Best Kind of Broken by Chelsea Fine ♥♥♥

Best Kind of Broken by Chelsea Fine is the first book I’ve read by this author. She has a slew of other books, but Best Kind of Broken was on sale and lots of authors were recommending the book on Twitter, so I decided to check it out.

Best Kind of Broken tells the story of Pixie and Levi. They’re both working and living at Pixie’s aunt’s small town inn for the summer. There’s plenty of tension between them, sexual and otherwise. They used to be best friends, but tragedy tore them apart, and now they don’t know how to exist around each other. We watch their struggle through both of their eyes; each story is heartbreaking.

This story took a bit of time to get into. We don’t learn what tragedy tore Levi and Pixie apart for a good amount of the book. We can see that something big and tragic happened between them, but we don’t know what it is. I think this was intended to add tension for the reader, and because the characters themselves are so unwilling to discuss the issue. But I thought it really took away from the story to let the reader wonder what was going on. By the time we learn their secret, I think the reader can figure out most of the details. I just wish we would have known sooner. But I really loved the characters, which is why I really kept reading. Both Pixie and Levi were believable and likeable characters.

The next books in the Finding Fate series have some great reviews; I’m really excited to read the rest of the series.  Even though Best Kind of Broken starts out a bit slow, I would say give it a try. There’s a good story waiting at the end, and it's a series, so there's more to read. Let me know what you think!

Best Kind of Broken on Goodreads

Unwritten by Chelsea M. Cameron ♥♥

Unwritten by Chelsea M. Cameron was not at all what I expected it to be. I bought thus book based on the author’s previous books. I really loved My Favorite Mistake, and while I knew Unwritten would be different, it was a bit of a disappointment.

Unwritten tells Blair’s story. She’s a children’s librarian by day and a writes romance novels with her best friend and roommate, Raine, by night. At the library she meets sexy Brit, Declan, who everyone feels bears a strong resemblance to Draco Malfoy (the book character, not Tom Felton, the actor who played him). Declan has a son and doesn’t want anything serious. Blair is content with just having fun with Declan, even though she thinks she may be falling for him. We see the story of Declan and Blair’s relationship play out, along with many different side stories.

There were a few things I didn’t enjoy about this story, the main thing being that the story was all over the place. There was drama with Blair’s book, with her family, with Declan’s nanny, and with Blair’s job. Even if Blair had one or two issues not involving Declan that would have been fine, but there were so many different things going on, and not much had to do with their relationship.

Another problem I had was how much Blair brought up her weight. She never really complained, but she brought it up more than seemed necessary, as if it was outrageous that someone like Declan would want to be with someone who had Blair’s particular body type. Or as if we, the readers, would forget what Blair looked like if we were not reminded.

The last issue I had was that Blair said she was twenty-three, but she seemed older than that, more like she was in her thirties. It made the book seem more like a contemporary romance than new adult as Blair didn’t really have any of the issues that a twenty something would.

Overall, I felt the body was just a bit boring. When I was half finished I was ready for the story be over so I could move on to a new book. I’m hoping Chelsea M. Cameron writes more for the My Favorite Escape series. The two books in that series were really great. So I’d say check that series out if you get a chance. Let me know what you think if you check out Unwritten or the My Favorite Escape series.

 

Unwritten on Goodreads

Upside Down by Lia Riley ♥♥♥♥♥

I’ve been waiting for Upside Down by Lia Riley to come out for so long now that I don’t remember where I first heard about it. Although I’m pretty sure it was from another author. But I have to say I enjoyed this book so much more than I though was even possible.

Upside Down tells Talia’s story. She’s dealing with the death of her older sister, her parents’ divorce, failing school grades, and OCD when she makes the trip to Australia for a semester abroad. There she meets Bran, a hot Australian who is far from having his life together. Bran and Talia embark on a strange dance around what they mean to each other; the outcome is a roller coaster ride of a story.

Normally, I’m not a fan of travel stories because the setting takes on the responsibility of becoming one of the characters. It takes time to get to know the place, to know who the place is, but that was not the case with this book. Lia Riley did an amazing job of making Australia feel as if it were any other place a book could take place, and maybe it’s because she lived there that Australia feels lived in as opposed to a new terrain the reader has to explore along with Talia. Lia Riley’s ability to do that really made the story the focus, and I loved that.

Bran and Talia were so flawed and so real there was no way not to like them. Especially Talia. For all she’s dealing with she is amazingly resilient. And the relationship between Bran and Talia felt real. I couldn’t put this book down. It was funny, heart wrenching, and made my heart burst with so many good feels.

Put down whatever you’re doing and go read this book! I can’t wait for the next one, Sideswiped! October is too far away. Let me know what you think.

Upside Down on Goodreads

Rules of Survival by Jus Accardo ♥♥♥

Rules of Survival by Jus Accardo is another book I found out about through BookBub. I can’t remember if it was free or just really cheap, but it was worth it to give a new author (well, new to me; she has plenty of other books) a shot.

Rules of Survival is really a story about Kayla. She’s on the run after being accused of her mother’s murder a year ago. And she’s trying to find out who the real killer is. She is literally shackled to bounty hunter, Shaun, who agrees to help find the real killer instead of turning Kayla in right away. Oh, and did I mention Shaun loses the key. So they are on the run and stuck together. And, of course, they kind of fall for each other.

I’m not a huge fan of murder mysteries, and this book seemed to be in that vein of storytelling, except with young people. I just didn’t really enjoy the drama that ensued from looking for a murderer and from Kayla and Shaun being handcuffed together. And then there were so many small revealing of secrets that the end “big reveal” wasn’t very surprising.

If you like mysteries, you will probably enjoy this story.  There was nothing wrong with the story in general. I just didn’t enjoy it. That being said, I didn’t hate it either. So give it a chance and decide for yourself. Let me know what you think!

Rules of Survival on Goodreads