The Book Cove

Damaged 2 by H.M. Ward Sydney and Peter are back and hotter than ever in this second installment of the Damaged series. Sydney’s mother has taken ill and her family has requested her back in New Jersey to make some final reconciliations. She’s finally preparing herself to make the trip home after all these years, but Peter has a damning secret that he lets Sydney in on that changes everything. The way she sees him will never be the same, and for Peter, Sydney’s changed perception of him is something he can’t handle. Talk about some major excitement! As I said in my previous Damaged  review, the only downfall to the first book was knowing virtually nothing about Peter’s history. I had a feeling that it would be saved for Damaged 2 because no writer as good as H.M. Ward would leave something that crucial out. Guess what?? The author delivers! From the first page, Peter’s background is peeled back layer by stunning layer. I definitely was not expecting what was thrown ...

The Only Exception by Magan Vernon Monica is a transfer student at Central College hoping to blend in and get through these next three years of college life. But she has a relentless next door neighbor, Trey, who is anything but willing to let her slip by college against the wall. Throw in the fact that Trey is the Governor's son that is every bit his conservative dad , and Monica...well, she's far from any conservative standpoints...and you get a political showdown between two very stick-to-their-cause people. I enjoyed reading The Only Exception. How many books have you read that mix a pretty balanced amount of politics with passionate romance? Not many I'm assuming. Yet, that is exactly what Magan Vernon did. From the beginning, I knew where the story was going with Monica. Her background is hinted at throughout The Only Exception and her viewpoints on hot topic debates further support that. The most striking characteristic about Monica is that she is extreme...

Kiss Me by Kristine Mason Jenna and Luke are mutual friends of their two best friends that are now married. Luke is a total playboy - shying away from any type of commitment because he likes the chase game. Jenna has had a rocky past and just prefers non-committal relationships to avoid rejection. But, the playboy is suddenly looking for more, and he thinks that taming the playgirl is just the thing he needs to do to get more. I think the Kiss Me is one of those "Meh" or "Great!" books. I found the beginning of the book hilarious, but it's because it spoke to me on more of a personal level. You have these two people that are happily married and loving life. Then you have their respective best friends that are out doing whatever with who knows who. So why not try to fix them up? If you've ever been friends with someone you might want more with, or have a friend that really likes to play match-maker, I think you can find the humor in all of this. W...

Heir Untamed (Latvala Royals Book 1) by Danielle Bourdon Chey Sinclair is a semi-professional photographer from Seattle who is recently a bit down on luck. With the ebbing of prime shooting season, she must find away to pull in enough money to  get her through the slow season, and more importantly pay off her impending eviction. When she's offered a job to be an "unofficial-official" private photographer for the Royal family of Latvala, it's an opportunity for both her and her career that she cannot pass up. But as with every family, including Royals, comes dysfunction, skeletons, and politics ...all of which Chey hopes to avoid . When I first decided to start on this Latvala Royals series, I was unsure if it was going to be a cheesy version of The Prince and Me , a classic Cinderella  story, or a smut book filled with trysts. I still don't know how I would classify it...but I liked it so far! Ms. Bourdon did a great job at taking a "Royal-meets-non...

Rises The Night (Gardella Vampire Chronicles, #2) by Colleen Gleason Rises the Night is the 2nd installment in the Gardella Vampire Chronicles . Check out The Rest Falls Away first. This review contains spoilers of previous installments. Sti ll mourning the death of Sir Phillip Rockley, Victoria must figure out how to balance London Society life and her new life as a Venator. While Lady Melly and her fellow companions are busy pushing Victoria back into the lifestyle of The Ton , Victoria is getting a crash course in the rich history of thousand year old Italian vampire politics. As she attempts to stop an impeding army of death, her morals, trust, and biggest fears are all put to the test. It just gets better and better! The Rest Falls Away was a great introductory piece that showed the initial struggles of Victoria having everything she has ever known ripped out from under her. In Rises The Night she faces the next levels of grief, denial, and anger as the reality of wha...

The Rest Falls Away (Gardella Vampire Chronicles, #1) by Colleen Gleason This is a five book series that takes place in the Regency era (early 1800's). Our heroine is the one and only Victoria Gardella, an heiress in the Ton society. Young, beautiful, and saucy, this is a young woman who's struggling with the idea of entering into society. In a very Jane Austen-esque fashion, she fights for what she believes in and has a sharp tongue that can put any man to shame. But when she discovers her family secret, the riches of society become the last thing on her mind. Can she hold up to her family values as well as a secret society's? Or will she choose true love? The Rest Falls Away is a great intro book to the Gardella series. Colleen Gleason does an excellent job portraying Victoria's advancement from a girl that once only knew formal balls and husband searching, to a woman that has a secret family tradition to uphold: vampire hunting. The writing takes y...

The Gardella Vampire Chronicles by Colleen Gleason This is a five book series that takes place in the Regency era (early 1800's). Our heroine is the one and only Victoria Gardella, an heiress in the Ton society. Young, beautiful, and saucy, this is a young woman who's struggling with the idea of entering into society. In a very Jane Austen-esque fashion, she fights for what she believes in and has a sharp tongue that can put any man to shame. But when she discovers her family secret, the riches of society become the last thing on her mind. Can she hold up to her family values as well as a secret society's? Or will she choose true love? I love this Gardella series for many reasons and you will too if you LOVE: 1.) Jane Austin-esque style: I love Jane Austin and this is a completely different spin on that time period 2.) Witty banter and passionate encounters 3.) To feel a part of the book: It's one of those series that you can really invest yourself into ...

Fallen Too Far by Abbi Glines   Blair is an out of luck girl that has wound up under the care of her absent-throughout-childhood father. Coming from a small town in Alabama shes in for a bit of a rude awakening as she enters her new Ritzy Glitz lifestyle. With this lifestyle change comes Rush. Rush is everything Blair hates in this world; rich, egotistic, and arrogant. But, Blair needs help getting her footing in this new place and Rush can offer just that... and she'll do whatever it takes to get over her past. ...More like Fallen A Little Too Short... at least the cover had a good story going in my head... I love Abbi Glines but this one definitely fell short. Like, if I were to Evel Knievel the Grand Canyon I would have slipped off from the edge. I really wish it hadn't been that way. But it was. And because it had such raving reviews from others, I was actually shocked that I couldn't get into it! Fallen Too Far was another virgin meets sex god story by ...

Do Not Disturb by Tilly Bagshaw e Honor is a lawyer who inherits her family's hotel business. Palmer's hotel in the Hamptons is one of old money. As newer age hotels and chains begin buying property around Palmers, it's up to Honor to figure out how to stay afloat in a male dominated dog eat dog industry. Of course, certain people will go out of their way to make sure that she fails at every possible turn. I've yet to read a book about Hoteliers battling it out. So, when I found this book I thought it would be an interesting concept. And for the most part it was. One thing that took a little getting used to with this book was all of the different POVs. There are 3 main ones (Honor and two competitors) that switch frequently. For the most part it changes each chapter, but sometimes I had to re-read a section because I thought I was reading one persons life and it turned out I wasn't. There are also a couple of extra POVs thrown in (friend/family/e...

Marrying the Master (Club Volare) by Chloe Cox As a follow up to the Club Volare series, Lola has now had a few years to help run Club Volare. The success of the club is taking New York by storm, but, the club may be at its end if a certain politician has anything to do about it. Roman is unwilling to give up his dream business without a fight. When a loophole in a century old law is found, Lola and Roman get a crazy idea... I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Unfortunately, 50 Shades of Grey kind of left a bitter taste in my mouth. After all of the raving reviews, I finally gave in and read it only to want to erase my memory immediately after. It's unfortunate that people consider that a well written book. Now I have trust issues. How can I possibly trust people to recommend me a good book without having horrifying flashbacks of the book that must not be named. Eventually I wanted something different to read in the romance category and I gave into Marrying the Master ...

Damaged by H.M. Ward   This book was a bit of a guilty pleasure topic for me which is the main reason I decided to read it. Starting out, Sydney doesn't date much. But her good intentioned friend likes to make sure Sydney is at least trying to have a love life by setting her up on dates. On one of her many blind dates Sydney decides to take a different approach to her more reserved attitude. Fast forward a few days to the start of a new school year. Sydney is a Senior at university and is working as a Teaching Assistant for her favorite professor. When tragedy strikes, her job switches and the class she used to love is now at a whole different level. Review: Starting out I did not realize this was part of an unfinished series. Book 2 is out later in June, 2013. That being said, I was a little disappointed with the cliffhanger ending. Of course I could have read the reviews that screamed that from the beginning, but I like to take some risks in life ;)  But, f...

 A Different Blue by Amy Harmon  Best read of 2013 so far! Does that about sum it up? A Different Blue is about a girl, Blue Echohawk, who has a bit of an identity crisis. Heck, she doesn't even know her real name. But she has come to somewhat accept that through the love of her caring guardian. Entering her senior year, she winds up with a new history teacher. His job is not to just teach history, but to make each and every student understand the importance of His/Her-story. This book hits on so many different levels it's hard to even say what the most striking part is. Blue has finally come to a point in her life where she realizes that she wants to know who she really is. The unfortunate part is that no one knows. As she tries to figure out who she is, she meets people that help her piece the puzzle together. And much support comes from her teacher, Wilson, who takes her under his wing. This is not a typical romance book. First and foremost it centers on the...