Friday Night Alibi by Cassie Mae ♥♥.7

Friday Night Alibi is the second book I’ve read by Cassie Mae. Much like Switched, this story was super adorable. In the same way this book had the same issues in that it was marketed as New Adult, but had more or a Young Adult feel.

This story is about high school student Kelli (technically, she graduated early, so she’s not in school in the book). She spends her Friday nights in her swanked out bedroom, playing video games so no one will see her around town. She can’t let anyone see her because she gets paid by her classmates to come up with lies for what they were doing, and to be their alibi so her classmates can live their lives without losing their trust fund money (they live in a conservative, rich, white town).

Then Kelli meets Chase. They flirt. They argue. They make out. And then Chase asks Kelli to give up being the alibi, and be his girlfriend instead. And she has to decide if he’s worth what she will lose.

Again, the story is adorable. The banter between Kelli and Chase is pretty perfect. And the book had the ending I hoped for.

So, what went wrong?

One reviewer on Goodreads said they felt the story was missing something, but they weren’t sure what. I think it lacked the passion and real coming of age story we normally get from New Adult books. That’s not to say that all book I the genre need to conform, but that the audience has specific expectations within a genre. Much like Switched, I believe this book is really more of a Young Adult novel. It was PG-13. I think I could have been okay with that, but the characters also seemed very young and immature.

My other issue was the issue of morality in the book. I believe characters should be well rounded and have their own unique views about things, but Christianity may as well have been a character for how much they brought it up. People know certain things about small towns in the south. But the book wasn’t marketed as Christian fiction, and I was surprised how much it came up when I was reading. I didn’t appreciate it.

Overall, the book was cute. And now I know what to expect from Cassie Mae. Lots of sexual frustration and no release (for the characters!). 

Friday Night Alibi on Goodreads

Relentless by Cassia Leo ♥♥♥.75

Relentless is the first book in the Shattered Hearts series by Cassia Leo. If you’re looking for a good, short read this could be the right book for you. But don’t think there won’t be any punch to the story just because it’s short. You’re in for a few surprises with this one.

Claire dropped out of college due to a secret she doesn’t want anyone to know about, least of all her hot new neighbor, Adam. As she and Adam grow close Claire worries about not only the secrets between them, but her first love, Chris.  Not only did Chris break her heart, but with his rise to fame there aren’t many ways to avoid him. Everything comes to a head when Chris comes back into her life, and her secret is revealed to both Adam and Chis.

There were a few things I didn’t enjoy about the book. I’ll get that out of the way so I can get to the good stuff. Something small, but bothersome, was the chapter titles. They all had the book title, Relentless, in them, it was a bit distracting. I think numbers would have been better. The other thing I thought was off putting were the links in the e-book (if you can get this in paper form, I doubt the links are there). It pulled me out of the story, and made me feel I needed too much guidance from the author. The links actually made me think of ditching the book. I’m glad I didn’t though.

The book had real heart. Even though the story didn’t take place at college, it still felt like a New Adult book given that Claire is trying to figure out who she is. She’s had a difficult life and has dealt with it so well. It was great to see a book with real life struggles with no good answer as to what’s best for the people in Claire’s life.

It was beautiful to watch Claire and Adam come to trust each other, and how they handled Chris walking into their lives. I’m glad to have read this book, and I’m looking forward to reading more by Cassia Leo. 

Relentless on Goodreads

Deceiving Lies by Molly McAdams ♥♥♥♥.5

Deceiving Lies by Molly McAdams is the second book in the Forgiving Lies series, and so far I have really loved this series (seems we may get some more books for this series in the future). Since this is the second book we’re talking about, here is your SPOILER ALERT. I can’t talk about this book without giving a lot away about Forgiving Lies. So, if you haven’t read that yet, then you don’t want to read any further. You’ve been warned!

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Moving right along…

Deceiving Lies is a continuation of Kash and Rachel’s story. After the hell they went through in the previous book with Rachel’s stalker and kidnapping, Kash and Rachel are moving on with their lives. Rachel seems to have moved on from everything that happened with Blake, and have moved in with Kash. She’s getting to Kash’s family and dealing with the emotions of planning a wedding without her parents.

Everything comes crashing down when Rachel is kidnapped. We watch the downward spiral that causes for Kash as he does everything he can to find her. And we see Rachel grow close to the man who took her while she waits for Kash to save her.

This book and this series are my favorites by Molly McAdams. This book in particular has so much going on and had me on an emotional roller coaster along with the characters. I loved seeing Rachel’s faith in Kash while at the same time watching her struggle with the feeling she has about her kidnapper turned protector. As Rachel wrestles with her emotions, Kash is falling apart with grief over losing her again. It was heartwarming to see that there were no boundaries as to what he would do to save Rachel and to ensure her happiness. In the end, I was happy with how the story ended for everyone.

I’m hoping to have more stories like this from Molly McAdams in the future; I am looking forward to the possibility of a story from Mase and from Trent. A final warning (not regarding spoilers), if you’re looking you haven’t read Molly’s other series Taking Chances or From Ashes, don’t expect them to be so similar to this one. Be prepared for heartache and some unexpected situations/endings. I wasn’t happy when I finished those. I’ve never been so angry when I finished a book as I was when I finished Taking Chances. But I’m still looking forward to more books in the Forgiving Lies series. So go read the book already, and if you’re up for an emotional challenge, read the other series too! Happy Reading!

Deceiving Lies on Goodreads