My Reading Pile (24)

  My Reading Pile is a meme hosted by Rachel over at Fiktshun. Every I'll list all the books I've read in the past week, four books I plan on reading over the upcoming week and all the books I've received or bought. I'll also post links to the reviews from the past week, as well as blog tours.  I hope you enjoy. (The picture above is from Fiktshun)

Last Week:

Read:

The Trap (Trapped #0.5) by Beverley Kendall 

Looking back, I should have seen it coming.

Paige didn’t like that I went so far away to university. But it was going to only be for two years. She'd join me after she did her two years at community college. I thought we could swing that no problem. We were solid.

But she hated the distance. She hated not seeing me every day. She complained that I didn’t come home enough. She hated that for months on end, texting and phone calls were our only form of communication. It wasn’t enough.

She'd ask about the girls on campus. She’d gotten it into her head that girls were always making a play for me. I laughed and told her, even if that were true, I’d never cheat on her. She didn't seem completely reassured by that.

The bottom line is, Paige thought she was losing me. She wanted me home with her. But I could never imagine the level she'd sink to—the trap she’d set to make that happen.

And like an idiot I walked right into it.

And it’s a mistake I'm going to have to pay for the rest of my life.

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A great beginning to the Trapped. I did a quick read and then I just had to read Trapped!!!

Trapped (Trapped #1) by Beverley Kendall 

My life has turned out to be such a cliché. And not in a good way.

It’s not exactly Sixteen and Pregnant, but at eighteen my only advantage is a high school diploma. And if that’s not enough, the father—and I use that term loosely—couldn’t have hightailed it out of my life fast enough.

I thought I really knew him. Unfortunately, my boyfriend of three years transformed from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde once he realized his carefree, childless days would be coming to an end.

I’m over him now though. The real love of my life is chubby, has more gum than teeth, and stands a little over two feet tall. She may not have been planned, but I’ve never regretted having her. She is the center of my world.

A world that's been turned upside down when Mitch returns ready to earn the love and trust of the child he abandoned before birth.

Letting him into my daughter’s life is one thing but letting him back into mine isn't going to happen. Ever.

Now if only I can get my heart to heed the lessons of the past.

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I absolutely adore this book. Paige is adorable. Mitch is trying to right what he did several months ago. I really want to know why she came off the birth control in the first place.

Revolutionary (Anomaly #3) by Krista McGee 

All her life Thalli thought she was an anomaly. Now she must use her gifts to fulfill the role she was called to play: Revolutionary.

Back in the underground State against her will, Thalli is no longer the anomaly she was before. She has proven herself to be a powerful leader aboveground and returns with information that Dr. Loudin needs to complete his plan of uniting the world under one leader: himself. But he, too, has information. A secret he has kept from Thalli her entire life. A secret that, once revealed, changes everything about the person Thalli thought she was.

Hoping to help Thalli rise up against the Scientists, both Berk and Alex join her underground, but their presence only brings more trouble for her. Now Dr. Loudin knows just the leverage to use on his captive, and she is forced to choose between the two of them. Is her first love her true love? Or does Alex ultimately claim her heart?

Unsure of everything around her, including her own identity, Thalli doesn’t know where to turn. She knows she needs the Designer, but he seems further away than ever. What she does know, though, is that if she doesn’t do something to stop Loudin, the fragile world aboveground will be lost once and for all.

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A great enfing to the awesome Christian dystopian trilogy. Review below.

Phantom's Dance by Lesa Howard

Christine Dadey’s family uprooted their lives and moved to Houston for her to attend the prestigious Rousseau Academy of Dance. Now, two years later, Christine struggles to compete among the Academy’s finest dancers, her parents are on the brink of divorce, and she’s told no one about her debilitating performance anxiety and what she’s willing to do to cope with it.

Erik was a ballet prodigy, a savant, destined to be a star on the world’s stage, but a suspicious fire left Erik’s face horribly disfigured. Now, a lonely phantom forced to keep his scars hidden, he spends his nights haunting the theater halls, mourning all he’s lost. Then, from behind the curtain he sees the lovely Christine. The moldable, malleable Christine.

Drawn in by Erik’s unwavering confidence, Christine allows herself to believe Erik’s declarations that he can transform her into the dancer she longs to be. But Christine’s hope of achieving her dreams may be her undoing when she learns Erik is not everything he claims. And before long, Erik’s shadowy past jeopardizes Christine’s unstable present as his obsession with her becomes hopelessly entangled with his plans for revenge.

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I loved this retelling of The Phantom of the Opera!! Review linked below.

Dare to Kiss (Maxwell #1) by S.B. Alexander

Besides her family, Lacey Robinson’s only other love is baseball. She’s on top of the world when Arizona State University approaches her to discuss a scholarship. To be the first girl ever to grace a college boys’ team is beyond what she has ever dreamed. Her fastball is impeccable, her curveball equally as good, and her slider annihilates anyone who dares to step in the batter’s box. But fate has its own way of throwing curveballs.

When she looses her mother and sister to a home invasion, baseball and her dreams die with them. Tragedy has a way of seeping deep into her psyche, causing nightmares, panic attacks and blackouts. Diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, her psychiatrist recommends a change of scenery and picking up the things that she loved to do, and for Lacey that is baseball.

After a move clear across the country, only two things matter to Lacey—overcome her PTSD and make Kensington High’s baseball team. However, she never counted on meeting someone who wants her as badly as Kade Maxwell. The tall, sexy and drool-worthy bad boy has a magical touch that awakens her feminine side, and a kiss that slowly erases her nightmares. But getting involved with him may be dangerous when Kade’s nemesis returns to town to settle a vendetta. To complicate matters, her PTSD has taken a turn for the worse. She has to find a way to heal otherwise she may not have a chance at anything in life, especially love.

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I cannot wait for the sequel!! All of you are going to have to wait until September to get your hands on this one, but it will be worth the wait. Review coming soon.

Reviewed:

Blog Tours:

Received:

Blog Tour:

 Netgalley:

Upcoming Week:

Teaching Roman (Good Girls Don't #2) by Gennifer Albin

Jessica Stone has her life in perfect order until her perfectly boring boyfriend Brett puts things in perspective. So when she receives a call to action from her heartbroken best friend Cassie, she ditches her plans for Winter Break in gloomy Olympic Falls and sets off to Mexico for some fun in the sun.

Determined to use her oceanview to prep for her MCATS, she doesn't plan to run into anyone from Olympic State, least of all the cute communications prof she's been crushing on for a year. When he unexpectedly saves the day, the two are thrown together in a distinctly extracurricular activity.

Roman Markson doesn’t expect to run into anyone he knows from Olympic Falls while visiting his family in Puerto Vallarta, especially not a former student. Although Jess Stone has a way of catching men’s attention, a relationship with her is strictly off-limits. However, the rules feel less strict in Mexico, so they agree to a plan: one week in paradise and nothing more.

But avoiding each other back on campus is harder than they anticipated, especially when they can’t stay away from one another. Neither is sure what they have to learn—and lose—before life teaches them a lesson they’ll never forget.

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Blog tour on Monday. I'm excited to read this book after enjoying the previous book in the series.

The Hazards of Sex on the Beach (Hazards #3) by Alyssa Rose Ivy

One broken heart, one drink too many, one steamy night in the sand...

No one warns you about the dangers of drinking with a broken heart. At least no one warned me. I never imagined I'd fall for a musician, especially not one like Chase, but then again I never expected to have my heart broken into a million pieces by the frat guy I thought was the love of my life.

Sometimes it's the rash decisions, like hooking up in the sand, that lead you to the best places—the kinds of places where it's possible to let yourself fall in love again.

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The Hazards of Sex on the Beach releases tomorrow and I'm planning on reviewing it for release week.

His Reverie by Monica Murphy 

I knew from the moment I first saw her she was the one. The only girl I could ever want.

The only girl I could ever love.

She is light.

I am darkness.

She is innocent.

I’ve done too much.

She is good.

I am bad.

She is my every dream.

I should be her every nightmare.

We come from different worlds. She’s…perfect. And I’m…

Not.

Somehow she wants me anyway. So we’ll grasp at what we can. We’re going to make this summer count. She’s my secret. And I’m hers.

The problem with secrets is they never last for long. And when others discover we’re together, they’ll do whatever it takes to keep us apart. All I know is: I won’t let them.

Because Reverie Hale? She’s mine.

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His Reverie is releasing next week! Yay! I'll hae review up on Saturday :)

Ali (East Wood Prep #2) by Mercy Amare 

My name is Alison Smith, but you can call me Ali.

I’m okay with my normal, boring life. I have good friends, and I know exactly what I want in life. But my whole world is turned upside down when my mom gets married and moves us to the Upper East Side. I just have to survive my senior year, then I can go back to Florida… back to my life.

And that is the plan.

Until I meet Christian Becker.

He changes everything.

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Ali is also releasing next week. I want to review as close to release day as possible.