Review: Masquerade by Nyrae Dawn

Title: Masquerade (Games #3)
Author: Nyrae Dawn
Published: January 7th
Add It: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository
*An ARC was provided in exchange for an honest review*

A biker. A tattoo artist. A love to last a lifetime.
Maddox Cross has always had to be tough. When his father went to jail for murder, the teenager took care of his sister and mother. Now on his own and working security at a night club, Maddox wants to become a tattoo artist-a dream that comes closer to reality when he falls for the hottest, most tatted woman he's ever seen. She's wild and beautiful, and Maddox will do anything to be with her.
Bee Malone came to town to open up her new tattoo parlor, Masquerade. Since being kidnapped as a young girl, Bee has had trouble getting close to anyone. But when she meets Maddox, she sees that under his hard biker's body is the sensitive soul of an artist. What starts out as a sizzling one-night stand soon becomes so much more.
Bee wants Maddox to join her tattoo business, but letting him into her life means revealing all her most intimate secrets. And as the past begins to intertwine with her present, Bee fears their love may not be as permanent as their ink.

I read Charade basically when it first came out. I remember raving about it, loving Colt and Cheyenne to pieces. Recommending it to everyone who took time to listen. Then came Adrian and Laney’s story. Façade was decent, but it missed that spark for me that I felt in Charade. Plus, the narratives were very similar to the first book. Then I read Masquerade. *sigh*

"Life is fucked up, it hurts, and it's not always pretty, but damned if it can't be beautiful too." 

Maddox was a character I very much liked in Façade and I was eagerly looking forward to his story, especially after having read the little teaser chapter at the end of Façade. I expected great things from him. I did get some of them, but mostly… it all fell flat in my eyes. Bee was seemingly a great addition to this cast of broken characters and I liked that she didn’t let anyone walk over her and the best thing about her? The tattoo shop, for sure. I’m pretty convinced that I won’t ever get a tattoo myself, but I love them on others. The first couple of chapters were great. They have a one night stand and expect not to see each other in the future. Well, Ms. Future here had other plans.

I usually love these kind of stories—broken hearts being mended, complete opposites (or, as it later turns out, not so very opposite after all) coming to care about one another and alllllll the physical attraction tension, of course. I found myself only caring about the latter, to be honest. Why? Well… it’s hard to explain. The make out sessions were hot, I’m not going to lie, but the parts where they took their time to heal from some pretty big wounds dragged so much that I really did not care. Plus, we have already seen almost the same story through Maddox’s sister Laney’s eyes. They went through the same thing in the past and now it’s Maddox’s turn to learn how to live with it. I, again, found myself not caring much.

Bee’s story was very different from what we have seen from the rest of the group. At first I thought it was rape or something, but once I realized it was not, her story really became interesting and it went down a route that we don’t see much of in New Adult literature. In any age group lit, for that matter. I appreciated that, but, again, found myself not caring much. It may as well have been the writing, because the narratives are so similar in every book in this series. They’re basically the same and that’s why I found myself wanting to skim the second half of the book, because I felt like I had already read this story.

There were some pretty quotes and thoughts in this book though and the example is in the quote above. If you’re a fan of Nyrae, I’m sure you’ll be pleased with it. If you like New Adult, angst, hot romances, lots of physical attraction and tension? Go and give this book a try. I don’t think that anything in this series lives up to the amazingness that was Charade, though. For me, this book fell flat and my high expectations weren’t fulfilled. For that, I feel sorry, but I’m not giving up on Nyrae’s books. Masquerade is the exception for me when it comes to her writing. 

Overall rating: 1.8 out of 5.0

Stars: ★★

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing, Forever Romance and Netgalley for providing a review copy. 

Meet the author

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Book Haul #29

Allrightyyyy. I have lots and lots and lots of books to show you guys since I haven't done one in ages. Consistency isn't my strongest attribute as you can see. I've broken it into multiple parts otherwise you'll be just scrolling it through. If you've read any of them, let me know what you thought :) Or if you wish to read them etc. I can't wait to see what you have received and will visit you all back soon. Have a great weekend, lovelies!

Physical copies

Incarnate (Newsoul #1) by Jodi Meadows

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

Delirium (Delirium #1) by Lauren Oliver

Massive thanks to one of my blogging besties Christina [Christina Reads YA] for this awesome late-birthday-slash-Christmas gift :')

E-books

 Defy (Defy #1) by Sara B. Larson (arc)

The Destiny of Violet & Luke (The Coincidence #3) by Jessica Sorensen (arc) 

Masquerade (Games #3) by Nyrae Dawn (arc)

Song of Fireflies by J.A. Redmerski (arc)

Before Jamaica Lane (On Dublin Street #4) by Samantha Young

Erased (Altered #2) by Jennifer Rush

In Time (The Darkest Minds #1.5) by Alexandra Bracken

Also, if you wish to participate in any of the giveaways (on the sidebar), there are three very good ones (and one will be added next week) up on the blog right now and the one I'm hosting--a paperback copy of The Edge of Never (or The Edge of Always) by J.A. Redmerski--can be found here.

Thank you to Netgalley, Scholastic, Forever and Grand Central Publishing and, of course, the biggest thanks goes to Christina B.

What did you get this week? Leave your links below and I'll check out your goodies :)

In My Mailbox is a weekly event hosted by The Mod Podge Bookshelf and Stacking the Shelves is a weekly event hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

Review: Facade by Nyrae Dawn

Title: Facade (Games #2)
Author: Nyrae Dawn
Published: July 2nd 2013
Add It: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository
*A review copy was provided in exchange for an honest review*

Can love save them?
After her father commits a crime that shatters her family, eighteen-year-old Delaney Cross is tired of pretending everything is all right. Packing up her car, she sets out to find the people her father hurt. Her search leads her to places she’s never been—and into the arms of Adrian Westfall.
To the outside world, Adrian is a sexy, charming ladies’ man. But his playboy persona is just an act. Secretly his soul is tortured by a memory too painful to share. Only Delaney seems to see through his façade to the real man underneath. And for the first time in his life, Adrian feels he can begin to open up about his past.
Together, Adrian and Delaney share a passionate love they never expected to find. Yet both still harbor their own secrets. When the dark truth is finally revealed, will it bring them closer together—or tear them apart forever?

I remember reading Charade when it has less than a thousand ratings on Goodreads and look where this story has taken itself to! A huge deal with Hachette and mouth-to-mouth word about Nyrae and her talent. I'm so happy for her since she's an incredible author. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to read Facade since I've been waiting for this pretty forever. Adrian was one of my favorite characters in book 1 and his story touched me in ways I didn't expect.

“Your heart beats so strong, I feel it against my chest. You make mine want to catch up, to match the rhythm.”

The story. Adrian is the kind of guy who, at first sight, seems careless, a typical party-boy who is always high. We saw that he has a sweet, caring side, but its hidden behind a facade. He carries a secret with him that explains all of his behaviour and this is where Delaney comes into play--she's connected to this crushing secret that's destroying Adrian every day more and more. The thing is thoug, Adrian doesn't know Delaney's involvement and it may very well be the thing that destroys any chance they have as a couple.

My thoughts. Adrian--my poor baby! I loved him so much in Charade and it pained me to see him waste away his life by being high all the darn time. Having these stupid parties and being with girls, but having incredible pain behind his eyes. I loved his bromance with Colt. I had no idea hidden behind his mask was unimaginable pain. I really thought I had it all figured out since Laney tells us her version of the story, but I couldn't have been a bigger fool! It turned out to be bigger than anything I imagined. It broke my heart and ugly-crying was involved in the healing process.

I liked their sweet, light romance which was actually a beginning of a really deep connection neither of them was expecting. I liked how Laney made Adrian work for her attention and time even though she wanted desperately to meet him, tell him how sorry she is for what kind of pain her family has caused him. It broke my heart to watch them open up and make their woonds worse, but I understand that it was necessary in order for them to heal which was beautiful to watch. The thing that maybe bothered me, was that the writing, while strong in general, for me Adrian's point of view was a little too similar to Colt's. It's probably just me though.

However much I loved Adrian's story, I liked Colt and Chey's more and I have to stay true to myself so the rating is as it is. 4 stars doesn't take away the meaning and amazingness that is this story which was absolutely stunning and painful. I know that Nyrae loves happy endings so I had no doubt that Adrian and Delaney would find their way to each other. I advise you to pick up Charade asap and if you've already read it, give Adrian's book a try. It was gorgeously haunting!

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Meet the author

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Summer Lovin' 2013 Read-A-Thon: You're The One That I Want

It's day 2 and so far I've started Born at Midnight by C.C. Hunter which is surprisingly awesome. Totally my kinda humour and I've laughed quite a bit even though I'm not that far. Also, there have been quite a few surprises already regarding the plot so that's awesome. Since I have it in paperback, I read it at home and I have the first two book in a combined edition and I don't want to bring it to work so I brought my Kindle instead and during lunch break I started Thousand Words by Jennifer Brown which is also pretty interesting. I have heard so many good things about Jennifer's work and I'm excited to finally give one of her books a try. I'm only 15% in though, so we'll see how it goes.

So for today's participation post we have a topic of our 5 must-reads for summer. Oh boy, I have so many books I'd love to name, but here're the first five that come to mind. Summer is mostly for contemporaries. In my opinion. Different kind of beach reads etc. Without further ado, here are my four contemporaries for summer:

Want to read

Facade by Nyrae Dawn -- want to read

Faking It by Cora Carmack -- want to read

Have read, recommend

My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick -- read and loved it (my review here)

Slammed by Colleen Hoover -- just click on my review from yesterday ;-) (my review here)

Fantasy

And what's summer without a little fantasy? This is a recommendation for every fantasy fan out there. Oh, and people who enjoy originality

Of Silver and Beasts by Trisha Wolfe -- read and loved every perfect moment from this book, one of my favorite reads of 2013 (my review here)

So what are your must reads this summer? I hope you're all having a great week! 

Vote for Colt!!!!!!!

Hey, lovelies! I'm so pumped up for July since the annual YA Crush Tourney will have its winner of 2013. I'm sure Will Herondale's fans are furious about his loss last year and are bound to raise hell if he won't win this time around. Mwahahahhaa. I'm putting my money on him as I adore him as well and he'd be a great addition to Adrian and Jace to sit on the winner's throne. I wouldn't mind a black horse among the other contestants though. Anyhow, this year we have NA Crush Tourney as well and I have so many favorites of mine participating that I don't know who to choose. I will say this though that I need you guys to vote for Colt from Charade. He is beyond real, intense, loyal and amazing and I hope you have all read his book. If not, go get it! It's a cryfest with lots of butterflies-in-your-stomach moments:) You can vote for him tomorrow by clicking on this link. Oh, and would you like to see why I love him so much? Well, here's an excerpt for ya (it isn't spilery) ;-)

I run over to the shed. Each step I take I wonder what the hell I’m doing. This girl isn’t my problem. I played her little game with her and now it’s over. Still, I creep around the back of the small building and when I see her huddled on the ground, I don’t turn away.
“Hey…it’s me.” Fuck. She probably doesn’t just recognize my voice in the dark. “Colt.” I don’t want her to trip out. Something serious has happened to this girl. I don’t know who she is, but she’s not who I thought.
“Go away.”
I smirk. No matter what happens to her she still doesn’t have a problem being pissed at me. “Not gonna happen.”
 I bend down. I’m not sure if it’s the right thing to do or not, but I touch her shoulder. My hand starts to tremble from her. She’s shaking like fucking crazy. “Come on. Let’s get you out of here.” 
Another shiver wracks her whole body. It vibrates through me. Can she even walk? “I’m going to pick you up, okay? Don’t kick my ass.” I’m hoping for a laugh that I don’t get. She doesn’t tell me to go to hell either, so I figure I’m safe.
I scoop her up. Her shaky arms wrap around me. She buries her face in my neck. “Maybe you should kiss me. That way if anyone sees us they’ll think you want me too much, I had to carry you so I could get you alone faster.”
With that, I feel wetness on my throat. It’s not from her mouth. A little whimper sneaks out of her lips and she’s shaking in a different way now. She’s crying and somehow I know that’s a huge deal for her.
“I got you. We’re good. Let’s get you out of here.”
I sneak her out the back gate so we don’t run into anyone else. Adrian is already in his car, on the street. I manage to open the back door and get in without letting go of her. I don’t have time to wonder what I’m doing or why I feel okay doing it. I can’t do shit for anyone else in my life, but maybe I can help make this okay.
Adrian drives. Leaning forward I kiss the top of her head. I feel her shaking as she cries, but no sounds come out. She’s locked up so tight and I both respect her for protecting herself and want to set her free at the same time. “It’s okay. We’re good.”
“Home?” Adrian says from the driver’s seat.
“Yeah.” 
He doesn’t ask what’s up and I don’t offer, mostly because I have no fucking clue. Just let him drive while she cries and I kiss her head like it’s a real fucking thing to do.

So you see, he is loyal, he cares even if he doesn't want to admit it and he is a great guy beneath that mask he carries and Chey just might be the one to make him drop the mask for real. :-)

I hope you all have a lovely day! I'll be home late today since I'll be spending time with my sister tonight, so I hope I won't be too tired to check out what you've been up to today. If not, I will do that tomorrow. If you didn't get the meaning of this random post already, then VOTE FOR COLT! :-)

PS. You can see my raving review of Charade by Nyrae Dawn here. Peace out, pumpkins!! Heh. ;-)

Book Haul #20

I am going on a book buying ban *__* I realized I have so many physical copies on my shelf to read and let's not even begin to talk about the ones in my Kindle. It's insane! I've received 12 physical books in the last two weeks so I've divided them into different parts and I'll showcase them throughout the weeks to you since otherwise I won't be doing any haul posts. Okay, the drill is always the same -- if you think some of these should be read first than the others, let me know and I'll push them up on my tbr list. Also, leave your links below so I can visit you back :)))

Physical copies

Tiger's Quest (The Tiger Saga #2) by Colleen Houck

Now I have the first two and I'm so so so excited to finally start this series :) Yay!!

Ebooks

Dragonfly (Dragonfly #1) by Leigh Talbert Moore (arc)

Addicted to You (Addicted #1) to You by Krista and Becca Ritchie (arc)

Facade (Games #2) by Nyrae Dawn (cannot wait to read this baby!!!)

The Trouble with Goodbye by Sarra Cannon (arc)

The End Games by T. Michael Martin

A Thousand Words by Jennifer Brown

A huge thanks to Netgalley, AToMR Tours, Krista and Becca Ritchie, Sarra Cannon and Leigh Talbert Moore.

Oh, and dear followers, don't forget to participate in my 100 Followers Celebration Giveaway. Good luck, lovelies!

What did you get this week? Leave your links below and I'll check out your goodies :)

In My Mailbox is a weekly event hosted by The Mod Podge Bookshelf and Stacking the Shelves is a weekly event hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

Top 3 Bookish Moments of November 2012

This is a little somthing I'll try to do every month, but I'm kind of chaotic with all of my memes so I apologize in advance, lol. Anyway, the title says it all, but in case you're still wondering what the post is about then.. Umm.. Yeah. I'll try to post my 3 book related moments of the previous month starting with November. PS. They're in a completely random order.

1. Dual POVs.  Last month Richelle Mead and Jennifer L. Armentrout both announced that the next books in their series will be from dual point of views – Richelle's fourth installment of the Bloodlines Series, The Fiery Heart, will be from Sydney's as well as Adrian's POV and Jennifer will add Daemon's POV to Origin (Lux #4) in addition to Katy's. I'm so excited. I love both of these guys tremendously and couldn't be happier that they're included into telling the story to us.
2. Reading Charade by Nyrae Dawn. This book was pretty much incredible! I enjoyed every minute of it and re-read almost half the book as soon as I'd finished it the first time, because I couldn't get those heart-wrenching and emotional parts out of my mind. A definite recommend! You can read my review here, my interview with the always lovely and talented Nyrae here and check out what songs made it to my playlist for Charade here.
3. The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones finished filming. It feels like yesterday when I watched pictures from the first day on set and gosh, I just want to see that movie so bad!! I've watched the trailer probably more than 50 times by now and I'm still in awe of it. Does anyone know where I can get myself a time machine? I'm in desperate need of one. This better not be the end of the world this year, because there're lots of great books to be premiered on the big screen in 2013 in addition to TMI's first novel and I cannot. freaking. wait!

So yep, these are my top three bookish moments of this year's November. What are yours? Any highlights that happened last month? :)

My Personal Soundtrack for Charade by Nyrae Dawn

It's the first time I've ever done a playlist for a book, but I just think these songs are perfect for Charade + I can't get it out of my head how good this book was. Every time I hear these songs this novel just keeps popping up in my head. So yep, here are the (lucky) thirteen songs that "made it" to my playlist for Charade :)

1. Shotelle – Impossible
2. TaylorSwift – We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together
3. Kings ofLeon – Use Somebody
4. AvrilLavigne – Complicated
5. Coldplay – Fix You
6. Sia – Breathe Me
7. MattNathanson – Come on Get Higher
8. Far EastMovement (feat. Ryan Tedder) – Rocketeer
9. Florence +The Machine – Never Let Me Go
10. Marianas Trench - Good to You 
11. Snow Patrol - Run
12. Marcus Foster - I Was Broken 
13. The Lumineers - Ho Hey 

I hope that when you read the book you'll know which scenes I had in mind when I chose these songs and yeah.. That's about it. Now whatcha waitin' for? Go go go! Read this fabulous book, make your own playlists and tell me which songs do you think suit best for this pure awesomeness that is Charade:)

Author Interview: Nyrae Dawn

I published my review for Charade by Nyrae Dawn two days ago and I couldn't be more excited for today's post. Nyrae has quickly become one of my favorite authors, because her books are always so fun to read, her characters go through some of the toughest journeys, she writes these amazing guy POV's and she's just a lovely person in general. I contacted Nyrae for an interview about Charade and she agreed immediately. So, yeah. I'm so so so excited to introduce Nyrae and Charade to all of you. Hopefully you'll enjoy! PS. Since I'm at it and I can't recommend this book highly enough, I made a playlist/soundtrack to this book aannnnnddd it's my first time ever, so I'm a little shy about it to say the least, haha. But yeah, I'll show it to you tomorrow:)

Q: Please tell us a little about yourself and your journey of becoming the writer you are today.
A: Hello. Well I'm happily married and have two awesome little girls. I've always loved writing, but it wasn't until I became a stay-at-home mom that I really started to pursue my dream. It took many years, lots of manuscripts, tons of rejection, but I don't regret any of it. It brought me where I am today. 

Q: What is Charade about and why did you feel like this story should be "born" into the world? 
A: It's not even feeling like it has to be born for me, but my characters are so real to me that they come to me with this story and I have to share it with the world. It's almost like it's really happened, but I am just the vessel to share it. Charade is about two broken souls who don't realize how broken they are until they start to put each other together again. 

Q: What inspired you to write Charade? 
A: That's hard to say. It's kind of like my previous answer. The story actually started with Cheyenne. She came to me first and it spiraled from there and I had to get it on paper. I needed to share what to me, was their beautiful love story and story of growth. 

Q: Did you have any fun incidents while writing Charade? 
A: Hmm... that's a good question and I'm bummed I don't have a fun answer. LOL. Nothing out of the ordinary happened while writing it. 

Q: What are Colt and Chey's best attributes as individuals and as a couple? 
A: For Chey I would say her best attribute is her strength and for Colt his ability to love and be there for someone. Together it's their love and loyalty that strikes me. They've been hurt, but neither runs when they find love. When they're in, they're in 100%. 

Q: When I learned that the next book in this series is going to be Adrian's, I did a little happy dance, ha. He is such an interesting character and what I want to know is can you give us some insight on what's about to go down in his life? Any tiny, little excerpts maybe?:)
A: Adrian is a complex guy, IMO. He's a deep thinker and a people watcher. He was very shut off as a young child...a loner, for reasons I can't say, but there is a lot going on beneath the surface that you don't see. 

Q: Which of your books has been your favorite to write so far and why? 
A: That is so hard! Each one I write feels like my favorite at the time, but I do think it really is CHARADE. Their story is deeper and brought out so many different emotions in me. 

Q: Which of the characters from all of your books is the most like you and in which way?  
A: I relate a lot to Annabel [from Measuring Up] in that I'm insecure about body image. 

Q: What are the next goals in you career and what do you look forward to the most? 
A: I'm excited to jump into Adrian's book, FACADE. I just love writing and love sharing my stories with anyone who might want to read them. 

Random: 

Tango or salsa? Salsa 
Cats or dogs? Dogs 
Rain or sunshine? Sunshine 
Original or retelling? Original 
Fantasy or contemporary? Contemporary 
Sebastian or Colt? (Ha. I'm just sneaky that way.) WHAT??? I love them both for different reasons. LOL. I'm a cheater. 

Thank you so much, Nyrae! It was a pleasure and I can't wait to get my hands on Adrian's book:)
Thanks for having me! 

AVAILABLE NOW: What a Boy Wants, What a Boy Needs, Freeing Carter, Measuring Up, Karma Bites  
COMING SOON: Misplaced from Entangled Publishing

Writing has always been Nyrae Dawn’s passion. There have been times in her life where she wasn’t able to chase that dream the way she desired, but she always found her way back to telling stories. One of her loves has always been writing about teens. There’s something so fresh and fun about the age that she loves exploring. Her husband says it’s because she doesn’t want to grow up. She doesn’t think that’s such a bad thing and luckily for her, he doesn’t either. Nyrae gravitates toward character-driven stories. She loves going on emotional journeys with characters whether it be reading or writing. And yes, she’s a total romantic at heart and proud. Nyrae resides in sunny Southern California with her husband (who still makes her swoon) and her two awesome kids. When she’s not with her family, you can be pretty sure you’ll find her with a book in her hand or her laptop and an open document in front of her. Nyrae Dawn also writes adult romance under the name Kelley Vitollo.

Meet Nyrae

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Review: Charade by Nyrae Dawn

Title: Charade (The Game Series #1)
Author: Nyrae Dawn
Published: October 22nd 2012
Add It: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Nineteen-year-old Cheyenne tries to portray the perfect life to mask the memories of her past. Walking in on her boyfriend with another woman her freshman year in college threatens that picture of perfection.

Twenty-one-year-old Colt never wanted college and never expected to amount to anything, but when his mom's dying wish is for him to get his degree, he has no choice but to pretend it's what he wants too.

Cheyenne needs a fake boyfriend to get back at her ex and Colt needs cash to take care of his mom, so they strike a deal that helps them both. But what if Cheyenne’s past isn’t what she thought? Soon they’re trading one charade for another—losing themselves in each other to forget about their pain. The more they play their game, the more it becomes the only thing they have that feels real. Both Cheyenne and Colt know life is never easy, but neither of them expect the tragedy that threatens to end their charade and rip them apart forever.

Recently more authors have started to write from male characters’ perspective. Nyrae Dawn’s first book What a Boy Wants was from Sebastian’s POV. It was a pretty decent read overall, but not quite there yet. Charade, however, is a whole different story. It was written from dual POV and I think this is the best Nyrae has written so far and I was simply amazed, fascinated and intrigued by this story and these characters. Let me tell you why.

I run over to the shed. Each step I take I wonder what the hell I’m doing. This girl isn’t my problem. I played her little game with her and now it’s over. Still, I creep around the back of the small building and when I see her huddled on the ground, I don’t turn away.
“Hey…it’s me.” Fuck. She probably doesn’t just recognize my voice in the dark. “Colt.” I don’t want her to trip out. Something serious has happened to this girl. I don’t know who she is, but she’s not who I thought.
“Go away.”
I smirk. No matter what happens to her she still doesn’t have a problem being pissed at me. “Not gonna happen.”
 I bend down. I’m not sure if it’s the right thing to do or not, but I touch her shoulder. My hand starts to tremble from her. She’s shaking like fucking crazy. “Come on. Let’s get you out of here.”

The story kicks off by Cheyenne finding out that her boyfriend is cheating on her. She does what every sane girl in her place would do – she breaks up with Gregory and tells him to shove it, because she has a potential love interest already waiting for her. That last part is not exactly true though and now she needs to prove her point by finding one to play that charade and be his beloved one in front of Gregory and his friends. Colt has crossed paths with Gregory before and even though she and Chey don’t get off to a great start, more like a really bad one, he ends up being the one to participate in this charade to the world, because he needs the money Chey’s offering and it’d be a great way to rub it in Greg’s face.  

These two unlikely allies soon realize they’ve gotten into a game more serious and emotional than they could have ever imagined. Chey’s past haunts her night ‘n day and under that strong attitude lies a broken heart left by the person who should have loved her most. Colt, on the other hand, has demons from his past as well as present: his Father was a screw up drug dealer so Colt thinks he is no better than his Father although he tries to be, because his Mother is dying from cancer and he doesn’t want her to feel like he is letting her down in any way.

Well.. You know a book is that good if you’ve completely bawled your eyes out for the past 45 minutes or so and realize you still don’t want this to end. I wasn’t sure how it would end and if there’d be a HEA or not until I read the last chapter. I can't even confirm or deny the HEA, all I can say is that it was stunningly executed and I can proudly tell you that this novel punched me in the gut as well as gave me hope with its powerful messages. I was not expecting that from Nyrae at all. I knew she was talented, but this just blew me away. I loved every single moment of this book no matter how devastating it was.

“No one makes me feel the way you do and I need you. Maybe it’s not good to need people and maybe that makes me weak. I don’t know, but I know I need you. I want you. You push me when I need it and give in when I need that too. Your strength gives me strength and I want to do that for you too.”

This book had emotional package for days. It held my attention captive with its meaningful words, developed plot and layered characters who took a piece after piece of my heart until there was nothing left to take and they stuck with me even after I had finished the book. I’m getting emotional even writing this and I completely understand why Nyrae cried (in public, by the way) while writing Charade. If you’ve loved books by Colleen Hoover, Tammara Webber or Jamie McGuire, please, please, pick this up. You won’t regret it! Definitely one of the best contemporary novels I have read so far.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Meet the author

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Teser Tuesday #21

This is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

To participate you:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!
• (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) * Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teasers

“You smug son-of-a-bitch.” She tries to slap me, but I grab her wrist. Like always she didn’t hold back. It was a full swing. “Don’t do that. You’re not better than I am, hiding behind the fact that you’re an asshole.”
“There’s a difference because I’m not in denial about it.” The way her eyes dim, sad and acknowledging my words, does something to me. I feel them on me…in me. It’s fucking ridiculous and I’m the last one who should consoling this girl, but I grab her hand and pull her to me.“Come Here.”

~ 30% of "Charade" by Nyrae Dawn

Review: What a Boy Needs

Title: What a Boy Needs

Author: Nyrae Dawn

Release Date: June 2012

Add It: Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Jaden Sinclair knows he'll never amount to anything...so why would he deserve a girl like Priscilla Mendoza? Since last summer, things have been screwed up between Jaden and Pris. He knows it's his fault, but that doesn’t stop him from wanting to go a few rounds with her new boyfriend. He also knows he’s the loser his dad calls him, but it doesn’t stop him from wanting her. After getting a huge bomb dropped on him, Jaden lashes out and lands himself in jail. Everything in his chaotic life is turned upside down and to make it worse, his mom kicks him out in order to side with his dad. Yeah, he’s totally a prize for a girl like Pris.

Sebastian, Aspen, and Pris are all going places in their lives...and he knows he can't keep tagging along for the ride. The group has one last chance for The Epic Adventure they've been looking for: a road trip to New York, where Jaden's friends will be going to college. Unfortunately, the more time Jaden hangs around Pris, the harder it is to keep the carefully constructed walls between them so she doesn't find out what a train wreck he really is. When the trip ends, Jaden has to decide if he's ready to say goodbye to his friends, and the girl he loves. He knows what he needs, but will he be man enough to go for it? Contains mature themes. Some sexual situations and language.

I fell in love with Bastian and Jaden in What a Boy Wants and I was not left disappointed with them in this book. I liked this novel even more.

A few minutes later, we're in our room while the others are next door. It's one of those rooms with a connecting door and our room has two beds. If this had been a movie, they would have been full so we would have had to share a bed. Why doesn't stuff like that happen in real life?

I found Pris to be cool, easygoing, full of life and one of the best friends one could wish for. Jaden, even though somewhat an opposite, has a strong, determined mind and one of the biggest hearts, too. Actually, all four of them, including Aspen and Sebastian, are like people I have surrounded myself with: protective, fun and trustworthy. I knew something was going on with Jaden's life at home while I was reading the first book, but I had no idea it was that bad. I felt compassionate and just wanted to crawl into the book and give the boy a hug. It was sad.

So.. About the relationship. Jaden is worth more than every boy Pris has ever liked combined and even more! I can easily understand why he didn't realize that at first, because he'd been talked down on every single day of his life. If you're constantly put down by the people who're supposed to love you the most, it's no wonder you can't believe in yourself and have doubts in every step of the way. Pris, however, saw the best in him. She saw through the facade, how broken he was. I just wished he'd open himself up sooner.

There were parts in this book that made me cry uncontrollably and LOL like a person who's lost her mind (like the 'sexy and I know it' scene - oh, boy, that was hilarious!). There were parts where I wanted to smack Jaden against the head instead of letting Bastian do it and there were parts I wanted to console him and tell him everythig's going to be fine and you don't need that crappy family of yours when the real family you have is here, right by your side, no matter what.

I loved the road trip to NYC and wished it could have lasted even longer. I really, really liked the first book and thought this was even better. So if you like guy POVs and you've read the first book, you'll definitely devour this one! A must read!

Rating: 4/5 

Meet the author

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Top Ten Tuesday

 

Top Ten Characters I’d Like To Switch Places With For 24 Hours

Okay. Here’s the deal. I’m not going to explain “why” with each character, I’ll just state it here that I know they have difficulties in their lives and sometimes it seems like these obstacles are completely insurmountable, but these gals are awesome! They’ve got great friends, they’re loyal, loving, kick-ass (even if they don't do that in the literal sense of this phrase, they're still bright, strong and witty) characters and it’d be fun and thrilling to spend a day in their skin and to get to know their situations even better. So that’s why I chose these characters, however, it was a difficult choice and I had to leave out so many good characters starting with Alex from the Covenant series, Tessa from the Infernal Devices series, Layken from the Slammed series, Samantha from “My Life Next Door”, Sydney from the Bloodlines series etc. I love all of them and I’d love to get a glimpse of their life for real. That’s the reason why I, again, drew these out of a hat randomly. All right, want to know who made it? Here you go:

You get why I think Ms. Granger is one of the most amazing characters ever, right?
Would love to experience 24 hours as her, although, I bet I'd get Harry and
Ron killed like in the first 5 minutes. Probably even less than that.

1. Hermione from the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling
2. Rose from the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead
3. Georgina from the Georgina Kincaid series by Richelle Mead
4. Clary from the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare
5. Katy from the Lux series by Jennifer L. Armentrout
6. Meghan from the Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa
7. Sarah from the Moreno Brothers series by Elizabeth Reyes
8. Abby from Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire
9. Nora from the Hush Hush saga by Becca Fitzpatrick
10. Aspen from What a Boy Wants by Nyrae Dawn

What do you think of these characters? Who would you add? Which characters did you choose? Leave a link to your TTT and I’ll check out yours :)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted @ The Broke and the Bookish