Shannon 5 Star Review - It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover

It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It Ends with Us – Colleen Hoover
5 Life Shattering Stars

Amazon Kindle: http://amzn.to/2b1Fdeg

Amazon Paperback: http://amzn.to/2aJSne4



It’s going to be hard to write a review without telling you the who’s, the how’s, and more importantly the why’s. I’ve ugly cried reading before – mostly CoHo books but this book was more than an ugly cry. I couldn’t catch my breath but I couldn’t stop reading either.

I didn’t read the blurb, I didn’t read a review, I didn’t participate in any reading groups. I went in completely blind. This story is so compelling, so real, and potentially life changing. You start out in this place of calm, cute first encounters, and the possibility of happiness and then Colleen Hoover being the evil genius she is, takes our happiness, twists it into something dark and vicious, and destroys our hearts.

We meet Lily, we meet Ryle, and then we meet Atlas. We know Lily is kick ass. We know Ryle is a hard worker. We know that Atlas stole Lily’s heart as a young girl but that was years ago. This isn’t a love triangle. It’s not all hearts, rainbows, and unicorns. We all know love is hard; it’s difficult at times. But how we handle those difficult moments can define us and our relationships for the rest of our lives.

I am not going to give you any pertinent information except this: devote a whole day to this book, another couple days for the hangover that’s sure to come. Be ready for a blindside. Be prepared for the ugliest, snottiest, and most heart breaking cry you’ll ever encounter while reading a book. Be fully prepared to hurt and be prepared to pick up the thousands of pieces of your heart to begin the healing process. Always, I mean always, remember – “We’re all just people who sometimes do bad things”.

I will be generous enough to give you some of my favorite quotes that won’t give you any spoilers.

~~ “You said you were like a drug. But you failed to tell me you were the most addictive kind.”

~~ “Fifteen seconds. That’s all it takes to completely change everything about a person. Fifteen seconds that we’ll never get back.”

~~ “What determines a person’s character aren’t the mistakes we make. It’s how we take those mistakes and turn them into lessons rather than excuses.”

~~ “But no matter how different the substance of a love might be at different ages in a person’s life, I know that love still has to weigh the same. You feel that weight on your shoulders and in your stomach and on your heart no matter how old you are.”



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MY KIND OF COUNTRY SERIES BY M. LYNNE CUNNING

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SHANNON'S FIVE+ STAR REVIEW: A FIELD GUIDE TO CATCHING CRICKETS

A FIELD GUIDE TO CATCHING CRICKETS

BY

A. WILDING WELLS

AMAZON PURCHASE

The soul is not where it lives, but where it loves. 

A countryside ranch, naughty notes and a neighbor boy. Kissing in silos and skinny dipping under a full moon. Ten years gone. An ocean, a tragedy...secrets and buried things. Letting go and hanging on. Remembering to forget. 

My reality became his nightmare, but then my nightmare became reality. 

Hawke Slater was not only my brothers’ best friend, he was a tender, sweet country boy. I never wanted to leave, but there was no choice for me. Two things kept my soul alive, and I’m hanging onto hope that one might be an option for my future. 

I wish none of it had been my fault, but it was. 

Sloan Story McQueen has returned. Why would I hold out an ounce of hope that she’d want me once she finds out what I do for a living. Some call it obscene, but I’m just chasing storms and rainbows. 

She’s holding onto something big. If only it were me. 

This novel contains adult content and is not intended for sensitive readers.

AMAZON BUY LINK: http://amzn.to/2a9nv3a

SHANNON'S 5 + STAR REVIEW:


A Field Guide to Catching Crickets
By A. Wilding Wells

5+ THIS IS WHY I READ STARS

This is the first book by A. Wilding Wells that I’ve read, that being said, I will be buying all others that she’s released and will release. I came across a giveaway for a signed paperback and was like “Oh, this sounds like my kind of book”. It had a southern tone (ponds, crickets, barns, cows), it’s the friends to lovers trope we all love so much, and some angst; but it’s so much more, y’all. It’s funny, it’s heart breaking, it’s tangible and life like. The writing is beyond superb. The characters are so in depth and so well developed. The whole time I was reading - I was there with them, I could see everything so clearly and feel every feeling and emotion that the characters were feeling.

Sloan McQueen had to be a tough girl growing up with four brothers and guy best friend. She and Hawke Slater were inseparable from the time they were young kids to the day she ripped his heart out at eighteen. She was moving to Amsterdam with her grandmother to go to school, that’s the story she gave Hawke that tearful night. For ten years he believed it but now his Cricket, Sloan to the rest of us, is going back home. She wasn’t sure what she was going back to, though. She was hoping that maybe she was going home to his heart but ten years was a hell of a long time.

Hawke Slater loved that girl with every fiber of his being, he couldn’t wait to see her again after ten years. He knew there were obstacles in his way such as his illustrious career but surely that would be the most damaging obstacle, right? He knows she’s changed, he can see it in her eyes and her face. Though, still beautiful, he knows she damaged and hurt. With ten years comes a lot of baggage and things to work through but you can’t work through them if you don’t know what the problems are and Sloan was keeping her ten years close to her heart. Hawke was ready to face the problems head on and right then. Sloan, she knew they needed to work through them but she wanted to do it at her own pace.

Hawke, y’all, is hands down one of the best BBF’s I’ve read. He’s all alpha, he’s strong, caring, kind, has a great heart, full of patience (10 years taught him that), and full of love. He knows what he wants and he goes after it but Sloan keeps pushing him away because she’s not ready to divulge all her secrets. Hawke’s an open book but Sloan is a locked diary. Those secrets she’s locked away will either push him further away than she’s already pushed him herself or it will pull him closer to her so he can help her pick up the pieces and put her life back together. Which will it be???


FAVORITE QUOTES:

“You’re all over me. Inside and out. When I run, I feel your breath filling my lungs. When I bathe, it’s your hands washing me, soft and wandering. When I cry, my tears are about you, us, and how I want you, need you, love you. Still.”

“This feeling I have for you, I can’t shut it off. Damn thing won’t leave me alone. Keeps me awake, follows me everywhere. It’s relentless in it’s pursuit.” “Of what?” she asks. “Of my hear. Fuck, Sloan – my heart.”

“Don’t be afraid to love me again.”

“I want to strip you down to your thoughts, want to hear your naked words. I want you heart exposed and defenseless.”

SHANNON'S 5 STAR REVIEW: UNSEEN MESSAGES BY PEPPER WINTERS

“There is a message for everything. From handwritten to verbal, seen and unseen. Messages exist all around us.”

But what if you don’t see?
What if you don’t understand?
What if, by ignoring the message, your life is never the same again?

Estelle Evermore morphed from nobody to somebody overnight.

Galloway Oak put his past behind him and endeavored to make his fortune using his trade.

Two strangers.
One plane.
Multiple unseen messages.

From sky to island, they find neither fame nor skills can save them. Stripped from society and left alone to survive the elements, the very task of staying alive outweighs all other needs.

Until survival turns to desire.
And desire turns to danger.

AMAZON

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5 STARS               

I sat down with this book and never put it down. I read all day long. I was so engrossed and lost in the pages of Unseen Messages. Pepper Winters has always been a go to author for me because I love dark reads but when I saw that this was going to be different aspect of dark, I jumped on it.  That’s just what this book is. A new element of dark; there’s mystery (surrounding Galloway Oak), there’s intrigue, there are ominous clues and foreshadowing. This story gripped my heart, head, and emotions. I couldn’t put it down (sorry family)

.

Estelle was heading home to Australia after a crazy thrust into the music spotlight and world tour.  Once she arrives at the airport fate tries to step in not once but three times to stop her from boarding her flight. She chooses to ignore the signs up until the very last minute but it’s at that moment she’s practically ran over by a handsome man trying to find his seat. She is persuaded to stay on the flight and she never expected the turn her life was about to take.

Galloway Oak is a man with secrets.  He’s trying to make amends for the wrongs he has committed and change his life for the better.  Once he’s on the plane he can’t take his eyes off Estelle.  He would love to meet and get to know her. Maybe if fate has its way Galloway will be able to reach out to her and get to know her. Little does he know that fate has it all written in the stars.

Through a couple of unfortunate incidents Galloway does get to know Estelle and they’re much closer than either could have ever imagined.  Not only are they having to learn how to survive together but they’re also responsible for two children who now look to them for food, love, support, and safety. 

This book takes you on a journey of love, laughter, tears, heartache, and hope. I felt every single emotion that each of the characters felt.  It made me stop and think about the what if’s of life. What if we all ignored the signs? What if we all heeded the signs? Would we end up where we’re supposed to be or would we stay in the same place going nowhere? What would you do if faced with the present that Estelle and Galloway found themselves in? Would you survive? Keep going or give up? Would you trust your gut instincts or question every move you made?

I hope you take the time to read this new dark, amazingly well written book. It is different from the normal Pepper Winters books but it’s a wonderful different……I hope you enjoy it every bit as much as I did. 

Shannon Daniel

Reviewed for Stories and Swag

About Pepper Winters:

Pepper Winters is a NYT and USA Today International Bestseller. She wears many roles. Some of them include writer, reader, sometimes wife. She loves dark, taboo stories that twist with your head. The more tortured the hero, the better, and she constantly thinks up ways to break and fix her characters. Oh, and sex… her books have sex.

She loves to travel and has an amazing, fabulous hubby who puts up with her love affair with her book boyfriends. She’s also honoured to wear the IndieReader Badge for being a Top 10 Indie Bestsellers, best BDSM series voted by the SmutClub, and recently signed a two book deal with Grand Central. Her books are currently being translated into numerous languages and will be in bookstores in the near future.
To be the first to know of upcoming releases, please join Pepper’s Newsletter (she promises never to spam or annoy you.)

NEWSLETTER: http://eepurl.com/120b5

Or follow her on her website

www.pepperwinters.com

She loves mail of any kind: pepperwinters@gmail.com

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Pistol Whipped by Ashley Rostock

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Blurb:

She’d known him for forever…
Gabriella Crawford has been best friends with Logan since the 2nd grade, but that’s all they’d ever been…friends. Suddenly after 20 years, Gabbie starts to notice Logan in a different light. But sex has never been something Gabbie thought was great and it’s certainly not something worth risking a friendship over. Or is it?

He’d never really seen her until now…
Logan Reeves should not be looking at his best friend’s breasts. Not even when he sees her modeling lingerie. But try as he might to stay in the ‘friend zone’ Logan can’t stop fantasizing about Gabbie. And when a business trip forces them to sleep in the same bed, all bets are off. Especially once Logan finds out Gabbie needs to be shown how good sex can be…

But is it too late?
Incredible sex might not be enough to keep these two together. Not when old secrets from the past and new career opportunities threaten to rip Logan and Gabbie apart forever.

EXCERPT 1

He was brought out of his trance by Gabriella’s soft laugh.

“I was just thinking about something else,” he told her truthfully.

“Do you like those panties?” she nodded to the red ones in his hands. “That’s just a sample. Then I can decide if I will order more or not.”

Without thinking he asked, “Who samples them?”

She tilted her head and looked at him like he was an idiot, “Who do you think?”

Visions of Gabriella prancing around in these panties came to mind. He forcefully set them back down on the table and cleared his head.

“So do you need any help, then?” he cleared his throat, “with any painting or anything?”

Gabriella laughed, “Come hold this for me, please? What has gotten into you lately? Ever since the trouble with the credit union, you haven’t been acting like yourself. Is it still bothering you? Is there anything you want me to do to help you get through this?”

Again, her and the red panties.

He shook his head.

EXCERPT 2



She tilted her head to the side as if she were willing him to tell her what he was thinking. She stood there a moment longer, allowing him the privilege to commit her body to memory. Her client whispered something to Gabriella and she looked through the mirror at him once again, gave him a nervous smile and disappeared back into the changing room.

He tuned the women out as the customer continued to gush over the ensemble. Hell, where was he? He worked so hard trying to get the image of Gabbie wearing the erotic lingerie out of his mind, so when she nudged his back, he jumped.

“I’m sorry. I just need to get by you to ring her up.” Her voice was angelic, breathy.

“Sorry.” Sorry for many, many things right now.

He mindlessly watched her ring up the red items. As each item passed his line of vision, each of Gabbie’s body parts flitted through his mind the same as the lingerie flitted through her hands. She took her time folding the sexy get-up into tissue paper before she deposited them into a bag and handed them over to the lady.

EXCERPT 3

He stretched, folding his arms underneath his head, “I don’t know what to do about this, Gabriella. I’m leaving Colorado.”

“I know.”

“We are really good friends.”

“I know.”

“There is nothing I want more right now than to touch you.”

Silence.

“Does that mean you don’t want me to touch you?”

“Touch me how?”

Logan removed his hands from behind his head and turned to face her on the bed.

“Look at me,” he demanded.

Gabriella turned to face him. In the dark, he could barely make out her face with only a small fraction of it illuminated by the alarm clock.
“How would you like me to touch you?”

“I’m nervous, I don’t know. You could come closer though.”

Meet Ashley Bostock...

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Ashley Bostock was born and raised in Colorado where she currently resides with her husband, two children, her dog and two cats. She loves reading, writing, and music and is always trying to find more time in the day to incorporate all three. Seeking an outlet and pursuing her life-long passion for writing, she began composing her first novel in late 2013. She has traveled all over the world, but still has an extensive list of places she would love to visit. Anywhere near a sky-blue ocean will always be at the top of that list. She carries a Bachelor’s Degree in History with a concentration in Elementary Education from Metropolitan State College of Denver. While she loves children, she now fears teaching, which probably has something to do with being a stay-at-home mom.

Sale Blitz! Protecting His Forever by LeAnn Ashers

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Blurb:

Sydney 
I always thought soulmates were an illusion dreamed up in fairytales until Kane. He stormed in during the scariest moment of my life, and even though he fights his own demons, he fights harder for me. Together, we have an unbreakable bond.

Kane 
I’m ruthless, especially when it comes to Sydney. She has a stalker, and he’s brought company. Sydney is MINE, and I will do whatever it takes to keep her safe. But, when we’re hit with a surprise, our lives are changed forever…

Enjoy some graphic teasers from Protecting His Forever!

Meet LeAnn...

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LeAnn Asher's is a blogger turned author who lives in a small slice of heaven Kentucky with her dog. She releases her debut novel early 2016, and can't wait to where this new adventure takes her. LeAnn writes about strong minded females and strong protective males who love their women unconditionally.

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Expert Witness by Nicole Luckourt

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Blurb:

While working as a forensic psychologist, Jordan Clayton has made enemies. Providing expert testimony in court put her in that position. Except, now, someone wants her dead, and the bigger problem is she has no idea who. Fortunately, her colleagues have a solution. Unfortunately, it involves hiring a bodyguard to protect her until the perpetrator is caught. But he is nothing like she expected. Though she feels physically safer in his presence, emotionally, she feels more at risk than ever before.

Chase Armstrong has worked as a protection specialist since he left law enforcement. He makes it a point to not ever mix business with pleasure. In his line of work, the two can be a deadly combination. It’s a rule he never breaks—never even bends. Except, now, his latest assignment is challenging his resolve. Rather than the subtle change in routine he was seeking, protecting her is something else entirely. She has him not only exercising every bit of self-control he possesses, but reconsidering his entire perspective on life as well.

A debut novel of intriguing suspense, forbidden attraction and perseverance.

This book is a standalone romance novel.

Snippets:

It all came down to one thing. She wasn't willing to try to escape from another attack by herself. Her objective was to be better prepared should this guy make a second attempt. And, in this case, she was pretty sure she couldn’t get any better prepared than she’d be by hiring Chase Armstrong.

He could see her muscles tense as she got further into the account, and her voice shook when she glossed over how he’d grabbed her from behind. His stare fell to the graceful hollow of her neck, where several bruises peeked out from the collar of her blouse. The sight caused a visceral reaction within his gut. Times like these made him miss being the one to put the cuffs on offenders who preyed on the innocent.

"You forget. It's my job to think someone could and would do anything and everything. Don't be alarmed. For the most part, it's a critical but entirely unnecessary effort." He didn't mention the times his efforts had saved lives; he wanted her to be cautious, not terrified.

If she weren’t his client and he had the settling-down kind of life, he’d try his damnedest to get her off the singles market. But, since neither was true, it was really none of his concern.

***

Chase stared at her for a moment. “Sometimes, it’s those times that don’t happen often that we think about the most."

As much as he wanted to shield her from all of this, that wouldn’t be smart. She needed to be aware of what was going on, not kept in the dark. Although the darkness would prevent her from seeing the demons around her, it would make her blind to the danger.

***

How on earth could I do my job with some huge, overbearing powerhouse in a suit and sunglasses hanging over my shoulder?” - Jordan

Connect with Nicole...

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Nicole Luckourt professed in her fifth grade autobiography that she would be a writer when she grew up. Though life has taken her on many adventures and detours since that time, she has never abandoned her desire for creating stories and breathing life into the characters and plots in her head. With the publication of Expert Witness, her childhood dream has become a reality. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, two children, and several beloved pets. Her practice in the field of psychology inspires her writing and she is thrilled to be able to combine her two passions.

Nicole enjoys hearing from her readers. You can find her on her website: www.nicoleluckourt.com, and on Facebook, Twitter, and on Goodreads. Please join her mailing list for the latest updates on new releases.

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