PLBR Book Reviews 2018 - ELLES BOOK BLOG

ELLES BOOK BLOG

LOVE UNEXPECTED BY Q.B TYLER

9/20/2020

Love Unexpected is a forbidden/taboo romance between a stepfather and stepdaughter. While I love the taboo aspects, this book was unrealistic in so many ways.

Rating: ★★
Release Date: August 12, 2020
Genre: Taboo. Age Gap Romance. (Stepfather/daughter)
Series: None.
Pages: 247 pages
Format: eBook. Borrowed with Kindle Unlimited.

I’d only wanted one kiss.

One kiss, under the dark of night, in a city where no one knew us.

One kiss fueled by my hormones and alcohol and the blinding grief over losing my mother.

One kiss from the man I told myself was untouchable.

But, it didn’t stop at one kiss.

And now we are running full speed down a road with no intention of stopping.

His touch disarms me.
His kiss revives me.
But, our love, could destroy me.

WONDERLAND BY ZOJE STAGE

7/14/2020

Wonderland is Zoje Stage's sophomore novel. While I enjoyed her debut this one just didn't work for me. I felt like parts of the book dragged and the supernatural aspects hovered to close to fantasy.

Rating: ★★
Release Date: July 14, 2020
Genre: Horror. Supernatural.
Series: None. Complete standalone.
Pages: 352 pages
Format: eBook. ARC.

If Shirley Jackson wrote The Shining, it might look like this deliciously unsettling horror novel from the acclaimed author of Baby Teeth.

A mother must protect her family from the unnatural forces threatening their new and improved life in a rural farmhouse.

The Bennett family - artist parents and two precocious children - are leaving their familiar urban surroundings for a new home in far upstate New York. They're an hour from the nearest city, a mile from the nearest house, and everyone has their own room for the very first time. Shaw, the father, even gets his own painting studio, now that he and his wife Orla, a retired dancer, have agreed that it's his turn to pursue his passion.

But none of the Bennetts expect what lies waiting in the lovely

HE HATES ME BY ISABELLA STARLING AND RINA KENT

5/26/2020

I normally enjoy dark, stalker romances but this one was a bust for me. The sex took over the entire plot and nothing else materialized.

Rating: ★★
Release Date: April 9, 2020
Genre: Dark, Stalker romance. Crime.
Series: The Hate & Love Duet #1
Pages: 255 pages
Format: eBook. Borrowed from Kindle Unlimited.

Once upon a time, there was a monster.

When the night falls, he comes out to harvest souls.

He’s silent and invisible —no one notices when he strikes then retreats to the shadows.

Our paths shouldn’t have crossed, but they do.

One day he sees me.

Then he can’t unsee me.

Once upon a time, there was a monster, a killer, a devil.
My stalker.

THE RETURN BY RACHEL HARRISON

4/12/2020

While I wish I could have rated this one higher, I simply can't because it was not my cup of tea. I was expecting a psychological thriller of some kind but it wasn't even close.

Rating: ★★
Release Date: March 24, 2020
Genre: Horror
Series: None. Complete standalone.
Pages: 304 pages
Format: eBook. ARC.

A group of friends reunite after one of them has returned from a mysterious two-year disappearance in this edgy and haunting debut.

Julie is missing, and no one believes she will ever return—except Elise. Elise knows Julie better than anyone, and feels it in her bones that her best friend is out there and that one day Julie will come back. She’s right. Two years to the day that Julie went missing, she reappears with no memory of where she’s been or what happened to her.

Along with Molly and Mae, their two close friends from college, the women decide to reunite at a remote inn. But the second Elise sees Julie, she knows something is wrong—she’s emaciated, with sallow skin and odd appetites. And as the weekend unfurls, it becomes impossible to deny that the Julie who vanished two years ago is not the same Julie who came back. But then who—or what—is she?

ENTICE BY AVA HARRISON

10/12/2019

I really wanted to love this book as the subject matter is right up my alley (fathers best friend romance). However, there were many areas in the book that disappointed me.

Rating: ★★
Release Date: September 14, 2019
Genre: Age Gap. Fathers Best Friend Romance.
Series: None. Standalone.
Pages: 391 pages
Format: eBook. Kindle Unlimited.

Eight years ago, I gave Grayson Price a piece of my heart.

To him, I was the strange girl whose mom had just abandoned her.
To me, he was a savior, an anchor, someone who stood beside me on that beach.

The next time I saw him, I was twenty, and he was thirty-six.
He didn't remember me.
And when he flirted...
I didn't tell him.

By the time he found out, it was too late.

We tried to deny our desire, but our attraction was too enticing.

Eight years ago, I gave Grayson Price a piece of my heart.
Too bad he’s my dad’s best friend.

THE TWISTED ONES BY T. KINGFISHER

10/1/2019

I really wanted to love The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher but it blurred the links of fantasy and I didn't care for it. Other will probably find enjoyment more than I did.

Rating: ★★
Release Date: October 1, 2019
Genre: Horror
Series: None. Standalone.
Pages: 400 pages
Format: eBook. ARC.

When a young woman clears out her deceased grandmother’s home in rural North Carolina, she finds long-hidden secrets about a strange colony of beings in the woods in this chilling novel that reads like The Blair Witch Project meets The Andy Griffith Show.

When Mouse’s dad asks her to clean out her dead grandmother's house, she says yes. After all, how bad could it be?

Answer: pretty bad. Grandma was a hoarder, and her house is stuffed with useless rubbish. That would be horrific enough, but there’s more—Mouse stumbles across her step-grandfather’s journal, which at first seems to be filled with nonsensical rants…until Mouse encounters some of the terrifying things he described for herself.

Alone in the woods with her dog, Mouse finds herself face to face with a series of impossible terrors—because sometimes the things

THE TRUTH ABOUT HEARTBREAK BY B. CELESTE

7/20/2019

The Truth about Heartbreak has all the workings for an awesome read. However, it fell really flat in areas that should have been really important.

Rating: ★★
Release Date: June 1, 2019
Genre: Forbidden Romance
Series: Standalone
Pages: 484 pages
Format: eBook. Borrowed from KU

Forbidden Romance - Check.
Cheating - Check.
Brother's Best Friend - Check.
Angst - Check.

BLURB

I fell in love with him when I was thirteen years old.

He was older, mysterious, and unattainable. The guy I could never touch.

Then one night changed everything for us. But there was one huge problem.

He belonged to her.

THE REBEL OF RALEIGH HIGH BY CALLIE HART

6/16/2019

While I liked the idea of this book, the execution was lacking. The author threw so many issues at us but never resolved them. It made for a very frustrating read.

Rating: ★★★
Release Date: April 27, 2019
Genre: New Adult. High School. Bad Boy Romance.
Series: Raleigh Rebels #1 (can stand alone)
Pages: 377 pages
Format: eBook. Borrowed from Kindle Unlimited.

* The Rebel of Raleigh High is the first book in the Raleigh Rebels Series. Please be advised, this book comes with a trigger warning. Intended for readers 17+ *

Silver

Hit me.
Kick me.
Hurt me.
Hate me.

There’s nothing that the students of Raleigh High can do to Silver Parisi anymore. Over the past year, she’s had to endure more pain and suffering than most people are asked to bear in their lifetimes. She’s a pariah, an outcast, a ghost. She’s also never been one to take shit lying down, though…despite what half the football team might say.

BEAUTY AND THE PROFESSOR BY SKYE WARREN

5/29/2019

This book is pure erotic romance. Every other page is filled with sex and unfortunately, it just wasn't my cup of tea. The only thing I enjoyed was seeing a forbidden, student/teacher romance.

Rating: ★★
Release Date: April 23, 2019
Genre: Erotica. Student/Teacher Romance
Series: A Modern Fairytale Duet #1
Pages: 260 pages
Format: eBook. Purchased.

Once upon a time there was a beautiful college student...

Erin cleans Mr. Morris's house twice a week to pay her tuition. The reclusive ex-soldier intimidates her, but she can't help but feel sympathy for him. Then she walks in on him touching himself, and she has much darker, much more sensual feelings.

And a beastly professor with scars he can't hide...

Blake Morris knows he's scarred both inside and out. He's reclusive and surly. Nowhere near good enough for the smart and beautiful young woman who cleans his house.

He receives an offer to return to his alma mater as an associate professor. This is his chance to reenter the world--and to be worthy of

UNTIL WE COLLIDE BY CHARLOTTE FALLOWFIELD

1/25/2019

While I really loved the first book in the Dilbury Village series, this one simply did not work for me. I think there was too much time in between chapters. Even more, I didn't feel like the chance meetings were realistic.

Rating: ★★
Release Date: February 21, 2016
Genre: Romantic Comedy. Chick Lit.
Series: None. Standalone.
Pages: 194 pages
Format: eBook. Borrowed from Kindle Unlimited.

What do you do when the guy you’re in love with is seeing someone else?

That’s the dilemma facing Paige Taylor. All of her life she’s only ever had eyes for the gorgeous Alec Wright, but despite their undeniable chemistry, their timing has always been off. Fast approaching her thirtieth birthday, Paige despairs of ever finding love and a happy ever after. Her best friend Poppie tells her that she can either watch life pass her by, or grab it with both hands. She convinces Paige to throw herself back into the dating pool, or she could be waiting for Alec forever.

What Paige didn’t expect was the catalogue of dating disasters to follow. A neck brace, jelly fish, stitches, flashing and an encounter with a gorilla were some of the most memorable. Despite some downright hilarious, humiliating and cringe worthy dates, her

SPEAKEASY BY SARINA BOWEN

12/1/2018

While I loved the previous books in the series this one just didn't work for me. The characters were lackluster and confusing. Now, while I didn't like this particular one I will continue to read the series because as a whole, it's very good.

Rating: ★★
Release Date: May 29, 2018
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: The True North Series #5 (can stand alone)
Pages: 274 pages
Format: eBook. Purchased.

Sometimes you fall for Mr. Right. And sometimes for Mr. Right Now…

May
Did you hear the one about the girl who walks into a bar and catches her live-in lover kissing someone else? No? You’re the only one in town who missed it.

Luckily Alec is there to wrap me up in strong arms and carry me out the door before things get too ugly. And that’s not all Alec is good at. Our unexpected chemistry makes him the perfect rebound guy.

Alec
I should know better than to hook up with my rival’s little sister, but the fiery look in May’s eyes really turns my crank. She needs

RISING BY JESSICA RUBEN

7/22/2018

Unfortunately, I didn't like this novel much. I went into it thinking it was a romance but there wasn't enough of it to feel like it fit into the genre. Now, even though I didn't like it much I am curious enough about the series to try book #2.

Rating: ★★
Release Date: May 1, 2018
Genre: New Adult. Romance?
Series: Vincent & Eve #1
Pages: 208 pages
Format: eBook. Purchased.

As the bus approaches my stop on the Lower East Side, I raise the hood of my black sweatshirt. Anonymity is key in my neighborhood—particularly as a lone female walking at night.

All I want is to leave my crime-ridden shadow of a home in New York City. I’ve done everything I can to keep my head down and focus on my studies. College is my only goal; love has never been on the map…
That is, until my sister brings me to an underground fight, where I meet a gorgeous and mysterious man: Vincent.

He is the ghost in my shadows, showing up to feed me pieces of his upper-crust life, then evaporating into darkness until his next visit. I’m falling hard and fast. How can I trust him amidst the depth of his secrets?

THE BUTTERFLY GARDEN BY DOT HUTCHISON

4/19/2018

The Butterfly Garden is a dark crime novel. While I found it to be dull despite the subject matter many readers truly enjoyed this one. I suppose it's up to you whether you read it or not. I personally didn't like it.

Rating: ★★
Release Date: June 1, 2016
Genre: Dark Crime Novel
Series: The Collector Trilogy #1
Pages: 288 pages
Format: eBook. Kindle Unlimited.

Near an isolated mansion lies a beautiful garden.

In this garden grow luscious flowers, shady trees…and a collection of precious “butterflies”—young women who have been kidnapped and intricately tattooed to resemble their namesakes. Overseeing it all is the Gardener, a brutal, twisted man obsessed with capturing and preserving his lovely specimens.

When the garden is discovered, a survivor is brought in for questioning. FBI agents Victor Hanoverian and Brandon Eddison are tasked with piecing together one of the most stomach-churning cases of their careers. But the girl, known only as Maya, proves to be a puzzle herself.

THE COACHING HOURS BY SARA NEY

3/6/2018

The Coaching Hours is the fourth and final book in the How to Date a Douchebag series. While I didn't really care about this one, I did find some parts to be hilarious.

Rating: ★★
Release Date: February 5, 2018
Genre: New Adult. College Romance.
Series: How to Date a Douchebag series #4
Pages: 300
Format: eBook. Kindle Unlimited.

THERE ARE NO DOUCHEBAGS IN THIS STORY.

Well, there are, but they’re not who this story is about.
This story is about me—the coach’s daughter.

When I moved to Iowa to live with my dad, the university's take-no-prisoners wrestling coach, I thought transferring would be easy as pie—living with my father would be temporary, and he'd make sure his douchebag wrestlers left me alone.
Wrong on both counts.

ASSHOLES ALWAYS COME OUT OF THE WOODWORK WHEN THE STAKES ARE HIGH.

A bet is placed, and I'm on the table. After one humiliating

BAD GIRLS BY M. WILLIAM PHELPS

3/4/2018

This is not one of the authors best books, but the story itself was interesting enough to read all the way through.

Rating: ★★
Release Date: September 3, 2013
Genre: True Crime
Series: None. Standalone.
Pages: 545
Format: Paperback. Purchased.

The crime stunned quiet Mineral Wells, Texas: 49-year-old Bob Dow shot execution-style in his own bed, his invalid mother locked in the next room--and a cache of homemade porn starring the town's underage girls. The two accused killers--teen lovers Bobbi Jo Smith and Jennifer Jones--were on the run, intent on going out in a cross-country blaze of glory. M. William Phelps exposes a gripping tale of sexploitation, lust, and betrayal, while questioning the court's fateful verdict in a tantalizing forensic puzzle. Were both girls equally guilty of murder? Or was one merely a pawn in the other's dainty, blood-stained hands?

"One of America's finest true-crime writers." --Vincent Bugliosi

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