose into the past. As she navigates the twisted relationships between her new friends and their powerful parents, Sawyer's search for the truth about her own origins is just the beginning.

Set in the world of debutante balls, grand estates and rolling green hills, Little White Lies combines a charming setting, a classic fish-out-of-water story, and the sort of layered mystery only author Jennifer Lynn Barnes can pull off.

Review-

Little White Lies starts off amazing. I knew right away it was one I would love. The mystery aspect to the story was perfection and I liked how it all tied together. I didn’t even see that twist coming at all. Sawyer, the main character, is as cool as they get. The girl is a mechanic who comes in contact with her long lost grandmother. Lillian makes Sawyer an offer she couldn’t refuse. 

We then meet a gang of beautiful girls with secrets to hide. The secrets are what kept me reading because I had to know what would happen next. I seriously have so much love for the characters. All of them. They are bring something different to the table but I couldn’t help but adore them. 

Once Sawyer delves deeper into the debutante life, the more secrets start unraveling. Things are not what they seem and sooner or later the truth will prevail. I do admit that at times it was a tiny bit slow. But it’s all worth it. 

*Thank you to the publisher for providing a copy for an honest and unbiased review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

BUY:

Amazon US 

Amazon UK 

About the Author:

Jennifer Lynn Barnes (who mostly goes by Jen) was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She has been, in turn, a competitive cheerleader, a volleyball player, a dancer, a debutante, a primate cognition researcher, a teen model, a comic book geek, and a lemur aficionado. She's been writing for as long as she can remember, finished her first full book (which she now refers to as a "practice book" and which none of you will ever see) when she was still in high school, and then wrote Golden the summer after her freshman year in college, when she was nineteen.

Jen graduated high school in 2002, and from Yale University with a degree in cognitive science (the study of the brain and thought) in May of 2006. She'll be spending the 2006-2007 school year abroad, doing autism research at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.