Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Scoring Wilder by R.S. Grey


Title: Scoring Wilder
Author: R.S. Grey
Publisher: R.S. Grey
Release Date: June 15, 2014
Source: Purchased
Buy the Book: Amazon
What started out as a joke—seduce Coach Wilder—soon became a goal she had to score.

With Olympic tryouts on the orison, the last thing nineteen-year-old Kinsley Bryant needs to add to her plate is Liam Wilder. He’s a professional soccer player, America’s favorite bad-boy, and has all the qualities of a skilled panty-dropper.

- A face that makes girls weep — check.
- Abs that can shred Parmesan cheese (the expensive kind) — check.
- Enough confidence to shift the earth’s gravitational pull — double check.

Not to mention Liam is strictly off limits. Forbidden. Her coaches have made that perfectly clear. (i.e. “Score with Coach Wilder anywhere other than the field and you’ll be cut form the team faster than you can count his tattoos.”) But that just makes him all the more enticing…Besides, Kinsley’s already counted the visible wines, and she is not one to leave a project unfinished.

Kinsley tries to play the game her way as they navigate through forbidden territory, but Liam is determined to teach her a whole new definition for the term “team bonding.”

Until now, I’ve always avoided reading self-published book, unless it was by an author I knew and had previously read. But every so often, a self-published book will appear on my radar after seeing many other bloggers raving about it. That’s what happened with R.S. Grey’s Scoring Wilder, and I can say that I don’t regret having read this particular self-published book.

Kinsley Bryant is ready to be a part of the ULA women’s soccer team and to prepare for the upcoming Olympic tryouts. After what just happened with her boyfriend, she wants nothing more than to focus on soccer and her new team. But that proves to be difficult when she comes face to face with Liam Wilder, America’s soccer bad-boy and all around hottie. Kinsley figured she can deal with Liam if she only sees him at parties, but when he turns out to be her new coach, things get tricky. Neither one of them can deny their attraction for the other, but they know having a relationship off the field is completely out of the question. But Kinsley is determined to get to know her new coach, on and off the field. And Liam is more than willing to help Kinsley…with soccer and other things.

So here’s the thing. I tend to avoid self-published books. Like, I don’t think I’ve actually really read one before this one. It’s not that I have anything against them per say, but there are so many other traditionally published books out there and some people I know have had bad experiences with them. So all that to say that I tend to be wary of self-published books. But in the past few months, R.S. Grey’s Scoring Wilder kept popping up in my Twitter feed as fellow bloggers were reading it and then raving about it. After having seen so many good reviews of this book, I thought I should give it a try. It is after all a story I would be all over if it had been traditionally published. And I am so glad i got myself a copy of this book, because I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT. Once I started reading, I couldn’t seem to put it down. I loved the way this story played out, the role soccer played in it all, and the romance was just the way I like it. And the best part of this story was definitely all the relationships.

I loved Kinsley right from the start. This girl doesn’t let anyone give her crap and she’s not afraid to stand up for herself, as she demonstrates right at the start of the story. But I also loved Kinsley because she was just a girl who was pursuing her goal and happened to fall for someone she wasn’t supposed to along the way. And from the way she describes Liam Wilder, I can’t exactly hold that against her. Because I would have done the very same thing she did if I was spending any given amount of time with Liam. But Liam also wasn’t exactly who I expected. From the initial description I got of him, I figured he would be kind of a jerk and a player. But that couldn’t have been further from the truth. Liam ended up being sweet and kind, while also being absolutely swoon-worthy. And it should go without saying that I loved Kinsley and Liam together. They just gave me a lot of feelings. But beyond just the romantic relationship, I loved all the friendships in this story, whether between Kinsley and some of her teammates, or between Liam and his own best friend. It was great to see all those relationships play out and come together.

If you’ve been considering giving Scoring Wilder a chance, I would tell you to absolutely go for it. I was more than pleasantly surprised by this story and though I’m still wary of self-published books, R.S. Grey is an author I will definitely be keeping my eye on.

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Wednesday, November 5, 2014

NaNoWriMo 2014

If you follow me on Twitter, you may have seen me post a couple of times about word counts and writing. The reason for that is that I'm doing NaNoWriMo for the very first time. I had considered doing it in the past, but when I was still in school, November is pretty much the worst time of the year to decide to write 50,000 words just for fun. This year, though, I decided to just do it and see what happens.

If you're curious about what I'm writing, it's a contemporary YA (anyone actually surprised by this?) about two best friends and their various relationships, romantic or otherwise. If you want more details, go check out my profile on the NaNoWriMo website and add me as a writing buddy. As of right now, I'm having a lot of fun with it and I'm excited to see where my story is going to go.

Are you doing NaNoWriMo this year or have you done it in the past? What advice do you have for a newbie? Let me know in the comments!

Good luck to everyone participating!

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Monday, November 3, 2014

Cover Reveal - Anne & Henry by Dawn Ius + Giveaway

Today I have the pleasure of taking part in the cover reveal for Dawn Ius's upcoming Anne & Henry. I know I'm really excited about this book, and hopefully you will be too after finding out more!


Title: Anne & Henry
Author: Dawn Ius
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: Fall 2015
A love worth losing your head over

ANNE
Wild, brazen, mischievous, betwitching

HENRY
Driven, haunted, charming, magnetic

ANNE & HENRY
Apart they are bound to destroy themselves. Together, they are bound to destroy each other.

HENRY TUDOR’S LIFE HAS BEEN mapped out since the day he was born: student president, valedictorian, Harvard Law School, and a stunning political career just like his father’s. 

But ever since the death of Henry’s brother—perfect, high-achieving Arthur—his family has been twice as demanding. And now Henry’s trapped: forbidden from pursuing alive as an artist or dating any girl who’s not Tudor-approved.

Then Anne Boleyn crashes into his life.

Anne is wild, brash, and outspoken. She is everything Henry is not allowed to be—or to want. But soon Anne is all he can think about. His mother, his friends, and even his girlfriend warn him away, yet his desire for Anne consumes him. Henry is willing to do anything to be with her. But once he has her, their romance could destroy them both.

Inspired by the true story of Anne Boleyn and King Henry VIII, ANNE & HENRY reimagines the intensity, love and betrayal between one of the most infamous couples of all time.

About the Author:
DAWN IUS is a shorty-story author, novelist, screenwriter, professional editor, and communications specialist. She is an active member of the International Thriller Writers association, co-founder and senior editor of Wine Leaves Literary Journal, and the author of nine educational graphic novels published by the Alberta Canola Producers Commission. When she’s not slaying fictional monsters, she’s geeing out over fairy tales, Jack Bauer, Halloween, sports cars, and all things that go bump in the night. Dawn lives in Alberta, Canada, with her husband, Jeff, and their giant English Mastiff, Roarke.

Connect with Dawn: Facebook / Twitter / Blog / E-mail


Giveaway!

Does this sound like something you would be interested in reading? If it does, be sure to enter the giveaway below for your chance to win an advance copy of the book. ARCs won't be ready until at least January, though, so it may take some time for your prize to make its way to you. USA ONLY.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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