Never Always Sometimes by Adi Alsaid

Title: Never Always Sometimes

Author: Adi Alsaid

Publisher: HarlequinTEEN

Release Date: August 4, 2015

Source: From Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

Never date your best friend

Always be original

Sometimes rules are meant to be broken

Best friends Dave and Julia were determined to never be cliché high school kids—the ones who sit at the same lunch table every day, dissecting the drama from homeroom and plotting their campaigns for prom king and queen. They even wrote their own Never List of everything they vowed they’d never, ever do in high school.

Some of the rules have been easy to follow, like #5, never die your hair a color of the rainbow, or #7, never hook up with a teacher. But Dave has a secret: he’s broken rule #8, never pine silently after someone for the entirety of high school. It’s either that or break rule #10, never date your best friend. Dave has loved Julia for as long as he can remember.

Julia is beautiful, wild and impetuous. So when she suggests they do every Never on the list, Dave is happy to play along. He even dyes his hair an unfortunate shade of green. It starts as a joke, but then a funny thing happens: Dave and Julia discover that by skipping the clichés, they’ve actually been missing out on high school. And maybe even on love.

Last year I really enjoyed Adi Alsaid’s debut, Let’s Get Lost. When I found out the premise for his newest book, Never Always Sometimes, it sounded like something that was totally up my alley. Though, it wasn’t quite what I had hoped it would be, I still found myself highly enjoying Never Always Sometimes.

Before starting high school, best friends Dave and Julia made a pact: they would avoid becoming those clichéd teenagers everyone else in high schools seemed to be. That’s how the Nevers list was born: a list of the ten things they both never to do in high school. Fast-Coward four years and Julia and Dave are close to graduating and have successfully avoided becoming clichés. When Dave finds the Nevers list after having forgotten about it, Julia suggests they complete the list. As they start crossing items of their list, Dave and Julia realize that by wanting to avoid clichés, they’ve missed out on a lot more than just a typical high school experience.

I am an absolute sucker for friendship stories, especially ones that are about friendships between a boy and a girl. It probably has to do with all through high school, and still today for that matter, my best friend is a guy. So whenever I hear of stories that feature that kind of friendship, I am all over them. That’s what initially drew me to Adi Alsaid’s Never Always Sometimes. And when I found out more about the story, I was only that much more interested in reading the book. It sounded like it had the potential to be such a fun story. And it was. While reading, I would often find myself laughing at Julia’s antics or appreciating the sweet friendship moments between Dave and Julia. What I had a little more trouble buying into was the romance. For a while, I was confused about who I was supposed to be rooting for: Dave and Julia or Dave and Gretchen. But by the end of the book, though I wasn’t entirely sold on how it happened, I understood what the author was trying to do. How he was trying to show that sometimes the person you think you should be with isn’t always the person who’s your best match. And that just because you love someone in a romantic way, doesn’t always mean that feeling will be reciprocated in the same way. And at more than one point in the story, there was a whole lot of confused feelings happening for both Dave and Julia.

Maybe it was because the first part of the story was from his perspective, but I felt like I got to know Dave really quickly and I just really got him. I understood how he felt about his best friend. How he would do pretty much anything just to see her happy, even if that at times that meant sacrificing some of his own happiness. But he was happy to do it. And even though I didn’t always agree with some of the decisions he made, I really liked Dave, and I understood his struggle. But because of the way the story was told, I feel like it took a while before I really got to know Julia. for the first half or so of the book, everything I knew about Julia was tainted by Dave’s feelings for her. I only really got to know her through how Dave saw her. So when I got to see this story from her perspective and get first hand information about who she was, I wasn’t sure how I felt about her for a long time. I saw her one way because of how Dave saw her, and then I realized that she was exactly who Dave saw her as, but she was also a completely different person. And though it may have taken me a bit to warm up to her, I really liked Julia. She was her own person and she wasn’t afraid of doing what she wanted, even if others didn’t always understand. But at the same time, she was someone who was constantly seeking the approval of the one person she couldn’t get it from. And that broke my heart at times. The one thing that’s for sure, is that I loved the friendship Dave and Julia had, even if at times it wasn’t easy.

Though it may not have been quite the story I had hoped it would be, I still really enjoyed Adi Alsaid’s Never Always Sometimes. If you’re looking for a story with a good mix of friendship and romance, you may want to check this one out.

Right Wrong Guy by Lia Riley

Title: Right Wrong Guy (Brightwater #2)

Author: Lia Riley

Publisher: Avon Impulse

Release Date: August 4, 2015

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / B&N / Indigo

Sometimes two wrongs can make a right…

Bad boy wrangler, Archer Kane, lives fast and loose. Words like responsibility and commitment send him running in the opposite direction. Until a wild Vegas weekend puts him on a collision course with Eden Bancroft-Kew, a New York heiress running away from her blackmailing fiancé…the morning of her wedding.

Eden has never understood the big attraction to cowboys. Give her a guy in a tailored suit any day of the week. But now all she can think about is Mr. Rugged Handsome, six-feet of sinfully sexy country charm with a pair of green eyes that keeps her tossing and turning all night long.

Archer might be the wrong guy for a woman like her, but she’s not right in thinking he’ll walk away without fighting for her heart. And maybe, just maybe, two wrongs can make a right.

Reading books by authors who cross genres and age groups always makes it interesting. Sometimes, I love one but don’t think so highly of the other. But then there are others whose stories I love no mater what. Right Wrong Guy has officially confirmed that I will be reading anything and everything Lia Riley writes.

Everyone in Brightwater knows that if they are looking for a good time, Archer Kane is the person to go to. Archer has spent most of his life staying as far away from responsibility and commitment as possible. But things suddenly change when a weekend in Vegas puts Eden Bancroft-Kew in his path. From the moment he meets Eden, Archer feels a connection to her, and he finds himself wanting all those things he’s spent so much running away from. There’s only one problem. Eden just ran away from a life of being married to someone she doesn’t love, and the last thing she wants is to jump into another relationship. Even though Archer seems all wrong for her, he might end up being just the right person for Eden.

Last year, I read Lia Riley’s Off the Map NA series and I absolutely loved it. The story sucked me in, and after finishing the final book, I was convinced that I would read pretty much anything that she wrote. I wanted more of her stories and her brand of romance. But the thing about her Brightwater series is that it’s not something I typically read. As much as I love my romance, I tend to stick to YA and NA romance, very rarely venturing out into the more “traditional” contemporary romance. But I gave the first book in Lia Riley’s Brightwater series a shot and I don’t regret it in the least. In fact, by the time I finished reading it, I was dying for Right Wrong Guy. And when I got my hands on Right Wrong Guy, I absolutely devoured it. The story totally sucked me in. Right from the start, I bought into the potential for romance between Archer and Edie, and when it blossomed into an actual romance, I was all for it. I couldn’t get enough. I just kept turning the pages (well, hitting the page turn button on my Kindle) because I just had to see how it would all turn out. I mean, I knew that there was going to be a happy ending, but I didn’t know how it was all going to play out. I mean, Archer and Edie were clearly made for each other.

When reading the first book in the Brightwater series, Last First Kiss, I had gotten glimpses of both Archer and Edie and I was curious about them. I wanted to know what their backstory was. I wanted to know how Edie had landed in Brightwater, I wanted to see if there was more to Archer than his womanizing ways. I loved finding out more about both of them in Right Wrong Guy. I really enjoyed seeing Edie find herself and discover what she actually wanted out of her life, see her transition from Eden Bancroft-Kew to Edie Banks. And as for Archer, I just knew that there had to be more going on with him. And I was happy to see that I wasn’t wrong about him. It took no time at all for me to pretty much fall in love with him. And if I didn’t have a thing for cowboys before, there is no doubt that I do now. I also liked to that I got to see glimpses of Annie and Sawyer again since I loved them so much in the first book. Now I’ve just become majorly curious about Wilder, the third Kane brother. I can’t wait to find out more about him.

I loved Lia Riley’s Right Wrong Guy. It was a romance that hit all the right notes for me. I’ve loved getting to know the town and the people of Brightwater. And I can’t wait to find out more about the third Kane brother in Best Worst Mistake.

The Heartbreakers by Ali Novak

Title: The Heartbreakers

Author: Ali Novak

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Release Date: August 4, 2015

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

“When I met Oliver Perry, I had no clue he was the lead singer for The Heartbreakers. Unbeknownst to him, I was the only girl in the world who hated his music.”

Stella will do anything for her sister—even stand in line for an autographed Heartbreakers CD…for three hours. At least she met a cute boy at the Starbucks beforehand. A blue-eyed boy who looks an awful lot like…

Oliver Perry. Of course Starbucks guy is the lead singer for her least favorite band. Thanks, universe. But there may be more to Oliver than his world-famous charm, because even after she insults his music—to his face—he still gives her his number. Seriously, what is her life?

But how can Stella even think about being with Oliver—dating and laughing and pulling pranks with the band—when her sister could be dying of cancer?

Light and fun contemporaries make for the best summer reads. They provide the perfect escape for a few hours and I’m always on the look out for more. With Ali Novak’s The Heartbreakers, that’s exactly what I got.

Stella Samuel is the last person who would ever go to a signing for The Heartbreakers, the hottest boy band around. But for her sister, Stella is ready to do anything, even wait in line for hours just to get a CD signed. The one upside to a day spent in boy band hell is the cute guy she met at Starbucks that morning, even though the chances of seeing him again are pretty slim. But when she finally gets to the front of the signing line, Stella is shocked to see that the boy from that morning is none other than Oliver Perry, front man of The Heartbreakers.  Before she knows what’s happening, Stella is hanging out with Oliver and the rest of the band. And at the end of the night, he gives her his number. But as much as Stella would like to think about being with Oliver, she can’t help but think that she should be spending time with her sister instead, because who knows how much time she has left with her?

Last year, I read Ali Novak’s debut My Life With the Walter Boys and really enjoyed the story. It was light, it was fun and it sucked me in. When I heard about her sophomore novel, The Heartbreakers, I knew right away that I wanted to read it. Not only was it from an author who’s previous work I had enjoyed, but it was also about a girl and a boy band and I would have been sold on the book for that reason alone. And The Heartbreakers was just as fun as I had hoped it would be. And it was also just adorable as I expected it to be. And it was addicting. When I was reading, I couldn’t put the book down. I was drawn into the story, wanting to see what would happen with Stella and Oliver, what the deal was with the Heartbreakers and what would happen to Stella’s sister. But as fun and adorable as the story was, it was also surprisingly emotional. The Heartbreakers was about more than just Stella falling in love with Oliver, who happened to be in a boy band. It was also about a family affected by cancer, about the fear of losing someone you care about, the fear of missing out on opportunities, and it was about finding yourself and your place in the world. So all that to say that in many respects, The Heartbreakers took me by surprise by how much it played with my emotions. But all in a very good way.

I loved reading this story from Stella’s perspectives because there was so much more to her than I thought there was going to be. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t expect her to be a flat character, but I didn’t necessarily expect her to be as layered as she was. Stella was someone who cared deeply about her family, who was passionate about what she believed in, and who wasn’t afraid to share her opinion. And it made for some hilarious moments, especially when she first meets all of the Heartbreakers and insults them. And caring about her family made for some rally touching moments between her and her siblings. Because I absolutely loved the sibling relationship in this story. There were plenty of touching moments between Stella, Cara and Drew, and I would have been happy to read an entire book about the dynamics between the triplets. And then there were the Heartbreakers. And they were hilarious. I was pretty much laughing anytime they were all together doing something ridiculous. Of course most of the focus was on Oliver and much like Stella, it didn’t take long at all for me to be charmed by him. But I still loved reading about the other boys in the band. They were all so charming in their own way and I’m seriously hoping I get to read more stories about these boys.

Ali Novak’s The Heartbreakers was an undeniably fun read. It completely sucked me in and I enjoyed every moment of this story. But don’t let the yourself be fooled by how adorable the story sounds, it also packs a bit of an emotional punch. 

Fair Game by Monica Murphy

Title: Fair Game (The Rules #1)

Author: Monica Murphy

Publisher: Self-Published

Release Date: May 12, 2015

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / B&N / Indigo

Bad enough Jade Frost’s boyfriend drags her to a boring poker game. Even worse that he actually threw her into the betting pot during an intense round…and lost. Talk about the perfect excuse for Jade to make him her ex-boyfriend.

Now she supposedly belongs to the ultra rich, extremely gorgeous Shep Prescott. He could have anything he wants yet he seems to be in hot pursuit of her. No matter how rude, how snarky, how impossible she acts, it doesn’t stop him. More like her horrible behavior seems to make him want her more.

When she finds herself starting to fall for him, Jade’s confused. There’s more to Shep than the carefree rich charmer he portrays. Now way could he want a serious relationship with her…or could he?

So far 2015 has been a fantastic year for New Adult reads for me, especially when it comes to self-published New Adult. Having let go of a lot of my prejudices against self-published books has allowed me to find a whole lot of new stories to love. And that includes Monica Murphy’s Fair Game.

Jade didn’t want to go to the poker game that night. But her boyfriend dragged her and so she went. At least her best friend is there so she has someone to complain to. But then the night takes a turn for the worse when her soon-to-be ex-boyfriend decides to bet her when he runs out of money. And he loses. And it that wasn’t bad enough, the person she now “belong” to is Shep Prescott, the most gorgeous guy on campus…who also happens to be a complete asshole. But no matter how much Jade tries to get rid of him, Shep just keeps coming back, determined to win her over. And Shep’s persistence is working. Much to her surprise, Jade finds herself starting to fall for Shep and that confuses her more than anything else.

Until not so long ago, I was full of prejudice when it came to self-published books. I had had bad experiences with them in the past and it had made me write off pretty much any and all self-published books. But in the last year or so, I started getting over those prejudices, reading books by authors I knew or that were recommended to me by people whose opinions I trust. And that allows me to discover all these new stories that I love, especially New Adult ones. So that was my long-winded way of saying that I’m glad I got over my hang-ups with self-published books because otherwise I never would have read Monica Murphy’s Fair Game and that would have been a shame. Despite being a little thrown by the premise at first—I mean, a girl gets put up as a bet in a high stakes poker game, which is not exactly okay—I found myself getting all caught up in this story. The way Jade being offered up as a bet in the poker game was handled is what first sold me on the story when I was reading. From the moment it happens, it’s made clear that this is far from an okay thing to do and Jade is going to do everything she can to fight it. Which leads to rest of the story which was all kinds of fun. I loved the slow development of the romance between Jade and Shep, and how that relatively slow build led to some of the best banter I have read in a while. Needless to say, I loved reading Fair Game.

I loved Jade. Right from the start, it was almost like I developed a girl crush on her. The way she chewed out both her (ex-)boyfriend and Shep when they throw her in the betting pot during their poker game. She would just not take any crap from either of them. I loved how independent she was and how much she wasn’t afraid to stand up for herself. But I also loved who she was when she was with Shep, if only for the awesome banter thing these two had going. So many times, I wanted to laugh out loud when I reading the back and forth between the two of them. It was just great. And Shep, was so not who I thought he was going to be. The synopsis for the book makes it sound like he’s going to be one way, but that’s not who he was at all. There was so much more to him than I initially thought there was going to be. And, much like Jade ended up being, I was pretty much powerless against him. He totally charmed me and I fell for him a little (okay, a lot) while I was reading. 

I absolutely loved Monica Murphy’s Fair Game. This was a fun story with romance that hit all the right notes for this reader. I can’t wait to read more in this world in In the Dark.

No Kissing Allowed by Melissa West

Title: No Kissing Allowed

Author: Melissa West

Publisher: Entangled Embrace

Release Date: July 28, 2015

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / B&N / Indigo

No kissing. No touching. And definitely no falling in love…

Armed with her bestie, an embarrassing number roof shots, and her list of 10 Wild Things To Do Before Adulthood, recent grab Cameron Lawson is partying it up before she starts her dream job at New York’s biggest ad agency. Her last task? Hook up with a random guy. And while it’s so not her style, the super-sexy guy sitting next to her is definitely game. No names. No details.

At least, that was the plan.

On her first day of work, Cameron discovers her hook-up is none other than Aidan Truitt—her new boss’s boss. Talk about failing the “no fraternizing with coworkers” policy on an epic level. Especially when Aidan makes it clear their one night was only the beginning. Falling for him could cost her everything, but sometimes the only way to get what you want is by breaking a few rules…

Despite the number of unread NA books I own both physically and digitally, I am always on the hunt for more good NA reads. I just can’t get enough. And that’s how I stumbled upon Melissa West’s No Kissing Allowed and found myself completely devouring it.

Cameron is ready to start her new career in advertising. She’s starting her dream job at the biggest ad agency in the city on Monday morning, but before that she and her friends are going out for one last crazy night. They even have a list of things they want to do and Cameron only has one item left to cross off: hook up with a random guy. Lucky for her, the hot guy sitting next to her at the bar seems just as interested as she is. And the next morning, they both go their separate ways. Until she walks into her brand new job only to come face to face with him again. And to make matters worse, Aidan just so happens to be her boss’s boss and there’s a strict no fraternizing policy at the company. Cameron is determined to just put it all behind her, but Aidan has other things in mind. Things that involve breaking all the rules that have been established.

I love it when my NA reads dig a little deeper than just two people falling in love. I love it when there’s more meat to the story than just straight up romance. But I can’t deny that I also love my fun romances, the ones where two people are falling in love and that’s that. For me, Melissa West’s No Kissing Allowed was the best of both worlds. This story was undeniably fun. As as the romance for that matter. It was about two people falling in love even though they weren’t supposed to, or even didn’t want to in the case of one of them. And it didn’t hurt that the story also featured one of my favourite romance tropes. For that alone I would have been convinced to read the story. But as fun as the story and the romance was, there was also some depth to it. Both characters had some deeper issues they were dealing with and that were touched on throughout the story. Sure, those issues may not have been deeply explored, but they were still there which added another layer to the story. But a lot of why I enjoyed No Kissing Allowed so much had to do with Cameron and Aidan.

I connected with Cameron right away when I started reading No Kissing Allowed. There was just something about her that made it so I recognized so much of myself in her. I just understood her. Both when it came to the way she thought about relationships and the way she thought about her goals and her career. Because of that, I like Cameron a lot. And so I was rooting for her in every aspect of the story. And I loved the relationship she had with Aidan. Despite the whole part about him being her boss, things just seemed easy between them. And it made for a fun relationship. Even if Aidan was dead set against relationships. Which brings me to Aidan. I loved him, but sometimes I just anted to knock some sense into him. He could be so caught up in his head and what he didn’t want to become that he kind of neglected to see what was right in front of him. Even then, though, I loved the back and forth between him and Cameron, and the way they both pushed each other. Basically, I loved their relationship.

In case you hadn’t figure it out, I really enjoyed Melissa West’s No Kissing Allowed. It was the kind of romance that perfectly balanced light and fun with deeper issues. This story took me by surprise and I couldn’t be happier about it.