(Blog Tour + Giveaway) Declaration by Rachael Wade

Buy the book:

Amazon / Barnes & Noble

Author's:

Webpage  / Twitter / Goodreads / Facebook

Book summary:

 "Carter Montgomery spent most of his life blending in, and he liked it that way. It was always better to be seen, not heard. And while a theatric streak and friendly demeanor might have fooled most people, he knew the truth—he was the shy one. The quiet kid most people forgot about. Some might have considered that a bad thing, but those people all wanted to be in the spotlight.

The only place Carter didn’t mind attention was on stage, with The Hellions. Once content in his comfort zone in Seattle, Washington, he only knew three things: confrontation was to be avoided, keeping the peace was priority, and the moment he lost Kate Parker to Professor Ryan Campbell, he had no clue what to do with his life. Playing gigs, working at Pike Place Market, and watching BBC after the love of his life sailed off into the sunset just wasn’t going to cut it anymore.

Desperate to escape his rut, he takes a cue from Kate and chooses a random place to relocate—a small island across the country, where no one knows his name and memories of unrequited love aren’t found at every turn. Just when he thinks he’s found the perfect place to unwind and sink back into the shadows, in bursts Whitney Sinclair, a saucy firecracker who loves life and refuses to settle for second best. Full of contagious energy, she dares him to be brave, convincing him that it might finally be time to tell the world what he wants."

 Carter is finally getting what he deserves...

      Previous two days you could read my review for first two novels of the series - Preservation and Reservation. It is no secret that I'm not big fan of Kate and Ryan, but my hear broke because of that sweet tattooed boy, who plays guitar, has this crazy obsession with everything British and drops pretty much everything to be by the side of the his best friend when she needs him. Carter was my favorite character and I'm so happy that he got his book.

      Apparently, Declaration combines characters from two different books - we have Carter from Preservation, and other guys from Love and Relativity. You can read it as standalone - it just happens in the same fictional world, there are some spoilers for mentioned books, but it's no big deal.

      Why did I like it? Story was great - Carter decides to move across the country because he is sick of being second choice and he needs to get away from everyone and the life he was leading. I admire him for that because you have to be truly brave to do something like that - go to the place where you do not know anybody, without job or any plan what so ever. He just goes where life leads him. He finds new friends and new girl to obsess about - and she is worth of his attention, unlike Kate who, by my opinion always held him as back-up plan. Whitney is fun and outspoken, kind of a person you'd love to hang around. She and Carter are at first friends, but it is obvious that it can't stay just on that. Where Preservation disappointed me, Declaration was absolutely satisfying - those two have great chemistry. Their interaction is genuine and honest. I have few favorites scenes, but I don't want to spoil it for you so I'll just say this - beach bar. Don' worry, you'll get it.

      But... It seems that most of the books that are written like this - connected trough same fictional world, few plot points and characters - there is this feeling like you're missing something. Yes, it could be read as standalone, but I think that I'd understand some things better if I had read Love and Relativity too.

Giveaway

      One lucky winner will get all three e-books of Preservation series by Rachael Wade. You know what you have to do!;)


    a Rafflecopter giveaway

xoxo,

 

Waiting on Wednesday (#8)

Waiting on Wednesday is weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine. Goal is to connect bloggers and readers trough their most anticipated upcoming reads. So, here is what we on Way Too Hot Books can not wait to grab.

Chance of Rain by Amber Lin

Book summary:
"The only things Natalie Bouchard wants to change are the weekly specials in her Gram's diner. So when her high school sweetheart strolls back into Dearling, Texas, she allows herself to indulge in a little flirtation, but that's as far as it goes.

Navy SEAL Sawyer Nolan has returned to sell his father's land and get the hell out, no matter how enticing he still finds Natalie. Until a storm rolls over the Texas hills, stranding them together at the farm…and the memories of their steamy past lead to a reunion filled with hot days and long nights.

Soon Natalie's so far under Sawyer's skin he can't imagine being without her. But he has a lot of history in Dearling he'd like to leave behind, and Natalie is practically married to this town. If Sawyer wants to be more than just another person who leaves Natalie, he'll have to give his hometown—and himself—one more chance."

I've read The Lost Girls series by Amber Lin and I have to say that Chance of Rain sounds mellow compared to them, but I have faith in this author - she has this amazing writing style that reminds me of Megan Hart.

 So, what have you picked this week? Tell us all, leave a link to your WoW post and we will come to stalk you back. 

And, of course,

follow Way Too Hot Books!;)

xoxo,

Reservation (Preservation, #2) by Rachael Wade

Buy the book:

Amazon / Barnes & Noble

Author's:

Website  / Twitter / Goodreads

***Copy of the book was provided in exchange for honest review.***

Book summary:

 "Ryan Campbell is not only leaving his title of Professor behind to move on to bigger and better things at Simon and Warden Publishing, he’s also become Seattle’s rising literary star. Sitting on the overwhelming cusp of newfound fame, he learns soon enough that being popular has its downside.

Attracted to the buzz surrounding his new career, former lovers begin to creep back into his life, and potential ones emerge with enticing advances. While he works to juggle reserved, yet stressful, wedding plans with Kate and his new public image, he has enough to manage without worrying about Carter and Dean—Kate’s loveable albeit eccentric friends—and their latest shenanigans.

Surrounded by a lifestyle that includes temptation at every turn, Ryan finds himself immersed in a world full of scandal and lies, where his oldest weaknesses thrive and his ghosts return to haunt him. Questioning whether his life with Kate is his best path, he must discover if he’s still capable of being the man he aspired to be when she first became his, or if happily ever after is only an illusion."

No, Reservation is not companion novel to the first book - that little annoying habit authors have: to tell the story from his POV. It the end you have basically same book with few extra scenes, but nothing new. Second book in Preservation series is exactly that - sequel.

We continue to follow lives of Ryan and Kate, but this time narrator is Ryan. And he is good narrator - I even loved him more in this role than Kate. Rachael Wade managed to pull you into the male perspective. He is bastard, self-centric and arrogant, no matter how sometimes his new  found love makes him more mellow.

Story & Characters. I have to say that I instantly thought that plot looked "familiar". He is not Mr. Nobody anymore, there are publicists and mangers who want to sell certain image to the public and girlfriend that nobody should find out about. Yes, Reckless by S.C. Stephens and just like that book, Reservation is full of drama. If you are fan of that type of stories,you will enjoy this book very much. Ryan is drama queen worthy of Olivia and company from Tarryn Fisher's novels. Honestly, there were so many things that bothered me and I do not know how Kate could get over all of his issues. But don't be fooled - that girl is no ray of sunshine herself. I liked Carter and I'm really curious about his book. We will talk about third book - Declaration - tomorrow and also, you will get opportunity to win all three books. Do not miss it!

xoxo,

Preservation by Rachael Wade

Buy the book:

Amazon / Barnes and Noble

Author's:

Website  / Twitter / Goodreads

***Copy of the book was provided in exchange for honest review.***

Book summary:

"Kate has no time for meaningless romantic charades, and definitely no time for hot college professors who are full of themselves and smitten with her. Constantly battling eviction notices, tuition she can’t afford, and a sick, dependent mother, the last thing she needs is to be distracted with someone else’s complicated baggage.

When she stumbles into Ryan Campbell’s creative writing class, he is only “Mr. Campbell” to her, until Ryan finds himself captivated by her writing and she is forced to face their mutual attraction. His cocky know-it-all syndrome is enough to send her running in the other direction, and his posse of female admirers and playboy reputation are enough to squander any odds in her favor.

But underneath Ryan’s abrasive facade is something to behold, and she can’t stay away for long. Ryan and Kate must decide who they’re willing to become and fight against their former selves if they want to make things work. That’s if academia, vicious vixens, old skeletons, and their own mastery at self-destruction don’t pummel their efforts first."

      I have to be honest with you - I've read Preservation by Rachael Wade against all warnings my friends gave me when they saw that I had put it on my currently reading shelf. After first ten pages or so I thought that they probably had read the different book or something like that. But... They know me well.

     What initially got my attention was the story. Kate is this kick ass heroine who tries as best as she can to escape her past and make something out of herself without anyone's help. She is starting college at age of 21 and her willingness to learn and grow is one of the things I find as big plus. First time she meet Ryan, her creative writing teacher, was probably the best scene in the whole book.
      On the other hand, Ryan had his two or three spotlight moments, but for the most part he annoyed the hell out of me. I didn't find the whole explanation for his womanizing and sleeping around with his students believable at all - it just made him look self-centered, selfish and weak minded.

     The taboo relationship. Preservation had a lot of potential, it has intriguing premise and several times it made me feel this crazy Christian Gray vibe. But somewhere along the road, things went downhill. Ryan and Kate's relationship develops too quickly and in span of few days they go from total strangers to I-love-yous phase. But that maybe wouldn't be such a big problem for me if there was this burn Earth to to ground-hot chemistry between them. There weren't or at least I didn't feel it. Only exiting part is forbidden romance fantasy about getting hot and heavy with your teacher. Speaking about it, I have to say that it wasn't that much of a taboo. It's obvious from the story that no matter all the rules, that type of relationship is something that is socially acceptable and, based on this specific storyline, not so unusual for Mr. Campbell. once again, in New Adult novels breaching this subject, whole focus is on the love story and steamy scenes.

      Who should read this novel? All fans of Teresa Mummert and her Honor Student series.

xoxo,

Crash Into Me (Shaken Dirty, #1) by Tracy Wolff

Buy the book:

Amazon / Barnes & Noble

Author's:

Website / Twitter / Facebook

Release date: October 14th, 2013.

Entangled Brazen

My rating: 5 super hot stars

***Copy of this book provided by publisher in exchange for honest review.***

Book summary:

"Jamison Matthews has lusted after Ryder Montgomery since she was a preteen. But now that Ryder and her brother's band, Shaken Dirty, has made it huge, she's just one of many pining for the brooding lead singer. Too bad Ryder still sees her as a little sister. Not that it matters. Her brother would never allow it, and the last thing Jamison wants is to be another notch on a rock star's bed post. Even if it's Ryder's.
Ryder doesn't deserve happiness. After his fame destroyed his last girlfriend, he swore he'd never fall in love again. So when Jamison, the girl he's been in danger of loving for years, joins the band on the road, he'll do anything to deny the sparks between them--even after one hot night together. But Jamison is determined to show Ryder that he's worthy of love--her love--and that she's all grown up and ready to play."

     I think I found my new Olivia Cunning. I have the softest spot for rock stars/bad boys. They are my absolute favorite in harem of fictional men. Kellan Kyle & D-Bags, Sinners, Sole Regret, The Mighty Storm and I can't wait for Exodus End novels. Now there are new bad boys to add to my ever growing list - Shaken Dirty.

     First book in Shaken Dirty series by Tracy Wolff is a story about Ryder Montgomery, lead singer of the band. He has everything we want in our rock stars -voice, looks, guitar skills (but other skills too), reputation and interesting background. Lucky lady who gets to devour this new rock god is Jamison, little sister of Ryder's band mate Jared. Oh yes ladies, double treat - rock star and older brother's best friend fantasy.

     But it's not just that fantasy...that will make you love the book. Okay, the whole premise of the story is one big cliche, but whether it will work out or not - it's all up to the author. Tracy Wolff had done a fine job. It's not a bunch of pornographic scenes like it was case with first Sinners on Tour book (that was my biggest problem with it no matter how much I love those guys). There is a really good story behind whole hotness and steamy scenes. Ryder is believable character, author managed to make him look like real person with insecurities, problems and bad choices. We get to see a man behind the whole rock star mask. Speaking about it, Tracy had done really good job with dual point of view. You notice difference between parts that are told form Ryder's and Jamison's perspective.

     Can I come with you guys too? Life on the road, traveling from one place to another, meeting new people almost everyday is probably the main reason why people are attracted so much to that lifestyle. Not to mention doing something you love. Jamison looses everything that is considered important for everyday, "normal" life and she gets to do something crazy, to fulfill that fantasy we all want. Sleeping in the bunk above the guy you had crush since you were kid - hell, yes! Epic make out sessions - sign me in!

     Troubled boys. So, I get info that rest of the band will get their books too. I am so excited - Tracy, what do I have to do to get early copies super early?:D Good news is that we will not have to wait whole year for new sequel - they should be published every three months. Let's hope that publisher won't change that schedule. I am desperate to see what happens with Wyatt.

     Blog love. If you're still not sure about this, check out Rachel's review on Waves of Fiction.

xoxo,

Autumn Taboo: Student/Teacher Affairs - Updated List

     First of all, we would like to say big thank you to all of you who helped us spread the word about Autumn Taboo feature. Huge thank you to everyone who told us about books that might interest us. The biggest thank you to all authors that twitted, talked to us and are willing to answer our questions.

     Today we have updated list of novels talking about student/teacher relationships. All of them won't be spotlighted on Way Too Hot Books, but we thought that it would be a good thing to share all titles we managed to found. So, if you're interested, find them and read them. Click on the title to see book on Goodreads.

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Slammed by Colleen Hoover                                               Damaged by H.M. Ward

Gabriel's Inferno by Sylvain Reynard                                   Teach Me by R.A. Nelson

Honor Student by Teresa Mummert                                    Preservation by Rachael Ward

Losing It by Cora Carmack                                                Lost In Light by Kat Kingsley

Want by Stephanie Lawton                                                Teach Me by Amy Lynn Steele

The Low Notes by Kate Roth                                            Arouse by Nina Lane

Unteachable by Leah Reader                                      Me, Cinderella? by Aubrey Rose

The Yearning by Kate Belle                                     A Season of Eden by Jennifer Laurens

A Different Blue by Ami Harmon                                  The Ivy Lessons by J. Lerman

Taming the Beast by Emily Maguire                            Sweetest Taboo by Eva Marquez

Boy Toy by Barry Lyga                                                     After Class by Ella Morris

When Summer Ends by Isabelle Rae                                  Innocents by Cathy Coote

Drowning Instinct by Ilsa J. Bick                                         If I Stay by Evan Reeves

Good by S. Walden                                                           Dark Blue by Natasha Bond

Griffin's Law by Mary Anne Graham                                  Forbidden by Ryla St. John

Tampa by Alissa Nutting                                           Broken Ever After by Natalie Graham

What Was She Thinking? by Zoe Heller                    Prey by Lurlene McDaniel

Amy and Isabelle by Elizabeth Strout                              College Girl by  Sheila Grace

The Rehearsal by Eleanor Catton                     You Deserve Nothing by Alexander Maksik

Hummingbirds by Joshua Gaylord                              The Adults by Alison Espach

Where You Are by J.H. Trumble                          Love Lessons by David Belbin

A Kiss Remembered by Sandra Brown                   Gone by Kathleen Johnson

The Coming Storm by  Paul Russell                     A Perfect Game by Reno MacLeod

Hush by Jacqueline Sauvageau                      Baumgartner Generations by Selena Kitt

After Class by Megan Hart              Nocturne by Adrea Randall and Charles Sheehan-Miles 

Everything Beautiful in the World by Lisa Levchuk

The Preservationist by Justin Kramon

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xoxo,

Shooting Scars (The Artist Trilogy, #2) by Karina Halle

Buy The Book:

AMAZON / BARNES & NOBLE

Author's Page:

Goodreads / Blog / Twitter

Genre:

Contemporary Romance

Summary on Goodreads:

Sometimes the right choice can be the deadliest.

When Ellie Watt made the ultimate sacrifice for Camden McQueen, she never thought it would be easy. But walking away with her ex-lover, Javier Bernal, in order to ensure Camden’s safety has brought a whole new set of dangers. With Javier’s plans for Ellie growing more secretive by the moment, Ellie must find a way to stay ahead of the game before her past swallows her whole.

Meanwhile, Camden’s new life is short-lived. Fueled by revenge and pursued by authorities, he teams up with an unlikely partner in order to save Ellie. But as Camden toes the line between love and retribution, he realizes that in order to get back the woman he loves, he may have to lose himself in the process. He might just turn into the very man he’s hunting.

Told in dual POV from Camden and Ellie.

RATING:

***REVIEW***

“True love doesn't have a sick desperation to it, and undercurrent of doom. People who burn that brightly still get burned in the end.” 

The Artist Trilogy Series is one of my favorite series in the genre of contemporary romance and Karina Halle is definitely a force to be reckoned in the world of authors. As much as I loved the first two book (Review #1 & Review #0.5), I must admit I was a bit afraid and kept delaying to read this one, because after *that* cliffhanger in the 1st book I had pretty good idea where the author will take this story in this book and I was pretty sure that won't exactly like it taking in consideration my reading (non-) preferences. 

At the top of  the list of my non-preferences are: 

1. weak & immature character, 

2. any type of love triangles

Unfortunately, this story had both and it had everything to do with the main character of the book- Ellie. It's very important for me when reading that the book has a likable main character, because he/she is the main voice & focus of the story and we usually see the world of the story through their eyes. Me & Ellie had a love/hate relationship from the very beginning, but in this book it was mostly the later. Why is that? Well, after the strong beginning in the 1st half of the book, she ended up being this weak, needy and whiny character full of contradictions in the second half. I didn't like her and her behavior at all and in the end I became so frustrated with her that I truly didn't care what will happen with her. And what's worse- I ended up disappointed even in my favorite character Camden- Camden...baby, you too??? *face-palm*.

“I'd be there no matter what she chose, even if she wanted another lover, another life, I would still be there when she fell. When she wanted to run. When she wanted to come home.” 

He held a grudge against her for years after what she did to him in high school and now he's suddenly so forgiving after he saw *all that*??? -.- I mean, please, come on, no one can be that forgiving! IMO, he acted totally out of his character and I wasn't happy with it. The only character that was his true-serial-killer/ psycho/ drug lord-self was Javier. There's smth about Javier, there's no doubt. He is a very intriguing character and no matter what he does (and he did some pretty horrible things) it seems that you can't completely hate him and from time to time you get this urge to jump his bones, but STILL, you should take a second and go back and think about his profession and things he did, because no matter how appealing and a sweet-talker he can be, he is and he'll ALWAYS be a serial killer/ psycho/ drug lord. I don't know about you, but in my my world that's not a boyfriend material. That's about all I wanted to say and that's why I'm rating this book with 3 stars, not because of the author's writing style which was good as always, but because of the development of the plot and characters. I still plan to read the next one which will be the last in the series and I hope that it will be amazing like the 1st two books.

“Will you burn with me?" she asked. "Or will you go free?"

I grabbed her face as the heat pressed in. "I'll burn with you.”

xoxo