Waiting for April by Jaime Loren

Waiting for April
by Jaime Loren
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Published by: MAM Books LLC
Genre: Paranormal, Romance, Reincarnation
Rating: 3 Stars

NOTICE: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

April Fletcher has died nineteen times... but she doesn't know it.

As far as April is concerned, she's just a normal seventeen-year-old, looking forward to spending spring break with her friends and going to college in the fall. April doesn't know she has never lived past her eighteenth birthday, nor does she realize that Scott Parker, her best friend, is actually her childhood sweetheart and fiancé from her very first life.

For nineteen-year-old Scott Parker, spending quality time with his soul mate has proved difficult ever since her tragic death in 1729. Since then he has lost her an additional eighteen times—each of her deaths more devastating than the last, and each of her births wiping the slate of her memory clean. Unable to save her but unwilling to give up, Scott has to hide the fact he's immortal—and will be until April confesses her love again.

But this time, things have changed. April has denied her feelings for him, is dating someone else, and with her eighteenth birthday fast approaching, their friendship is falling to pieces. Fearing their souls are irrevocably drifting apart, Scott must race against the clock to win her heart and save her life.

Or risk losing her forever.

Although I will read an occasional ghost story or a good vampire series (Vampire Academy NOT Twilight), I don't tend to read about reincarnation and people from past lives connecting in the present. The synopsis of Waiting for April, however, sucked me in so I tried to give it a try.

I enjoyed the way the author slowly revealed the background of these characters and how they fit together with one another, both in the present and in past lives. When the author finally leads you to the reason April died 19 times, you begin looking for an answer among the wealth of interweaved characters. I wasn't sure who was good and who was bad. I like not knowing until the end.

That said, there are a couple things I just didn't understand. Nowhere in the synopsis did this say this was the first in a series, but that's exactly what it felt like at the end of this book. There was no HEA, which was fine for me (although I know a lot of people will want one), but there was also no explanation of what was happening to this group of people and why. I'd go into specific names, but I don't want to give anything away if you're going to read it.

If anyone else has read this, how did you feel about the ending? Were you still wanting answers? Is there a sequel?

Waiting for April

Everything Has Changed by Mia Kayla

Everything Has Changed
by Mia Kayla
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Published by: MAM Books LLC
Genre: NA, Romance
Rating: 4 Stars

NOTICE: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Imagine finding the love of your life at the age of six.

Bliss Carrington did.

Bliss has known Jimmy Brason since first grade. He took on the role of the big brother Bliss never had, breaking Bliss out of her shy shell, encouraging her to have fun in high school, and pushing her to live her life to the fullest. They have always been friends—until one day, Bliss wanted more. Now seeing women everywhere swooning over Jimmy, head quarterback of the New York Cougars, is enough to drive her to madness.

Jimmy has been in love with Bliss forever, but she doesn’t know and she can never find out. In all the craziness of his fast track to fame and money, Bliss is the one person who has kept him sane. He firmly believes that history repeats itself and with his tainted past, he’s afraid that he’s fated to hurt her if he allows himself to follow his heart.

Bliss has watched Jimmy grow from a boy into a man, and it’s not fair that someone else will get to keep him when she knows in her heart that he only belongs to her.

When they tiptoe on the edge of love, can their friendship remain intact with both of them ignoring the rumblings that’s threatening to explode?

Le sigh. Oh how I love my besties-turned-lovers books. AND this one wasn't full of teen angst like so many are. I highly recommend it!

Bliss and Jimmy are intricately likable characters who we learn about as the author weaves the present time with the past like an expert. It's not a high-powered sex-crazed book like most new adult offerings out there today, but it is a natural love story. It progresses naturally, showing two people who know each other so well and are so close that they can't actually see that the other loves them as more than a friend. Read this. You'll enjoy the journey.

The Good Girl's Guide to Bad Guys by Katie Hart

The Good Girl's Guide to Bad Guys
by Katie Hart
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Published by: Carina UK
Genre: NA, Romance
Rating: 2 Stars

NOTICE: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

When feisty break dancer Andrea left for university, she thought she was ready to step into the real world. But she wasn’t prepared for meeting her new neighbour, Hunter.

Arrogant, dangerous and a bit too sexy, Hunter’s everything Andrea knows she should resist…and can’t.

But when she gets swept up into Hunter’s dark, mysterious family, it seems that falling for a seductive rebel might not be all it’s cracked up to be. Is this good girl really ready to take on a bad boy?

I've read some really good books off of Wattpad, but I just didn't love this one by author Katie Hart. This Wattpad book turned published work still needs a lot of work. The writing style was juvenile and I honestly just couldn't get into it. I wanted to like it - the synopsis hooked me in - but the story itself just couldn't hold me.

Never Smile at Strangers by Jennifer Jaynes

Never Smile at Strangers
by Jennifer Jaynes
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Published by: Amazon Publishing
Genre: Thriller, Mystery
Rating: 3 Stars

NOTICE: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

When nineteen-year-old Tiffany Perron vanishes without a trace, the residents of rural Grand Trespass, Louisiana, launch a desperate search to find her. But few clues are unearthed, and before long another young woman disappears.

As locals continue to vanish, residents begin to discover that they might not know those closest to them as well as they had thought. Lies and insecurities quickly surface, leading everyone to question one another…and their involvement in the disappearances.

Meanwhile, an unstable, twisted killer is hiding quietly in their midst. Ever since his mother’s murder four years earlier, he’s been forced to raise his disturbed teenage sister. He’s terrified of her—and of women in general—and his world revolves around his fear of and obsession over them.

Small town secrets die hard in this novel. Alcoholism and adultery are just two vices weaving in and around the inhabitants. Hitch-hiking is perfectly normal and conversations with drifters is common. What isn't common? Murder.

The book was sometimes written from the (unknown) killer's perspective. I really liked seeing inside his head and wondering who he really was. Each character was expertly drawn, giving them a 3-D quality you don't often find in books these days.

If you're looking for a good afternoon diversion, this thriller fits the bill.

The "Hi, yourself" Phenomenon

Jack: "Hi."
Darlene: "Hi, yourself."

I cannot express to you enough how much I ABHOR the usage of "Hi yourself" in books!!! Why is it used so much? Is it actually a normal greeting in parts of the country, parts of the world, or did one writer use it one time and every other writer out there decided they just had to use it too?

Please give me the answer!

In the meantime, I am going to take a running tally of each book I find it in . . .