Ruining You

For a girl who dared to tempt death, living is the only promise that matters now.

Jay’s life almost came to a forced end when her darkest secrets were revealed and the one who she chose to give her future to was ripped away. Now, everything she kept hidden is the topic of everyone’s conversation, and not all are sympathetic. Someone wants her horrific past to dictate her future, and another is determined to help her choose a different path.

In conclusion to Ruining Me, Kane and Rhye know that Jay is worth the fight, but waiting for her to find herself may ruin them all.

4 STARS out of 5
TITLE: Ruining You
AUTHOR: Nicole Reed
GENRE: New Adult

You know a sequel is really good when you need not read the blurb of the first book, only the quick gushing review you’ve made a couple of months ago – and you could still relate with the main character at the very first chapter.

That was Ruining You for me.

This book takes us to the time after Jay, the main character, almost took her life. The angst in this book felt so raw and real, I can’t help but feel empathetic towards Jay.

Sometimes the bad things that happen in our lives put us directly on the path to the most wonderful things that will ever happen to us.

She met another wonderful guy inside a nut-house. I just can’t forget their first conversation so I had to include the guy’s response here:

"Uh, I was just going to introduce myself, but since you seem to think you’re God’s gift to guys, I’ll move out of the way so someone else can kiss your ass." - Eli

Later, Eli will hold a special place in her heart. It’s just sad when I found out what he is. I thought he’ll be competing for Jay’s heart too. Oh well, I still love their friendship.

    One makes me laugh...  One makes me cry...  One touches my heart...  One owns it.

This book reminded me of That Boy by Jillian Dodd, but in a more angsty sense. Like Jay, I actually felt at odds between the two guys. I also want Kane, but I don’t want to let go of Rhye either.

Oh, I just love it whenever things become dysfunctional for Jay. I seriously dig the kind of angst in this book.

IMHO, that was the main reason why this series actually even worked. There was confusion as to who Jay will really pick in the end. I mean, who wants to read about straight cheesy romances with MCs who can’t seem to keep their hands off each other all the time? Certainly, not me!

So when the book made a serious turn on that direction at exactly 3/4 through the story, I can’t help but feel let down. This could have been another favorite of mine.

And oh another thing, Jay’s constant refusal to testify against that effing DOM also got on my nerves.

Then there was her inner monologue about why she doesn’t want to testify. And I’m like, 'Aw okay, I get it.'

Then I realized – 'well, actually, no I don’t!' The first few times, it was okay. She just got back from major emotional trauma, so I’m cutting her some slack. But you know, it gets tedious after awhile. I just want to shake Jay and tell her – 'What! You’ll stay indifferent and will it solve things?'

*sighs*

For the record, I enjoyed reading this book.

This got a star less of 5 stars because I just felt disappointed at how things turned out.  Zizz did an amazing job of pointing it out. Actually, when I read about authors who say that they also adore books that grips the reader from the beginning and never let go, I can't help but sort of make some expectations for their book – especially when the said book has really great potential from the start.

So when this book actually “let go” in my opinion, I felt falling from my high. I was so sure that this book will take another space in my faves shelf. Well, I was wrong. Lesson learned, never expect.

Anyway, if you still haven’t read the first book, do yourself a favor and READ IT SOON -- then jump straight to this one.

Regardless of my rants, I can’t deny the fact that this series is really really good.

Rule

I had loved Rule Archer since the first moment I ever laid eyes on him. He was everything I shouldn't want and the only person I went out of my way to not try and please. He only saw me as a brat, and an entitled, stuck up princess but worse than that all he saw when he looked at me was his deceased twin's girl. It broke my heart because as much as I had loved Remy Archer there was never anything romantic between us and no matter how hard I tried to convince myself that loving Rule was a terrible idea, my poor heart just wouldn't listen. We tolerated each other, barely and had forged an uneasy alliance until one night I had too much to drink and changed the way we were forever. Suddenly life long secrets were no longer hidden and the one thing I always wanted for myself seemed obtainable as long as I was willing to go through hell to hold onto it.

Shaw Landon was a class act and I had no idea what to do with her. She was tied to my family, tied to the person that was my other half so I tolerated her and her haughty attitude when I didn't have any other choice. What I didn't know was that a short skirt and too many cocktails on her birthday was going to change my outlook on her for the rest of my life. Some people thought I hid behind all my tattoos and piercings, that I tried to distance myself from my dead twin, Shaw saw through it all and wasn't scared of what was underneath. We weren't supposed to be together, weren't supposed to be anything but uncomfortable acquaintances but that all changed in the blink of an eye. Now I had to figure out just how a girl like her and a guy like me were supposed to be in love without destroying each other. Add in her custom made ex and two disapproving sets of parents and the whole situation sounded like it was more trouble then it was worth.

4 STARS out of 5
TITLE: Rule
AUTHOR: Jay Crownover
GENRE: New Adult

I love reading with background music.  At first, it distracts me but when I’m really immersed in a book, I find it soothing.  Then whenever I am spaced out from reading, I find it hard not to relate the book on the current song.

So when I was a bit halfway through the story, a line from a country song struck me the most about Rule:

You know I've never been the type that would ever want to stay

Bring 'em home at night and they're gone the next day

But that all changed when she walked into my life

- Whatever It Is by the Zac Brown Band

Just in case New Adult is your preferred book genre and you still haven’t met Rule, let me do the introductions – you see, Rule is this tattooed womanizer with a seriously uptight family.

And then, there’s Shaw – the gorgeous rich blonde and almost family to Rule’s family, only she has a thing for Rule since she was 13 years old.  Unfortunately for her, he wasn’t giving her the time of day.  And when he finally did:

I refused to be the girl that pined after him, that stalked him, and called him a hundred times a day.

Attagirl!

And oh, Rule didn’t disappoint too!  I’m glad he did not make a 180-degree change in his character right after sleeping with Shaw.

And so, their story goes...

Wow!  I really enjoyed reading this.  How the author got me hooked into her story despite the numerous typos found in the book astounds me!  All I remember is that this book has personality written all over it.  Honestly, I’d love to give this book 5 stars but I won’t.  For what it’s worth, I still believe that publishing a novel without even a solid proofreading is a blatant disrespect to the readers/consumers.  But I digress.

The point is Jay Crownover is simply an amazing author.  I can’t wait to read her next book.  There’s no doubt that she’ll nail it again.  God, I’m actually hoping.  And I also hope Jet’s story goes through proper proofreading.  I’d love to see the author’s next work in its polished glory.

“I swear you pull more tail than me and I’m in a freaking band.  All you have to do is blink and you have broads falling all over themselves to have at it.”

- Jet to Rule

Don’t worry Jet!  You’ll get your love story soon!  I’m effing excited!

Manipulating the List

 Katherine Elizabeth Sheppard is only one heart-pounding step ahead of the Collector. A friendship of sixteen years suddenly transformed into a game of manipulation after her name appears on the Collector's list. Responding to little more than the primitive instinct for survival at any cost, she becomes a cold-blooded killer at the age of twenty-two. But her assistance in mortality can't stop there, she must continue to assist in the death of others in order to bypass her own fate.

3 STARS out of 5
TITLE: Manipulating the List 
AUTHOR: K.B. Lever   
GENRE: Young Adult

SPOILERS AHEAD. Read at your own risk.

First of all, I’d like to disclose that this book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review. I’m open to new reads and I happen to like the premise of this one. Minus the cover, not really eye-catching. To be honest, sometimes book covers influence the way I prioritize my top tbr. Anyway, this book takes the grim reaper stuff to a whole new level. This is a story about Jonathan and Katherine. A story about the weird friendship between a boy who collects souls based on a list AND the one girl who could manipulate the said list.

 

This was going to be the beginning of our new friendship; a friendship where he would give me clues to find his next victim and then my race would ensue to find them before the collection time so that he could bypass collecting me.

 

At first, this book seriously gave me the headache. 

Okay, I know how the Collector works, but I felt confused as hell with all this manipulating mumbo jumbo. It was stated that “by the end of the given timeframe, a name on the list would have to be collected."

If that’s the case, and the Collector has been doing this for decades, then what’s the point of Katherine tracking those victims? Should handling those victims on a silver platter to the Collector actually manipulates the list?

So I read on. Wondering how the heck could I actually ever enjoy reading this book.

I don’t know why I aggravate myself by reading a book out of my genre but since I was the one who requested this book for review, I thought I should give it a try and keep an open mind. Fortunately, that wasn’t very hard to do because the writing style was really good.

When finally:

“I didn’t know what interfering with the Collector’s list was going to do to me.” -Katherine

Hah! After that admission, I actually sighed with relief. At least, I know that the stuff which was initially bothering me will be resolved somewhere in the book. I just have to be patient.

And I’m glad I did.

This is one of those books that won’t grab your attention in the beginning. If I’ll be perfectly honest, the first few chapters were a total yawnfest.

But when things picked up, it would freaking pull you at your collar – happened just after the first two hunts, when the MC was running away from everyone. Dang! A girl on the run! By that time, I’m finally acknowledging the fact that the author has some serious writing skills. Why! She just amped up the suspense factor!

So obviously, I thought this was turning to be a pretty, exciting read.

I was wrong.

Another bad thing happened. I don’t have anything against Australians but I got bored again – this time, because of too detailed Australian back stories. It’s one thing to engage in a chat with a cab driver, but to have him recap the whole story of something he actually witnessed back in the day -- again, TOTAL YAWNFEST.

My relief totally disappeared because of one unrealistic romance found in the book. Don’t get me wrong, I love whirlwind romances. But for me, it just didn’t work with this one. It was hurried, and I even thought the romance was done as an afterthought. Maybe find another connection between Liam and Katherine other than being hopelessly in love?

Honestly, the story could do well without the said romance. (Or maybe it’s just me hoping for some twisted sense of fate that Jonathan the Collector and Katherine would get it on. Oookay, scratch that. That would be really gross because technically, the Collector died when he was 14 y/o and would definitely come off as a betrayal against Winnie, his first love and the reason why he died in the first place.)

Oooh, but the irony.

And WTH happened to the men who abducted her almost at the end? And Liam saying, “Some things are better left unanswered m’love.” I don’t like a book making me guess especially if it’s at the end of the book. Should I assume they all died since Liam was also a Collector?

And then BAM! It was finished. I’m like, seriously that’s it?? Good thing there’s a sneak peek for Book 2. Some things just needed to be cleared up before I can move on with my reading.

Overall, for a debut novel, this was a decent read.

Hopeless

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.

3 STARS out of 5
TITLE: Hopeless
AUTHOR: Colleen Hoover
GENRE: Young Adult

“I never thought I would ever be able to trust a man enough to share my heart, much less hand it over completely.”

Linden Sky Davis. Dean Holder. Wow.

It’s decided!  I will bombard Colleen Hoover with emails and have her name all of my future children! The above names are just honest-to-goodness beautiful!

She’s THAT brilliant! First, it was butterflying. Now, it was live. She has this amazing way of turning words into a perfect unconventionally used term.

I didn’t know that Colleen was a TSOT fan too until that reference at 40%! That probably explains the MC’s love for running and Holder’s constant hounding which reminded me at first of TSOT, male version.

Ooooh, I could run out of positive things to say about Hopeless, but it wouldn’t do the first part of this book justice. Especially after I found out what I found out. The very first big twist, I mean. It was far from what I’ve expected. I was caught off guard. Like, why the heck didn’t I see that one coming??

And of course, the title!!! HOPELESS. I should have known. The very reason was in plain sight all along.

I totally loved the first 2 books from Colleen, and thought that Hopeless is beautifully written too. So why didn’t I give this book 5 stars? 

I crave emotional consistency so much, that by the second twist, I realized that this book did NOT make me feel anymore. Usually with the really sensitive issue portrayed in the book, I would feel empathetic at least. But no, I was kind of resorted to a blunt affect.

The long-winded explanations almost at the end had me skimming the pages. I just didn’t care anymore. The book felt overly dramatic.

Don’t get me wrong though, I still enjoyed reading Hopeless. The second part just didn't captivate me at all.

Bad Rep

"Who gives a damn about their reputation? Oh, that would be me! Especially since mine had gone straight to hell in the span of thirty minutes".

Maysie Ardin is soaking up the summer before her junior year of college, shopping, hanging by the pool and shopping some more. But when her black belt in spending lands her in trouble with her parents, she is forced to take a second job at a local bar to dig herself out of a deep financial pit.

She thought she’d be miserable. But then Maysie didn’t count on Jordan Levitt, the hot, pierced and tattooed, drum playing bartender who also happens to be very interested in her. And the feelings are totally mutual.

It had the makings of the perfect romantic set up. Boy meets girl. Boy likes girl. Boy has girlfriend? Okay, maybe not.

But attraction is a hard thing to ignore and soon Jordan and Maysie find themselves in the middle of a gossip induced firestorm. Maysie has to learn whether she can set aside her fear of public disapproval in order to be with the one she wants. Or will she let the opinions of others dictate her life and her heart?

5 STARS out of 5
TITLE: Bad Rep
AUTHOR: A. Meredith Walters
GENRE: New Adult

One day, I’ll get you a ring on your finger.  You just wait and see.

Aww.  Seriously.  One of the best New Adult novels I’ve read recently!

With all the sorority drama going on in this book, Bad Rep clearly has more issues than the movie Mean Girls.

Everything started with the $3500 credit card statement from a weekend trip to Virginia Beach:

My Visa was supposed to be used “in emergencies only.”  My parents had given me a 5,000 dollar limit, stressing that I was NEVER to even think about using it.  Unless I was broken down on the other side of a deserted highway with a serial killer hot on my tail.

In case you’re wondering, that would be Maysie Ardin, our female MC.  She’s a people pleaser.  Loves the sorority so much and can’t drop it like a bad habit even when things went downhill.  Because of her immense credit, she needed another part-time job… fast.

Meet Jordan Levitt – Does bartending job at Barton’s.  He’s a drummer from the Generation Rejects band.  President of the Pi Sig house.  Said to be the most popular guy at Rinard College.

And before I forgot, because Jordan himself forgot to tell our female MC here while he’s chasing her… he’s the boyfriend of Maysie’s sorority president, Olivia.

Now, things just got a little more interesting.

Honestly, I know nothing about the Greek system aside from the stuff I watched on TV.  But the sorority/fraternity events going on here seemed pretty realistic and enjoyable.

This book was really well-written.  And the best thing about this book is the consistent character development.

Other people might get really annoyed at how insecure Maysie could be… but then who wouldn’t be insecure when your boyfriend’s ex-gf is as gorgeous and as popular as Olivia Peer and the relationship you have was built on lies?

Anyway, I just loved how Maysie matured throughout the book!  Thank God for her bestfriend and recently roomie, Riley.  She supported Maysie through the good and the bad times!

My favorite part of the bad times?  Why, she just slapped and yanked her hair.  I know that was totally uncalled for but I’m pretty wistful here.  Indeed, tough love coming from bestfriends can put someone out of one’s funk.

The other secondary characters in this book were amazing too!

Vivian and Gracie.  Wow!  They’re the ultimate sidekicks.  They’re the best sorority sisters out there!

I even liked Eli, Maysie’s townie ex-hookup.  I thought he was this great douchebag but then he redeemed himself by giving Maysie the most helpful advice throughout the book:

"Well, shit, Mays.  Then you need to fight for him.  Don’t give up on something like that.  It doesn’t come along very often.  And when you find it, you hold on tight.  You lock that shit down with an iron fist and you never, ever let go.  Even when life tries to take it from you, you smack life upside its head like a little bitch and you keep on fighting for it.  You hear me?”

Oh btw, be sure to be on the lookout for the lunchroom scene.  It’s my favorite part of the book.  I actually re-read it a couple of times.  Maysie finally put on her big girl panties!  Way to go girl!

I would like to end this review with the song Jordan wrote for Maysie, just so I would always remember why I fell in love with this book in the first place.  I have this thing for songs written for the female lead.  I feel giddy everytime.  It’s like they’re written for me. HAHA

What do I have to do to make you stay?
What should I say to make you mine?
When will you stop running, girl?
I’m watching for the sign.

You build me up and break me down
Over and over again
I crave your seductive destruction
Even as I long for your pain

But it wasn’t all bad was it?
Things weren’t always this way.
You filled the space in my empty heart,
Your eyes told me things your lips would never say.

So here I am, watching you run.
I wish you’d stop trying to leave.
How easy you forget
That you’re my reason to breathe.

Stop running, girl
It won’t always feel like this,
Stop running, girl
Stop running.

We could have our tomorrow
We could have our dreams,
My future is wrapped up in you,
Even as my heart bleeds.

Stop running, girl.
I’ve got nowhere to go.
I’ll wait until forever
I promise to take this slow.

How easily we tore each other down
It’s hard to take it all back
Feeding those fears and regrets,
I’m all alone in the black.

Stop running, girl.
It won’t always feel like this.
Stop running, girl.
Stop running, girl!

Stop running away!