Beautiful Boss by Christina Lauren | Book Review

Beautiful Boss by Christina Lauren 

Reading Group: M for Mature

Personal Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Given Summary: The ninth work in the New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling series that started with Beautiful Bastard. In this novella, Will Sumner and Hanna Bergstrom (from Beautiful Player) find that a wedding and everlasting love were just the beginning.

One Player tamed. One nerd girl satisfied. And one more major life decision to make. When Will fell for Hanna, her quirky sense of humor and fierce dedication to her career were part of the attraction. (Not to mention her coy newbie attitude toward sex and her willingness to let him teach her everything.) But when the job offers start rolling in for her—and oh, they do—Hanna has trouble deciding what she wants, where they should live, and how much she should burden Will with the decision. Magic between the sheets is only one part of a relationship...getting on the same page is quite another altogether.

Cover: This cover is a classic Christina Lauren novella cover with a girl drawn on it, but the eyes not shown. 

My Review: I don't know if any of you truly understand how excited I have been for this novella since it was announced.  I went to Barnes & Noble the day it was released and sat and read the entire thing.  And I was not disappointed.  Will and Hannah are my favorite couple from the Beautiful Series so reading another story about them living the newlywed life.  Hannah is a super smart girl who can have a job anywhere she wants it, but deciding where to live is a challenging task.  She tries to do it all on herself, which probably wasn't the best idea.  Sure Will can do his job from anywhere in the country, but he still doesn't want to move anywhere in the country.  However, it's a fight neither of them want to have so they ignore it until it almost tears them apart.  And a world without Will and Hannah living happily ever after is not one that should exist, even if it is fictional.  They decide to move to Boston (A fantastic choice, but I am a little biased) and continue their life together in The City Upon A Hill, happily ever after.

My Review:

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Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone | Book Review

Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone

Reading Group: 16+/Sensitive Material (Mental Disorders, Suicide) 

Personal Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Given Summary:If you could read my mind, you wouldn't be smiling.

Samantha McAllister looks just like the rest of the popular girls in her junior class. But hidden beneath the straightened hair and expertly applied makeup is a secret that her friends would never understand: Sam has Purely-Obsessional OCD and is consumed by a stream of dark thoughts and worries that she can't turn off. 

Second-guessing every move, thought, and word makes daily life a struggle, and it doesn't help that her lifelong friends will turn toxic at the first sign of a wrong outfit, wrong lunch, or wrong crush. Yet Sam knows she'd be truly crazy to leave the protection of the most popular girls in school. So when Sam meets Caroline, she has to keep her new friend with a refreshing sense of humor and no style a secret, right up there with Sam's weekly visits to her psychiatrist.

Caroline introduces Sam to Poet's Corner, a hidden room and a tight-knit group of misfits who have been ignored by the school at large. Sam is drawn to them immediately, especially a guitar-playing guy with a talent for verse, and starts to discover a whole new side of herself. Slowly, she begins to feel more "normal" than she ever has as part of the popular crowd . . . until she finds a new reason to question her sanity and all she holds dear.

Cover: The cover of this book has each word on a different scrap of paper.  Representing how the poets would write on whatever paper they had available to them when they had inspiration to write.  

My Review: I must have a thing for books that involve some form hallucinations.  I feel like I've read  quite a few books recently with this topic.  It's really only my third (Along with Vanishing Girls and Sweet Nothing), but I've read them in a short period of time.  I've also been reading a few books that contain mental health issues so this book was right up my alley for current interests.  OCD is something that seems to me one of form on mental health that isn't talked about much.  Lately anxiety and depression have been front page and other mental health issues have been pushed off to the side.  This novel does a really good job showing that OCD is more complicated that having to be super neat or having intense rituals you have to do before going to bed.  I also liked that this book had the friendship and high school aspect.  There are friends that you may have had since elementary school and even though you know you're growing apart from them, you don't want to walk away from them because you don't have anywhere else to go.  Especially once you get to high school and it seems like everyone has their friend group.  Which is why you may need to try something new in order to make new friends.  For Sam it was poetry and the secret Poet's Corner.  With this group of friends she's more willing to share small details about herself and her OCD that she wasn't able to with the friends she grew up with.  And of course, a boy was involved, and you guys know I can't help but love a good love story.  AJ and the rest of the kids in Poet's Corner are able to understand Sam because they all have something that makes them feel different and like outcasts in some way.  However, when Sam discovers that her mind conjured up Caroline as a way to help her through stressful times, she removes herself from everyone.  Anyone would be freaked out if they realized they accidentally imagined their best friend, but when you already struggle with your thoughts, it makes it even worse.  Sam needed to accept herself and realize that there was a whole group of people who were also willing to let her in, she just had to let them.
One tiny thing that I noticed and liked about this book was the chapter titles.  Sam does a lot of things in threes, so all of the chapter titles are three word phrases, even the title is three words.             

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The Cellar by Natasha Preston | Book Review

The Cellar by Natasha Preston

Reading Group: There is sensitive material in this novel, such as kidnapping, abuse, and talk of rape

Personal Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Given Summary: "Lily?"

My stomach dropped as a tall, dark-haired man stepped into view. Had he been hiding between the trees?

"No. Sorry." Gulping, I took a step back. "I'm not Lily."

He shook his head, a satisfied grin on his face. "No. You are Lily."

"I'm Summer. You have the wrong person." You utter freak!

I could hear my pulse crashing in my ears. How stupid to give him my real name. He continued to stare at me, smiling. It made me feel sick.

"You are Lily," he repeated.

Before I could blink, he threw his arms forward and grabbed me. I tried to shout, but he clasped his hand over my mouth, muffling my screams. My heart raced. I'm going to die.

For months Summer is trapped in a cellar with the man who took her―and three other girls: Rose, Poppy, and Violet. His perfect, pure flowers. His family. But flowers can't survive long cut off from the sun, and time is running out...

Cover: The cover of this novel appears to be the cellar stairs with a Lily laying on the bottom step.  I think this cover represents Summer being at her lowest point, stuck in the basement and not knowing if or when she was going to get out.

My Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this novel.  I thought it was interesting to read from Summer, Clover, and Lewis's point of views.  I also liked how long she was stuck in the cellar.  Obviously I wanted her to be rescued and I certainly didn't want her to die down there, but I thought it was more realistic that it took some time for her to be found.  Throughout the book, you come to realize why Colin (Clover) was acting the way her was and although I never liked him, I couldn't help but feel a little bit bad for him, or at least understand him better.  His dad messed up his mom and his mom messed him up and led him into this life of killing and eventually kidnapping.  Lewis allowed you into life outside of the cellar.  Life doesn't simply go on for people who know someone who was kidnapped.  Summer's mom was a mess and Lewis was spending all of his time trying to find her, even if it meant finding her dead.  The other girls were living what they assumed was the rest of their lives.  They didn't expect to ever leave because they didn't have anyone to look for them.  Summer was the only one of the girls who could save the rest of them, but she didn't know how or how long her family would be looking for her.  Book like this one are interesting because they aren't your typical love stories.  These books have bigger problems than a misunderstanding and remind us that not everyone in the world is good, even if they think they are.  I think that was the dangerous thing about Clover.  He wasn't a cereal killer who enjoyed killing people, he enjoyed killing people he thought were bad and destroying families.  He didn't see himself as a killer at all, which made him even more dangerous.  He was someone who could be your neighbor.    

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A Not-Joe Not-So-Short Short by Christina Lauren | Book Review

A Not-Joe Not-So-Short Short by Christina Lauren

Reading Group: This story is actually PG, but if you're buying it within WSL, I would have to say M for Mature because that's what WSL is.

Personal Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Given Summary: Not-Joe.  Dylan.  Goofball.  Heartwarming pal.  Whatever you call him, he's been a man of comic mystery to the Wild Seasons group.  Now, for the first time, enter into Not-Joe's world--his glorious, fun-loving world--as he meets none other than Perry . . . Ansel's ex.

Cover: This story is a bonus short within Wicked Sexy Liar so it doesn't have its own cover.  At least in my version.  It may be released as an e-book with its own cover soon, but I'm not sure.

My Review: Not-Joe!!  This story was so sweet.  Not-Joe is such a cute guy who just goes with the flow and is blunt and someone I definitely want to be friends with.  It was ironic that he starts having a little thing with Ansel's ex when this short is attached to a story about London being with Mia's ex.  I liked that Not-Joe was incorporated into WSL as Luke's friend and that's how you find out his name rather than when everyone (except Luke and London) discovers it.  It was funny that he was friends with Luke because if Luke and London never met, Luke may have been reunited with his childhood friends through him.  I also enjoy how Christina Lauren has everything fall into place for all of their characters.  Everyone finds love.  It may not be the most realistic, but I love that kind of stuff.  This story was short, but sweet.  It wasn't a typical Christina Lauren story, it was way more toned down, but it was so cute. 

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Wicked Sexy Liar by Christina Lauren | Book Review

Wicked Sexy Liar by Christina Lauren

Reading Group: M for Mature

Personal Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Given Summary: For two people ambivalent about dating and love, they sure get naked around each other an awful lot . . .

London Hughes is very content to surf daily, tend bar, hang out with her group of friends, and slowly orient herself in the years after college. Everything’s going great and according to the non-plan.

But when a wave knocks her for a loop one morning, then Luke Sutter’s flirtatious smile knocks her for another that evening, she veers slightly off course…and into his path. Sure, he’s a total player, but the Why not—it’s only one night is a persistent voice in her ear.

For his part, Luke’s been on hookup autopilot for so long that he rarely ever pauses to consider what he’s doing. But after an amazing time with London, he realizes that he hasn’t been moving on from a devastating heartbreak so much as he’s been drifting to wherever—and whomever—the current takes him. With London he wants more.

Every relationship involves two people…plus their pasts. And as much as she enjoys her fling with Luke, when London learns about his past—more specifically, who’s in it—everything becomes the brand of complicated she strives to avoid. It’s up to Luke then to change some things in order to try and ensure he’s not something she’ll outright avoid as well.

Cover: This novel continues the classic Christina Lauren covers.  I love the covers of their books.  I think they're simple, but beautiful.  This one is green with Luke dressed in a suit.

My Review: What would you do if you started sleeping with a friend's ex-boyfriend?  Is there a statute of limitations on something like that?  London comes to find out that it depends on the friend.  And if that friend is Mia, who is happily married to Ansel, it's going to be weird for a minute and then it will be okay and you will happily have Luke Sutter in your life forever and ever.  It was kind of ironic ah Luke was trying to get into law school and Mia married a lawyer-turned-law-professor.  I thought that was funny.  This story is a classic Christina Lauren novel and I loved every second of it.  I read it a day and Luke and London were just the cutest.  One of my absolute favorite things about Christina Lauren's books is that the boy always gives the girl a nickname and I thought it was hysterical that Luke called London the wrong name and that's what became her nickname.  
Both London and Luke had previous fails with love and so neither of them really want to dive in again.  However, it all took was one person to change their outlook on love.  When they meet each other it doesn't take long for either of them to realize that this time is different and once they get Mia and Harlow's approval there's nothing holding them back except themselves.  
It was also nice that they got together because Mia and Luke weren't the only ones who suffered from their breakup.  Harlow and Lola chose to stick with Mia, but they were Luke's friends too so if he is with London they all get to have each other back in their lives.  I think that as the years passed and they were able to grow up and learn what they wanted out of their lives, they all realized that it could never be the way it was when they were twelve or even eighteen, but that didn't mean they couldn't find their way back to each other in some way.

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