Missing Dixie by Caisey Quinn + Giveaway!

Title: Missing Dixie (Neon Dreams #3)

Author: Caisey Quinn

Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks

Release Date: October 27, 2015

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / B&N / Indigo

Fighting for redemption…

I’ve lived most of my life in darkness, beneath the shadows of secrets and addictions. The last thing I ever wanted to do was hurt the only girl I’d ever loved—the one who brought me into the light. In my entire life I’d made one promise—a promise I’d intended to keep. I’ve broken that promise and now I have to live with the fallout. Dixie Lark hates me, and I have to tell her that I love her. I also have to tell a truth that might destroy us forever.

Can she love me even if she can’t forgive me?

Learning to move on…

Gavin Garrison broke his promise to my brother and he broke my heart in the process. I may never love anyone the way I’ve loved him, but at least I won’t spend my life wondering what if. We had our one night and he walked away. I’m finally beginning to move on when my brother’s wedding and a battle of the bands brings us back together.

Our band is getting a second chance, but I don’t know if I can give him one. How do you hand your heart back to the person who set it on fire once already?

With the first two books in her Neon Dreams trilogy, Caisey Quinn easily became one of my favourite authors when it comes to New Adult romance. And Missing Dixie? Well it broke my heart, put it back together, and it was the perfect conclusion to this story.

Gavin Garrison has always loved Dixie Lark. In a life filled with darkness, she’s been the one constant bright spot. The last thing Gavin has ever wanted to do was hurt Dixie, but now he has and is determined to make it right. In order to do so, he first has to put his life in order so he can have a chance at earning her forgiveness. But Dixie is done waiting for Gavin to make his choice. She can’t keep living her life wondering if Gavin will ever stop returning back to the darkness. She will always love him, even if loving him means letting him go. With the band reuniting for one last chance at what they’ve always wanted, Gavin and Dixie are being given a second chance at being together. But after everything that’s happened, are they willing to risk heartbreak once again?

Early in 2015, I read Leaving Amarillo and absolutely loved it. I was ecstatic to find out it was the first in a trilogy and I was wondering how the next two books would live up to this one. Then in the spring I read Loving Dallas and I loved it even more than the first book and that took me completely by surprise. And of course after that I was worried that the final book couldn’t possibly be able to live up to what I had it built up to in my mind. And now, well, I’ve already read Missing Dixie twice and I’m honestly ready to read it a third time when I pick up my copy next week. That’s how good it was. Missing Dixie was definitely darker than the other two books in the trilogy. Considering this was Gavin’s story, it had to be. And because of that darkness, there were times when Missing Dixie seriously broke my heart. But just as much as it felt like my heart was breaking, this story was also helping preparing the damage it was causing. After having finished the book, I would even have gone so far as to say that Missing Dixie was heartwarming. This is just a story that will give you ALL THE FEELINGS. I could go on and on about everything I felt while reading Missing Dixie because this story was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster. But it’s a rollercoaster that’s absolutely worth being on.

I have been rooting for Gavin and Dixie since the opening of Leaving Amarillo. I had high hopes and expectations for their romance. And had Missing Dixie not given me the happily ever after I so wanted for them, I would have been seriously angry. But Caisey Quinn didn’t let me down on that front. Getting to see so much of Dixie again was interesting. She’s grown so much since Leaving Amarillo, and in Missing Dixie she finally knows who she is and what (and who) she wants. I loved seeing that growth and the strength that came from that growth. And it’s just hard to not love Dixie what with the incredibly huge heart she has. And Gavin, well, he pretty much broke my heart. But in a good way. I knew from what had been said in the first two books that he hasn’t had an easy life. But getting to find out all about it from him just broke my heart. I wanted him to leave that darkness behind and do something for himself instead of always getting dragged back in his mom’s crap. But as much as Gavin’s story broke my heart, there were other times when he made my heart feel totally warm and happy. And he may have made me tear up once or twice. Just saying. More than Dixie and Gavin’s romance, the part of Missing Dixie that totally stole my heart was Liam’s story. I dare you not to have your heartbroken by this little boy’s story. But don’t worry, his story is not all heartbreak thanks to Gavin, Dixie, Dallas and Robyn.

Missing Dixie was everything I could have possibly hoped for. Caisey Quinn wrote a better conclusion than I could have ever hoped for these characters. This story broke my heart, put it back together, and took me on an emotional ride. But I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Giveaway!

If you haven't started Caisey Quinn's Neon Dreams series yet, your are seriously missing out. Lucky for you, I'm giving away 3 copies of the first book, Leaving Amarillo (my review), on Kindle. Interested? Just enter the giveaway using the Rafflecopter form below!

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Frosh: First Blush by Mónica B. Wagner

Title: Frosh: First Blush (Frosh #1)

Author: Mónica B. Wagner

Publisher: The Studio - Paper Lantern Lit

Release Date: October 20, 2015

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / B&N / Indigo

During welcome week at Hillson University, the FROSH will hit the fan.

Type-A aspiring journalist Ellie plans to take freshman year by storm. But hellbent on breaking a huge on-campus scandal, she risks becoming one herself—and getting the mysterious, heart-melting QB in serious trouble.

Grant, star quarterback and charismatic chick-magnet, is hiding a life-altering secret. The last thing he needs is an overeager (absolutely adorable) journalist asking questions. He’s got a reputation to protect.

High-society legacy student Devon is ready to catch the football hottie of her dreams. If the tabloids feature her with the “it” boy on her arm, her tainted past will be buried—or so she thinks.

Charlie, pre-med, is done being the sweet and funny geek that girls like Devon ignore. But if he tried to impress her with a new edgy, spontaneous attitude, will his heart end up in the emergency room?

FROSH intertwines the stories of Ellie, Grant, Devon, and Charlie in Mónica B. Wagner’s sexy NA debut series, about falling in love and falling apart. 

We all know by now that I’m a sucker for New Adult stories, especially when they’re actually set in a college. So I was really intrigued when I heard about Mónica B. Wagner’s Frosh: First Blush. Even if this story wasn’t quite what I expected, I still found myself to really enjoy reading it. 

Ellie is determined to make a good impression at the Hillson Daily Nexus and land that editorial assistant position. All she has to do is dig up dirt on the new starting quarterback. And Ellie is willing to do just about anything for her story. She just never thought that doing anything for the story would involve developing confusing feelings for her subject. The last thing Grant wants is to have a reporter following him around. He doesn’t need anyone finding out about his shoulder. But he doesn’t mind Ellie. In fact he likes her, too bad she’s the reporter trailing him. And if that wasn’t enough, there’s Devon who keeps popping up everywhere he is, determined to make him hers. The way she sees it, dating Grant would be the way to finally burry her family’s scandal-filled past. But even if she thinks she wants Grant, the person Devon can’t stop thinking about is Charlie, the cute and funny pre-med geek she hooked up with. Charlie didn’t think a girl like Devon would ever be interested in him. But now that something’s happened between them, he’s determined to keep it going. If only she would give him the time of day. Who said navigating the first week of college would be easy?

When I first read the synopsis for Mónica B. Wagner’s Frosh: First Blush, I was intrigued. I’m always curious about stories that weave together the plotlessness of different characters in a way that results in all of them intersecting in some way or another. That kind of story just appeals to me and I’m always trying to figure out how the different plot lines fit, or how they’re going to come together. It totally keeps me going when I’m reading. And that was absolutely true with Frosh: First Blush. From the moment I started reading, I was trying to piece it all together, figuring out who was who in each of the different’ characters’ chapters. And it was definitely fun seeing how it was all connected. My one issue with the book was how quickly everything seemed to be happening. Basically this entire story takes place between Wednesday and Saturday. And A LOT happens in those four days. I will say that the fact that the story was told from four different perspectives did help. It made it feel reasonable that so much could happen in such a short time if it was happening to four different people and those around them. And by the end of the book, it didn’t really bother me so much anymore. In fact, I was looking forward to seeing what would happen next.

The four main characters in this story were all interesting and so different. But they were also all just trying to figure out this whole college thing. And let’s just say that they weren’t all going about it in the best way. I mean, Ellie was so focused on getting her story for the newspaper that she was pretty much ignoring everything else around her. And she was so determined to only see things one way that she was missing what was right in front of her. Devon kind of had a similar thing going. She was so focused on appearances that she was ignoring the sweet, geeky guy who was pretty much perfect for her. And who she liked even if she wouldn’t admit it to herself. And speaking of that sweet, geeky guy, Charlie was pretty much my favourite. I was always excited whenever the story switched back to his perspective. Not that I didn’t like the other characters, but I pretty much developed a soft spot for Charlie pretty early on. Though, really, the same thing could also be said about Grant. Even if sometimes I wanted to yell at him to stop making stupid decisions. But I liked the decisions he was making by the end of the book so I’m just hoping everything works out for the best.

Even though it wasn’t quite what I expected when I went in, I still really enjoyed reading Mónica B. Wagner’s Frosh: First Blush. The story was fun to read and left me asking for what came next. So you can bet I’ll be reading whatever sequel comes along.

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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Slow Play by Monica Murphy

Title: Slow Play (The Rules #3)

Author: Monica Murphy

Publisher: Self-Published

Release Date: October 13, 2015

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / B&N / Indigo

Newly broke girl Alexandria Asher just wants to live a normal life. After her parents are sent to prison on embezzlement charges, she enrolls in college under her mother’s maiden name and tries her best to pretend she’s someone else.

Tristan Prescott is everything Alex is trying to avoid. A seemingly egotistical, lazy, rich jerk, she dumps her beer on his head when he comes on to her one night at a party. This only spurs Tristan into action. He loves nothing more than a challenge And the beautiful Alex is exactly the type of challenge that intrigues him.

Despite her reluctance, Alex finds herself quickly involved with Tristan. Underneath that playboy exterior is a good guy, a sweet and sexy guy who she is undoubtedly falling for. What they both don’t realize is the actions of Alex’s parents the reason for so much tragedy in Tristan’s family. And when Tristan discovers who Alex and her family really is, can he forgive and forget?

In the past few months, Monica Murphy has quickly become an auto-buy author for me. I’ve loved everything of hers that I’ve read and I’m always excited to read more. So it should come as no surprise that I dropped everything to read Slow Play on the day it came out. And I don’t regret that decision one bit.

After everything that happened with her parents, all Alexandria Asher wants is to go to college and have a normal life. But going from having everything to almost nothing is hard. But she’s doing it. And it would be going fine if it weren’t for Tristan Prescott, the campus manwhore and egotistical asshole. Alex doesn’t want anything to do with Tristan, but Tristan seems determined to get to Alex. Tristan enjoys the challenge of trying to get Alexandria into his bed. Girls don’t say no to him and her constant rejections just spur him on. Neither one of them was looking for a relationship. But the more they try to resist the attraction between them, the more they feel drawn together. But they post have things in their pasts they don’t want to talk about. When they finally bring it all into the open, Alex and Tristan realize they have a lot more in common than they ever thought. And that might just be what tears them apart. 

I am forever thankful for the Locker Room Facebook group (if you love sports romance, CHECK IT OUT) because it has allowed me to discover so many awesome authors and books. And that includes Monica Murphy. Before joining that group, I hadn’t really heard of her or her books. Which makes me very sad because, of the ones I’ve read, I’ve come to love her books and her writing. I mean, I devoured the first two books in The Rules series. I was really excited at the prospect of reading Slow Play, the final book in the series. From the moment I woke up on the day it released, I pretty much did nothing but read Slow Play until there was nothing left to read. And being finished made me sad because guys, I loved this book SO MUCH. Based on what I knew of Tristan, one of the two main characters, I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about this story. But I really shouldn’t have worried because it was the perfect story for him and Alex and I loved it. And if you like slow burn romance, than you absolutely NEED to pick up Slow Play. I mean, the title kind of suggests it, this is totally a slow burn romance. There is no love lost between Alex and Tristan when they first meet, and I loved seeing their relationship build and grow. It made my heart happy and I just didn’t want it to end.

From what I had seen of Tristan in the first two books, which admittedly wasn’t really all that much, I didn’t think much of him. In fact, I kinda wondered how I was going to be able to read an entire book about him and see him as a worthy love interest. I mean, the guy is basically an asshole and he knows it. But then I started reading Slow Play and it didn’t take long for me to start falling for Tristan. This guy, no matter how big of an asshole he could be, pretty much stole my heart. I wasn’t even a quarter of the way through the book and I wanted him to have all the good things. And that included having Alex in his life. Because Alex was perfect for Tristan. She wasn’t afraid to call him out on his bullshit and I was often amused whenever she did so. Beyond being perfect for Tristan, I loved Alex. I loved how strong she was, because it certainly takes a lot of strength to get through what she went through. And I just wanted her to be happy. Preferably with Tristan because they were so freaking perfect together. Also, it should be said that Shep, Jade, Gabe and Lucy are all in this story and I only love them that much more because of it.

I ABSOLUTELY LOVED Monica Murphy’s Slow Play. this was a story with characters I didn’t think I could love, but I completely fell for them. And you can bet that I look forward to reading whatever Monica Murphy writes next...and go back to read what I missed out on before discovering her.

Red Girl, Blue Boy by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

Title: Red Girl, Blue Boy (If Only... #5)

Author: Lauren Baratz-Logsted

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's

Release Date: October 20, 2015

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

Enjoy Red Girl, Blue Boy and the other standalone titles in Bloomsbury’s contemporary If Only romance line entered around an impossible problem: you always want what you can’t have!

Sixteen-year-old Katie and Drew really shouldn’t get along. After all, her father is the Republican nominee for President of the United States while his mother is at the top of the Democratic ticket. But when Katie and Drew are thrown together in a joint interview on a morning talk show, they can’t ignore the chemistry between them. With an entire nation tuned into and taking sides in your parents’ fight, and the knowledge that—ultimately—someone has to lose, how can you fall in love with the one person you’re supposed to hate?

This title in the If Only line is a frank and funny romance that shows how sparks fly when opposites attract.

I don’t really think I have to explain why Lauren Baratz-Logsted’s Red Girl, Blue Boy would be the kind of book I would enjoy? If you know me, it really should be a no-brainer. And it shouldn’t come as a surprise when I say that Red Girl, Blue Boy was a fun and totally adorable story.

Katie has spent her whole life in politics. After all, she was only four years old the first time she helped her father campaign. Now sixteen, Katie is ready to go back on the road with her father as he embarks on his biggest campaign yet: the one for president of the United States. Katie is ready for it, she knows exactly what she has to do in order to help her father win. The one thing she doesn’t count on, though, is Drew. Drew who just so happens to be the sixteen-year-old son of her father’s competition. Drew never wanted to be in the spotlight. He’ll support his mother’s bid for president, but that doesn’t mean he wants to be out campaigning with her. But when circumstances make it so him and Katie are forced together, Drew becomes intrigued by her. Katie and Drew know nothing can happen between them, but they are the only ones that understand exactly what the other is going through. And there’s something powerful in that. But being together could screw everything up for both their parents. 

I’ve loved every single book I’ve read from Bloomsbury’s If Only line. I mean, this is a line of cute contemporary romances so how could I possibly not love them? They pretty much have my name written all over them. And so I love it when I find out that there’s going to be a new book coming out in the series. So I was really excited about reading Lauren Baratz-Logsted’s Red Girl, Blue Boy. Plus with the upcoming election in Canada next week and the one in the US next year, it felt oddly timely. But that’s not really the point. Red Girl, Blue Boy was a fast, fun and highly enjoyable story to read. I loved getting this sort of behind the scenes look at presidential elections, at the way the candidates’ families are affected by it all, even if it was a fictionalized account of it all. I liked seeing the relationship develop between Drew and Katie. How even though it started out being about their parents running against each other in the election, it soon became about a whole lot more than that. It was just the kind of story that puts a smile on your face and keeps you turning the pages because it’s fun to read. And there were totally times when I was chuckling at bit at what was happening or at what some of the characters (*cough*Katie*cough*) were doing. Red Girl, Blue Boy was just plain old fun. And that’s how I like a lot of my YA romance.

If I’m being completely honest, it took me a while to like Katie. She was just so into her father’s campaign that it got to the point where she came across as almost robotic. There’s nothing wrong with being into politics and campaigning. Heck, I have a degree in political science so I would fall into that category. But with Katie, I had to wonder if she actually enjoyed it and loved it as much as she did because that’s truly how she felt or because she hasn’t really known anything else. But as I got to know her more and as she started doing more than just politics-related stuff, I warmed up to her pretty quickly. She was an amusing character to read about because everything that would be normal to any other teenager was so new to her. One of my favourite moments in the story is when she goes shopping for “regular clothes” with her secret service agent. And Drew was pretty much her complete opposite. He didn’t care much for politics and wasn’t exactly excited about his mom running for the highest office there is. But he was the perfect balance to Katie’s character. And they were kind of adorable together. And I loved them together.

Lauren Baratz-Logsted’s Red Girl, Blue Boy was a whole lot of fun. This story was a quick read that put a smile on my face. It was exactly the cute contemporary romance story I wanted and I enjoyed every moment spent reading it.