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Review: Bully (Fall Away #1) by Penelope Douglas


My name is Tate. He doesn't call me that, though. He would never refer to me so informally, if he referred to me at all. No, he'll barely even speak to me.

But he still won't leave me alone.

We were best friends once. Then he turned on me and made it his mission to ruin my life. I've been humiliated, shut out, and gossiped about all through high school. His pranks and rumors got more sadistic as time wore on, and I made myself sick trying to stay out of his way. I even went to France for a year, just to avoid him.

But I'm done hiding from him now, and there's no way in hell I'll allow him to ruin my senior year. He might not have changed, but I have. It's time to fight back.

I'm not going to let him bully me anymore.


I've heard a lot about this series and this book. It seems either people love it or hate it. I fall into that first category. Honestly I was a bit wary at first, as bullying is something I don't deal with well, and I've read comments from other people saying how horrible it was in this book. To me actually it was doable. There is no (physical) harassment, mostly spreading some rumors around to keep Tate isolated from most of her peers.

I certainly do not condone bullying in any way, I was just prepared for the worst and the reality wasn't as harsh as I had imagined. Though the bullying we read about has mostly happened in the past, to me Jared was mostly just being an asshole showing kindergarten behavior. Namely teasing a girl because you like her, though it certainly did go further than just teasing.

From the beginning it's actually pretty clear why Jared behaves that way and when you find out why he does it, that simply made me sad. The regret he feels, the anger, the love... these conflicting emotions also makes it difficult for him to stop his behavior. He realizes he can not keep treating her this way, but already so much has happened that it's hard to break the pattern.

Still it becomes more and more difficult to hide his true feelings for Tate, though she isn't so easy to forgive him. I fully agree with the way Tate reacts to Jared's behavior. After her year abroad she has become stronger, willing to finally stand up to him. Though at times she has to be careful not to turn into a bully herself. I really liked that she was done letting him run all over her, proving how strong she was. It's definitely not easy, and even confusing as Jared's behavior turns fickle.

Slowly it becomes clear how hurt both these characters are. Jared made a stupid decision, which he has trouble coming back from and Tate was the victim of that. Instead of still being best friends, they became enemies and for Tate it was never clear why. She suffered from this separation, though so did Tate. Since he was the start of it all, he will also have to make amends to turn things around.

Bully was an amazing story that deals with some pretty heavy themes. Two broken characters, exhausted from the dynamic between them and trying to figure a way out. While bullying is definitely a theme in this book, to me it felt more about standing up for yourself, figuring out what you want or who you want (to be), opening up and forgiveness. Add in all your usual teenage drama and you know it's not a light read. Still there are plenty of amusing scenes in between, when these two start arguing or the plans they have for each other. While these last couple of years were awful, I feel that we need to remember that Tate and Jared know each other very well, were best friends for most of their lives, and have a lot of history between them. Therefor it was easier for me to understand how Tate could forgive him.

I can keep rambling on about this book forever it seems, definitely plenty worth of discussing. So I'm just going to end things here. Bully was amazing, with complex and interesting characters, heavy themes and I loved it.



Fall Away - Reading order and purchase links

  

    



The Author
Penelope Douglas is a writer living in Las Vegas. Born in Dubuque, Iowa, she is the oldest of five children. Penelope attended the University of Northern Iowa, earning a Bachelor's degree in Public Administration, because her father told her to "just get the damn degree!" She then earned a Masters of Science in Education at Loyola University in New Orleans, because she HATED public administration. One night, she told the bouncer at the bar where she worked that his son was hot, and three years later she was married. To the son, not the bouncer. They have spawn, but just one. A daughter named Aydan. Penelope loves sweets, The 100, and she shops at Target almost daily.

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Excerpt: Deep (Stage Dive #4) by Kylie Scott


Don't miss a beat with the fourth and final novel in the USA Today bestselling Stage Dive series from Kylie Scott.

Positive. With two little lines on a pregnancy test, everything in Lizzy Rollins' ordinary life is about to change forever. And all because of one big mistake in Vegas with Ben Nicholson, the irresistibly sexy bass player for Stage Dive. So what if Ben's the only man she's ever met who can make her feel completely safe, cherished, and out of control with desire at the same time? Lizzy knows the gorgeous rock star isn't looking for anything more permanent than a good time, no matter how much she wishes differently.

Ben knows Lizzy is off limits. Completely and utterly. She's his best friend's little sister now, and no matter how hot the chemistry is between them, no matter how sweet and sexy she is, he's not going to go there. But when Ben is forced to keep the one girl he's always had a weakness for out of trouble in Sin City, he quickly learns that what happens in Vegas, doesn't always stay there. Now he and Lizzie are connected in the deepest way possible...but will it lead to a connection of the heart?




His laughter, it didn’t really sound the smallest bit amused. “Christ. You’re done here.”

“Ah, no. I’m actually not. Now see, this is where we have a problem.” I folded my arms. Then unfolded them because like fuck I’d look defensive. He was the one in the wrong, not me. “You’re not prepared to take me, or my feelings, seriously. What you want is to hide away in Mr. Too Cool for Commitment land and just play with my affections when it suits you. Okay, I’ve accepted that. But none of that means it’s okay for you to come in here and act like you’re the boss of me. None of it.”

“That so?” he asked, leaning down so that we were almost nose to nose.

“That’s so, baby.” I play-punched him in the shoulder, which it should be noted, I barely came up to. Okay, so maybe the alcohol on a mostly empty stomach had made me slightly/lots braver/sillier. “So why don’t you take your little caveman jealous tantrum bullshit somewhere else. See, I do this funny thing I like to refer to as whatever the fuck I want. Understand?”

He just stared.

“And as pretty as you are with your beard and your muscles, you are too damn tricky and . . . complicated and shit for me.”

“I am?”

“Yes, you are. Are you finally seeing my point here?”

“You bet.”

“Excellent. So take your hotness elsewhere, kind sir. I want no part of it!” Huh. I had so told him. Drunken bravado was the best.

 
Stage Dive - Reading order and purchase links
All books can be read as standalone novels, but trust me when I say you will want to read them all ;)

  


  



The Author
Kylie is a long time fan of erotic love stories and B-grade horror films. She demands a happy ending and if blood and carnage occur along the way then all the better. Based in Queensland, Australia with her two children and one delightful husband, she reads, writes and never dithers around on the internet.

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Review: Axel (Corps Security #1) by Harper Sloan


Fate hasn’t always been friends with Isabelle West. In fact, fate has been a downright bitch.

Isabelle has learned the hard way how hard life can be when fate isn’t by your side. It can hand you dreams on silver platters, but it can snatch them right back and hand you nightmares. One thing Isabelle knew for sure fate was consistent with was taking away everything she ever loved.
For the last two years Isabelle has been slowly clearing the clouds of her past. Happiness is finally on the horizon. She has a thriving business, great friends, and her life back. All she has to do is jump over the last hurdle…her ex-husband.

When problems start causing her to fear her new life, and memories that are better left forgotten start rushing to the surface the last thing she needs is a ghost from her past to come knocking on her door.

Axel never thought he would look into the eyes of Isabelle West again, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to now. He’s carried his anger for so long he isn’t sure he can just turn it off, but when he is faced with protecting her and an unexpected desire to have her again, life gets a little more complicated.

How will Axel and Isabelle deal when all their cards are put on the table and everything they thought was true blows up in their faces?


I'm having some mixed feelings about this story. On the one hand I'll probably read the rest of the series, because all these guys sound amazing. On the other hand I almost felt a bit disappointed with the way Axel turned out. It was definitely different than what I expected.

Isabelle's husband was not a good guy, but in the end she manages to escape from him. It's been two years since, and her life is slowly picking back up. She has some great friends that helped her through, and are always there for her. But when her ex-husband is causing some problems, her friends call in help. Who she never expected to see again was Axel.

I was kind of surprised how Isabelle handled the whole situation with Axel. Before she was more meek and compliant, but now she's full on angry. I liked that Axel was able to bring out more emotions from her, still her anger at times felt misplaced to me.

Axel also never expected to see Isabelle again. The last time he knew, she was happily married. In all those years he never stopped caring about her though, so now that she needs his help, he's there for her. As in, he takes over her life kind of, and leaves her no choice about it. While I certainly liked his possessive alpha male side, it didn't quite work in my mind, when he would all mushy around Isabelle. The guy is actually pretty romantic and has no problems talking about his feelings.

It's that whole contradiction in those characters that had me confused at times and made it more difficult for me to get really into it. Somehow it made the story less believable. So while the two main characters were kind of all over the place, the secondary characters were pretty great. We only get them to know a little, but I liked what I saw and that's probably why I'll be giving this series another shot.

2.5 stars

Corps Security - Reading order and purchase links

    

    


The Author
Harper is a NEW YORK TIMES, WALL STREET JOURNAL and USA TODAY bestselling author residing in Georgia with her husband and three daughters. She has a borderline unhealthy obsession with books, hibachi, tattoos and Game of Thrones. When she isn't writing you can almost always find her with a book in hand.

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Excerpt & Giveaway: G-Men Series by Andrea Smith


The entire G-Men Series is together for a limited time box set! Yes, those hot, alpha FBI agents, and their ladies, along with the spin-off characters of 'These Men' are packaged together for this limited time offer. This is your chance to meet Slate, Taz, Easton, Eli and Cain Maddox if you haven't yet had the . . . pleasure!

NOW AVAILABLE

Amazon US ONLY $0.99

Amazon UK ONLY $1.99



Diamond Girl (Book #1)

Slate was waiting for me at the bus stop when I arrived. I shamelessly flew into his arms as soon as I stepped to the curb. "I fucking missed you," I said, "And I don't want to hear shit about it, either."

He laughed softly, as he wrapped his arm around me, pulling me closely as we walked to his apartment.

Once there, we were like two savages that hadn't been together for months instead of days. I tore at his clothing, and he tore at mine. Once naked, he unceremoniously lifted me from the pile of clothing and placed me on his bed.

He lowered himself beside me, gently pulling me into his strong arms and kissed me softly all over. His lips brushed my lips, and then moved to my neck, peppering me with kisses as his tongue blazed a path to my breasts. His mouth suckled each one thoroughly, and soft moans escaped my lips as his fingers explored my wet pussy, and then dipped inside of me sending shock waves of pleasure throughout my body.

I watched as his hand moved from my pussy. He brought his fingers up to my lips. "Lick," he said, pushing his wet fingers against my lips. "I want you to see what you taste like."



The Author
Andrea is a USA TODAY bestselling author residing in Ohio. Her published works include Past Tense Future Perfect, an e-book trilogy (previously published under the "Baby Series" titles) the G-Man Series: Diamond Girl, Love Plus One, Night Moves, G-Men Holiday Wrap and Taz; and her 'Limbo Series,' consisting of Silent Whisper and Clouds in my Coffee.

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