Fixer-Upper by Ines Saint

The Basics:
Fixer-Upper by Ines Saint
Book Three in the Spinning Hills series
Lyrical Shine
Contemporary Romance
Published January 19, 2016
Source: Received Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amazon Kobo Goodreads

Why I picked up this book:

It looked like a light, fluffy contemporary romance, maybe something a little chick lit?

Two Books, Not Much Love

Today I want to talk about two books. They've got some common themes, beyond the obvious as they're both contemporary romance. One features two cops, one undercover, and is a second chance at love story. The other takes an undercover cop, has him escape jail, and kidnap the woman who becomes his love interest.

They both have the undercover cop looking like she or he has broken the law, and asking the love interest to have faith.

Neither of them, ultimately, really worked for me. Let's take a look at why.

Christmas in October: A Cowboy Firefighter for Christmas by Kim Redford

Happy Christmas in October!

Each day this week, I'm reviewing a Christmas-themed book, reviewing how well the book embraces the holiday as well as giving my two cents on the book as a whole. Please join me in celebrating the holiday a wee bit early and post your holiday book reviews and recommendations in the comments of any of this week's reviews!

As a bonus this year, I've got some fantastic guest posts! So check back for those as well!

The Book:

Basics

A Cowboy Firefighter for Christmas by Kim Redford
Sourcebooks Casablanca
Book 1 in the Smokin Hot Cowboys series
Contemporary Romance
Published October 6, 2015
Source: Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amazon Kobo Goodreads

Two for One : February's DNF books

I've discovered that the more I read, the pickier and more discerning I become. I hate to DNF (did not finish) a book, but I realize that I can only read so many books - so why waste time with ones that I'm not enjoying?

Today I'm going to briefly review two books that I DNF'ed in the last month. One is YA with a sort of contemporary fairy tale feel to it, the other is a urban fantasy YA story featuring merfolk!

Hush by Stacey R Campbell
Green Darner Press
YA
Book One in the Lakeview Chronicles
Published November 15, 2012
Source: Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amazon Goodreads

Blurb:

For small-town girl Blakely Henry, any hope of finding her biological parents died when she stopped believing in fairy tales and Disney princesses. That is, until she spots her boarding school’s new British exchange student, Max Ryder, staring at her. Why would a boy who looks like he stepped out of the pages of a magazine be looking at her? Because Max knows something Blakely doesn’t. 
Following the tragic demise of one of Europe’s most beloved royal families, Max has stumbled upon information he thinks may lead to a lost royal heir, and now he is on a quest halfway around the world to see if he’s right. 
Sworn to secrecy by his university professor and the headmaster of Lakeview Academy, Max is admitted into an exchange program with the sole purpose of finding out the truth. But will his personal feelings for Blakely get in the way? 
When a stolen email surfaces, Blakely and her friends’ lives are threatened, and Max starts to question what he is really after.
From the exclusive rolling lawns of Canada’s most prestigious boarding school to the University of Saint Andrews’ hallowed grounds, Blakely’s quiet, unassuming life is turned upside down. Is she really who she thinks she is? Can she survive long enough to help Max unearth the truth?

Reason for DNF:

I loved the simplicity of the cover. It really drew me in - probably appealing to my inner historian. I liked the feel of an old manuscript or document that was going to reveal this modern fairy tale. I read the first 50 pages of Hush and I had to call it quits. The plot was too outlandish for me. I was okay with the premise but once Max is sent undercover to determine whether or not Blakely could be royalty, I just... couldn't stick with the book. It seemed so far-fetched to me for a university to be sent uncover to a fancy boarding school in another country under the guise of this investigation because it would somehow be better for the family not to know, should the suspicion prove wrong. This, plus the way Max thought about the pictures of Blakely (reading so much into them), really put me off the book, unfortunately. 


Water So Deep by Nichole Giles
Jelly Bean Press
YA, Fantasy
Book One in the Water So Deep series
Published February 2, 2015
Source: Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amazon Goodreads

Blurb:

Seventeen-year-old Emma Harris is drowning on dry land.

No one knows what’s happening to her, and she’d like to keep her evolution from human to mermaid a secret, but the truth is getting harder and harder to hide. From her adoptive family, from her friends, and especially from the irresistible James Phelps.

Her time in the ocean is spent dodging a possessive merman, while her time on land is split between caring for her special-needs brother and squeezing in every last possible moment of human life. She soon realizes falling for James is unavoidable when he constantly comes to Emma’s rescue and somehow manages to see through her carefully constructed icy facade to the vulnerability she lives with every day. Everything about James makes Emma yearn for a life on land she just can't have.

When Emma’s brother disappears on her watch, James is the only person she trusts to help her save him. But even if they can save her brother, nothing can prevent her return to the sea. Whether she likes it or not, Emma is changing—unable to breathe without yielding to the tide—and it's only a matter of time before she's forced to surrender forever.

Reason for DNF:

Again, I loved the cover. And I haven't read much merfolk fiction before so I thought, yes! Something new! My problem with Water So Deep was simply that it was impossibly slow. Though the story starts off in a really dark but eventful place, everything tapers off really quickly. I stuck with it for about a hundred pages but by then I was pretty well over my mermaid excitement and ready to move on.  

I suspect this book could be awesome for the right reader: that reader just wasn't me.

The Basics:

The Missing Alchemist by Caldric Blackwell

Icasm Press 
Book One in the Young Alchemist series
Children's, Fantasy
Published January 20, 2015
Source: Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amazon Kobo Goodreads

Why I picked up this book:

I haven't read anything middle grade in a while, and I thought the premise was appealing. Plus I recently acknowledged the lack of fantasy books in my life, and that this was probably due to fantasy books generally taking longer to read. I tried to hack this by reading a middle-grade fantasy novel (much shorter than the adult version!)

The Zodiac Collector by Laura Diamond

The Basics:
The Zodiac Collector by Laura Diamond
Spencer Hill Press
YA, Paranormal
Published September 23, 2014
Source: Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amazon Kobo

Why I picked up this book:

The title of the book caught my eye!

Sunday Update - March 30, 2014

Every other Sunday I post a general news post. These might preview things I'm planning for the two weeks following (such as a new feature - On My Mind), they might reflect on books I'm looking forward to, or that I've recently heard of and want to discuss.  

I'm hooking into: 

This is a meme hosted by the Caffeinated Book Reviewer wherein everyone gets to share their news for the week. It's a great opportunity to see what's happening out there in the blogosphere, so go check out some other Sunday Posters!

Today's post is going to have a few sections:

1. What Happened?

2. COYER - March E-reader Clean-Out

3. DNF Reviews

4. Currently...

5. Year-Long Challenge Update

6. March Site Stats

7. Blogging A-Z?