All of You by Christina Lee ♥♥♥♥.5

If you’re trying to find new books to read  or keep up with books in your favorite genre, I suggest you follow your favorite authors on Twitter, if you’re not already. That’s how I found out about Christina Lee’s All of You, and I am so glad I did, because I really loved this book!

Avery is an independent, strong willed, college student who likes to play the field, no strings attached. Bennett isn’t willing to break promises he’s made to himself for a one night stand.  He’s saving himself for real love. Avery isn’t sure she wants to open herself up to the possible heartache that falling in love can cause. But neither Avery nor Bennett can resist the other.

All of You was a great read. Avery and Bennett have both dealt with some poor parenting, practically raising themselves and being parents to their younger siblings.  And Avery’s past is even murkier than just bad parenting. Getting to know these characters through Avery’s eyes was a great journey. The characters seem like real people, people I know. Seeing that is a book is a rare and wonderful occurrence.

I didn’t have any real issues with the book. Bennett saving himself for love was my biggest problem in that you don’t really see guys in real life like that (this coming from a girl who grew up in a house with too much testosterone). His past did make it a bit more believable. I just can’t decide if guys like him exist in real life. We can hope, right?

Overall, I really enjoyed the book. The opening line was one of the best I’ve ever read. It was so captivating. After that I couldn’t wait to read the rest. Now I’m looking forward to reading Before You Break, which, luckily, just came out and is ready to read!

All of You on Goodreads

Seeking Her by Cora Carmack ♥♥♥

Let me start by saying, I really love Cora Carmack’s writing. She is so funny, and puts her characters in the most awkward situations, which makes for some really great stories! I’m sorry to say, Seeking Her fell a bit short of my expectations.

Seeking Her is a novella to along with the book Finding It, which I rather enjoyed and you should definitely read before Seeking Her. Our books gives a bit of Jackson and Kelsey’s story, from Jackson’s perspective, but it really only tells the story up to the point where Kelsey and Jackson start to get to know each other, then it’s over. Of course, if you’ve read Finding It, then you know what happens after this, but I thought there would be more. We do get some good background on Jackson, but that’s really it. And the tone was much more serious than any of Cora’s other books.

I’m glad I read the book, but I also think we could have been given all the new stuff we get during some added conversations during Finding It. When I read a novella I want enough new information to make it worth reading. And I don’t think Seeking Her did that.  

The book still gets 3 ♥s though because the writing is great and we do get to know Jackson, especially his motivation for things I won’t mention in case you haven’t read Finding It. If you have read it then you know what I’m talking about, because you already know his biggest secret.

I recommend reading any of the other books in the Losing it series. The books are funny with the right amount of seriousness when needed. Start with Losing It, which is my favorite, and I don’t think you will be sorry you did. And I’m really looking forward to Cora’s next series, Rusk University, the first of which is due out May 13^th. I’ve already preordered my copy!

Seeking Her on Goodreads

Do you read ebooks?

I get most of my books as e-books, and one of the ways I have found to help with buying so many books and to find new authors is BookBub. You tell the site what types of books you like to read and what type of eReaders you have, and they will send you daily emails with book deals for you. I've also found this to be a great way to discover new authors.

Here’s the website if you want to check it out!

https://www.bookbub.com/home/

Wallbanger by Alice Clayton ♥♥♥♥

Don’t judge Alice Clayton’s Wallbanger by its cover! I know we all do it; we pick up the book with the cool cover because the cover must say something about the story.  I picked up Wallbanger (hesitant because of the cover) thinking it may be a little too steamy for my taste, and I was wrong.

Caroline is the epitome of sexual frustration having gone months without her O (as she calls it). Simon, her neighbor, has no problem reaching his own happy ending, banging his bed against Caroline’s wall most nights to gain his own satisfaction. Caroline is even able to differentiate between the three women Simon keeps on rotation based on their…noises.

Fed up one night, Caroline goes to confront Simon, and is met with a very attractive neighbor…in a sheet. And cue the drama as Simon and Caroline are thrown together, become friends, and have to decide if they want to be more than friends.

I thought this story was funny and very unexpected. Caroline and her friends are so great together, and their banter is what I expect in real life from people who have known each other so long. Their relationships seemed so real.

Simon is not what I expected in that he seemed like a real person instead of the completely perfect guy we normally get in romance novels (although his shortcomings and brokenness aren’t highlighted as much as usual either). It was a nice change from the norm. I really enjoyed how real the characters were.

The only strange thing about the book, and I can’t decide how I feel about it, is the point of view. For most of the book we see everything form Caroline’s perspective, she is telling us her story. Then, probably around the middle of the story, we have text messages between characters, and not all those conversation involve Caroline. Not long after that we have a very awkward (for the characters) car ride, and that whole scene contains the thoughts of four different characters, one of whom is Caroline. I’m not sure if I liked that or not, but it was surprising.

As a whole I really enjoyed the book and I am looking forward to the sequel Rusty Nailed. I am also looking forward to Alice Clayton’s other series Redhead, which starts with the book Unidentified Redhead, as soon as the library gets me a copy.

Wallbanger on Goodreads