Riot by Jamie Shaw ♡♡♡♡♡ Go Read it Right Now!!!

With the holiday season upon us, especially with Thanksgiving this week, I wanted to talk a little bit about the things I’m thankful for. In particular, I want to talk about Jamie Shaw, author extraordinaire!

I am part of Jamie’s Facebook group, Jamie’s Rock Stars, and this week she talked about how not many people read the second book in her Mayhem series, Riot. I was shocked! It was my favorite book of the series! So, this week, in light of the holidays (and a super busy schedule) I am reposting my review of Riot. If you you have not read this series, then you should, but don’t skip over Riot. It was the most emotional, heart wrenching, wonderful book in the series. Just talking about it makes me want to read it again! Maybe I will avoid all responsibility for this week and dive back into the the world of Mayhem :)

Riot  by Jamie Shaw ♡♡♡♡♡

Riot by Jamie Shaw is the second book in the Mayhem series. If you haven’t read Mayhem, then you need to as soon as possible, because these books are amazing. Thank you Jay Crownover for suggesting them.

We met Joel and Dee in Mayhem, and now we are getting their full story in Riot. Joel and Dee are all about hooking up with who they want when they want. When they start hooking up with each other, they seem to be with only each other. They like each other, but neither wants to take the next step, until one of them does.

I can hardly put into words how much I enjoyed Riot. The story was amazing. I loved the premise. And now I want a Joel of my own. I laughed and cried right along with the characters. The sign of the best books is when you can literally feel what the characters are feeling. That’s what I look for in books, and Jamie Shaw knows how to deliver.

You should read the Mayhem series as soon as you can. You are going to fall in love with these guys. And you are going to wish the girls were your best friends.

Like I said, it was an amazing book, now stop what you're doing and go read!

Touch Me Not by Apryl Baker ♡♡♡♡.5

Touch Me Not by Apryl Baker is the first book I've read by this author, even though she's has a bunch that I may be checking out now. I'm pretty lucky because the last few books I've read have been pretty great. And Touch Me Not was no exception.

Touch Me Not tells the story of Lily. She experienced a traumatic experience as a teenager, and now she can't stand to have anyone touch her, to the point of full on panic attacks. She's in her senior year of college when she encounters Boston University’s biggest player, Nikoli. He wants her, but he also wants to help her with her phobia. And that's where this story takes place.

This is one of very few New Adult books where the story takes place in third person, which I have to say, was a bit distracting at first. But I think it can be difficult to go from so many first person narratives to third person, so no fault on the author for that. I really enjoyed this story though. The writing was great, and I loved the premise. This story reminded me a bit of Beautiful Disaster (maybe a little too similar; I was a bit distracted in the beginning by the similarities), and if you liked that story, then you'll like this one, too!

It's the first in a series, and I'm looking forward to see what's coming next in the series.

Touch Me Not on Goodreads

Slow Play by Monica Murphy ♡♡♡♡.5

Slow Play by Monica Murphy is the third book in the Rules series. I'm pretty sure it's also the last book as there are no more characters to focus on, and I'm disappointed to see this series end.

If you haven't read the rest of the books, then you seriously should, but this review will contain no spoilers for the others.

Slow Play tells the story of Alexandria and Tristan. Tristan's the last unattached guy in his friend group, and he's perfectly fine with hooking up with any girl he wants, until he meets the one girl who says no. Alexandria. He respects her answer, but that doesn't stop him from trying to get to know her.

This was a great last book with a tear worthy ending. I was glad to have a book with a good back story and more dialogue than the previous book. I loved both Tristan and Alexandria by the end of the book.

My only issues was that some of the sex scenes were too mature for me. I'm an adult woman who loves romance books, but I'm also easily and quickly grossed out by some things. But I'm will to admit that, and I think the writing was still great, and those things I didn't enjoy fit for the characters. So, it's more a problem with me than the book.

Either way, read the books! They're amazing, and my favorite series by Monica Murphy so far.

Slow Play on Goodreads

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell ♡♡♡♡.5

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell is a book that has been on my radar for some time now. How could it not be with the success of Eleanor & Park? Someone finally said I had to read it, so I did.

Fangirl tells the story of Cath. She's starting her freshman year of college with her twin sister Wren, but they are separating for the first time. Living in different dorms. Taking different classes. Making different friends.

Cath is also an award winning fanfic author. She loves all things Simon Snow (a Harry Potter like story). And, of course, she meets a boy, two boys, and she tries to work through her feelings for both of them during the story.

There are so many different things going on during Fangirl other than first love and all the drama that comes along with it. There are family problems, mental issues, and all the things that come along with being an introvert going to college.

I loved the way this story dealt with so many different things. It can sometimes be monotonous reading stories that are just about first love. But this story talked about writing, creativity, and being part of a fandom, about being dedicated to a particular fandom. I thought that was a great part of the story; it felt more like real life.

My only real qualm is it took me a while to get into this story. The Simon Snow parts of the story were so reminiscent of Harry Potter that I often felt pulled out of the story finding the similarities. But once I got used to the oddities of the Simon Snow story, I couldn't put the book down. It wasn't your usual love triangle story, and I was glad for something different.

On a side note, I wish this book was not considered YA. The material is almost too mature for YA, but I think a publisher wouldn't want to put it in NA due to lack of sex scenes. Not every NA has sex scenes, and this story was a college, coming of age story. If you like them both, this book has some of the innocence of YA with the emotional depth of NA.

Which category do you think this book should be in? Do you think it matters?

Fangirl on Goodreads