Hopeless by Colleen Hoover

Title: Hopeless (Hopeless #1)
Author: Colleen Hoover
ebook, 327 pages

Sometimes discovering the truth can leave you more hopeless than believing the lies…
That’s what seventeen-year-old Sky realizes after she meets Dean Holder. A guy with a reputation that rivals her own and an uncanny ability to invoke feelings in her she’s never had before. He terrifies her and captivates her all in the span of just one encounter, and something about the way he makes her feel sparks buried memories from a past that she wishes could just stay buried.
Sky struggles to keep him at a distance knowing he’s nothing but trouble, but Holder insists on learning everything about her. After finally caving to his unwavering pursuit, Sky soon finds that Holder isn’t at all who he’s been claiming to be. When the secrets he’s been keeping are finally revealed, every single facet of Sky’s life will change forever.

This is the book that my hubby (for the very first time!) had insisted that I should read before I sleep. He said his co-worker had high praises for the story and that I would love to read this kind of drama-romance genre. I told him, I already got it on my Kindle, one week before he actually told me to buy this. And boy, was he intrigued with the book!

Hopeless is my first Colleen Hoover book. It was AMAZING! I cried myself to sleep after reading this. There was so much emotion going on with Sky and I was affected. And Dean got this strange pull that made me want to cry on his shoulders and comfort him. Sky and her constant running may be alluded to her past which she had completely forgotten about. Dean served as her anchor in the trying times. Six or Seven Marie, (gosh, I love both her names!) was a quirky personality, someone I would love to call my BFF. Too bad, there wasn’t much story about Leslie, but her demise was really a big impact to the whole gang.

Colleen Hoover is now one of my favorite authors. Hopeless made me breathless and sleepless in one night alone. Hopeless left me speechless after reading it. And Hopeless just made me a helpless romantic. Can’t wait to read Losing Hope!

Fallen Crest High by Tijan

Title: Fallen Crest High (Fallen Crest Series # 1)
Author: Tijan
375 pages, Kindle Edition

Mason and Logan Kade are two brothers who did their own thing. They were rich and expected to attend her school, Fallen Crest Academy. They chose public school and now Samantha has to live with them. The problem is that she doesn’t care at all: about them, about her friends, about her cheating boyfriend, or even about her parent’s divorce. But maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe change is a good thing. 

Let me just say that the big stars in this book are Logan & Mason, and not Sam, even though this is mainly her story. The Kade brothers rule Fallen Crest, a lot of girls worship them, a lot of guys want to follow their footsteps. There’s a lot of cussing, and drinking, and kissing, and alarmingly sexy & hot scenes in the book, that I found myself drinking a cold glass of water every now and then. Fallen Crest High is all about family drama, high school adventures and misadventures and a story of love, closure, trust, rejection and acceptance. Can’t wait to read the next book in the series!

Sorry, this is a bit short review, compared to the others I have done before.. I just got my hands full today. I’ll post another round of book reviews later :)

Stacking the Shelves (my first time!)

Yay! This is my first time joining another meme, Stacking the Shelves, hosted by Tynga Reviews. I am so thrilled!

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

Listed and displayed before are some of the books that I have received as gift, bought, and downloaded on Amazon for my Kindle during the week of May 17-24.

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Bought at a bookstore: 

A DEAD RED HEART

by R.P. Dahlke

AFTER TUESDAY

by Renee Ericson

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Downloaded through Amazon

ASSETS (Balance Sheet Series # 1)

by Shannon Dermott

The Wilde Sisters: EMILY (Sex And Sensibility)

by Sandra Marton

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 

 Gift Received from a Friend (thanks Chit!)

FANGIRL 

by Rainbow Rowell

LOSING HOPE 

by Colleen Hoover

Happy weekend everyone!!

Love, Lex

Title: Love, Lex (The Undergrad Years, #1)
Author: Avery Aster
Kindle edition; 218 pages

This summer, I’d planned to celebrate my eighteenth birthday in Europe with my fellow

Manhattanites—Taddy Brill, Blake Morgan, and Vive Farnworth—until I caught my boyfriend screwing my mother. According to the police report, this vomit-inducing incident happened around the same time I’d supposedly blown-up my mother’s penthouse. Like I’m walking around Soho with a stick of dynamite in my Louis Vuitton purse—not! Now, my besties and I are in jail.
Officer Ford Gotti, the Harley-wheelin’ biker cop who arrested us, keeps sticking his perfectly-sculpted nose into my case. His inked body is jacked like a superhero, and he says I can trust him. He wants me to fess up. I won’t. Not again. Why should I? My friends and I had a previous stint in juvie that nearly destroyed us. I gotta protect them and keep my mouth shut. Right? —Lex Easton, women’s studies major, motorcycle enthusiast, and virgin.
The Undergrad Years is a New Adult contemporary miniseries about first loves, independence, and everlasting friendships.
Reader warning: Contains mature content intended for readers 17 and up.

I received this book from the author in exchange of an honest review.

Honestly, I just started reading erotica or naughty Adult fiction 2 years ago, when someone told me Fifty Shades of Grey was a great book. Unfortunately, I did not agree with my friend. After reading Avery Aster's Love, Lex... Oh well, let me just say, 50 Shades paled in comparison. Love, Lex is way better than timid Anastasia Steele's pursuits. Sorry...

The thing is, I think I have a love-hate relationship with Lex Easton. She's  got qualities that I really love about her - chubby, witty, driven and doesn't take shit even from her high-profile mom. And what do I hate about her? Well, not her, really, but I hate her Manhattanies friends.. I hate that Blake, Taddy and Vive were spoiled socialite stereotypes. Gahd.. I roll my eyes whenever Blake do something I am NOT able to do.. LOL.. But seriously, in the end, I get them. I get their attitudes, I get how they all blend together and I love how they stand up for one another.. AND the very best thing I love about the story - I love Officer Ford, too, dammit! I want to have a piece of him.

Okay, that's all I have to say right now. I'm off to pacify my heartbeat. This Undergrad Years Book 1 series is making me all sweaty and dreamy. Yay!

The Sandalwood Chair

I was fortunate to read a very lovely poem written by W.M. Jones. 

It is entitled The Sandalwood Chair. Here it goes:

The Sandalwood Chair
The old lady sits in her sandalwood chair.
She is reading to him, but he is not there.
The table is laid, where once they had played,
Canasta and rummy and whist.

In the hearth there's a fire that crackles and spits,
And a basket of kindling; An assortment of bits.
A polished brass knight, holds a toasting fork tight,
At attention it patiently waits.

In the window a light, where a candle burns bright,
Just in case her dear fellow returns.
But the old lady knows, for as long as it glows,
Like her hopes, ever lower it burns.

And so she'll remain, though she waits there in vain, 
She will never admit what she knows. 
For her loved one passed on in a war that's long gone, 
And forever she'll suffer it blows.

An old lady dreams in a sandalwood chair,
Of the promises that she once gave.
To the young soldier boy, who went off to the Front,
But who now lies asleep in his grave.
W.M.Jones

In all honesty, it was really an emotional poem. Reminds me of some Nicholas Sparks novel. It was a story of a woman who grew old and gray but still continued waiting for his soldier, the man of her life. Although deep in her heart, she knew that he would not be coming back, she still won't accept that fact.. It was beautifully written poem of love, hope and heartache, i loved it!

I was enamored with this poem and I'm sure, you will too. If there's one thing that taught me about this poem, it is this: TRUE LOVE WAITS.

P.S.
Special thanks to Lee Gliddon for sharing this info and telling me about W.M. Jones :)

Mr. Jones, please keep writing poems like this and ignite the hearts of people :)

www Wednesday- May 14

Happy Wednesday! Here's my WWW  for this week.  WWW Wednesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

  To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?


Anyway, here are my answers for this week:

CURRENTLY READING: 

ALEX (A Rylee Adamson Short Story)

I've been reading the Rylee Adamson series this whole week (Priceless, Immune, Raising Innocence, and mos recently Shadowed Threads..) and everytime I finish a book, I require myself to read the next book immediately because the series is so good!

Yep, I love this Shannon Mayer series, I love Rylee's fast mouth and devil may care attitude. But for now, I have to put a stop on her Tracking and read about her loyal bestfriend werewolf ALEX. I really want to learn more about this 19-year old man trapped inside a werewolf's body, with a mind of a kindergarten. Really!

RECENTLY FINISHED READING:

As I've mentioned above, I've recently read Shadowed Threads, the 4th book of the Rylee Adamson series. Seriously, this book kicks ass, not to mention, Rylee, kicks a lot ofOn butt.. One heck of a story, and I couldn't wait to read the next one!

WILL READ NEXT: 

Once I get my hands on the next Rylee Adamson series, I will definitely read BLIND SALVAGE.

Summary from Amazon:
"My name is Rylee, and I am a Tracker."

When children go missing, and the Humans have no leads, I'm the one they call. I am their last hope in bringing home the lost ones. I salvage what they cannot.

Crossing into Ogre country is dangerous when you're a polite, respectful gal. Which means I already know I'm in for a wild ride, despite the back up I've brought along.

Even when things start to go sideways, and enemies close on us from every side, I still believe we have the upper hand.

How very blind can one person be when it comes to a salvage?

ALTERNATE READ:

Just in case I cannot read the above-mentioned book, I plan to read E.L. Todd's Flight of Life (Essense Series # 1).
I heard good stuffs about this series. Maybe it's time I'll give it a try later. I love the tagline, by the way:

People are good. Sometimes, they do bad things.

Zack Love's Waiting for 2000

Come one, come all! 

*** NEW ZACK LOVE RELEASE WITH BILLIONAIRES & EPIC BANTER ***

Zack Love’s latest comedy features endless silliness as the world’s 2,000 richest (and zaniest) people get on a luxury cruise ship to celebrate the arrival of the year 2000 on Bob’s Billionaire Boat!

So what are you waiting for? Get your copy now and let the billionaire banter begin! :-)

Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/AmazonWaitingFor2000
Amazon UK: http://tinyurl.com/AmazonUKWaitingFor2000
Nook: http://tinyurl.com/BN-WaitingFor2000

The Peaceful Lion and the Nagging Crow

Title: The Peaceful Lion and the Nagging Crow
Author: Assaf Marcus
Illustrations by: Malgorzata Godziuk

For those of you who doesn't know, I have three kids - all boys - and being around them either gives me peace of mind or chaotic heartbeats. It's never easy raising a bunch of kids but I thought I could manage. However, when I chanced upon the book, The Peaceful Lion and the Nagging Crow, it seems like a whole new world was opened up for me.

Essentially, this is a story about a lion that had been quiet and living peacefully, while a rowdy crow did nothing but pester and make the lion angry. I was appalled by the behavior of the crow; he actually represented a bully constantly picking on someone else, testing their emotions. But what surprised me more was the calmness of the big lion amidst the chaos that the annoying crow brings. For how long did the lion keet up with the crow’s antics, that I won't reveal. The great thing about this book is the lesson that my kids were able to learn after reading and understanding Peaceful Lion's advice. Like I said, this book opened up a whole new world for me! Me and my little boys' world now becomes more peaceful and serene.

For those who want to teach their child how to deal with bullies or control their anger and accept gifts, this is the best book I'd highly recommend. I'm giving two thumbs up for Assaf Marcus for a distinctly effective way of spreading the message of peace and value of gift-giving among people.

Excerpts from Goodreads:

Teach your children the important skills of anger management and how to deal with bullies! Often child behavior problems are about kids struggling to manage their anger while attempting to find their inner peace. Oppositional behavior, disrespect, conflict and aggression can often be decreased by helping kids learn how to handle these issues better. This illustrated story will give you the tools to help your child with anger management through finding his inner peace.
This inspiring fable tells the story of two animals - “The Peaceful Lion And The Nagging Crow” in which the crow tries to annoy the lion in countless ways.
Will the crow manage to finally get the lion angry or upset? Will the crow give up? Can the lion manage to stay calm and peaceful or will he get angry at last?
When two such distinct animals as “The Peaceful Lion and The Nagging Crow” interact with each other, the result is a story with a lesson worthy of reading by all mankind. How to achieve inner peace and the realization that external forces can disrupt that peace or even forbid it are the two lessons which are cradled in this beautiful illustrated story by Assaf Marcus.