Plain Jayne by Lauren Drewry ♡♡♡

Plain Jayne by Lauren Drewry is the first book I have read by this author. I picked it up when it was on sale through BookBub.

The story is Jayne moves back to her hometown to take over grandmother's bookstore after her grandmother's death. Her best friend Nick still lives in town, and they are picking up right where they left off. But the bookstore isn't in good condition and the apartment above in uninhabitable. So Jayne stays with Nick while they get the place fixed up. Each has feelings for the other, and neither is sure if they want to explore those feelings. We watch their story unfold.

I really don't have much to say about this story. It was well written, and it had no grammatical errors that I could see, but something was missing. I didn't really connect with the characters. Also, I'm pretty sure BookBub marketed this book as a new adult (although I can't be sure since I purchased the book some time ago), and it was definitely contemporary romance. The characters were in their thirties, possibly part of the reason I had trouble connecting with them.

But it had all the makings of a good story and a great premise. Have you read this book? What did you think?

Plain Jayne on Goodreads

#Nerd by Cambria Herbert ♡♡♡.5

#Nerd by Cambria Herbert is the first book I've read by this author. I enjoyed the story for the most part.

#Nerd is the story of Rimmel, a sophomore in college who is being forced by the Dean to tutor the star quarterback. Romeo is the ultimate playboy, with no desire to have a tutor.

But Romeo has no choice, and when the fraternity he's rushing tells him to sleep with Rimmel as past of initiation, he's not too excited about it. Neither Rimmel or Romeo want to have feeling for each other, but there's no stopping the sparks that fly.

I enjoyed the story and fell in love with the characters. Some of the writing felt a little stiff since we were in the minds of such young characters. There was also some overlap in the story because of the point of view change. I would have liked if there was less of that. I also wish there were less of the title used in the story. It felt forced.

Overall, I enjoyed the story, and I am looking forward to reading the next book #Hater.

 #Nerd on Goodreads

Make It Right by Megan Erickson ♡♡♡

Make It Right by Megan Erickson is the second book in the Bowler University series. Read the first book in the series so you will know who all the characters are, the story will feel very off if you don't know what happened before.

Make It Right tells the story of Lea and Max. Leas doesn't know how to trust anyone as the result of a difficult past. Max wants Lea, but he finds it difficult to be honest with himself and others. He's learned it's easier to be the person everyone else wants him to be.

Neither wants to admit their feelings for the other, but they fall hard and fast. Max shows Lea how to trust people and herself. Lea shows Max how to be the person he wants to be.

I enjoyed reading this story. I liked the Max and Lea, and I really liked how fully developed the secondary characters were. I did have some difficulty connecting with the characters. I think the story could have benefited from being in first person, from each character's point of view. Something about the third person really threw me off. There were also quite a few places with missing words or the wrong word, which pulled me out of the story (and makes me a bit peeved at the editor and copy editor, did they even read it?).

But overall, the story was good, and I will be reading the next book, Make It Last, when I get through some of my other TBR books. Have you read any of Megan Erickson's books? If not, you should. They are great, quick fun reads. Enjoy!

Make It Right on Goodreads

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.

Who else has read these books? What did you think?

Riot on Goodreads

Better When He’s Bold by Jay Crownover ♡♡♡♡♡

Better When He’s Bold is the second book in Jay Crownover’s Welcome to the Point series. I surprised myself by loving Better When He’s Bad, and I think I liked this story even more.

Better When He’s Bold tells the story of Race, whom we met in book one (read it if you haven’t already) and Brysen. Race likes the challenge Brysen presents. She gives him the cold shoulder and the impression that she hates the ground Race walks on. Brysen is ridiculously attracted to Race, but has her family to worry about and doesn’t want to get involved with a criminal.

But when someone seems to have set their sights on hurting Brysen, she doesn’t know who else can help protect her except Race. They need to find out who is coming after her before it’s too late.

This was an amazing story. I don’t know exactly how Jay Crownover can convince me to fall in love with these seriously bad guys, who are literally criminals. But she has a way of making them human. They aren’t just looking out for themselves; they are trying to change a world that eats people alive by making it a little more livable, just not in a legal way.

The chemistry between Race and Brysen was palpable and their story was really awesome. I loved getting to know Race better and learning about Brysen.

If you haven’t already, you need to read all of Jay Crownover’s books. This one was especially great! Have you read it? What did you think?

Better When He’s Bold on Goodreads

Eversea by Natasha Boyd ♡♡♡

Eversea by Natasha Boyd is a book I first saw when it was on sale through BookBub. I picked up the book because of the compelling premise. I like stories about a famous person going to a small town and falling for someone who lives there.

That is exactly what happens in Eversea. Kerri Ann lives in a small town as a waitress working to help restore her family home. Jack, a famous actor, comes to town and falls for her immediately. They have quite the tumultuous time of things.

I enjoyed watching Kerri Ann try and figure out who she was and what she wanted for her life, and whether that life can include Jack.

This was a gripping story that kept me reading. I wanted to know what was going to happen, and what decisions Kerri Ann would make. I also loved the genuine Southern setting. Natasha Boyd really captures what it's like to live in the South. And I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series. I bought it as soon as I finished the first.

Has anyone else read this book? What did you think? 

Eversea on Goodreads

Wicked by Jennifer L. Armentrout ♡♡♡♡.5

Wicked by Jennifer L. Armentrout was so much better than I could have expected. I have been reading her books for some time now, and I have enjoyed them in the past, but as a reader, I am skeptical of authors going from realistic to paranormal, mostly because I love paranormal and don't read many authors who do both. But I have to say Wicked changed my mind.

Wicked is kind of a difficult book to explain without telling you everything about the world it's set in. But the gist of it is that in this book fairies are evil, and Ivy, our heroine, is part of a secret society, the Order, who are responsible for finding and killing them. Enter Ren, the new guy from Colorado, who Ivy is charged with showing around New Orleans. There is all kinds of story and secrets between them.

More importantly, the equinox is approaching, which is going to cause problems for the Order. Ivy and Ren are trying to figure out things between them, and figure out how to keep more fairies from getting into our world.

This had to be one of my favorite books so far this year. I am so happy to see more paranormal books making their way into new adult, and this one did a great job setting up a world within our own. But it still had that great coming of age love story. And it ended on a huge cliffhanger,  and now we have to wait until summer for the next book, Torn! 

 Wicked on Goodreads