Reviews...Down to Business & Taking Care of Business by: JC Alexander

I received a copy of this book for an honest review. 3.5-4 (this was reviewed by me in December) This book has a cliffhanger ending.

After graduating high school Autumn has stayed back to help out with her family business. After two years, receiving a scholarship and saving money she goes off to Adelphi University to live with her best friend Lindy. Once she arrives she soon discovers Lindy's boyfriend is going to be living with them for a while. When Lindy wakes up one morning to use the bathroom it is occupied and she becomes annoyed until a freshly showered gorgeous guy exits the bathroom...Vinny. Autumn is a blubbering mess and tries to quickly make her escape before further humiliating herself. Later that morning they discover they are in the same business class together. They have an instant connection and Autumn finds herself thinking about him all the time. They consider their relationship a friendship that's easily pushing those boundaries. They both claim to care for each other and Vinny repeatedly tells her that he doesn't want a relationship or to hurt her all while he's stringing someone else along.

I really liked this book and had a hard time putting it down but there were a few things that bothered me. First being, Lindy, Autumn's so called "best friend," I found her to be very selfish and self-centered same goes for Vinny claiming he loves and cares for Autumn but stringing Vivian along for the business. I also felt that after Autumn told him what had happened to her during her one and only sexual experience he would have made theirs a little more special. Don't get me wrong there is nothing wrong with sex on a pool table and it is hot and sexy but for her first "real" sexual experience I felt he could have kept it in his pants and waited until it was a little more special for her. I know she was a willing participant but it just would have convinced me a little more that he cared for her. Lastly, why do all girls have to be such bitches to each other? I liked Suz and Autumn all the other girls were bitches and "sluts."

I hope Autumn really lays into Lindy and Vinny in the sequel and makes Vinny crawl and beg for her. I will be reading the sequel and really hope it's out soon.

This is just a note and nothing against this author but every book I've reviewed including this one has ended in a cliff hanger and I usually am not bothered by it but it is beginning bother me a bit.
   

***If you haven't read the first book you may not want to read the review below***

  This was a review copy provided by author. I had a love hate relationship with this book. Ugh! I don't know what to rate it. 3.5 stars I'm thinking but maybe I'll come back and change it. I am so mad at Vinny's stupidity. And Lindy is definitely not best friend material. I thought she may redeem herself in this book but she was just as self-centered. 

After the dreadful phone call Vinny receives Autumn packs up a moves out. Vinny tries to contact her to explain but she won't hear of it. She decides to take the semester off and move back home. As Vinny and Autumn try to move on, Vinny becomes self destructive, drinking, doing drugs, selling them, having sex and blacking out. You'd think after his mistake with Vivian he would change his ways and try to win the "love" of his life back but instead he wallows, pities himself and makes no attempt to try to even contact her again after she gone. Not much happens with Autumn she's depressed and working back at Malones, she tries to go on a date with no success. 

Suz,Vinny's cousin invites Autumn to her wedding. Autumn decides to go and hold her head up high to make Vinny regret his decisions. When she does she over hears a conversation that changes everything. Should she tell Vinny or let him figure it out himself?

Vinny is set on finally telling Autumn the truth about what happened or what he remembers happening, even if she never forgives him he just wants her to hear him out. Will she finally listen?

This book was like a tug of war with my emotions. One minute I'm yelling (in my head of course) for Vinny to man up and fight for his woman and the next I'm yelling at Autumn to forget him. I'm yelling at her to tell her best friend to shove it too. I mean what kind of best friend invites herself along as a date for a wedding that your invited to asks you come and stay with her then totally ditches you the whole entire time your out to visit her. And to top it off she leaves Autumn's car at the bar to hook up with some guy. It's like she can't stay in one night and have a little girl time? God Lindy frustrated me. I really hope Autumn grows a backbone and tells her friend off. You can see little by little that she's starting to stand up for herself; in book one with Vivian and in book two with Ashley. But the girl needs to stop getting stepped on and stand up to Lindy and Vinny's mom. If that happens in the next book I will be a very happy reader. The whole thing with Vivian was pretty predictable and and wanted to yell at Vinny over that. Hello Vinny have you ever heard of that test you can take?

So like I said I felt this push and pull with this book I loved it but It frustrated me, I was rooting for our H and h's then wishing they would just forget each other. All in all I'm glad Vinny and Autumn were able to finally get everything out in the open.

Do I recommend this book? Of course I do! Just prepare to be cursing out the characters.

HEA? (2) <<<click here if you want to know if Vinny and Autumn got one. FYI one more book to come.

Only .99 cents!! Hopeless by: Colleen Hoover

One of my favorite books by my favorite author if you haven't read it yet I recommend you do!

 Link to buy (Amazon)

Review...The Duality Principle by: Rebecca Grace Allen

3.5-4 stars. Review copy provided by Xpresso Book Tours. I needed that book! After all the emotional reads lately I just needed something fun. And that was exactly what this was, a smart, cute, fun book.

Gabriella/Gabby is spending here summer in Portland, Maine working on her thesis for her PhD (mathematician). She has been going there every summer since she's been a young girl. Her friend decides to set her up on a blind date. After many failed dates and or relationships she is not to keen on a blind date especially because the men she's constantly dated aren't the kind of men she wants. The kind of men she wants aren't the kind of men she can get (she thinks). What does she want? A bad boy that's not afraid to "take" her anywhere. She feels her desires aren't typical for her nerdy girl persona and that she should be with the straight laced geek. But that's not what she wants at all until she meets Connor. There is something about Connor that has her all confused. The geek, the perfect gentleman but she senses something beneath his (hot) geeky exterior. 

Connor has been a rebel and bad boy his whole life, he is now trying to finally change his ways. When he meets Gabby he knows there is something special about her and doesn't want his past behavior to present itself. He wants a normal relationship and girlfriend. Will he be able to be the good guy he thinks Gabby wants?

Both too afraid to tell the other their desires and what they want from a relationship is leaving them confused. Is Connor too much like her other past boyfriend's and is Gabby too good for Connor?

I pretty much had smile on my face the whole time I read this book. And it was HOT too. Wow! It's not too deep or emotional just simple and fun. Sometimes opposites attract and sometimes there is just two sides to a person. 1+1 doesn't always equal 2 does it? ;) I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did. FYI you may need a fan to cool off a bit.

HEA? (3) click here if you want to know

Reading...Taking Care of Business by: JC Alexander

Review copy provided by author. This is book two in the Business series. Down to Business is the first book and ended with a cliffhanger. I will post both reviews together. Here is the synopsis for Down to Business:

While everyone else heads off to college, small town girl, Autumn Malone, stays behind to help manage her family’s failing restaurant. Two years later, a scholarship at Adelphi University comes her way, and she can’t resist the chance to start a new life. The one thing that she isn’t planning on doing…is falling for irresistible Vinny Mazzola.

To outsiders, Hamptons born Vinny Mazzola has it all: good looks, money, and an esteemed reputation. While studying business at Adelphi, the last thing he expects to do is fall in love with awkward Autumn Malone who forces him to ask himself what is really important in life.

When the opportunity arises for Autumn to work at Vinny’s family-owned Italian restaurant, Mazzolas, it seems like a perfect way for her to get to know him better. That is until she meets his over protective mother and his conceited ex-girlfriend who both want nothing more than to get rid of her. Between frats, family, friends, and foes, when it comes down to business, will Vinny and Autumn have to sacrifice everything for a love they can’t live without?

Reviews to come.

Review...The Prelude by: KaSonndra Leigh

4 stars! Review copy provided. I'm on a really good reading roll and it makes me so happy! What a great story and change of pace. I would characterize this book as a romantic suspense with a little steam; but it isn't front and center like with some romance novels. Yeah there is sex and the build up to it is fantastic like you just can't wait for it to finally happen. 

Erin (h) has had a tragic past and has not let anyone come near her heart since. She avoids commitment and love. After finishing design school she moves to Milan, Italy landing a job from her instructor to design clothing. She finally secures her first big job for a very famous maestro.

Alek (H) has his own set of demons, he like Erin avoids commitment. Alek comes from lots of money and can pretty much have any woman he wants. When Alek sets out to get and do something he always gets and does it. The one thing Alek wants and isn't getting is Erin which only makes this more challenging to him. She intrigues him like no other woman has before, she is sexy, talented, smart and independent.

Erin knows his type and will not give into him...or so she thinks.

Will the famous maestro finally get Erin to trust him? And will he be open with her about his past? Paths cross and the unexpected happens.

So so good! In some suspense books I usually can guess who the "bad" guy is or whatever but I was not expecting it to be that person at all. What a great twist. However I did guess Alek's secret early on but I don't think that was suppose to be a huge surprise. I thought their chemistry was off the charts and I loved the little mix ups with the American language. Alek being Russian/American had a few American slang's he said wrong. Like this one..."I have somewhere I need to be later on, but I will take a check rain for dinner tomorrow night." I also loved his sister and most of the secondary characters other than his awful mother. She may have redeemed herself but we'll see in the conclusion to their story. 

Soon I'll be reading the novel An Aria in Venice   about Alek's little sister Adriana the ballerina whom I loved! This is also a review copy.

All in all I recommend and found this book to be pleasantly surprising! 

This is told from both the H's and h's POV.

HEA? (1)  <<<Click on this link if you want to know if Alek and Erin got theirs.