The Six Month Rule by A.J. Pine

Title: The Six Month Rule (The Kingston Ale House #2)

Author: A.J. Pine

Publisher: Entangled Select

Release Date: July 18, 2016

Source: ARC from Author

Buy the Book: Amazon / B&N / Indigo

She created the game, but the rules are about to change.

Taurus: Hold fast to your single-minded nature today--no matter how long her legs or how lush her red lips.

Gemini: You were a shining star last night, but reality can be a real--well, you get the picture. Just remember: Tall, dark, and British equals no corner office for you.

Will Evans never wanted a reason to stay.

Holly Chandler wants nothing more than for him to go.

But neither one is prepared for what can happen in six months. Because it doesn't matter what you want when what you need walks out the door.

Holly's been busting her butt to make partner at Trousseau and there's no way she's going to let some stuck-up British arsehole get in her way--no matter how drop-dead gorgeous he is. But that doesn't mean she can't have a little fun in the process. She has a six-month rule: date just long enough for the honeymoon phase to wear off, then walk away before anyone gets hurt. If they both know the rules up front, walking away will be a piece of cake. Or maybe not... 

After falling completely in love with the first book in A.J. Pine’s Kingston Ale House series earlier this year, I couldn’t wait to read more about the group of friends that hung around the bar. I absolutely got my wish with The Six Month Rule.

I read A.J. Pine’s The One That Got Away earlier this year and absolutely loved it. So I was excited to find out that it was the first in a series of contemporary romance standalones. What made me even more excited? Finding out that the second book, Six Month Rule would be about Holly. Because those she might only have had a minor role in the first book, I knew right away that I wanted Holly’s story. And Holly’s story? It ended up being pretty freaking fantastic. I loved reading this office romance about two people who don’t really think they have time or are able to be in any sort of long term relationship. In fact, there were plenty of times when it was almost fun to see them try to deny that what was going on between them wasn’t going anywhere and that it was just temporary. Because as someone reading their story and seeing it all happen, I totally knew there was nothing temporary about what was happening between them. The chemistry between Holly and Will just leapt off the page, and there wasn’t a single moment when I wasn’t rooting for them.

Have I mentioned that I loved Holly and Will? Because I really, really did. I was kind of sad when I got to the end of the book because it meant I wouldn’t be reading about them anymore and all I wanted was to keep reading about them forever. I loved how independent Holly was and how determined she was to get to the top on her own merit. Sure, there were times when I wanted to tell her that it was okay to try to have a life outside of work and to let someone else take care of her (especially if that someone was Will), but Holly was who she was and she knew it. And Will, he thought he knew who he was and what he wanted. But then Holly came into the picture and threw a wrench in his carefully laid plans. And maybe that makes me a bit of a sadist, but I loved watching Will struggle with how he felt about Holly because it was always so fun to watch. But my favourite Will moments were the ones when he was interacting with his daughter. I am a sucker for romances that feature young children because they always have a way of stealing the show and melting my heart when they interact with their parent. Adorable, heart-melting moments were exactly what I got with Will and his daughter and it only made me love him more. And just in case I hadn’t made that abundantly clear by now, I pretty much adored Holly and Will together.

In case it wasn’t obvious, I absolutely loved A.J. Pine’s The Six Month Rule. I loved the story, I loved the characters, I loved the romance, and I just loved getting to hang out with the Kingston Ale House gang. And I can’t wait to hang out more with them in future books. 

The One That Got Away by A.J. Pine

Title: The One That Got Away (The Kingston Ale House #1)

Author: A.J. Pine

Publisher: Entangled Select

Release Date: April 18, 2016

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / B&N / Indigo

How far will one man go for the woman he’s loved since high school?

Jamie Kingston has been Brynn Chandler’s best friend since middle school. Only once was their friendship tested—when Brynn gave Jamie a single kiss. Since then, they’ve had an unspoken agreement never to cross that line again, and she’s ready to let go of the past and move on.

But Jamie has loved Brynn for as long as he can remember, and now that he’s ready to tell her, she has her sights set on someone else. Knowing this is his last chance, he asks Brynn to go on a two-week road trip. But their time alone brings old hurts to the surface, and Brynn has to decide if the one that got away lies at the end of the journey or if he’s been by her side all along.

Every so often I’ll read a book that I’ll keep thinking about long after I’ve finished reading it. If you ask me, those are the best kinds of book. The latest book I can’t seem to stop thinking about? A.J. Pine’s fun and adorable contemporary romance, The One That Got Away.

Brynn and Jamie have been best friends since middle school. They’ve been the constant in each other’s lives and except for that one night when they graduated high school, they never crossed the line beyond friendship. Brynn might have put that one night behind her, but that’s not the case for Jamie. He’s been in love with Brynn for as long as he can remember, but he’s never said anything. But now Brynn is ready to make a move on her dream guy and Jamie needs to speak up before it’s too late. His plan? Take Brynn on a two-week road trip in the hopes she’ll realize that she doesn’t want the guy at he end of the road, but instead the one who’s been right next to her all along.

It’s been almost a month since I’ve read A.J. Pine’s The One That Got Away and I still can’t stop thinking about it. It was just that good. Thinking about it now still brings a silly smile to my face. It was simply the kind of romance story that I love. And honestly, this story was kind of Emilie-bait. Or at least that’s how it felt when I read the description. I mean, it involves two of my favourite things: a road trip and a friends-to-lovers romance. It would have been almost impossible for me not to love this story. And love it I did. I loved the way the story played out, the way the relationship  between Brynn and Jamie changed and developed over the course of that story. And the romance. I can’t even begin to explain how much I loved the romance. There were so many moments where it was so adorable and perfect it hurt (in a really, really good way). I can’t remember the last time I smiled so big while reading about two people falling in love. And that’s because Brynn and Jamie were pretty much perfect.

Guys, Brynn and Jamie are the absolute best. It doesn’t hurt that I love reading about best friends falling in love, but seriously, they were awesome. I loved reading their story and seeing how their history played into everything that was happening to them in the present. Basically, I loved Jamie and Brynn’s relationship in all its incarnations. Despite the drama, they were just two people who cared about each other and had fun together. And no jokes, they made me laugh so many times. Beyond loving their relationship, I loved Brynn and Jamie themselves. I loved Brynn, even if there were moments when I wanted to yell at her to see look at what was right in front of her instead of pining for someone else (thankfully, she finally got it). And don’t even get me started on Jamie. Because Jamie might just be my dream guy. I pretty much fell for him right from the start. And the more I read the more I loved him. Even when he wasn’t always making the smartest decisions. So Brynn and Jamie? They’re my new favourites.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I absolutely loved A.J. Pine’s The One That Got Away. it was the perfect contemporary romance—it was funny, it was heartwarming and it put a huge smile on my face while I was reading. 

One Life by A.J. Pine + Giveaway!

Title: One Life (Only You #2)

Author: A.J. Pine

Publisher: InterMix

Release Date: October 20, 2015

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / B&N / Indigo

In the latest from the author of One Night, tragedy causes a young woman to struggle to keep her head above water, and the only one who can help her is the guy who’s been in the friend zone for the past year…

Every time life throws Zoe Adler a curve ball, she changes her appearance. Freshmen year—after almost following her mother’s alcoholic footsteps—she said good-bye to her blonde, girl-next-door image and opted for jet black hair and piercings galore. After her brother Wyatt’s death, she escapes to the city to teach a summer art program for kids. Her black hair goes blue, and she finds solace in the arms of a longtime friend, in his heart, and in his bed—but her guilt makes her unable to accept the love he wants to give.

Spock might the guy to save Zoe. But when she learns the truth about his past, the edge she’s teetered on since losing Wyatt drops out from under her. The girl who kept it together fore everyone finally fall apart. Now Zoe must choose between drowning in guilt about Wyatt or asking for help. But even if she gets the help she needs, Spock may not be waiting for her when she’s ready to let love in.

Earlier this year, I discovered A.J. Pine by reading One Night and I absolutely loved it. I was so excited when I heard there would be a companion novel, especially since it was going to be about one of my favourite characters from One Night. Needless to say that I absolutely loved One Life. 

Zoe Adler has always been the one who keeps it together. That’s how she’s gotten to where she is. But when her younger brother dies, Zoe isn’t sure how she’s supposed to be holding it together anymore. Her solution is to escape to the city and to throw herself in teaching art to kids for the summer. When Spock shows up on her doorstep, though, Zoe sees him as an escape. A way to keep going when nothing around her makes sense anymore. But as much as he might want to save Zoe, Spock has some secrets of his own. Secrets that, if they come to light, might send Zoe over the edge. Zoe can only keep drowning in her guilt for so long before she can’t find her way back to the surface. But asking for help could mean losing Spock, the one person Zoe has been able to hold onto in the middle of everything else.

Earlier this year, I kind of half stumbled upon A.J. Pine’s One Night. I say half stumbled because I hadn’t really heard about it when I requested it on NetGalley, but once it landed on my Kindle, I started seeing it everywhere, possibly because I was actually aware of the book at that point. The point is that I loved One Night and I was definitely looking forward to reading more from A.J. Pine, especially if it was going to feature a certain character from One Night. And with One Life, I absolutely got my wish. One Life was an emotional read to say the very least and at times it wasn’t always easy to read. I mean, within the first twenty person of the book, I had already teared up a couple times. Whenever a story revolves around a character losing someone close to them, you know it’s going to be emotional. Combine that with addiction issues, and you know the story is bound to pull at your heartstrings. But despite the serious subject matter, One Life didn’t feel like a heavy story. I mean, yeah, I was close to tears on many occasions, but there were just as many times when I was laughing at Zoe and Spock. And that’s what made me love this story so much. A.J. Pine could have written a story that was just pilling on the heartbreak, she wrote the heartbreak in a way that gave you hope for the characters and balanced the darkness that was there. And that made me love this story.

When I read One Night earlier this year, Zoe was a total standout for me. The story may not have been about her, but I loved her so much by the time I finished reading. When I learned that One Life was going to be about her, I was pretty much ecstatic. A whole book about someone I loved when they were just a secondary character? Yes, please! And finding out more about Zoe in this book only made me love her more. Zoe was such a strong person. And I admired her for that. But at the same time, it felt like she was hiding behind her strength. I just wanted her to let someone in, to let someone see that she wasn’t quite as okay as she let on. And that’s where Spock came in. I loved him. He tried so much to be there for Zoe, even when she was biting his head off for it. He just understood her in a way that no one else around her seemed to. And he was just so perfect for her and in the face of everything, I was totally rooting for them. And I loved getting to see Jess and Adam again. Seeing that they are getting the happily ever after they so deserve. And much like Zoe was a stand out for me in One Night, Dee was a total standout in One Life and I would totally read a book about her. Or one about Patrick because he was pretty amusing too. 

I loved A.J. Pine’s One Life. A story that had the potential to be dark and heavy ended up being a story that both broke and warmed my heart. I can only hope that A.J. Pine continues to write stories featuring characters from this world.

Giveaway!

If you haven't read A.J. Pine's One Night and want to do so here's your chance. Just use the Rafflecopter form below to enter to win one (1) of two (2) Kindle copies of the book! And if you want to find out more, check out the review I posted earlier this year!

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One Night by A.J. Pine

Title: One Night (Only You #1)

Author: A.J. Pine

Publisher: InterMix

Release Date: April 21, 2015

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / B&N / Indigo

When she lost it all, Jess decided to cope by living a lie.

But you can’t keep on pretending forever…

Twenty-one-year-old Jess used to have everything—a loyal best friend, a boyfriend she loved, and a future that was right on track. But in a single night, her whole world changed.

Now, Jess lives for the impersonal connection of drunken hook-ups and to-go coffee cups in the morning. All she needs is one night to pretend everything is fine…until she meets Adam.

Thanks to a sports injury, gorgeous, charming basketball star Adam Carson is stuck in physical therapy at the hospital where Jess interns—giving her the perfect opportunity to see his sweet, considerate nature and making her realize that maybe she does want something more.

But while Adam might be the best thing that’s happened to Jess in a long time, letting him past her carefully constructed walls means letting him know what happened…and why he’d never want her more than one night.

It’s absolutely no secret that I’ve come to absolutely love New Adult in the last couple of years. I just can’t seem to get enough. So whenever I hear of a new one coming out, I jump on it, even when I don’t necessarily know that much about it. And that’s how I found myself reading and high enjoying A.J. Pine’s One Night.

After what happened on that single night, everything changed for Jess. She used to have everything she wanted. Now she just goes on one day at a time, not forming any lasting attachments to anyone around her. It’s easier to deal with impersonal, one night, drunken hookups than to get attached. Because getting attached will mean getting hurt again. But then Jess meets Adam and she starts wondering if she might still want more than just one night. After meeting Jess in physical therapy, Adam can’t stop thinking about Jess. There, he sees a side of her no one else gets to see. And that only makes him more determined to break down the walls she puts up around her heart. But Jess isn’t ready to take down those walls, even if Adam could be the best thing that’s happened to her. After everything, how could anyone want Jess for more than one night?

Honestly, I knew nothing about One Night when I saw that it was available to be requested on NetGalley. All I knew that it was being identified as New Adult and the description made it sound like something I would enjoy. Even as the release date came closer, I didn’t really hear that many people talking about this book. So when I finally read it, I went in with a completely open mind and absolutely no idea what I should have expected. To give you an idea, despite it being mentioned in the synopsis, I hadn’t even picked up on the fact that sports were a part of this story. So yeah, I was going in with a very open mind. And I ended up being rewarded for that. When I first started reading, I thought the story was going to go in one direction, but that’s not where it went and I’m happy for that. If it had, it would have been a little too predictable for my liking. Instead, I got a heartfelt story about two people trying to pick up the pieces after suffering their own tragedies. A story about two people learning to open themselves up to others when they thought they wouldn’t be able to do so again. And despite what I’m making it sound like, One Night wasn’t a heavy story. Sure, there were some deep issues, but it didn’t overwhelm me when I was reading. Because that’s not what it was about. It was just about Adam and Jess and them finding and accepting themselves and each other.

Even though she was the one telling the story, it took me a while to get a handle on Jess. I knew right away that she wasn’t the one-night-stand girl she pretended to be. She just didn’t come across that way even if that’s what she insisted on doing. I just couldn’t seem to figure out why she was putting on that front. It just didn’t make sense. But the more I got to know her, the more I started to put the pieces together and make guesses at what she could be hiding both from me and from the people around her. Once I figured it all out though, my heart broke for her. I didn’t necessarily agree with what she was doing, but I could understand why she was doing it. And then Jess met Adam and things changed. Adam wasn’t who I thought he was going to be. Honestly, I expected him to be your typical cocky college athlete. And he was. But he also wasn’t. Which really doesn’t tell you anything about him. All you really need to know is that Adam was a pretty fantastic guy and it didn’t take long at all for him to charm me. The other character who was a standout for me was Zoe. Zoe was Jess’s roommate and so not what I expected. I loved her personality and how she was with Jess even when she didn’t know her that well. Don’t get me wrong, the romance between Adam and Jess was great, but Zoe and Jess’s friendship was even better for me. Maybe I’ll get a book all about Zoe in the future…?

A.J. Pine’s One Night was a pleasant surprise. I love when I can read a book without any prejudice and be happy with the result. This story was more than I thought it was going to be, and I’m definitely keeping my fingers crossed in terms of who the sequel, One Life, is going to be about.