Married by Mistake by Abby Gaines

Married by Mistake by Abby Gaines
Source: Free kindle copy
Publisher: Harlequin Superromance
Publication Date: August 1st 2012
Age Genre: Adult
Challenges: TBR - Oldies
Challenges: Contemporary
Find On Leafmarks! 

Do not adjust your set. That really was Casey Greene being jilted by her fiance on live TV! And that really was Memphis's most eligible bachelor who stepped in to marry her instead.
Millionaire businessman Adam Carmichael wanted only to help Casey save face. He isn't prepared for the news that their "fake" wedding is legal and binding.
While they secretly wait for an annulment, media and family scrutiny forces them to put on their best loving-couple act. Except by now, neither one is quite sure who's acting....

I am not going to lie - I was surprised by how much I liked this book. Married By Mistake was one of the first kindle freebies I one clicked (though it's no longer free). I'm talking about 2012 here. It's been sitting on my shelf for that long, until finally, due to my Oldies Challenge, I decided to give it a read.

I wasn't expecting much. It sounded cute, but nothing else. I'm not sure if it was anything but cute, but it was just so... enjoyable!

I mean, I had a hard time stopping. I just kind of had to know what will happen with Casey and Adam! These two, they were just so great together. Even before they got to know each other, they were a source of strength. Adam helped Casey stand up to her family, and Casey helped Adam ease up a bit; open up to the good things in his life.

And a couple that's so great even when they're not, well, exactly a couple, will be amazing together for reals. If only they would realize that! (which, really, is what this story is all about)

And I loved these two people--both together and individually, because they were completely flawed in the best way possible, the kind of way that also allows them to grow, even in a relatively short time (and novel), in a believable way. They weren't perfect, they made mistakes, and sometimes, you really wanted to shake them.

Next to them were a few side characters I adored, such as Eloise and Sam, and I was happy we were given glimpse into their story inside Casey and Adam's.

Truly, one of my better free clicks - to bad it took so long to finally get to reading it!

   Nitzan★

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Book Blitz: How to Unbreakup by Rebekah Purdy (+Giveaway)

How to Unbreakup
by Rebekah L. Purdy
Release Date: 02/10/15
Swoon Romance

Summary from Goodreads:
First rule of breakups: There’s no going back.For three years, seventeen-year-old Grace Evers has regretted breaking up with Sage Castle.That day, she lost her boyfriend and best friend. And let's be honest, it's impossible to just be friends with the one person who gets you, faults and all, and loved you anyway. It's impossible not to think about how it felt to be held by him, or the way he looked right before he was about to kiss you with the most perfectly yummy kiss goodnight.And now that things are over between them, they've become strangers to one another. Sage won’t even look at Grace, let alone talk to her!Breakup life sucks and Grace is utterly miserable, doing whatever she can to ease the pain of losing Sage. She's spent the better part of high school pretending to be something she’s not and hanging out with people who probably wouldn't notice if she wasn't there. Crappy dates, backstabbing friends, and Sage's cold shoulder have taken their toll.So when her parents propose going away to their house on Lake Michigan for the summer, Grace is thrilled. No more massively bad dates with horrible kissers or lunch with frienemies. Just three months of swimming,hiking, and relaxing before senior year starts.But when Grace learns Sage and his family will be joining them, she readies herself for a totally awkward family vacation of disastrous proportions. How can it be anything but awful if Sage won't even acknowledge she exists?This is it, Grace's last chance to get Sage back and unbreakup.

Excerpt 

“Here you go. Signed. Sealed. Delivered.” Lyncee handed me back my yearbook. “You have to wait until you get home to read it.”
“Oh great, what’d you put in here? I hope you didn’t mention anything about me dropping my cell in the toilet.” She laughed.
“No. Something better.” I groaned. Her idea of something better meant it could be anything from embarrassing to, well, more embarrassing. I smoothed down my jean skirt and spun my locker combination for the last time of junior year. Next year, we’d be seniors. We’d have our last homecoming and prom. We’d rule the school and all that crap.
To be honest, I was ready to be done with school. Leave the idiots behind. I’d spent the last three years pretending to be someone I wasn’t just to fit in. Lyncee was my only real friend to survive my breakup with Sage. Sage. We hadn’t talked since the end of eighth grade. The day I broke up with him. He’d stopped picking up my calls and when his parents came over to play cards with mine, he’d stay home. He avoided me at school, online, at soccer tournaments. It was like he’d completely erased me from his life. I never meant to hurt him like that.
The truth was, I missed him. A lot. It sucked not having anyone to talk to about the Star Wars marathon they played on Memorial Day, or the new Hobbit trailer, or about the awesome pair of soccer cleats I wanted to get. Not that Lyncee wasn’t there for me, she was, just not in the same way. Needless to say, I’d spent the last three years regretting mine and Sage’s breakup. I’d trade anything, even my popularity, to have him back. The thing was, I was running out of time to make things right. I’d tried getting over him, but there were some people you just couldn’t leave behind.

About the Author

Rebekah Purdy grew up in Michigan, where she spent many late nights armed with a good book and a flashlight. When not hiding at her computer and getting lost in her stories, she enjoys reading, singing, soccer, swimming, football, camping, playing video games and hanging out with her kids. She loves the unexplainable like Bigfoot, the Dogman, and the Loch Ness Monster (lots of good story material)! She admits to still having all the books she bought throughout her childhood and teen years, and she may or may not have an obsession with anything chocolate…

Author Links:

 Website│Goodreads│Twitter│Facebook

Giveaway

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Smolder by Lacey Weatherford

Smolder by Lacey Weatherford
Series: Crush #4
Source: bought Kindle
Publisher: Moonstruck Media
Publication Date: April 12, 2014
Age Genre: New Adult (not explicit)
Challenges: Prequel-Sequel
Challenges: Contemporary
Challenges: TBR - Paid For
Find on Leafmarks!

The last thing Russ Weston ever wanted was to be called a hero. A normal guy, out doing the job he was trained to do, he’s nothing special—at least he doesn’t think so. All that changes, though, on the day he rescues renowned psychiatrist, Evelyn McKnight, from drowning.
Suddenly thrown in the spotlight, Russ becomes the center of media frenzy and he hates it. One thing he doesn’t hate, however, is the good doctor. Unable to deny the sparks between them, Russ wants Evie in a bad way. Unfortunately for him, Evie seems determined to continue nursing the broken heart she’s been clinging to for years, since the death of her fiancé.
Always up for a good challenge, Russ pursues her anyway, steadily chipping away at her walls of resistance. Just when he thinks he finally has her in his grasp, everything falls apart and Russ discovers that love can be messy, messy, messy.
Desperately trying to pick up the pieces, Russ realizes sometimes when you love someone you have to set them free—even if doing so may cost him Evie, permanently.

 

Sadly, Smolder was definitely the weakest of the series. Even my infinite love for Russ couldn't make me give the book more than three stars. And you've no idea how sad I am for this.

Unlike the first three books in the series, Smolder doesn't continue the tale of Cami and Dylan, which I consider fortunate because how much crap can you put one couple through, really?! Ahem. Anyways, this one tell's Russ's story - Cami and Dylan's loyal best friend. He's been there since book one. He's moved around with them every time. He was ready to sacrificial his life for theirs. Really, what's not to like?

Surprisingly, a lot. Not with Russ himself. Russ himself is a sweetheart (though a really horny one). The thing is, this book was typical. It was unbelievable. It was rushed. It had too much going around. And those are really just the headers.

Russ deserves some love, and he finds it in the form of beautiful and smart Evelyn. But is their road smooth? Ha. You make me laugh, you optimistic you!

Everything is going good for the first half of the story. Which, naturally, means we're heading into Danger: Lot's of Crap Ahead! zone. First, we have the SPOILER miraculous return from the dead. END SPOILER Not really surprising, completely unoriginal, and frankly utter bullshit. What are the odds? Right when everything is going great, when they're going to speak the L word, THAT happens. Yeah. No.

Speaking of L words, why did they have to happen so soon? I know Cami and Dylan have the whole love-at-first-sight thing, and I can't recall how long it took them to get together, but I felt like it happened way too quickly here. They know each other maybe a month. Their relationship has been physical at best. They've been irrationally possessive from the get-go, even though they don't know anything about each other. Me no likey.

And then, so much happened! Because of twist number 1, twist number 2 had to be included so we could get rid of the result of twist number 1 on one end. Then we had to get rid of a character, because she was in the way and twist #1 is finally solved! Then, we had to put in a 3rd event to catalyst the solution of twist #2, and if we can also solve some of the original issues the hero has been dealing with, so the better!

I would've liked it more if the story focused on just one thing instead. I would've liked it more if the story really focused on them getting to know each other more, than all this other... crap. I'm being so vocally angry with this because I love this author. I highly enjoy her books and stories. So I know she can do a lot better than this. That's why I'm angry.

I will say this - I read the book in one day. It was fun, and they were cute together when they weren't busy not being together/being physically together. It was great seeing Cami and Dylan truly content for once, without anything to mar their happiness. That's why it's a three stars, and not lower - despite my angry ranting.

Nitzan★

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Thursday Oldie: Angelfall by Susan Ee

Angelfall by Susan Ee
Series: Penryn & The End of Days #1
Source: Bought paperback
Publisher: Skyscape
Publication Date: August 28, 2012
Original Post: Jan 11, 2014
Age Genre: Young Adult

It's been six weeks since the angels of the apocalypse destroyed the world as we know it. Only pockets of humanity remain.
Savage street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night.
When angels fly away with a helpless girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back...

Angelfall is one of these books. You know, the kind that takes over the reading community by storm? The kind everybody seems to unanimously love? Naturally, I was pumped up for this book. I wanted to be wowed by it. I wanted it to be the first Angel book that blew my mind all the way to mars.

For the most part, it wasn't. But there was a ton of epic shit going down there at the end, and just for that last 30% I'll be picking the second book up... probably the moment book three comes out, so I could binge read.

This book is not all puppies and rainbows. Unless we're talking about man-eating puppies and rainbows of blood, in which case, maybe it is. This book is bloody dark. Much darker than I expected (I always seem to forget how much crap dystopian worlds are capable of). It has death, and it has munching on body parts, and it has people (creatures? beings?) playing Frankenstein. Which is so not cool.

The conclusion? Don't read it at night. And if you do, make sure all the lights are on, so you'll at least be able to see the monsters coming.

The story is told from Penryn's point of view, as she navigates this angel ravaged world in her quest to find and save her little sister from the angels who kidnapped her. (Why are the angels destroying our world? No idea. Actually, no one seems to know. Which kind of sucks for us.)

I really liked Penryn as a main character - she was loyal and tough, hardened and strong... but the thing I actually liked most about her is how she is not looking to save the world. All she wants is her family in one piece, and even that is too much weight on her young shoulders.

Her journey companion is Raffe, an angel who had his wings cut off. They both want to get to the same place, for different reasons, so they decide to cooperate. And if on the way they discover the other is not so bad? That Raffe may be an angel - the creature ruining our world - but he's also gentle and caring? Loyal? Well, that's alright. And okay, he sometimes comes out too confident and condescending... but it really works for him.

Side note: the way Penryn says Raffe's name is pronounced (like Raw Feet) is actually a name we have here, in Israel. My sort-of grandpa (long story) is called Raffie, so that was fun to read of. 

Together Penryn and Raffe were actually... kind of awesome. They don't embark on an epic romantic relationship... yet... but boy do the sparks fly. And in the end... *le sigh* - Raffe is so sweet. The two of them are. I want them together, Susan Ee, and I even have theories and suggestions to make it happen! Email me! We can talk about them!

But admittedly, the first 70% of the book were just "okay" for me. They were mostly travel, and hiding, and running, and you know - stuff like that. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't anything amazing.

But those last 30%? Boy, the epicness. They were fabulous. And utterly heartbreaking, for so many different reasons. I didn't know one could snuff so much heartbreak into one end -it was kind of impressive, and completely depressing. Nothing good happened.The situation looks beyond hopeless... which makes me excited to see how Susan Ee gets them out of it. At least I hope she will... without killing one of my favorite main characters.

This book is also the epitome of mysterious and intriguing. So many things seem to happen backstage, and we have no idea why or how or what the bad guy's end game. I have so. many. damned. questions. And something tells me I'm not going to get any answers any time soon... *Sobs*

Lastly... sorry for all the cursing. This book just brings all the best out of me *wink*

Nitzan★

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The Red Balloon - My Short Animated Film

Hey guys, today I bring you something that has nothing to do with books.

Today, I bring you my movie. That's right my movie!! EEP! I'm so excited! It's finally on YouTube! I wrote the script to this short animated film, and my best friend drew the actual animation. It took six months to draw, and we're so proud of the final result!

We would really appreciate it if you could check it out, and maybe comment/share/like if you like what you see.

Thanks,

   Nitzan★

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giveaway: THE REBEL QUEEN

I'm so excited to announce that I have the privilege of hosting an amazing giveaway courtesy of one of my most favourite authors, Michelle Moran.

About the Book:

From the internationally bestselling author of Nefertiti and Cleopatra’s Daughter comes the breathtaking story of Queen Lakshmi—India’s Joan of Arc—who against all odds defied the mighty British invasion to defend her beloved kingdom.

When the British Empire sets its sights on India in the mid-nineteenth century, it expects a quick and easy conquest. India is fractured and divided into kingdoms, each independent and wary of one another, seemingly no match for the might of the English. But when they arrive in the Kingdom of Jhansi, the British army is met with a surprising challenge.

Instead of surrendering, Queen Lakshmi raises two armies—one male and one female—and rides into battle, determined to protect her country and her people. Although her soldiers may not appear at first to be formidable against superior British weaponry and training, Lakshmi refuses to back down from the empire determined to take away the land she loves.

Told from the unexpected perspective of Sita—Queen Lakshmi’s most favored companion and most trusted soldier in the all-female army—Rebel Queen shines a light on a time and place rarely explored in historical fiction. In the tradition of her bestselling novel, Nefertiti, and through her strong, independent heroines fighting to make their way in a male dominated world, Michelle Moran brings nineteenth-century India to rich, vibrant life.

Why I Love Michelle Moran and her Books ie. Michelle is the Queen:
For those of you who have followed me for a while, you'll know I'm crazy about Michelle's work. The first work I read was "The Heretic Queen" and I freaked out because it was such a good book. I remember closing the hardcover library-copy in stunned silence when I finished thinking "What heavenly ambrosia have I just consumed?" I then read "Nefertiti" and it immediately became another favourite. Enamoured, I contacted Michelle for an interview or a guest post. I didn't expect a response, but when I got one, it was more than I bargained for. She was so gracious and kind, and not only offered a guest post but also a giveaway of her book, "Cleopatra's Daughter". She is the nicest author I've ever spoken to and basically the amazingness of her books matches the amazingness of her character. Michelle Moran is my #1. So, out of the blue, I get an e-mail about her latest work, "The Rebel Queen" and several things happened. First, I screamed. Then, I thought "Ohmygod Michelle Moran sent me an e-mail. Michelle Moran. Sent me. An e-mail." I've been a little too distant from the book world so I had no idea Michelle had already written another book. I gasped. It's about India, my birthplace. My favourite historical author writing about the country of my birth. It was too good to be true. I sent a really embarrassing fangirl response and she said "Kirthi, your email made me laugh out loud. You are so fantastic" and I cried. Tears of joy, of course. 
The point of that entire sloppy paragraph is that I can vouch for the quality of "The Rebel Queen", although I haven't had the pleasure of reading it yet. You'll love it. Like, it's one thing to read a great book, but it's something entirely different when the author is just the kindest human being ever. Ya feel?

The Giveaway:

Two lucky winners will win a SIGNED COPY of "The Rebel Queen" and a super gorgeous bracelet from India. It won't look EXACTLY like the one in the picture because each bracelet Michelle bought was different, but equally beautiful. I actually have a few that look like these and they go well with so many outfits. You'll love it. If you're a man, you can totally rock it (unless you have big wrists, in which case it'd still be cool to have).

To enter, you gotta be a follower of Pages (I love my readers so special-treatment is inevitable) and just comment with a reason you'd want to read this book or a cool fact pertaining to the time period or setting in the The Rebel Queen. Don't forget to comment with your e-mail, or if you don't want to put it out there, e-mail ME your e-mail and name at raokiki6(at)gmail(dot)com. The contest will end February 25th at midnight!

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January Round Up

Books I Read

Welcome to Sugartown | The Ocean at the End of the Lane | Love Regifted | Destiny Binds | Time Mends | Fate Succumbs | Rules of Attraction | Love | Smolder | Married by Mistake | Destined for an Early Grave| The Last Bride in Ballymuir | Sea Glass | A Monster Calls | Of Beast and Beauty | Silver Borne

Out of the sixteen book I read this month, I reviewed 4 this month, and have 5 reviews scheduled for next month and the beginning of February! A total of 9 books reviewed! I feel accomplished ;)

Books Reviews

Books Boguht

Hollow City by Ranson Riggs

I read 6 physical books (7 if I could count in the re-read of Sivler Borne, which I can't), which means I actually managed to keep up with my challenge of one book for every five books I read! Hooray! Though, I got another four books from last month, so this success is kind of void... But still, I did it! 

Who Wore it Better

Other Posts

December Gifly Round Up

Join Us on Tsu

2015 Reading Challenges

Top Book Boyfriends of 2014

The Art of Commenting

Challenges Re-Cap

Read Your Freebies ( 4 / 50): 

Welcome to Sugartown | Love Regifted | Married by Mistake | The Last Bride in Ballymuir

Cleaning my Shelves ( 5 / 20):

The Ocean at the End of the Lane| Rules of Attraction | Destined for an Early Grave | Sea Glass | A Monster Calls

Oldies: ( 3 / 24): 

Love Regifted | Married by Mistake | The Last Bride in Ballymuir

Cleaning my Paid For ( 2 / 18): 

Love | Smolder

Contemporary Challenge ( 1 / 15) ( 7 / 30): 

Welcome to Sugartown | Love Regifted | Rules of Attraction |Love | Smolder | Married by Mistake | The Last Bride in Ballymuir

(only the bold books count toward the official challenge, the rest are for my personal challenge)

Sequel-Prequel ( 5 / 20): 

Rules of Attraction | Love | Smolder | Destined for an Early Grave | Sea Glass

Re-Read Challenge ( 4 / 12): 

Destiny Binds | Time Mends | Fate Succumbs | Silver Borne

Flights of Fantasy Challenge ( 5 / 20): 

The Ocean at the End of the Lane| Destined for an Early Grave | Sea Glass | A Monster Calls | Of Beast and Beauty

TBR Challenge (12 / 44): 

Welcome to Sugartown | The Ocean at the End of the Lane | Love Regifted | Rules of Attraction | Love | Smolder | Married by Mistake | Destined for an Early Grave| The Last Bride in Ballymuir | Sea Glass | A Monster Calls | Of Beast and Beauty |

I count here all books read, not only book reviewed, because--I'm sorry--the goal is to read more. So, maybe I won't get points for some because I didn't review, but I still read.

Nitzan★

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