Review: We'll Always Have Paris: A Mother/Daughter

We'll Always Have Paris: 
A Mother/Daughter Memoir

Author: Jennifer Coburn

Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir, Travel

Publisher: Sourcebooks

Publication Date: April 8 2014

Format: ebook

Pages: 391

Source: France Book Tours / NetGalley

Purchase: Amazon | Amazon CA | B&N
Indigo | iBooks | Kobo

Rating: ★★★

How her daughter and her passport taught Jennifer to live like there's no tomorrow.

Jennifer Coburn has always been terrified of dying young. So she decides to save up and drop everything to travel with her daughter, Katie, on a whirlwind European adventure before it's too late. Even though her husband can't join them, even though she's nervous about the journey, and even though she's perfectly healthy, Jennifer is determined to jam her daughter's mental photo album with memories?just in case.

From the cafes of Paris to the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Jennifer and Katie take on Europe one city at a time, united by their desire to see the world and spend precious time together. In this heartwarming generational love story, Jennifer reveals how their adventures helped vanquish her fear of dying...for the sake of living. [Provided by the author] (Goodreads)

***

Opening Lines

"Jail?!" my husband William shouted through the telephone.
"We were never actually in a jail cell," I explained, now safely back in our hotel room. "It was just a warning."

I remember when I first came across this book and how I was looking forward to reading something that had travelling and a mother-daughter experience all bundled in one! I read the first part of the Introduction and was happy for the humour and then that was quickly striped away by the second part of the introduction revolving around Jennifer's father. 

Once you start reading We'll Always Have Paris you start to realize why Jennifer is so afraid of dying young and is trying to make the most of this trip, just in case. I understand that authors don't put everything into the synopsis but I wish the meaning behind Jennifer's fear of dying was. When the tidbits about her father popped up I started to feel like it was random information just shoved in their to fill space, but I came to understand it's importance and how it's shaped Jennifer into the women she is today and why it was so important for her to make the most of memories for Katie.

Unfortunately, We'll Always Have Paris didn't keep me interested although out. I had to take many breaks from reading it, I feel like I would have enjoyed it more if maybe we had different perspectives or maybe a diary entry or something. I just felt flat being told from first perspective from start to finish. The writing style fell into a couple of awkward ruts of rambling but I really loved the descriptions given. This is one aspect Jennifer excelled at! I felt like I was with them while they were travel, all their experiences and what they were seeing felt so real! It made me want to pack a bag, grab my mom and passports and travel all of Europe.

Fear of dying is something almost every can relate to, or at least I think. We'll Always Have Paris had the potential to deliver a powerful message of living your life to the fullest no matter what, but I felt like it didn't give it's all. I'm not saying that message wasn't conveyed at all, I just felt like to got lost at times. A couple of things just didn't work for me. I was expecting a happy, humorous read with a great life lesson and that's not completely what I got.

Overall, We'll Always Have Paris was interesting travel read. It show cased a mother wanting to make the most of her time with her daughter, the closure of losing a father and a calm husband who clearly loves his family.

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***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jennifer Coburn is a USA Today best selling author of six novels and contributor to four literary anthologies. Over the past two decades, Coburn has received numerous awards from the Press Club and Society for Professional Journalists for articles that appeared in Mothering, Big Apple Baby, The Miami Herald, The San Diego Union-Tribune and dozens of national and regional publications.

She has also written for Salon.com, Creators News Syndicate and The Huffington Post. Coburn lives in San Diego with her husband, William, and their daughter, Katie. We'll Always Have Paris is her first memoir.

Visit her website.

Follow Jennifer Coburn on Twitter | Facebook

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***

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Review: Bittersweet

Bittersweet

Author: Sunday James
Genre: New Adult, Romance
Publisher: Hothouse Fiction Ltd
Publication Date: October 2 2014
Format: ebook
Pages: 320
Source: AToMR Promotions
Purchase: Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Kobo

Rating: ★★★

Sparks fly between a sexy stranger and a small-town waitress in this steamy new contemporary romance…

When new teen TV series 'Bittersweet' begins shooting in Dogwood, Virginia, the small town is abuzz with excitement. But local waitress Cathy Johnson has too much on her plate to waste time being star-struck. To Cathy, "bittersweet" is just the word that sums up her love-life after her high school romance ended in disaster. Since then she’s hardly had time to brush her hair, let alone think about relationships. Certainly not the kind being played out in front of the cameras by impossibly beautiful actors posing as teenagers…

But all that changes when tall, dark, blue-eyed stranger Greg Moran arrives in Dogwood along with the 'Bittersweet' cast and crew. Cathy and the devastatingly sexy New Yorker have instant chemistry. But Greg blows hot (STEAMING hot) and cold with her romantically, leaving Cathy’s head in a spin. She has a feeling he’s keeping something from her… If Cathy is willing to drop her emotional walls, why is Greg still so intense and mysterious? What is it in his past – or present – that means he’s keeping Cathy at arm’s length? How badly has his heart really been broken before?

Cathy and Greg are magnetically drawn to one another, but they’ll have to fight to keep their relationship from turning sour. Will they make it? If it’s hard to let go of the past, falling in love can be BITTERSWEET… (Goodreads)

Opening Lines

“As the sun finally begins to sink lower in the sky, I stare at the piles of trash neatly stacked up in the dumpster with a smile on my face, drawing in a last breath of the warm summer air before I head back inside.”

Bittersweet was a good New Adult read, I found that it flowed well and had a cute small town appreciation. I had some problems being able to connect with the characters but I really loved how Greg wasn't the typical New Adult jerk-character that seems to be in almost every book. He was genuine and so sweet! And Cathy, as much as she had plans to get out of town she said to take care of her father and you can see how much she loves her family.

There was obvious chemistry between Cathy and Greg that just seemed to get hotter and hotter as the story progressed. I really enjoyed the writing style and how descriptive Sunday James was. I felt like I was really seeing Dogwood and it made me love the small town atmosphere more.

What kept Bittersweet from getting 5 stars?

As much as Bittersweet was an interesting read and had good characters I couldn't connect with any of them. There wasn't really anything about them that made me love them or hate them. I felt like there was so much we weren't told about Greg's character. We learned about his past but I still felt there was a lot missing. Also, this book was told completely from Cathy's POV. I would have probably enjoyed this more if there was at least a view chapters from Greg's POV, this would allot for the readers to really get inside his mind and to better understand him. Another issue I had with Bittersweet was I found there was just too many things taking place! It's was like the sub plot had a sub plot and made it very hard for me to follow he story at times. 

Overall, Bittersweet was a cute read! As much as I had some issues with it, I did find it to be a pretty good debut novel for Sunday James. Will I be continuing with this series? Maybe, I'll need to read the synopsis first to see where she plans to take the story.

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About the Author

Sunday James is the pen name of author Sareeta Domingo, when writing the New Adult contemporary romance series BITTERSWEET. She lives in London and works as an editor at creative book packager Hothouse Fiction, squeezing writing into her mornings, evenings and weekends – but promises she has a life…

She loves all things American – literature, history, popular culture – so much so that she even lived and studied in California, but somehow missed out on being swept off her feet by a devastatingly handsome but mysterious actor while she was there. Luckily, writing BITTERSWEET has allowed her to live that dream.

Links: Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook

Review: To Defy a Sheikh

To Defy a Sheikh

Author: Maisey Yates
Genre: Romance
Publisher: Harlequin Presents
Publication Date: Oct. 21st, 2014
November 1st, 2014
Format: ebook
Pages: 190
Source: NetGalley
Purchase: Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Kobo

Rating: ★★★

The cost of defiance

Princess Samarah Al-Azem knows you cannot rush revenge. Having bided her time, she's finally ready to bring down Ferran, her kingdom's enemy and the man who took everything from her. In the still of night, she lies in wait in his bedchamber….

It isn't the first time Sheikh Ferran has found himself at the edge of an assassin's blade…but never has it been wielded by such a beautiful assailant. Soon he has her at his mercy—something he's wanted for years!

Now Samarah must decide: imprisonment in a cell…or in diamond shackles as his wife. (Goodreads)

Opening Lines

"Sheikh Ferran Bashar, ruler of Khadra, would not survive the night. He didn't know it yet, but it was true."

Majority of the stars for To Defy a Sheikh come from the fact that I read this in one sitting. I was curious to see what Ferran was hiding and how Samarah would react, and when they would finally realize that they were in love with each other. I did really enjoy the development between Ferran and Samarah. There were some pretty intense scenes between Ferran and Samarah that had me fanning myself,

What kept To Defy a Sheikh from getting 5 stars?

The constant back and forth with Samarah coming to terms with her feelings and the situation with Ferran. Towards the start of the book it made sense for Samarah to be conflicted and not know if she can trust Ferran and what her attraction to him means. She's new to all this and has been surviving on her own for awhile now. But after awhile it got tiring and annoying and just wasn't applicable anymore. It was a constant back and forth that could have been written better.

Another reason, Ferran admits to something that he did, something that Samarah should know before they get married. I loved Ferran for being honest about this, sure he didn't tell her right away but he did tell her eventually. Her response? Sex. I'm sorry, WHAT!? This was completely unrealistic in so many ways. Sex should be the last thing on her mind with the information that Ferran shared and it made me strongly dislike Samarah's character and Maisey Yates' use of sex to divert the issue.

Lastly, Samarah's need for revenge. It took WAY too long for her to realize that she was no better than her father by seeking revenge. Her hardness made it impossible for me to connect with her character. Overall, To Defy a Sheikh was an okay read that just didn't really work for me. It had some intense scenes with an obvious display of chemistry between Ferran and Samarah, but that was about it. I recommend this to those that like romance novels.

Review: Finding Her Way Back

**My review was originally suppose to be posted on October 9th, due to an error on my behalf I am posting this review on October 17th instead.**

Finding Her Way Back

Author: Heather Van Fleet
Genre: New Adult, Romance
Publisher: Swoon Romance
Publication Date: October 7th, 2014
Format: ebook
Pages: 248
Source: YA Bound Book Tours
Purchase: Amazon

Rating: ★★★

Meet Callie, a chubby-sexy nineteen-year-old girl who fears high heels, commitments, and has a love/hate relationship with her running shoes. Nine months of college down the drain and all she has to show for it is her freshman thirty.

But alas, life has other crap plans for her--one that includes a strict regiment of "do this and do that" from her she-devil sister, all while trying to avoid the unavoidable. The unavoidable being Ky: the ex-best friend-turned-sex god who lives across the street.

Meet Ky; a nineteen-year-old wanna be country music singer and a boy-turned-man who still wears a proverbial skateboard around his neck from wasted high school days. When Callie returns home, he realizes that she's exactly the muse he's been missing all this time.

Now, if only she can stop running long enough to find out where their love could lead. Finding Her Way Back is a new adult novel about finding love while learning how to love yourself. For all the chubby-sexy girls who tend to feel invisible, this one's for you! (Goodreads)

Opening Lines

“You need to lose weight. Pronto. I mean, look at how massive your hips have gotten, Callie. Freshman fifteen my ass…I’d say freshman thirty is more like it.”

Finding Her Way Back was an interesting and eye opening read. I really enjoyed Callie's character, I found her to be realistic and someone readers could actually relate to. My heart broke for her and all the things she had to go through. And then we have Anna, I never like using the word hate but I really REALLY disliked her. Even though we find out later on why she acts the way she does I couldn't find myself 100% sympathetic. And Callie and Anna's parents...they didn't seem realistic to me. I really didn't like the way they treated Callie.

At times I found Finding Her Way Back to be a little bit repetitive but I still managed to enjoy the story. As much as I really liked Callie and Kylan's characters I found it hard to connect with them. There was so much going on that I felt it took away from really focusing on Callie and Ky's relationship. I found myself constantly trying to keep up with all the different events happening that kept interfering with their relationship. Overall, Finding Her Way Back was an interesting read! I'm really curious to see if we'll get more Callie and Kylan in the future.

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About the Author

Midwestern native Heather Van Fleet lives in a small town on the Iowa/Illinois border. She’s a wife to her hubby--and high school sweet heart--Chris, as well as a mom to her three little girls, Kelsey, Emma and Bella. When she’s not obsessing over her fictional book characters, cooking dinner, or running around chasing her crazy kiddos, you can usually find her with her head stuck in her Kindle, sucking down White Chocolate Mochas like they're water.

Links: Website | Goodreads | Twitter

Review: Unrequited

Unrequited

Author: Emily Shaffer
Series: New Adult, Paranormal, Romance
Genre: Book 1
Publisher: Swoon Romance
Publication Date: Sept. 23, 2014
Format: ebook
Pages: 190
Source: YA Bound Book Tours
Purchase: Amazon | Kobo

Rating: ★★★

In the town of Belle Ridge there are doctors, lawyers and teachers... but there is only one vampire. Will Leighton has become an expert in making a life for himself amongst the unsuspecting small-town inhabitants, as the high school history teacher. He has spent hundreds of years crafting an identity and routine that make him feel almost human, but he is always missing that important final element, love.

Ashton Wallace is beautiful, smart, and angry. She was forced into an eternal existence, and now her family has moved her away from everything and everyone she knows. In Belle Ridge she is supposed to finish high school and start her life again, but how do you make plans for the next several centuries?

Will has never met another of his kind, and is immediately intrigued by Ashton. He longs to show her that the perceived vampire lifestyle, so popular in storybooks, is far from reality...but will she let him be a friend and guide in this new existence? Can Ashton accept Will into her life, or will she be led astray by a dark stranger with whom she shares an unknown connection? (Goodreads)

Opening Lines

“In the town of Belle Ridge, there were doctors, lawyers, and teachers. But there was only one vampire, and he happened to be the high school history teacher.”

Excerpt From: Emily Shaffer. “Unrequited.” iBooks.

So what made me want to read Unrequited? The cover. Seriously, it's so simple yet so bold. My eyes were instantly drawn to the lips and the heart on it. I also love the contrast on the white/pale skin background with black font and red accents. It just makes the cover stand out more than it usually would if other colours were chosen.

If your use to the world of vampires were they can't come out during the day, drink blood, can't digest food, can't step into a church and all those classic vampire things than Unrequited will definitely be a unique read for you! Emily Shaffer has completely re-vamped (see what I did there?!) what we know about vampires, in Unrequited they can go into churches, be out during the day, and eat food, although it's more of an act to blend in.

Love Triangle - I really don't like reading books that involve love triangles because it always leads to someones heart being broken, but yet I seem to continue reading books that have them! I was instantly Team Will from the moment we first meet him, he's just such a swoon worthy character! And Griffin, well I disliked Griffin from the moment we met him and only started to like him a little bit within the last four chapters. I'm hoping that in the next book Ashton will come to her sense and pick Will! And if Emily Shaffer can throw in a love interest for Griffin then everyone will have a happy ending.

“Without a single word, he knew Ashton hadn't come back to Belle Ridge for him. Her eyes, her beautiful green eyes, didn’t hold the same look for him they once had. He couldn’t move. He could scarcely breathe. In less than an instant he felt like everything he had planned and wanted had evaporated into the air. All that remained was his bruised and broken heart and the memory of a stolen moment in time.”

Excerpt From: Emily Shaffer. “Unrequited.” iBooks.

Emily Shaffer is a very descriptive writer. I felt every emotion that Will, Ashton and even Griffin felt. At times though I felt like the story was rushed and I would have preferred for there to be more of a development with Ashton's feelings towards both Will and Griffin. I liked having the story told from both Will and Ashton's point-of-view, this was the perfect way to really capture each characters emotions and thoughts, however I would have liked to have seen more from Griffin's perspective.

Lasting Impression

Overall, Unrequited was a unique and fast paced read. We're left with a serious cliffhanger and I'm definitely intrigued to read the sequel to find out what will happen next! TEAM WILL!!!

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About the Author

Whether writing stories to entertain her younger siblings, or typing up an essay for a class, Emily Shaffer has been a writer for as long as she can remember. Her stories may have changed from talking cartoon frogs to angsty young adults, but her goal to write a compelling story remains the same. When not writing, she lives in Nashville and enjoys all the music, food, and excitement that city has to offer. Her first novel, the well-received chick-lit title That Time of the Month was self-published on Amazon in 2012. Her latest novel, as the others before, are fueled by diet soda and pie.

Links: Website│Goodreads│Twitter│Facebook