Our Monthly Wrap-Up (#5)

Good morning Swooners,

For the months of May/June/July, I read:
UNSPEAKABLE by Laura Griffin
UNSTOPPABLE by Laura Griffin
THE SECOND SUMMER OF THE SISTERHOOD by Ann Brashares on audio
GIRLS IN PANTS: THE THIRD SUMMER OF THE SISTERHOOD by Ann Brashares on audio
UNFORGIVABLE by Laura Griffin
SNAPPED by Laura Griffin
INTO THE BLUE by Chanel Cleeton
GET A CLUE by Jill Shalvis
ALL FIRED UP by Vivian Arend and Elle Kennedy; I DNF it
MAGNOLIA by Kristi Cook
TAKE ME IF YOU DARE by Nina Crespo
FOREVER IN BLUE: THE FOURTH SUMMER OF THE SISTERHOOD by Ann Brasheres on audio
MY LIFE NEXT DOOR by Huntley Fitzpatrick
OPEN ROAD SUMMER by Emery Lord
SIEGE AND STORM by Leigh Bardugo
TWISTED by Laura Griffin
FANGIRL by Rainbow Rowell on audio
IF I STAY by Gayle Forman on audio
RUIN AND RISING by Leigh Bardugo
For the months of May/June/July, Nahomi read:
WILD CRUSH by Simone Elkeles
WICKED SEXY LIAR by Christina Lauren
WALK THE EDGE by Katie McGarry
THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US by Kasie West
I'm currently reading:
A LITTLE MORE LOVE by Kendra Leigh Castle
THRONE OF GLASS by Sarah J. Maas on audio
Nahomi is not reading anything at the moment.

Reviews we posted in May and July:
Features done in May and July:

Mommy's Corner - The Craziness That Is My Life!

Morning Swooners,

Welcome to Mommy's Corner! I am so excited to bring you this new feature where I get to share my journey through parenthood with you. For those of you who didn't already know, I have a five year old little girl named Mia. She loves arts, crafts, and playing.
Originally Mommy's Corner was going to focus mainly crafts that Mia and I did, but I wanted it to be more than just art projects. Yes, there will be posts about crafts and other projects we do, but also I will talk about being a parent. The good, the bad and the ugly. 

Life has been crazy as of late. I've been really busy this summer and somehow time has flown by. I can't believe it's almost time for school to start! I am super anxious about this because it's Mia's first time in a "big girl" school. School hasn't even started and I'm a wreck. I can't imagine what it will be like on the first day... Instead of focusing on my anxiety about D-Day, I started worrying about the small things. I focused on school supplies, uniforms, and summer reading list to get my mind off of the anxiety. So far here is my supply haul. 

This definitely isn't everything I need but I have most of the basics covered. There will be a lot more shopping in my near future! Swooners, are any of you going through the same thing as me? Have any of you already passed the first day of school with your little one? I'd love you hear from you! Until next time.

Review: The Distance Between Us by Kasie West



The Distance Between Us
Author: Kasie West
Release Date: July 2, 2013
Publisher: Harper Teen
Format: Paperback
Source: Personal Copy
Review by: Nahomi
Seventeen-year-old Caymen Meyers studies the rich like her own personal science experiment, and after years of observation she’s pretty sure they’re only good for one thing—spending money on useless stuff, like the porcelain dolls in her mother’s shop.

So when Xander Spence walks into the store to pick up a doll for his grandmother, it only takes one glance for Caymen to figure out he’s oozing rich. Despite his charming ways and that he’s one of the first people who actually gets her, she’s smart enough to know his interest won’t last. Because if there’s one thing she’s learned from her mother’s warnings, it’s that the rich have a short attention span. But Xander keeps coming around, despite her best efforts to scare him off. And much to her dismay, she's beginning to enjoy his company.

She knows her mom can’t find out—she wouldn’t approve. She’d much rather Caymen hang out with the local rocker who hasn’t been raised by money. But just when Xander’s attention and loyalty are about to convince Caymen that being rich isn’t a character flaw, she finds out that money is a much bigger part of their relationship than she’d ever realized. And that Xander’s not the only one she should’ve been worried about.

Rating: 4 stars out of 5 stars
The Distance Between Us is a cute story. I wouldn't tag it as a summer read because I feel that some of the issues the story deals with are a bit heavy for a light summer read. On that note, I really liked the premise of the story. I like that it’s set in a small town and that Caymen and her mom live above a porcelain doll store. I really enjoy reading stories that take place in these types of settings.

Caymen has a very dry humor. I got it but it really isn't my cup of tea. Although I will say that it definitely added comedic relief to some very uncomfortable situations. Her relationship with her mom at times was a little frustrating, but I enjoyed the dynamic between Caymen and the other characters.

The romance in the novel is reminds me of a fairy tale in some sense. Caymen is really determined not to like Xander, and he is determined to get to know her under any pretense. I love the scenes when they are “researching careers.” Xander really tries hard to get Caymen to experience different jobs, in search of what she would like to do. There were definitely times when Xander had me swooning.

The Distance Between Us had some plot twist that I didn’t see coming. Overall, it was a very entertaining read. I didn’t give it a higher rating because I felt Caymen carried a lot of baggage that wasn’t hers to carry. Also the story deals with other issues that a bit heavier than what I was expecting.


Quotes (#159)

Source
Morning Swooners,

Things were crazy this weekend. I started the process of packing and moving back to Miami and with my family so things were a little all over the place. Just like today's quotes. All over the places. Let's do it then!

“Take a good book to bed with you—books do not snore.”
Thea Dorn

“Reading was a joy, a desperately needed escape -- I didn't read to learn, I was reading to read.”
Christian Bauman

“How I wish I lived in a Jane Austen novel!”
Dodie Smith, I Capture the Castle

“If you ask me what I want, I'll tell you. I want everything.”
Kathy Acker

“It is good people who make good places.”
Anna Sewell, Black Beauty

“I have accepted fear as part of life – specifically the fear of change... I have gone ahead despite the pounding in the heart that says: turn back....”
Erica Jong

“Humans, not places, make memories.”
Ama Ata Aidoo

Have a great week!

Review: Get a Clue by Jill Shalvis



Get a Clue
Author: Jill Shalvis
Release Date: January 1, 2008
Publisher: Brava
Format: iBooks
Source: Personal Copy
Review by: Jenn
And You Think You've Had A Bad Day

City girl Breanne Mooreland gets left at the altar, takes the flight from hell to her honeymoon--alone--loses her luggage, and ends up snowed in at a Sierra mountains lodge run by the kookiest staff this side of the Addams Family. Oh, and there's a gorgeous naked man taking a shower in her suite who says he isn't going anywhere. That's just the first 24 hours. . .

Burned-out vice cop Cooper Scott is in serious need of this vacation, and he's not about to give up the only available room because an upset--okay, make that insane--woman is having a conniption fit. They'll just have to make the best of it--her side of the bed versus his. But when Cooper wakes up kissing the long, leggy Breanne, he wants to show her exactly what the honeymoon suite is intended for. But that will have to wait, because a screaming Breanne has just stumbled on a very dead body. So much for vacation. . .

1 star out of 5 stars

I was not prepared for Get a Clue. I thought I was getting some of Jill Shalvis’ hero who knows when to be sweet and charming and when to be demanding what-I-say-goes alpha male. I was expecting a relatable, slightly awkward, strong, girl next door type heroines, with some loveable side characters, some hot sexy times and an interesting plot. Instead, what I got was neurotic heroine whom I wanted to give a chill pill to, some kooky side characters, an all over the place plot, and a hot alpha male. I finished this book by pure determination and by lots of skimming. I think I mostly finished just because I wanted to know how it ended, yes I have masochistic tendencies apparently, and because the hero was the only person I truly care for as well as for the journal entries at the beginning of each chapter.

Our heroine, Breanne, is a tad too high strung for me. She jumps at any little noise all the while she talks she is this independent city girl who can take care of herself because she can take on the city by herself. Look, I get it, she in the woods, in a place where she doesn’t know anyone so she's scared. This city girl (me) who has never gone camping would be scared out of my mind just like Breanne. But good grief, she took everything to an extreme and I spent more time just rolling my at her antics.

I’m so surprised that this is an actual work by Shalvis. If I had read this before reading her newer work, I probably wouldn’t have read anything else by her. She has come a long way from her early work. If you want to read a Shalvis book, I’d recommend that you start with her Lucky Harbor or Animal Magnetism series instead of this standalone.

Waiting on Wednesday (#155)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spinethat spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Morning swooners!

This week pre-publication "can't wait to read" selection is:
Expected Release Date: October 4, 2016

Synopsis:
One free spirited Brit. One man weighed down by responsibility . . . (Also, a disorientingly sweet Chloe, confused Bennett, grumpy Sara, Max as you know and love him, travel planner Hanna, chef Will, drunk Ruby, content Niall, George–oh, George–a rented van) . . . and a whole lot of wine. 

I need this book RIGHT NOW!! I can't wait to read all the shenanigans this group is up to in Beautiful!!
What are you "Waiting on?"

Review: Fly with Me by Chanel Cleeton



Fly with Me (Wild Aces #1)
Author: Chanel Cleeton
Release Date: May 3, 2016
Publisher: Berkley
Format: eARC/Mass Market Paperback
Source: Berkely
Review by: Jenn
From the author of the Capital Confessions Novels comes the first in the steamy Wild Aces Romance series.

U.S. Air Force fighter pilot Noah Miller—call sign Burn—loves nothing more than flying hard and fast. When he meets a gorgeous and sassy woman while partying in Las Vegas, he immediately locks on to her.

Jordan Callahan owns a thriving clothing boutique, but her love life is far less successful. Her luck changes when six feet, two inches of sexy swagger asks her to dance and turns her world upside down.

One scorching weekend becomes an undeniable chemistry that they can’t leave in Vegas. But the long distance relationship and their different lives threaten to ground their romance. And when the dangers of Noah’s job become all too real, Jordan learns being with a fighter pilot means risking it all for a shot at love…

3.5 stars out of 5 stars
*I received an eARC of this title from the publisher but it did not influence this review in any way.*

1- Hot, steamy, and wild. I felt the chemistry between Noah and Jordan coming off the pages. Cleeton knows how to write sexual tension.

2- Interesting military field. Don't see fighter pilots in romance books as much as say Marines or Navy Seals.

3- I like how Cleeton showed how long distance relationships work. How both Jordan and Noah tried to make it work because they care enough about the other and in trying to make it work. Yes, I'm speaking from experience of having a long distance relationship for 2 years and only seeing that person once every other month.

4- I'm iffy with Jordan having to give up on her career and leave her family and friends and move to the other side of the world for Noah. I know Jordan was happy to do it but Noah wouldn't even think about retiring and leaving everything behind to be with her. It doesn't feel exactly fair when she built a career just like him and she's willing to leave it behind and he doesn't offer any other alternative from his end. If both had discussed leaving what they loved behind, I wouldn't feel as iffy with the situation.

5- I am SO looking forward to Thor's book. After that little preview at the end of Fly with Me, I’m hooked! He chose to be a fighter pilot rather than be with his fiancé? I'm SO there.




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