Mini Review - Into My Arms by Lia Riley

Title: Into My Arms (Off the Map #3.2)

Author: Lia Riley

Publisher: Forever Yours

Release Date: September 8, 2015

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / B&N / Indigo

“You’re here because I want to touch you.”

Beth Jacobs spends her days slogging away in a corporate “fish bowl,” as a hard-working assistant for one of North America’s youngest dot-com billionaires. Aleksander “Z” Zavtra is the definition of dark and dangerous with a sexy Eastern European snarl. He’s also ruthless. Curt. Exacting. An infuriating man she loves to hate. While Beth hardly sees him, it’s as if he’s always watching her…

Z doesn’t do romance. But he never expected to be captivated by a whip-smart, fiery assistant who just so happens to share an uncanny resemblance to the beautiful face that haunts his dreams. He craves Beth. He wants to stroke her skin, to feel her heat beneath him. And what Z wants, he gets. And for one weekend, the lines between employer and employee are blurred as Z and Beth give themselves completely to the dark pleasures they’ve both been dreaming about.

I have mixed feelings as far as novellas are concerned. But every so often, there are some that come along where I feel like they actually add something to the overall story they are a part of. When that’s the case, I’m all for those novellas, and that’s what I got with Lia Riley’s Into My Arms.

Beth Jacobs knows very little about the man who signs her paycheques. They might exchange hundreds of instant messages a day, but all Beth really knows is the same thing the world knows about Aleksander “Z” Zavtra, the Eastern European billionaire at the head of Zavtra Tech. Z has always kept to himself. But he can’t get Beth out of his assistant, not just because his assistant is smart and beautiful, but because she looks just like girl who haunts his memories. When Z decides that Beth is who he wants, Beth will find herself crossing all the lines she never considered crossing before.

Late last year, I absolutely devoured Lia Riley’s Off the Map series, and in the year since, I’ve read every book she has published. I’ve just become a little addicted to her brand of romance. So earlier this year, I read the first novella for the Off the Map series and really enjoyed finding out more about Sunny and Tanner. And when I was done, I was looking forward to Into My Arms and finding out more about Beth and Z, Talia’s other best friend and Bran’s old boarding school roommate, respectively. I’m a curious person by nature so I always finding out more about characters that were sort of in the periphery in other parts of the story. I wanted to know more about Beth since she was someone else who was really affected by Talia’s sister’s death. And I wanted to find out more about Z just because he was always so mysterious. But Bran liked him, so there had to be something there. And I definitely got my answers. There was a whole lot more going on with Z than I could have ever imagined. And I kinda wanted to punch Beth’s parents for what they did to her. For that matter, I pretty much wanted to beat up Z’s dad because that guy seemed like a serious ass. And though I wasn’t entirely sure what to make of the romance considering the way it started, U was happy with the way it all came together by the end of the novella. It wouldn’t necessarily be something I would go for normally, but for Beth and Z, it worked.

Into My Arms was just the glimpse I was looking for when it came to finding out more about Beth and Z. But my ultimate struggle with novellas is that I can’t help but wish the story were longer. I would have totally read a full length book about Beth and Z.

Mini Review - Carry Me Home by Lia Riley

Title: Carry Me Home (Off the Map #3.1)

Author: Lia Riley

Publisher: Forever

Release Date: May 5, 2015

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / B&N / Kobo

Love doesn’t have to be perfect to be true…

Years ago, Tanner Green loved Sunny Letman. She was meant to be his first kiss, his first love, first everything. Then their world spun upside-down and out of control.

Free-spirited Sunny doesn’t do commitment. Sure, guys are great for a night or a week, but she always leaves first. That is, until professional skateboarder and town golden boy, Tanner Green, unexpectedly walks back into her life.

Despite their broken history, a fragile and undeniably electric connection still holds them together. Now Tanner has to convince Sunny that even though love isn’t always perfect, it’s worth sticking around for…

I’m not usually a fan of novellas. Many times, I feel like it’s just a way for publishers to get even more of my money. But there are times when I really enjoy novellas and actually look forward to reading them. And that was the case with Lia Riley’s Carry Me Home.

Tanner and Sunny have a history. When they were kids, they were supposed to be each other’s first everything. But things never turn out the way they are supposed to. After everything fell apart, Sunny and Tanner grew apart, but they never forgot about that time they shared. Now, Sunny doesn’t get attached to anyone. She’s seen what getting attached to men has done to her mother, and the last thing she wants is to be like that woman. But when Tanner walks back into her life, Sunny can’t help but feel connected to him. They share a history, after all. And unlike her, Tanner is more than willing to stick around. He just has to convince Sunny that getting attached doesn’t always end in disaster.

I really enjoyed the three main books in Lia Riley’s Off the Map series, but all three books were very much focused on Bran and Talia’s story. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that because I really loved reading their story. But the whole time I was reading, I couldn’t help but be curious about some of the other people that were mentioned, whether they were Talia’s friends or Bran’s friends and family. I can’t help it. I’m just a curious person who wants to know all there is to know about everyone. That’s why I’m so drawn to companion novels, but that’s not really the point here. I was curious about other people featured in the Off the Map world so I was happy to find out that Lia Riley was writing novellas about Talia’s two best friends. Carry Me Home was the first of those and I pretty much devoured it. I wanted to know all about Sunny and Tanner and their shared past. I wanted to know why Tanner behaved the way he did with Talia after Talia’s sister, who also happened to be his girlfriend, died. And I wanted to find out more about why Sunny was so afraid of commitment. I’m just a curious person, it is what it is. So all that to say I loved reading about Sunny and Tanner, finding out more about them and seeing them find a way to go back to being those two kids who were supposed to be all of each other’s firsts. And though their romance was off to a bit of a rocky start, I loved the way it all came together and I was happy with where it went.

Carry Me Home was a great for helping me satisfy my curiosity about some of the other characters in the Off the Map world. But as I often do with novellas, I couldn’t help but want the story to be longer. I got hooked on Sunny and Tanner and I wanted more. But I was still more than satisfied with what I got.

Off the Map series by Lia Riley

Title: Upside Down (Off the Map #1)

Author: Lia Riley

Publisher: Forever

Release Date: August 5, 2104

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / B&N / Indigo

If Never Get Lost, You’ll Never Be Found

Twenty-one-year-old Natlia Stolfi is saying goodbye to the past—and turning her life upside down with a trip to the land down under. For the next six months, she’ll act like a carefree exchange student, not a girl sinking under the weight of painful memories. Everything is going according to plan until she meets a brooding surfer with hypnotic green eyes and the troubling ability to see straight through her act.

Bran Lockhart is having the worst year on record. After the girl of his dreams turned into a nightmare, he moved back home to Melbourne to piece his life together. Yet no amount of disappointment could blind him to the pretty California girl who gets past all his defenses. He’s never wanted anyone the way the wants Talia. But when Bran gets a stark reminder of why he stopped believing in love, he and Talia must decide if what they have is once in a lifetime…or if they were meant to live a world apart.

Title: Sideswiped (Off the Map #2)

Author: Lia Riley

Publisher: Forever

Release Date: October 7, 2014

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / B&N / Indigo

It was only meant to last the summer…

Tahlia Stolfi has seen more than her share of loss in her twenty-one years. But then fate brought her Bran Lockhart, and her dark world was suddenly and spectacularly illuminated. SO if being with Bran means leaving her colorless NorCal life for rugged and wild Australia, then that’s what she’ll do. But as much as Talia longs to give herself over completely to a new beginning, the fears of her past are still lurking in the shadows. 

Bran Lockhart knows that living without the beautiful girl who stole his heart will be torment, so he’ll take whatever time with her he can. But even thought she has packed up her life in California and is back in his arms for the time being, she can’t stay forever. And the remaining time they have together is ticking by way too fast. Though fate seems determined to tear them apart, they won’t give up without a fight—because while time may have limits, their love is infinite…

Title: Inside Out (Off the Map #3)

Author: Lia Riley

Publisher: Forever

Release Date: December 2, 2014

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / B&N / Indigo

The Off the Map series comes to a stunning conclusion

When Talia first moved from California to Australia to study abroad, she never dreamed she’d find the love of her life. Bran understands her like no one ever has before. And despite the numerous challenges they’ve faced, they’ve’ always managed to figure out how to stay together. But this time they’ll face their toughest hurdle yet. Is their love strong enough to keep them together?

Most New Adult series I’ve read are series in the sense that they are a series of companion novels (also, how many times can I use the word “series” in one sentence?). But Lia Riley’s Off the Map series was different. All three books, Upside Down, Sideswiped and Inside Out, are all part of one large story. And I loved reading that story.

When she decided to run away to Australia for six months as part of a study abroad program, Talia never thought she would do much beyond study and discover Melbourne. After all, she’s still trying to find a way back to herself after her older sister’s death. As she starts to put her life back together in a new place, Talia meets Bran Lockhart. And Bran sees straight through to everything she’s been trying so hard to hide. But Bran has his own baggage to deal with. After losing who he thought was the girl of his dreams, Bran is forced to move back home to Australia and move on with his life. But even though he swore he wouldn’t get attached to anyone that way again, he can’t seem to stay away from Talia. Together Talia and Bran will have to decide whether they want to be together or let geography force them apart.

Like I said earlier in this review, most of the NA series that I’ve read have been made up of companion novels all set in the same world, but focusing on different characters so that people who were secondary characters in one book end up the main characters in another. But Lia Riley’s Off the Map series wasn’t like that. All three books are about Bran and Talia and everything that seems to stand in the way of them being together. And as much as I am a strong supporter of companion novels and standalone books, I actually really liked getting to spend all this time with Bran and Talia. It didn’t feel like their story was dragged out or got too convoluted partway through. It was just their story, and their story needed three books to be told. And honestly, it could have been another book or two longer and I still would have read them. Lia Riley found a way to completely draw me into these characters’ story, making me feel like I was a part of it with them (or maybe that’s just me wanting to go to Australia, which is also entirely possible). But that’s all to say that because I believed in Talia and in Bran, I didn’t ever feel like their story was too drawn out. I was happy to see everything they went through, even if it wasn’t always pleasant, because it made them stronger and ultimately led them to where they ended up. And I was MORE THAN happy with the conclusion of their story.

Tahlia definitely hadn’t had it easy. Between her sister’s sudden death and her mom basically abandoning her family, things weren’t exactly going great for her. So I could see why she would want to run away to Australia for a few months. Hell, I don’t have half the stuff she did going on in my life and I’d hop on a plane to Australia without any second thoughts. So yeah, I got why she wanted to escape her life. For a while though, I wasn’t sure that she was doing the right thing by running away from it all. But in running away, she somehow found a way to deal with everything that was going on. And in large part, that’s because of Bran. And Bran, well he had his own set of baggage to deal with and it wasn’t exactly light baggage either. But, even if it took him a while to see it, he was good for Talia and Talia was good for him. Individually, I don’t know that Bran and Talia would have found their way as easily, but together they just worked. I just wished that there hadn’t been so many obstacles standing in their way. But then that wouldn’t have made as compelling a story, so there’s that. When it comes down to it though, I really loved Bran and Talia, both as individuals and together. And that’s all that really matters.

I really enjoyed reading all three books in Lia Riley’s Off the Map series. Each one had it’s own merits and I don’t know that I would be able to pick a favourite out of them all. If you’re looking for a New Adult read that digs a little deeper, then definitely check out the first book in the series, Upside Down.