Second Chance Boyfriend by Monica Murphy ♥♥♥♥.5

Second Chance Boyfriend by Monica Murphy was even better than her first book, One Week Girlfriend. If you’ve been reading the blog before, then you know how much I love a fake relationship story, but with the sequel we get so much more. One Week Girlfriend ended on a bit of a cliff hanger, and it was great to see how things were resolved.

In Second Chance Boyfriend we continue Fable and Drew’s story. We see Drew struggle with the secret Adele told him in the first book, although he is getting help. We see Fable really dealing with her mom and the sacrifices Fable’s making as she raises her brother and takes care of her family. We also get some insight into Adele (although I didn’t really enjoy that part as much).

As Drew and Fable work through what is means to be a couple, they also have to work through what it means for them to really trust each other and be there for each other. No spoilers, but what they have together is beautiful.

This book was such a rollercoaster ride. Just when I thought things were looking up they would come crashing down. And when things were bad we were quickly soaring again. Adele played a big role in making the story what it was.

So, read One Week Girlfriend so you can read this book. It was so great, and it gave much more depth to Fable and Drew. We get to know them better in this book, and it was amazing to see them come into their own as a couple. Now I just need to read the rest of Monica Murphy’s books! I know I didn’t say too much about the book, but I don’t want to spoil too much, and so much was spoilable. :)

Second Chance Boyfriend on Goodreads

Before You Break by Christina Lee ♥♥♥♥

Before You Break is the second book in Christina Lee’s Between Breaths series. I recommend reading them in order to avoid spoilers. But Ella and Quinn’s story was just as great as Avery and Bennett’s (All of You).

Ella is in a relationship with a lame frat guy whose connection with Ella’s dead brother seems to be keeping them together. And Ella has never really noticed her boyfriend’s fellow frat brother, Quinn, until he takes care of her one night while her boyfriend is passed out drunk. Ella and Quinn grow close in the time after they take notice of each other, but Quinn’s closed off nature and silence about his past is keeping them from becoming as close as Ella hoped.

We get to see the story from both Quinn and Ella’s perspectives, so while we know the secrets both characters have kept bottled up, we watch Quinn come to terms with what he should ne telling Ella. And we see what happens when we see their lives upended in a way neither of them could have expected.

I found this story to be a very enjoyable read (and I was glad to be back to good books). Seeing the story from both perspectives was nice, and add to that was the drama of how the characters would react when they found out how their lives are connected in unexpected ways. Both Ella and Quinn are great characters who felt exceptionally real. Their issues, and Quinn’s guilt in particular, were very well written.

While reading, I did think the ending would go on a bit longer. When all the problems come to a head, they were solved fairly quickly. While I was glad to see the characters get back on track so quickly, I expected there to be more.

Overall, I really enjoyed the story. I have been really enjoying reading Christina Lee’s books. And I preordered Whisper to Me, the third book in the series and Rachel’s story, yesterday. May 20^th is too far away, but I will be glad when I finally get my hands on it!

Before You Break on Goodreads

Fading by E.K. Blair ♥♥

I found out about Fading by E.K. Blair through BookBub. I thought it had a good plot and it was only 99¢. Couldn’t really pass it up. It also had four stars on Goodreads with over 5,000 reviews. I’m sorry to say the book did not live up to its ratings.

The premise of the story is part of the reason I decided to pick it up. The story is told from Candace’s point of view. She’s living a seemingly perfect life going to college in Washington as a dance major. She has great friends, but an awful family. She decides to step outside of her normal good girl shell, which leads to her attack (obviously not her fault, though she feels that it is). She turns to her friend Jase (who happens to be gay, so there’s nothing between them except friendship) after her attack and pretty much breaks ties with her friend/roommate Kimber. She eventually meets Ryan, and has to deal with how to be intimate and trust someone after being raped. And that’s the story we watch unfold.

Let me start with the good stuff. The idea of the story as a whole is what drew me in. It reminded me of Tammara Webber’s Easy (A 5 ♥ read). After reading Fading the stories seemed too similar. So, the book had a good plot. And that’s about where what I enjoyed ended.

The story was really slow moving. I know authors are always told show, don’t tell, but this book could have used more telling. We spent a lot of time watching Candace break down after her attack (understandable), but we only needed to see that happen a couple times and be told it was happening more often. Actually seeing so many made it feel less powerful than seeing it happen one or two times. We could have also used fewer descriptions in some of the scenes. For example, we just need to know the characters are making dinner; we don’t need to see their every move. Toward the end of the book we get things more summed up and a much faster passing of time. It would have been great to see more of that throughout.

Three more things I took issue with, and then I’ll be done. First, there weren’t enough contractions. It made the story really stilted and pulled me out of the story. And all the guys in the book had really normal names, all four letter names (Ryan, Jase, Jack, and Mark). Lastly, the characters didn’t seem like college students. They were too level headed for people with the constant pressure that is senior year and being on the precipice of adulthood. One character who is mature for their age would be okay, but none of the character felt like college students.

Now I’m done. My hope for the future is that I don’t have too many more bad reviews, because I want to spend my time reading good books. But I think it’s important to be honest about what I’ve read so that you will know what books are good and which aren’t. There won’t be any more of the Fading series for me. And now I’m off to read better books.

Fading on Goodreads

Jake Undone by Penelope Ward ♥♥♥♥.75

This is the first book I’ve read by Penelope Ward; I know I should have read Gemini first, but it said it was a standalone so I figured I would be okay. I do now know a bit about the characters from Gemini, but I think it was well worth it. I am so glad I read Jake Undone; the book was amazing!

Nina moves in with three roommates in Brooklyn for nursing school. She has a few phobias that make living in a big city, and life in general, pretty difficult. That is until Jake, her pierced, tattooed, hot engineer of roommate, makes a bet with Nina. He’ll be her math tutor, but for every grade less than an A Nina has to face one of her phobias.

As Jake and Nina spend time together and Jake helps Nina with her phobias, Nina comes to find that Jake’s scary (albeit sexy) exterior doesn’t extend to who he is on the inside. And Nina’s feelings for Jake grow stronger every day. But with Jake leaving for Boston every weekend she knows he must be hiding something from her. Just when Jake and Nina decide to things a chance, Jake’s secret comes out and Nina’s not sure it’s something she can handle.

The chemistry between Jake and Nina is incredible. And Jake has to be one of the hottest book characters of all time. That bad boy exterior is irresistible. Nina’s fears and insecurities concerning Jake are so real, and while reading you can’t help but feel her pain too. And halfway through the book we switch to Jake’s perspective, and you feel all his pain and insecurities too. We also get good and happy times through Jake’s perspective as well.

Jake Undone was an emotional roller coaster, but it was well worth it. It was so close to perfect. The only thing I would say that pulled me out of the story (other than annoying people who understand that a book in hand  means I don’t want to be bothered) where the dialogue could have used more contractions. People just don’t say “I am” very often unless they are trying to emphasize something. Otherwise, it was a pretty perfect story.

Now, I should probably read the first book, Gemini, and then My Skylar when it comes out in July. But for now I’m a bit addicted to Jake.

*Disclaimer: Some of the sex scenes were a bit too much for my taste. But the book was well worth some of what I found to be out of alignment with my taste. This book definitely was isn’t meant as YA. Mature readers only :)

Jake Undone on Goodreads