Blog Tour - Burying Water by K.A. Tucker + Giveaway

Title: Burying Water (Burying Water #1)

Author: K.A. Tucker

Publisher: Atria Books

Release Date: October 7, 2014

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo / B&N

The top-selling, beloved indie author of Ten Tiny Breaths returns with a new romance about a young woman who loses her memory—and the man who knows that the only way to protect her is to stay away.

Left for dead in the fields of rural Oregon, a young woman defines all odds and survives—but she awakens with no idea who she is, or what happened to her. Refusing to answer to “Jane Doe” for another day, the woman renames herself “Water” for the tiny, hidden marking on her body—the only clue to her past. Taken in by old Ginny Fitzgerald, a crotchety but kind lady living on a nearby horse farm, Water slowly begins building a new life. But as she attempts to piece together the fleeting slivers of her memory, more questions emerge: Who is the next-door neighbor, quietly toiling under the hood of his Barracuda? Why won’t Ginny let him step foot on her property? And why does Water feel she recognizes him?

Twenty-four-year-old Jesse Welles doesn’t know how long it will be before Water gets her memory back. For her sake, Jesse hopes the answer is never. He knows that she’ll stay so much safer—and happier—that way. And that’s why, as hard as it is, he needs to keep his distance. Because getting too close could flood her with realities better left buried. 

The trouble is, water always seems to find its way to the surface.

It's no secret that I am a huge fan of K.A. Tucker and her Ten Tiny Breaths series. With that series having come to an end, I was excited to see what she would do next. Burying Water sounded like it had a lot of potential. Memory loss and a mysterious neighbor? Count me in! And I was not in the least bit disappointed.

When she wakes up in the hospital, she has no idea who she is, much less how she got there. Having been left for dead in field outside a small Oregon, she doesn't know where she comes from or what she could have done to be attacked in way she was. After months in the hospital being called "Jane Doe," she renames herself "Water," after discovering a tattoo o her body. Taken in by Ginny, an old lady who owns a ranch outside of town, Water sets about getting on with her life hoping that her memories will one day return. But she can't help but feel drawn to Jesse, the neighbor who spends most of his time playing with the engine of his car. Does she know him? Does he know what happened to her before she lost her memory? Jesse knows he should stay away from Water. After everything that happened he shouldn't let himself get close to her. But his feelings, much like Water's, can only stay buried for long.

There's so much I want to say about K.A. Tucker's Burying Water. I just don't know if I'll be able to get it all out, much less if I'll be able to do so coherently. But I'll try. I was a little apprehensive when I started reading Burying Water. I love K.A. Tucker's other new adult books so FREAKING much that I didn't know how this one would possibly be able to compare. I didn't help that when I started reading I didn't know how it was going to work not only to have the story told from two perspectives, but from two different points in time. Once I started reading, though, I got swept up in the story. The way Burying Water is written, it's almost as if I got two love stories: one of Jesse falling in love with Alex, and one of Water falling in love with Jesse. I absolutely LOVED seeing these two stories unfold. With Jesse's story, there was definitely more drama, questioning of whether he was doing the right thing. With Water's story, it was all about jumping into the unknown. And as much as I loved seeing the relationships and the romance develop, it also broke my heart. The more I read, the more I knew what was coming but I couldn't stop reading even if I knew it would result with me in tears. Through it all though, I was falling in love with Jesse and Water.

It would have been very difficult for me to not fall for Jesse Welles. From the moment I met him in Burying Water, I knew that he would quickly work his way into my heart. He didn't thin highly of himself, but the more I read, and the more I saw him interact with Alex (and I REALLY want to talk about Alex, but I can't because it would just be too complicated), I just knew that he was more than he was giving himself credit for. Sure, he had made bad decisions in the past, and even now some of his decisions were questionable at best, but what he did came from a good place. He was willing to do whatever it took to keep Alex safe, even if it meant hurting himself in the process. And that happened again with Water. Water is one of those people you can't help but feel for. She wakes up in the hospital after having been brutally attacked not knowing who she is. You an't help but want to root for this girl. And believe me when I say I did. It didn't take long for me to figure out what had happened to her, and when I did it only made me want to root for her even more. And as much as I wanted her to get her memories back, to understand who she really was, I didn't want her to have to relive everything that happened to her when she was attacked. And Water and Jesse were just good for each other, despite what the people around them might have believed. And more than anything, I wanted everything to be okay for them.

As you might have guessed by now, I loved K.A. Tucker's Burying Water. As apprehensive as I might have been about this book, I have no regrets now that I've read this story. And I can't help but look forward to Becoming Rain, the next book in this series.

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Blog Tour - Kiss Kill Vanish by Jessica Martinez

Title: Kiss Kill Vanish

Author: Jessica Martinez

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Release Date: October 7, 2014

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

Valentina Cruz no longer exists.

One moment, she was wrapped in Emilio’s arms, melting into his kiss. The next, she was witnessing the unthinkable: a murder in cold blood, ordered by her father and carried out by her boyfriend. When Emilio pulled the trigger, Valentina disappeared. She made a split-second decision to shed her identity and flee her life of privilege, leaving the glittering parties and sultry nightlife of Miami far behind.

She doesn’t know how to explain to herself what she saw. All she knows now is that nothing she believed about her family, her heart, or Emilio’s love, was real.

She can change her name and deny her past, but Valentina can’t run from the truth. The lines between right and wrong, and trust and betrayal, will be blurred beyond recognition as she untangled the deceptions of the two men she once loved and races to find her own truth.

I love a good thriller. When I first heard about Jessica Martinez's Kiss Kill Vanish, I knew it had the potential to be just that. The more I heard about it, the more excited about it I got. Everyone seemed to be loving this book. And having now read it, I can definitely see why because I am in the same boat as everyone who's loved this book.

After what she saw from Emilio's closet that night, Valentina Cruz didn't even take the time to back her things before she fled town. She couldn't believe what she had seen, that Emilio and her father could have done what they did. But she saw it with her own eyes. Now in Montreal, with nothing to her name, Valentina is surviving, doing what she has to in order to keep a roof over her head. But when what she thought she had left behind in Miami comes back to haunt her, Valentina doesn't know what or who to believe. How can she possibly understand what she saw when she can't even explain it to herself? She thought she knew her family's story, but now she doesn't know what's real anymore. Valentina knows she can't run away from the truth anymore, but what truth was she trying to run from in the first place? 

Thrillers are awesome. Whether in book form, TV show form or movie form, I love them all and can't seem to get enough of them. Whenever I hear about a new one coming out, I get excited and can't wait to read it. With Jessica Martinez's Kiss Kill Vanish, I already knew that I enjoyed this author's books so I was interested to see how I would feel about a thriller. Kiss Kill Vanish definitely had a lot of potential. When I first heard about it, I couldn't wait to read it. The closer it got to the release date, the more positive reviews I saw and the more excited to read it I got. Once I started reading, though, I wasn't exactly sure how I felt about the story. For a while, I just couldn't seem to get into it. It just felt like it was not going anywhere. But then once the story got going, I was very much into it. I saw some of the big twists coming. But here were many instances when I didn't know what to believe anymore. So often, I would feel just like Valentina did, trying to puzzle out exactly what her family is involved in and who around her she can trust. Because this was very much Valentina's story, finding out the truth about her past and her family's past.

I'm not going to lie, Valentina kind of bugged me at first. To be honest, the first part of the book kinda just felt like she was throwing this big pity party for herself. Don't get me wrong, I got that she was trying to figure stuff out and that she was dealing with the fact that she saw her boyfriend kill someone after being ordered to do so by her father. And yes, she was struggling. But still, I was very excited when she finally started doing something to help herself, even if I didn't completely agree with what she was doing. By the end of the book, though, I loved the person Valentina had become. And then there was Emilio and Marcel. I wasn't sure how to feel about Emilio. Valentina clearly loved him, but I was never sure if she loved him for the right reasons. There was just always something about him that seemed off at first. And Marcel, well I didn't think much of him at first. At all. I just thought he was going to be a background character. He didn't exactly make a great first impression, but the more I got to know him, the more I came around to Marcel. And much like with Valentina, I liked him very much by the time I finished reading Kiss Kill Vanish.

With Kiss Kill Vanish, Jessica Martinez moved away from the type of contemporary stories she had so far written and I am happy to report that it was a successful change. Once I got into it, I highly enjoyed this story, even if it wasn't always what I thought it was going to be.

Be sure to follow the rest of the Canadian Kiss Kill Vanish blog tour!

October 6 - A Glass of Wine

October 7 - Lost In Ever After

October 8 - Emilie's Book World

October 9 - More Than Just Magic

October 10 - BO-OK Nerd Canada

October 13 - Read. Sleep. Repeat

October 14 - Mermaid Vision Books

October 15 - Lost At Midnight Reviews

October 16 - Words of Mystery

October 17 - Read My Breath Away

Blog Tour - As Long As You Love Me by Ann Aguirre + Giveaway

Title: As Long As You Love Me (2B Trilogy #2)

Author: Ann Aguirre

Publisher: Harlequin HQN

Release Date: September 30, 2014

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo / B&N

Most people dream about getting out of Sharon, Nebraska, but after three years away, Lauren Barrett is coming home. She has her reasons—missing her family, losing her college scholarship. But then there’s the reason Lauren can’t admit to anyone: Rob Conrad, her best friend’s older brother.

Football prowess and jaw-dropping good looks made Rob a star in high school. Out in the real world, his job and his relationships are going nowhere. He’s the guy who women love and leave, not the one who makes them think of forever—until Lauren comes back to town, bringing old feelings and new dreams with her.

Because the only thing more important than figuring out where you truly belong is finding the person you were meant to be with.

I’m all about the books that share titles with Backstreet Boys songs. I loved the first book in Ann Aguirre’s 2B trilogy when I read it a couple of months ago. And having now read the second book, As Long As You Love Me, I can say that these are some highly enjoyable books.

Lauren Barrett is the only person ever left her small Nebraskan hometown, only to want to come back after having lost her college scholarship. What she’s not willing to admit to anyone though, is that she also came back for Rob Conrad, her longtime crush…and her best friend’s older brother. No one has ever looked past Rob’s good looks. All his life, he’s never been seen as more than a pretty face with muscle, working construction around his small town. But when Lauren shows up in town, stirring up old feelings, Rob realizes that he might be more than everyone has believed him to be. But is that enough for someone like Lauren?

Much like I did in my review of the first book in the series, I would like to take a moment to absolve myself of any responsibility should you end up with any Backstreet Boys song stuck in your head. I am not sorry, though I’m stuck with it in my head too. But that’s not the point. The point is that I really enjoyed Ann Aguirre’s As Long As You Love Me. After finishing the first book in this trilogy, I was lucky enough to be able to tread this one right away. And I got sucked right into this story. Though it could easily be read as a standalone,  As Long As You Love Me is the second book in a series. Because of that I already sort of knew the two main characters, making it so that the story could get going pretty fast. And that meant that the romance got started pretty fast. But it didn’t feel rushed or like it all happened too fast because Rob and Lauren had known each other pretty much their wholes lives. That also made it so there was an interesting dynamic between the two and I really enjoyed seeing it change into something more.

I’ll admit that neither Lauren nor Rob made much of an impression on me in the first book even though they were present in the background. But with As Long As You Love Me I got to find out more about them and I loved what I learned. Though people questioned the match, Lauren and Rob were good for each other. Around Rob, Lauren didn’t have to pretend to be more than who she was, she could just be her computer geek self. And Lauren was the first person to see more in Rob, to make him believe in himself because she believed in him. Both of them had a lot of growing to do and they were there to help each other through the process. But of course is wasn’t all easy. Lauren and Rob struggled with their respective lifetimes of insecurities and it hurt me to see them fight because I how good they would be together. They just had to get through it.

Ann Aguirre’s As Long As You Love Me was another great new adult read. Once again, I got sucked into the story and I loved losing myself in it for a few hour.s I can’t wait to read The Shape of My Heart, the final book in the 2B trilogy.

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Blog Tour - Not in the Script by Amy Finnegan

Title: Not in the Script (If Only... #3)

Author: Amy Finnegan

Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's

Release Date: October 7, 2014

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

Millions of people witnessed Emma Taylor’s first kiss—a kiss that needed twelve takes and four camera angles to get right. After spending nearly all of her teen years performing on cue, Emma wonders if any part of her life is real anymore…particularly her relationships.

Jake Elliott’s face is on magazine ads around the world, but his lucrative modelling deals were a poor substitute for what he had to leave behind. Now acting is offering Jake everything he wants: close proximity to home; an opportunity to finally start school; and plenty of time with the smart and irresistible Emma Taylor…if she would just give him a chance.

When Jake takes Emma behind the scenes of his real life, she begins to see how genuine he is, but on-set relationships always end badly. Don’t they? Toss in Hollywood’s most notorious heartthrob and a resident diva who may or may not be as evil as she seems, and the production of Coyote Hill heats up in unexpected—and romantic—ways.

This novel in the deliciously fun If Only romance line proves that the best kinds of love stories don’t follow a script.

Fun and flirty YA contemporary romances are absolutely my favourite. There is nothing I don’t love about them. They just always make me happy. So it really shouldn’t be a surprise that I loved Amy Finnegan’s Not In the Script. Because I loved it A LOT.

Since she was twelve years old,e very one has known what was going on in Emma Taylor’s life. It’s what happens when you work in the entertainment industry. Now, though, Emma wonders how much of her life has been real. When you first kiss was essentially choreographed, how do you know if your romances have been real? She doesn’t have a great track record when it comes to boys, but when Emma meets Jake, her co-star on her new TV show, she thinks her luck might be changing. Except Emma has sown off on-set relationships. But Jake seems to be just the guy she needs.

Fun main character, swoon-worthy boys, cute romance, drama and movies stars, Not In the Script had it all. I absolutely loved Amy Finnegan’s debut. Based on the premise, I had a pretty good feeling I would enjoy Not In the Script. I mean, it sounded like a total “Emilie book.” I just hadn’t anticipated loving it as much as I did. When I sat down and started reading I figured I would just read a couple chapters. But that’s not what happened. Not even close. Instead, the next thing I knew it was dark and I had about 100 pages left to read. Not In the Script was an addictive story. I wanted to keep reading and see what would happen between Emma and Jake. I loved seeing their relationship develop because it was jut the kind of romance I love. There was immediate attraction between them, but it was also a slow burn kind of romance. Emma and Jake were friends long before they were something more. And I loved it. Almost as much as I loved Jake and Emma themselves.

I loved that I got to rad this story from both Jake and Emma’s perspectives because it meant I got to know both of them really well. They were definitely different, but at the same time they were so right for each other. Right from the start they had a connection and I loved seeing them both struggle with how they felt about the other. And of course the back and forth banter between Emma and Jake was also pretty awesome. I just loved what each one brought. Emma had been in the entertainment industry for so long that she didn’t really know who she was anymore, while Jake just wanted to do whatever he needed to in order to help his mom. So it was great to see Jake help Emma see what she really wanted for herself, and Emma in turn helped Jake figure out how to get out of this industry he didn’t really want to be in in the first place. All that to say, I really loved Emma and Jake, and apparently putting how much into words is proving to be difficult. So just read Not In the Script and hopefully you’ll fall in love with Jake and Emma as much as I did.

I was surprised by how much I loved Amy Finnegan’s Not In the Script. It was a fantastically fun read with just the right amount of love, drama and humour. And I LOVED every single page.

Make It Right by Megan Erickson

Title: Make It Right (Bowler University #2)

Author: Megan Erickson

Publisher: William Morrow Impulse

Release Date: September 9, 2014

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

Max Payton lives by two rules:

Size and strength win any fight, and never show weakness.

When a rash of assaults sends Bowler University for a tail spin, Max volunteers to help teach a self-defence class. One of the other instructors is the beautiful pixie-faced girl he keeps butting heads with…and who challenges everything he thought he knew. 

Lea Travers avoids guys like Max—cocky jocks who assume she’s fragile because of a disability caused by a childhood accident. She likes to be in control, and something about being with Max makes her feel anything but. But during the moments he lets his guard down, Lea sees a soul as broken inside as she is outside. Trusting him is a whole other problem…

When the assaults ramp up and hit close to him, Lea and Max must learn, before it’s too late, that true strength can come from vulnerability…and giving in to trust is sometimes the only way to make things right.

Last June I discovered Megan Erickson and her Bowler University series. I tore through the first book and absolutely loved it. I was really excited at the prospect of getting to read more stories set in this world so I jumped on the Make It Right, the second book, when it landed on my Kindle. And I loved it just as much as the first book.

Max has never been one for attachments. His last relationship didn't end particularly well, and he almost lost his best friend over a girl. But ever since he met Lea, a girl who challenges him in every way possible, he can't seem to stop thinking about her. Lea is different from all the other girls Max has been with and slowly she's changing everything he thinks he knows and wants. Lea knows better than to get involved with someone like Max. His reputation speaks for itself. But the more time she spends with Max, the more she finds herself wanting to let go of that control she has held on to for so long. When a series of assaults on campus leads to Max and Lea teaching a self-defence class together. But teaching the class together, means trusting the other. Something neither one is quire reading to do.

I LOVED Megan Erickson's debut Make It Count when I read it. In fact, I pretty much raved about it in my review. Because of that, I was extremely excited to read Make It Right. Any time Megan would release another teaser for the book, my level of excitement would go up exponentially. When the release day finally arrived I made sure to hop online so I could get a copy of the book on my Kindle. And by the end of that day, I was done reading Make It Right. It was just that good and engaging. It didn't take long at all for me to get wrapped up in this story and these characters. It helped that I already knew the world and some of the people in the story. Once again, I loved the humour that was present through out, and how it was mixed with the more serious aspects of the story. One thing I appreciated about the story was how the assaults that are present throughout aren't just affecting the female students at Bowler, male students were also getting attacked. It was just refreshing to see that the victims were mixed and everyone was dealing with it. On a lighter note, Megan Erickson completely delivered with the romance in Make It Right. I loved seeing Max and Lea's relationship develop. It was sweet, it was hot, it was intense, and it was what I hoped it would be.

Unfortunately, I was too late to call dibs on Max Payton by the time I tried to do so. But that won't stop me from talking endlessly about how much I loved him. Because I loved him. A LOT. Probably more than I should admit considering he is a fictional character, but that's just a minor detail in the grand scheme of things. And, I mean, who hasn't fallen for a fictional character before? I can't be the only one who fell under Max's spell. But aside from me loving him SO FREAKING MUCH, Max was just a fantastic character. I had seen him in Make It Count and let me just say that he hadn't really made a great impression. But any bad things I could have thought about him at the time, I take back. There was so much more going on with Max than I would have thought and I loved seeing that softer side of him come out whenever he was around Lea. Or around his rescued cat for that matter. But Lea. She was so completely different from what I thought she was going to be. I had briefly gotten a glimpse of her in Make It Count but it didn't even brush the surface. She was a complex character and I could definitely understand why she was the way she was. It was nice to see her learn to let other people in,  especially Max because they were so right for each other. And much like in the first book, one of the best parts of seeing Max and Lea together was the banter. It was perfect and sweet and adorable and just put a smile on my face. Especially when Alec and Kat would make an appearance and join in on the fun. 

Just like with the first book in this series, I absolutely loved Megan Erickson's Make It Right. It was the perfect mix of light and serious and I honestly loved every page of it. I can't wait to read the next book in this series, but at the same time I don't want it to end.