Mini Reviews - Paper Princess & Broken Prince by Erin Watt

Title: Paper Princess (The Royals #3)

Author: Erin Watt

Publisher: Everafter Romance

Release Date: April 4, 2016

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

From strip clubs and truck stops to southern coast mansions and prep school, one girl tries to stay true to herself.

These Royals will ruin you…

Ella Harper is a survivor—a pragmatic optimist. She’s spent her whole life moving from town to town with her slightly mother, struggling to make ends meet an believing that someday she’ll climb out of the gutter. After her mother’s death, Ella is truly alone.

Until Callum Royal appears, plucking Ella out of poverty and tossing her into his posh mansion among his five sons who all hate her. Each Royal boy is more magnetic than the last, but none as captivating as Reed Royal, the boy who is determined to send her back to the slums she came from.

Reed doesn’t want her. He says she doesn’t belong with the Royals.

He might be right.

Wealth. Excess. Deception. It’s like nothing Ella has ever experienced, and if she’s going to survive her time in the Royal palace, she’ll need to learn to issue her own Royal decrees.

I can't quite remember the last time I read a book that was as addicting as Erin Watt's Paper Princess. There was just something about this book that kept me turning pages almost faster than I could read them. Which worked out nicely for me because it made the flight I was on go by way faster since I was so caught up in the book. And that's because there was just so much going on in this story. What at first glance felt like it could be a new take on Cinderella (I mean, the main character's name is Ella) ended up being something else completely. And, to be honest, I don't know quite how to put that something else into words other than to say that it was completely addicting. And kind of twisted. Because the Royal family? They give the word "dysfunctional" a whole new meaning. With every new piece of information Ella uncovered about her new family she was able to realize just how screwed up the whole family was. But at the same time, the more dysfunctional I realized they were, the more I found myself caring about them. And I don't quite know what that says about me. 

But slowly but surely, the more I read, the more I found myself caring about not just Ella but also about Reed, Easton and the twins. Which considering how I felt about them at the start of the book, was a complete and total surprise. Reed was the biggest surprise of all. I fully expected to completely hate him, but by the time I reached the end of the book I kinda maybe didn't hate him? And Easton? I would read entire books about Easton because if anyone in Paper Princess stole my heart, surprisingly it was him. But that's besides the point. The point is that Paper Princess was a seriously addicting read. Fair warning though, if you choose to read Paper Princess make sure you have Broken Prince on hand because you're going to desperately want to read it when you finish the first one. Trust me.

Title: Broken Prince (The Royals #2)

Author: Erin Watt

Publisher: Everafter Romance

Release Date: July 25, 2016

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

These Royals will ruin you…

From wharf fights and school brawls to crumbling lives inside glittery mansions, one guy tries to save himself.

Reed Royal has it all—looks, status, money. The girls at his elite prep school line up to date him, the guys want to be him, but Reed never gave a damn about anyone but his family until Ella Harper walked into his life.

What started off as burning resentment and the need to make his father’s new ward suffer turned into something else entirely—keep Ella close. Keep Ella safe. But when one foolish mistake drives her out of Reed’s arms and brings chaos to the Royal household, Reed’s entire world begins to fall apart around him.

Ella doesn’t want him anymore. She says they’ll only destroy each other.

She might be right.

Secrets. Betrayal. Enemies. It’s like nothing Reed has ever dealt with before, and if he’s going to win back his princess, he’ll need to prove himself Royally worthy.

If I thought that Paper Princess was addicting, it was nothing compared to Broken Prince. The only reason I even put the book down while reading was because I couldn't keep my eyes open and just had to get sleep (stupid jet lag). It was just that addicting. And quite possibly even more twisted than the first book and that is saying something. What I loved about Broken Prince was getting to be in Reed's head. For so much of the first book (the entire first book, really), I couldn't figure him out and truth be told I thought he was pretty much the biggest asshole and didn't get what Ella could possibly see in him. But that changed pretty quickly in Broken Prince. Getting to read part of the story from his perspective allowed me to see that maybe he wasn't the complete ass I thought he was. It doesn't excuse all of his horrible behaviour, but at least now I understand where some of that behaviour was coming from. And it allowed me to see what Ella saw in him. And speaking of Ella, I loved seeing her come into her own in Broken Prince. I feel like I got to see another side of her and it made me love her that much more. As for the other Royals, I'm still waiting for a book all about Easton (desperately so) and I am weirdly fascinated by the twins, Sawyer and Sebastian. Like I want to know how they work but I also don't want to know. And I don't want to say too much about it so as not to spoil things. 

There was just so much going on in this story. The ending of Paper Princess was definitely a huge part of this story and it's still not resolved by the time Broken Prince ends. And more mysteries get thrown in the mix and by the time I finished reading I had so many theories about what was going on that I couldn't keep all of them straight. Oh, and I desperately needed the final book. If you thought Paper Princess ended on a cliffhanger, wait until you get to the end of Broken Prince. Even though it's not that far away, the wait for Twisted Palace is going to feel like it lasts forever.

Mini Reviews - Just a Girl & Good Girl

Title: Just a Girl

Author: Ellie Cahill

Publisher: Loveswept

Release Date: June 7, 2016

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / B&N / Indigo

In this pitch-perfect novel from the author of When Joss Met Matt (“One of those books that make you forget everything around you.” —Sophie Jordan), a rock’n’roll diva must choose between her career and her heart.

After getting kicked out of her own band—by her own boyfriend—Presley Mason finds herself back in Wisconsin, helping her parents run their renowned music store. Instead of belting out powerhouse vocals to sold-out crowds in L.A., she’s stocking shelves an inspecting rental violins. But the shop isn’t all bad: When she’s vacuuming up late one night, she bumps into the guitar teacher with the smoldering amber eyes and the killer tattoo. And that’s when things take an interesting turn.

Presley soon finds that Paul Kellerman is as good in bed as he is on guitar. So why isn’t he stoked to share his band, Jukebox Bleu, with her? Turns out Paul has crippling stage fright, which he’s been self-medicating without much success. But when Jukebox Bleu’s lead singer gets called for military service, the other members beg Presley to front them. Even though she swore never to mix men with music again, the temptation to perform is almost as intense as her chemistry with Paul. Now Presley must decide what’s more important: a second chance at love…or rock stardom.

Though she’s only been publishing books for just over a year, Ellie Cahill has quickly become one of my go-to authors when I’m looking for some fun, light-hearted romance and she hasn’t disappointed me yet. Just a Girl was exactly the fun story I was in the mood for when I picked it up. But what I loved about Just a Girl was that it wasn’t just fun, light-hearted fluff. Sure, there was plenty of fluff, but the story also deals with anxiety in a big way. But even though anxiety plays a big role in the story, it also doesn’t overwhelm it. It balances out all the fun music stuff nicely. And it made for an interesting dynamic between Presley and Paul who otherwise would have been very similar. And I loved Presley and Paul. They were both so passionate about their music and cared so much about it and each other. And for me, they just made sense.They worked together and I loved seeing them work through everything together. But the romance is always my favourite part of an Ellie Cahill book, so that’s not really much of a surprise. I have to also say that I loved the family relationships as well in Just a Girl, whether it was Paul with his sister, or Presley with her unconventional parents. I just loved everything about this book and I can’t wait to read whatever comes next from Ellie Cahill.

 

Title: Good Girl

Author: Lauren Layne

Publisher: Loveswept

Release Date: May 17, 2016

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / B&N / Indigo

Lauren Layne brings all the unpredictable heat of her USA Today bestseller Blurred Lines to an all-new cast of characters! Country music’s favorite good girl is hiding away from the world—only to find herself bunking with a guy who makes her want to be a little bad.

Jenny Dawson moved to Nashville to write music, not get famous. But when her latest record goes double platinum, Jenny’s suddenly one of the town’s biggest stars—and the center of a tabloid scandal connecting her with a pop star she’s barely even met. With paparazzi tracking her every move, Jenny flees to a remote mansion in Louisiana to write her next album. The only hiccup is the unexpected presence of a brooding young caretaker named Noah, whose foul mouth and snap judgments lead to constant bickering—and serious heat.

Noah really should tell Jenny that he’s Preston Noah Maxwell Walcott, the owner of the estate where the feisty country singer has oder her spoiled self at home. But the charade gives Noah a much-needed break from his own troubles, and before long, their verbal sparring is indistinguishable from foreplay. But as sizzling nights give way to quiet pillow talk, Noah begins to realize that Jenny’s almost as complicated as he is. To fit into each other’s lives, they’ll need the courage to face their problems together—before the outside world catches up to them.

Late last year I randomly decided to pick up Lauren Layne’s Blurred Lines without having heard all that much about it, only to find myself completely surprised by how much I loved the story. So when I saw Good Girl on NetGalley, you can bet that I jumped on that. I knew that if it was anything like Blurred Lines, I would totally love it. And on top of that, it involves a country music and that’s just something I can’t say no to. And Good Girl didn’t disappoint me. I loved reading every page of it, even if there were plenty of times when I just wanted to talk some sense into the characters because they were being completely stupid. But if they had gotten everything right on the first try, it wouldn’t have been as fun story to read. Which brings me to Jenny and Noah. I loved that there was more to Jenny than met the eye. I’m not going to lie, at first I didn’t expect all that much from her, but the more I read, the more I found myself loving her. Lying about his identity aside (which was a really stupid thing to do), Noah was pretty great, too (and by pretty great, I mean that I pretty much loved him). Jenny and Noah were an unlikely pairing and I think, for me, that’s what made them that much more fun to read about. And the fact that they didn’t exactly like each other at first led to some pretty amusing moments. Good Girl was exactly the fun romance story I had hoped it would be.

Mini Reviews - Ignite & Smolder by Karen Erickson

Title: Ignite (Wildwood #1)

Author: Karen Erickson

Publisher: Avon Impulse

Release Date: March 15, 2016

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / B&N / Kobo

Weston Gallagher is falling hard for the wrong woman.

One night of passion has haunted him for years.

Now he's got a second chance to get the girl of his dreams but there's just one problem:

She hates him.

Eight years after he stormed out of Wildwood, California, West has returned to his hometown as a firefighter. His friends and family are thrilled he's back with the exception of Harper Hill. His sister's best friend is all grown up and in all the right ways. He knows she's going to do everything she can to protect her heart and keep him at arm's length, but West has other ideas.

He will win the girl that got away. No matter what it takes.

Saying that Ignite was the first book of Karen Erickson's that I've read is both true and a lie. Because Karen Erickson also writes under the name Monica Murphy, and if you know me, you know that I've read and loved many of her books. But until a couple weeks ago, I hadn't picked up any of her Karen Erickson titles. And that was a mistake because Ignite completely hooked me. I got completely sucked in to West and Harper's stories, as well as life in Wildwood in general. I'm more of a big city person myself, but I always find it fascinating to read about small towns where everyone knows everyone and everyone has a shared past with most people in that town. And that was definitely the case with West and Harper. I mean, Harper has been crushing on West for most of her life but never thought West felt the same way about her, what with the whole him leaving town the day after the one and only time they kissed. Meanwhile, now that he's back in town, West can't help but wonder if he screwed everything up with Harper after that one kiss years ago. So yeah, West and Harper definitely had some stuff to work through and I loved seeing them work through it and come together over the course of the story. Needless to say that after reading Ignite I was definitely looking forward to what was to come in the Wildwood series (and it reminded me that I have lots of Karen Erickson books I to catch up on).

Title: Smolder (Wildwood #2)

Author: Karen Erickson

Publisher: Avon Impulse

Release Date: June 21, 2016

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / B&N / Kobo

Lane Gallagher wants Delilah Moore--bad.

He's imagine the sexy brunette in his bed more times than he can count.

She's everything he's ever wanted, but the only problem is...

She's his brother's ex.

For years, the stoic sheriff's deputy has fantasized about the sweet, bubbly dance teacher who stirs his deepest desires. But Lane's too loyal to ever move in on forbidden territory and he knows that while he can look, he definitely can't touch. Fighting his attraction to Delilah is nearly impossible, but the infuriating--and incredibly sexy--woman seems determined to drive him crazy.

And she's bringing him to his knees. One smoldering kiss at a time.

After reading Ignite, I was definitely excited to read Smolder. The fact that I practically read them back to back only served to make me more excited about the books and this story. After reading the first book, I had gotten curious about Delilah and Lane. It was clear that their was something going on there even if both of them were in total denial about it. Or even if they weren't in denial, they certainly weren't acknowledging it. I loved getting to explore their relationship and their history some more in Smolder. And that history they share is definitely a complicated one. I mean, how exactly do you go about dealing with the fact that you're in love with your brother's ex if you're Lane or that you're in love with your ex's older brother if you're Delilah? That's not complicated at all, right? I wouldn't even know where to begin dealing with that one if I were them. But over the course of the story, Lane and Delilah figured it out and I loved seeing them work through it all. Because right from the beginning, I knew they were perfect together. They just needed to wade through all their baggage. I also want to mention the whole firefighter/law enforcement aspect of these books. The Gallagher family is a family of cops and firefighters and I love seeing that play out in the story. And I'm curious to see if the mystery behind all the fires is going to be resolved in the next book.

Mini Reviews - Creative HeArts Series

Title: How Willa Got Her Groove Back (Creative HeArts #2)

Author: Emily McKay

Publisher: Entangled Crush

Release Date: February 22, 2016

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / B&N / Indigo

Disclaimer: This Entangled Teen Crush book contains an unbelievably hot bad boy, and unbelievably famous actress, and all the drama that comes with adding both to your family. Oh, and a forbidden flirtation with a soon-to-be stepbrother.

When Willa Schofer’s father comes home from a business trip with an über-famous new fiancée, Willa’s senior year blows up in paparazzi-fueled flames. Overnight, she has a new house, a new car, and a new soon-to-be stepbrother—the unbelievably hot, unbelievably arrogant, Finn McCain. Thank god he’s constantly pushing her buttons, or sh might do something irresponsible. Like fall for the jerk.

Just when Willa’s decided to avoid him for, oh, ever, Finn lands in the center of her senior project team. Seriously—how hard is it to shake a guy? At least her work on the project snagged the attention of the (second) hottest guy in school. He might only be into her because of her famous stepmom, and he’s not quite as exciting as a certain annoying housemate, but at least she’s allowed to crush on the guy.

Because crushing on your annoying stepbrother? So not cool.

Though How Willa Got Her Groove Back is the second in a series, it’s also the first in it’s own series within that series. Are you confused yet? I know I was a little confused when I first heard about the Creative HeArts series and the way it was set up. But it all makes sense now and I’m able to enjoy ALL the books in it. Well, the ones that are out. So. Emily McKay’s How Willa Got Her Groove Back. Let me preface this by saying that even though the story in the book has an actual ending, the romance is still up in the air by the last page. But that didn’t stop me from enjoying it. Though it did make me really want the next book featuring Willa and Finn. Even though both of them tended to run hot and cold toward the other, I loved the relationship between them, the dynamics at play, the little things they would do that the other wouldn’t really know they were doing. What I wasn’t such a fan of? Willa’s dad. No jokes, I spent most of the book wanting to slap him. Or at the very least, yell at him to get his head out of his ass and realize that his daughter isn’t happy. Granted some of this was on Willa, too, since she wasn’t exactly doing so great at communicating with her dad. But still. All in all, though, I really enjoyed Emily McKay’s How Willa Got Her Groove Back and I’m really looking forward to reading the next part of Willa and Finn’s story. And hopefully have it work out the way I want it to. 

Title: Crazy, Stupid, Fauxmance (Creative HeArts #3)

Author: Shellee Roberts

Publisher: Entangled Crush

Release Date: April 18, 2016

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / B&N / Indigo

Disclaimer: This Entangled Teen Crush book contains a kickass heroine, a boy so hot he’ll make you shiver, and a falling-in-love story fit for the big screen. You’ll want to settle in and have the popcorn ready.

After Mariely Hinojosa and Cabot Wheeler both break up with their significant others at the same party, Mariely sees a way to get even with both of their exes. Everyone knows that the best way to get over a breakup is a hookup—a fake hookup, that is. Three weeks, all fun, no strings, and definitely no heartbreak at the end.

But somewhere between the sweet hand-holding and melt-your-mind kisses, their fake relationship starts to feel less like an act and more like the real thing…but Mariely’s a free-spirited girl from the other side of the tracks, and Cabot’s the hot trust-fund guy from the Hills.

They’d never work for real…

I pretty much loved Shellee Roberts’s Crazy, Stupid, Fauxmance. It probably didn’t hurt that I read it back to back with How Willa Got Her Groove Back so it kind of felt like I was reading one longer story as opposed to two books set in the same world. And, I mean, I love a good fake relationship that turns into a real one when it’s done well. And it totally worked with Marilee and Cabot. Granted, like their friends, I had my reservations about them doing this whole fake relationship thing to make his ex understand that he was over her and to show everyone that she was totally fine after finding her boyfriend with another guy. Those things alone are a lot of baggage to bring into a relationship, fake or not. And it’s not even scratching the surface of the baggage Marilee and Cabot were each bringing to the table. But that baggage is what made them work together despite their differences. Once I got my initial reservations and saw them interacting together, I pretty much spent the whole book rooting for them. And I can’t wait to read more about them. They were just fun. And as they put it themselves, they were awesome together. The only part that sucks? I have to wait until winter 2017 to read the next part of Mariely and Cabot’s story. But I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I’ll keep getting glimpses of them in some of the other couples’ books.

Mini Reviews - Dirty Thoughts by Megan Erickson & Last First Kiss by Lia Riley

Title: Dirty Thoughts (Mechanics of Love #1)

Author: Megan Erickson

Publisher: Avon Impulse

Release Date: June 16, 2015

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

Some things are sexier the second time around.

Cal Payton has gruff and grumbly down to an art…all the better for keeping people away. And it usually works. Until Jenna MacMillan—his biggest mistake—walks into Payton and Sons mechanic shop all grown up, looking like sunshine, and inspiring more than a few dirty thoughts.

Jenna was sure she was long over the boy she’d once loved with reckless abandon, but one look at the steel-eyed Cal Payton has her falling apart all over again. Ten years may have passed, but the pull is stronger than ever…and this Cal is all man.

Cal may have no intention of letting Janna in, but she’s always been his light, and it’s getting harder to stay all alone in the dark. When a surprise from the past changes everything, Cal and Jenna must decide if their connection should be left alone or if it’s exactly what they need for the future of their dreams.

I absolutely love Megan Erickson’s New Adult books and Make It Right continues to be one of my favourites. One of the reasons for that was the Payton brothers. There seemed to be so much more going on with them than met the eye. So a spin-off series about them? I was all over that. Which led me to read Dirty Thoughts all in one sitting.

When I read Make It Right last year, I was totally charmed by the Payton brothers, so matter how gruff they came across. They just seemed like they had their own story to tell and that that would be a story that I would enjoy reading very much. So when Megan Erickson announced that she was writing a spin-off series about Max’s older brothers I was ecstatic. I was so excited to read Dirty Thoughts and find out more about Cal. And Cal and Jenna made for some fantastic company on the flight I was on at the time. I got drawn in to the story, by the fact that these two people seemed to have a lot of unresolved history. And for a good chunk of the book, wanting to find out what that history was is what kept me reading. I’m a curious person, what can I say? And once that was revealed, I had just grown attached to Cal and Jenna and to the idea of a relationship between them. I was rooting for them so much, but there always seemed to be something that got in their way. But beyond the romance, one of the things I loved about Dirty Thoughts was seeing all the family dynamics that were at play in the story, both for Cal and for Jenna. I’m a sucker for satires with sibling relationships and I definitely got that here and I loved it.

I loved Megan Erickson’s Dirty Thoughts and I can’t wait to read more about the Payton family and their garage. As it is, I needed Brent’s story, Dirty Talk, like yesterday. September can’t come soon enough!

Title: Last First Kiss (Brightwater #1)

Author: Lia Riley

Publisher: Avon Impulse

Release Date: June 23, 2015

Source: Purchased 

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

A kiss is only the beginning…

Pinterest Perfect. Or so Annie Carson’s life appears on her popular blog. Reality is…messier. Especially when it lands her back in one-cow town, Brightwater, California, and back in the path of the gorgeous six-foot-four reason she left. Sawyer Kane may fill out those wranglers, but she won’t be distracted from her task. Annie just needs the summer to spruce up and sell her family’s farm so she and her young son can start a new life in the big city. Simple, easy, perfect.

Sawyer has always regretted letting the first girl he loved slip away. He won’t make the same mistake twice, but can he convince beautiful, wary Annie to trust her heart again when she’s been given every reason not to? And as a single kiss turns to so much more, can Annie give up her idea of perfect for a forever that’s blissfully real.

I really enjoyed Lia Riley’s Off the Map NA series so I was looking forward to reading more from her. So even though most of the romance I read tends to be YA or NA, I was still curious about her Brightwater series. I mean, it has cowboys, how could I say no to that? And after reading Last First Kiss, I am completely sold on this series.

As much as I’ve always been hesitant to read contemporary romance that wasn’t YA or NA in the past, I should just stop because I seem to enjoy every traditional contemporary romance I read. Let’s be real, if the story has kissing and adorable romance, I will read it. So since it had both those elements Lia Riley’s Last First Kiss was a great read for me. I loved the fact that Annie and Sawyer had a history and that that history was affecting their present relationship. I loved the way Sawyer treated Annie compared to how everyone else in their small town treated her. And I loved how despite all that, Annie didn’t let other people dictate who she was, well at least she didn’t in person, sometimes she kind of put up a front on her blog. And there was just adorableness all over the place when Annie and Sawyer were together. It should go without saying that I was absolutely rooting for them. As much I loved the romance in Last First Kiss, there person who totally stole the show for me was Atticus, Annie’s five-year-old son. He was absolutely adorable and I loved him. And from what I saw while I was reading, I’m not the only one whose heart he stole. It was just hard to resist him and all his sweet little kid charm. I dare you not to completely love Atticus. Hopefully there are small glimpses of him in future books.

If you hadn’t guessed it, I loved Lia Riley’s Last First Kiss. There was romance, there was an adorable child, there was laughter and there were moments that pulled at my heartstrings. What was there not to love? I can’t wait to reading the next one, Right Wrong Guy.

Mini Reviews: Deadly Cool & Social Suicide

Title: Deadly Cool (Deadly Cool #1)

Author: Gemma Halliday

Publisher: Harper Teen

Release Date: October 11, 2011

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository

Hartley Grace Featherstone is having a very bad day. First she finds out that her boyfriend is cheating on her with the president of the Herbert Hoover High School Chastity Club. Then he's pegged as the #1 suspect in a murder. And if that weren't enough, now he's depending on Hartley to clear his name.

But as much as Hartley wouldn't mind seeing him squirm, she knows he's innocent, and she's the only one who can help him. Along with her best friend, Sam, and the school's resident Bad Boy, Chase, Hartley starts investigating on her own. But as the dead bodies begin to pile up, the mystery deepens, the suspects multiply, and Hartley begins to fear that she may be the killer's next victim.

I had seen reviews of Deadly Cool by Gemma Halliday, but I never really knew what it was about until I picked it up while on vacation. It turned out to be a fun story that had its moments. 

On the same day that she finds out her boyfriend has been cheating on her with the president of the Chastity Club, Hartley Grace Featherstone finds the dead body of the president of the Chastity Club in her boyfriend's closet. So she's not having a really great day, but Hartley is determined to prove that her now ex-boyfriend wasn't the one to kill Courtney. With the help of her best friend Sam and bad boy Chase, Hartley sets out to find the true killer.

Deadly Cool was a fun read. It had the perfect balance of fun and mystery. Personally, I loved the mystery aspect of the book, I hadn't even figure out who the killer was and I'm usually good at figuring these things out. But despite the murder plot, the story was still light and fun to read. The other great thing about Deadly Cool was the relationships and back all the back and forth between all the characters. Hartley and Chase were definitely my favorites when it comes to that. There was something about the two of them that put a smile on my face.

If you are looking for a little mystery with your fun, then I strongly recommend you pick up Gemma Halliday's Deadly Cool.

Title: Social Suicide (Deadly Cool #2)

Author: Gemma Halliday

Publisher: Harper Teen

Release Date: April 24, 2012

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository

Twittercide: the killing of one human being by another while the victim is in the act of Tweeting.

Call me crazy, but I figured writing for the "Herbert Hoover High Homepage" would be a pretty sweet gig. Pad the resume for college applications, get a first look at the gossip column, spend some time ogling the paper's brooding bad-boy editor, Chase Erikson. But on my first big story things went…a little south. What should have been a normal interview with Sydney Sanders turned into me discovering the homecoming queen-hopeful dead in her pool. Electrocuted while Tweeting. Now, in addition to developing a reputation as HHH's resident body finder, I'm stuck trying to prove that Sydney's death wasn't suicide.

I'm starting to long for the days when my biggest worry was whether the cafeteria was serving pizza sticks or Tuesday Tacos...

Since I had read Deadly Cool and enjoyed it and since all I had with me was my Kindle I figured I would read the sequel, Social Suicide, which turned out to be just as enjoyable as the first book.

After having already solved one murder, Hartley Grace Featherstone thought she wouldn't have to do it again so soon. Now while working on her first big story for the Herbert Hoover High Homepage, Hartley stumbles on another dead body. And once again, Hartley doesn't agree with the official police report. With the help of her best friend Sam and bad boy Chase, Hartley sets out to prove that this suicide was in fact, Twittercide.

Once again, the story in Social Suicide was a fun one with just the right does of mystery. I really liked the idea of "Twittercide", I had never really thought of that idea and just that was enough to keep me reading. Though my favorite part was still the relationship slowly developing between Hartley and Chase. They are simply quite the pair, and are responsible for much of my laughter while reading. The dynamic between them is just one that I really enjoy reading about, and I love whenever Sam jumps in to give her two cents. 

Social Suicide by Gemma Halliday is the perfect read for a lazy summer afternoon. I definitely recommend this series if that's what you are looking for.