For Real (Spires Book 3) Kindle Edition by Alexis Hall

 

            

        SAME STORY NEW COVER!

Laurence Dalziel is worn down and washed up, and for him, the BDSM scene is all played out. Six years on from his last relationship, he’s pushing forty and tired of going through the motions of submission.

Then he meets Toby Finch. Nineteen years old. Fearless, fierce, and vulnerable. Everything Laurie can’t remember being.

Toby doesn’t know who he wants to be or what he wants to do. But he knows, with all the certainty of youth, that he wants Laurie. He wants him on his knees. He wants to make him hurt, he wants to make him beg, he wants to make him fall in love.

The problem is, while Laurie will surrender his body, he won’t surrender his heart. Because Toby is too young, too intense, too easy to hurt. And what they have—no matter how right it feels—can’t last. It can’t mean anything.

It can’t be real.

  

This book is a favorite of mine. I read it once a year. Something about this story always grabs me even though it's not the first time I have read it. I'm always just so engrossed. Toby is adorable and  Laurie is lost but so intriguing. Honestly, the story grabs you more than the sexual parts not to push those moment aside. *wink, wink* It just finding of souls, one who just wants to be seen and the other who wants to be taken seriously. 

I just love it!

As always Happy Reading!!:)

Rebel Rising Rebel Wilson

 

For decades, Rebel Wilson had single-mindedly focused on her career, making a name for herself through her iconic roles in Pitch Perfect, Bridesmaids, and Isn’t It Romantic. Now, she’s ready to chronicle the emotional and physical lessons she learned, as well as her most embarrassing experiences. A malaria-induced hallucination? An all-style martial arts fighting tournament? Junior handling at dog shows? And this was all BEFORE she moved to Hollywood!

Rebel Rising follows Rebel Wilson’s incredible journey of “making it,” constantly questioning, “Am I good enough? Will I ever find love? Will I ever change and become healthy?” Rebel writes for the first time about the most personal and important moments in her life—from fertility issues, weight gain and loss, sexuality, overcoming shyness, rejections, and, well...okay there’s at least one story thrown in about Brad Pitt! It’s all here. This memoir shows us how to love ourselves while making us laugh uncontrollably.

This was more entertaining than I thought it would be. Do I think we needed it.. no. But hey who am I to dictate what someone does with their time and life. If you are a fan of hers you'll enjoy it more.

And as always Happy Reading!

The Rulebreaker: The Life and Times of Barbara Walters Susan Page

 

Barbara Walters was a force from the time TV was exploding on the American scene in the 1960s to its waning dominance in a new world of competition from streaming services and social media half a century later. She was not just a groundbreaker for women (Oprah announced when she was seventeen that she wanted to be Barbara Walters), but also expanded the big TV interview and then dominated the genre. By the end of her career, she had interviewed more of the famous and infamous, from presidents to movie stars to criminals to despots, than any other journalist in history. Then at sixty-seven, past the age many female broadcasters found themselves involuntarily retired, she pioneered a new form of talk TV called The View. She is on the short list of those who have left the biggest imprints on television news and on our culture, male or female. So, who was the woman behind the legacy?

In The Rulebreaker , Susan Page conducts 150 interviews and extensive archival research to discover that Walters was driven to keep herself and her family afloat after her mercurial and famous impresario father attempted suicide. But she never lost the fear of an impending catastrophe, which is what led her to ask for things no woman had ever asked for before, to ignore the rules of misogynistic culture, to outcompete her most ferocious competitors, and to protect her complicated marriages and love life from scrutiny.

Page breaks news on every front—from the daring things Walters did to become the woman who reinvented the TV interview to the secrets she kept until her death. This is the eye-opening account of the woman who knew she had to break all the rules so she could break all the rules about what viewers deserved to know.

 A stunning meticulously researched and compulsively readable bio of the Queen of Broadcast TV. I've always admired Barbara Walters and her go to attitude and professionalism. She was a rule breaker and needed to be in order to break the barriers to rise in her field. She is widely recognized as one of the most accomplished female broadcasters of all time. She had many milestone achievements, and honestly, she was an incredible person.This was a great read.

And as always Happy Reading!!

**Thank you to Simon and Schuster for a free copy for an honest review.

Courage to Love Again by Kimberly Brown

 

Pascha St. Claire has nothing to live for.

After five years, her once-loving husband, Raymond, decides to end their marriage. He’s unable to deal with her mental health, significant weight gain, or the idea that she cannot seem to birth him a child. She returns home one night to find her belongings on the curb and the locks to her home changed. Her pleading falls on deaf ears as Raymond has made the decision to end their marriage. With no other option, Pascha is forced to leave and never look back.When Callum Ellis accepted the reservation for his car service, the last thing he expected was to pick up a beautiful, weeping stranger. His heart goes out to her as he drops her off at a hotel. After discovering her credit cards have been canceled, Callum swoops in to pay for her stay. Though she wants to protest, Pascha realizes she is in no position to decline the stranger’s generous offer. Months roll by and Callum is still unable to get Pascha out of his head. A chance encounter finally lands him in her presence, and Callum is determined to make the most of it. Though she initially declines his interest, Pascha soon finds herself intrigued by the once-kind stranger. Fear has her recoiling at his advances, but men like Callum come to restore. Will Pascha continue to avoid the inevitable, or does she find the courage to love again?

Kimberly Brown is one of those authors who just know how to make a story come to life. I’ve been a fan for a couple of years now and every time I read one of her books it just hits my soul and heart. The way I am praying for a Callum of my own is ridiculous. And Pasha is what I call a strong woman cause baby I know I couldn’t do it. What I especially love and adore is the tight knit community they created for themselves amongst such grief and hardships. Coupled with Pasha’s growth and finding her own independence made for such a wonderful story. 

Thank you to the author as well as the publisher and netgalley for the ARC for an honest review.

And as always Happy Reading

A Good Bad Boy: Luke Perry and How a Generation Grew Up By Margaret Wappler

An artful and contemplative tribute to the late actor famed for his role as Dylan McKay in Beverly Hills, 90210 .

Best known for playing loner rebel Dylan McKay in Beverly Hills 90210 , Luke Perry was fifty-two years old when he died of a stroke in 2019. There have been other deaths of 90’s stars, but this one hit different. Gen X was reminded of their own inescapable mortality, and robbed of an exciting career resurgence for one of their most cherished icons—with recent roles in the hit series Riverdale and Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time In Hollywood bringing him renewed attention and acclaim. Only upon his death, as stories poured out online about his authenticity and kindness, did it become clear how little was known about the exceedingly humble actor and how deeply he impacted popular culture.

In A Good Bad Boy , Margaret Wappler attempts to understand who Perry was and why he was unique among his Hollywood peers. To do so, she uses an inventive hybrid narrative. She speaks with dozens who knew Perry personally and professionally. They share insightful how he kept connected to his Ohio upbringing; nearly blew his 90210 audition; tried to shed his heartthrob image by joining the HBO prison drama Oz ; and in the last year of his life, sought to set up two of his newly divorced friends. (After his death, the pair bonded in their grief and eventually married.) Amid these original interviews and exhaustive archival research, Wappler weaves poignant vignettes of memoir in which she serves as an avatar to show how Perry shaped a generation’s views on masculinity, privilege and the ideal of “cool.”

Timed to the fifth anniversary of Perry’s death, A Good Bad Boy is a profound and entertaining examination of what it means to be an artist and an adult.

As a millennial whose sister loved watching 90210 during the times where I would of love to be watching cartoons; I was very excited to read this. I honestly thought this would be something else. But instead, I found the way this book was written to be unique in the sense that the chapters in the book were split between a biography about Luke and a memoir of the author. I also felt like since the synopsis was so centered around Luke Perry’s image and influence on a generation that it would honestly be a more in-depth look into the actor’s life. So, this was bait and switch. A little razzle dazzle from the author and publisher to boost sales that, fell short because once you get into it there’s no real substance. I'm a little disappointed

 

And as always Happy Reading!!!

**Thank you to Simon and Schuster for a free copy for an honest review.

 

Simply the Best Chicago Stars #10 By Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Take one hard-driving sports agent…

Throw in a failed chocolatier…

And her superstar football player brother…

Add a quirky pink and purple food truck…

Then, to really screw things up, mix in a very unfortunate murder.

Brett Rivers is the hottest sports agent in the business—fast and furious, swift and deadly. Failure? Not an option.

Rory Garrett is—let’s be honest—a disaster. She has a big heart, an empty bank account, a passion for making exquisite chocolate, and a huge inferiority complex from living in the shadow of Brett’s most important client, her football legend brother.

Brett and Rory should never have met, and they absolutely, positively should never have had to deal with the consequences of one stupid, drunken night…one disastrous lie…one career in jeopardy…one missing football player…and a very dead body.

It’s going to get messy…and dangerous…and heartbreaking…and sexy. To Rory, Brett represents skewed values and a devious mind. To Brett, Rory is forbidden fruit, off limits, do not disturb, and no entry—definitely no entry.

A woman who has succeeded at nothing and a man who’s succeeded at everything confront the challenge of their lives as they struggle with themselves and each other. When it comes to love—what price are any of us willing to pay to be simply the best?

Simply the Best was so much fun to read. And the fact that SEP combines her epic sense of humor with a whodunit made this book 10x better. The banter is some of the best. The entire time I am laughing my butt off, I was trying to figure out who the killer was, and I must admit that I never once guessed. Because who I thought it was, was completely way off. This whole book was an absolute joy to read, filled with lovely characters and silly moments and so much heart. I loved it!

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

And as always Happy Reading!!

All Rhodes Lead Here Mariana Zapata

 

Aurora De La Torre, or Ora to her friends, knows moving back to Pagosa Springs, Colorado, a place that was once home and is now full of bittersweet memories of her late mother, isn’t going to be easy. Starting your whole life over probably isn’t supposed to be.

But after breaking up with her longtime, famous musician boyfriend, hiding out in a small town in the mountains might be the perfect remedy for a broken heart. And checking out her landlord who lives across the driveway just might cure it, too.

Only Tobias Rhodes didn’t rent out the apartment to her, rather it was his teenage son, Amos. Fiercely protective of his family and distrusting of strangers, gruff and grumpy Rhodes initially keeps little miss sunshine Ora at a distance. But over days and weeks, long hikes and fireside chats, Aurora breaks down his walls and soon an unbreakable friendship blossoms into a once-in-a-lifetime love.

I have been a fan of Mariana Zapata for more than a couple of years and to see her books getting the praise and adoration that she deserve is amazing. This book is a favorite of mine and I love the new cover. It always great to see a woman who had the ground rip out from under her come back and reclaim what is hers. Mariana always has amazing male characters and Tobias is just.... I have no words that could describe his amazingness. Thank you to Mariana and Avon for allowing me to read this gem again. 

And as always Happy Reading!!!

Girls with Bad Reputations (The Lillys, #2) by Xio Axelrod (Goodreads Author)

 

All her life, Kayla heard the same Don't be so loud. Don't act so wild. Don't take up so much space. Now she's the beating heart of an up-and-coming rock band…and the whole world is going to know her name. Once upon a time, the pressure to be the perfect daughter nearly broke Kayla Whitman. Desperate to find an outlet away from her controlling mother, she picked up a pair of drumsticks, forever altering the rhythm of her life. Since then, she's been determined to make her own way, finding her home with her bandmates even as she fights to keep her past and her present firmly separate. Things were simple enough when the Lillys were playing local gigs at dive bars, but now they're on their first official tour―and all Kayla can see are warning signs. Desperate to escape the worry churning inside her, Kayla finds solace in quiet tour bus driver Ty Baldwin…and discovers in him a kindred spirit like no one she's ever met before. Their connection is immediate and intense, but when increasing scrutiny from the press threatens to destroy Ty's newfound peace and Kayla's carefully guarded secrets, Kayla's forced to make an impossible pursue her dream and risk destroying everyone around her? Or give in and lose the chance of ever becoming the person she's always known she could be.

  This book! I enjoyed this immensely. I first fell in love with Axelrod’s work through “The Girl with Stars in Her Eyes”. When I saw this and read the description; a female main character that is a rockstar drummer I was like “yes, please!” I enjoyed the sweet romance, but my favorite is experiencing Kayla’s journey of coming into her power. She, like most woman, doesn’t realize the key role she plays and often refers to herself as “just the drummer”. Through it all you just want her to know her worth and succeed at whatever she puts her mind to. 

i hope you enjoy it too.

And as always Happy Reading!!