Never a Gentleman by Eileen Dreyer

You would think that after having your heart being ripped out from you (this is figuratively by the way) repeatedly, there would not be a single trace of love left inside any longer, right? I admit that this book was brought to my attention by the numerous amount of negative reviews and its somewhat controversial plot. Yes, I did understand why Diccan did what he did... but I condemn him for the way he enacted it. My heart constantly broke for Grace because throughout their entire marrigage of convenience, Diccan never gave her the time of day whatsoever. And yet... she still tried so hard to please him and make their marriage a real one. Without realizing it, she ends up falling in love with the one man who can never love her for who she is.

Oh dear, this book tore my heart out into little pieces and placed it back all together again in the end. Never a Gentleman is definitely not to everyone's taste... but if you take a look deeper into Diccan's character, you'll realize that he is also hurting as well. From there, I think you can sort of justify his actions and see why he did what he did to protect Grace. But man, the infamous scene where Grace sees Diccan making love with his mistress was just so... sad, horrifying, and heartbreaking. As if his treatment to her at their manor wasn't enough! Sure, the author described Grace as this strong woman who can supposedly take on anything that is thrown her way. But really? Even the strongest people fall. Love tends to turn the bravest of hearts into cowards and ultimately, Grace became one of its victim.

One of the things that I'm actually glad Eileen Dreyer provided was that readers also get a sense of what was going on in Diccan's mind. While their marriage was one of convenience, he slowly starts falling in love with Grace and sees her for her true nature. It took a near-death experience for him to realize it though! Overall, I really love the whole premise of this book and its characters. I hated the Diccan in the beginning and ended up falling in love with him towards the end... that's really something, you know? The ending was absolutely beautiful because it was just the ending that Grace deserves! I am definitely looking forward to Kate's book with Henry, her childhood friend and supposed nemesis that she betrayed. I'm assuming that they had some sort of relationship before and something happened.

Anyway, great book that's full of heart, tears, and joy. You won't regret reading this book!

Rating: ★★★★★

Until There Was You by Kristan Higgins

I'm going to write a review just because I want to escape the horridness that is Accounting! Anyway, Until There Was You is Kristan Higgan's latest contemporary romance novel. This book... was quite different yet the entire feel and setting is totally the same. I didn't love it as much as her previous book, My One and Only, but it was really sweet and the hero is to die for! I mean who can resist a bad boy turn good named Liam Murphy? Our heroine, Posey Osterhagen, is probably one of the dorkiest and cutest that I've read from Higgans' books so far. See? They're already a match in heaven...?! Kidding aside, these two used to be the total opposites of one another. And when Liam finally realizes that he loves Posey? It's a must read for sure. And thank you NetGalley, for granting me this lovely arc when I was in the mood for a sweet story with a lovely yet cheesy ending!

Posey Osterhagen is our heroine of the story. She's your every day gal, right? Except for that fact that she's not the most beautiful girl in town, kind of plain, short, and she's actually adopted. The story starts out with her telling readers that she's used to be in love with this boy who ultimately broke her heart and never even realized it. Yes, it's another of those 'second chances at love' kind of stories and I love it. If you look at it from Posey's sixteen years old point of view... her love was tragic. The boy that she'd been crushing on was the 'God/Bad Boy' of the town, Liam Murphy, and he ended up falling in love with the town's 'Little Miss Sunshine/Good Girl' and they ended up happily ever after, right? Nope, I guess not since he's back! But it's actually more than that and we'll get to find out the real reason later on!

Liam Murphy is our hero and to be honest, I think he's the sexiest hero yet. He's a bad boy turned good due to the magical entity called 'love.' And yet, he's back in town as a widower/father to a teenager named Nichole. The moments when he tries to intefere with his daughter's social life were so hilarious! But anyway, he's back... and now it's time to face his past and live up some memories. Liam had never really thought much about Posey. She was the girl who used to crush on him... so when they meet again, he didn't exactly have any good old memories to recall with her. Well of course, until he starts noticing her lips. That changed the ball game entirely, don't you think? The side characters were all pretty amazing. I loved Jon, Posey's brother in law. Sidenote: Posey only has a brother and he's adopted as well. So brother-in-law? Haha! YES! Her brother Henry is gay and Jon and him have been married for 10 years. They're relationship is super cute and sometimes, the town tries to convert those two back to being straight.

Overall, this book was truly a stress reliever to my school days. It was cute, the characters had great depth-- even though I do have to admit that I didn't exactly feel Posey and Liam's chemistry together was that high. It was still a very good book and as always, I'm looking forward to Kristan Higgins' next book!

Rating: ★★★★☆

Silk Is for Seduction by Loretta Chase

I'm not sure about you, but I adored Silk Is for Seduction. Some of you may think that the hero, Clevedon is cheating on his intended fiancee, Clara... but I don't think so. It was kind of obvious that all they ever felt for one another was brotherly and sisterly friendship. This book had everything that I ever wanted in a historical romance novel: a witty and awesome heroine, a romance full of heart, and lots of bickering between Marcelline and Clevedon! At first, I thought that this romance was doomed between them because of their class differences and the fact that he was going to marry someone else in a couple of months... but, soon Clevedon begins to fall in love with Noirot without even realizing it! He's captivated by her appearance and personality to the point where he eventually stalks follows her back to London. Their chemistry is truly top-notch and there were some moments in the book where it broke my heart.

Besides that, I also thoroughly enjoyed the side characters: Longmore, Sophia, Leonie, and of course... Lucy! Marcelline's cute and six year old daughter. I'm betting that the next book in this series will be about Sophia and Longmore (Lady Clara's brother)! They did meet in this book and it was quite hilarious how it came about. I bet he's already infactuated/intrigued by her at this point. Anyway, I loved this book because even though Clevedon knew about Marcelline's background, he still loved her nonetheless. That's true love, I tell ya! Overall, it was a wonderful romance that deserves no less than 5/5 stars.

Rating: ★★★★★

The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa

Dear Julie Kagawa, thank you for writing this series and thank you for making it one that will forever be close to my heart. I have and will always support you 100% when it comes to your books and The Iron Knight is definitely no exception! It rocked my world and now that it's over... I'm really sad to see it end. At least in my mind, I'll know that Meghan, Ash, and Puck are out there somewhere living their happy ever after. This book was the perfect conclusion to a 'faery' tale love story and I adore Ash even more after reading it. Truly, I am sincerely thankful to Netgalley for letting me reading this arc! God, I'm feeling sentimental already.

In this latest installment of the Iron Fey series, Ash and his companions: Puck, Grim, someone who I can't tell you because that will be a big spoiler!!!, and the Big Bad Wolf. Remember him from Winter's Passage? It's a crazy adventure to begin with because this book takes us far beyond the world of the NeverNever and into the Deep Wyld and finally, The End of the World in order for him to obtain a soul. It's so heartbreaking to see how even though Ash thoroughly loves Meghan, he is stuck between two choices... and he has to end up with one final sacrifice in the end.

I was extremely fascinated by the town of Phaed in the Deep Wyld, where faeries and creatures who are no longer remembered and are essentially 'Forgotten.' With Puck as the comic relief, it's an understatement to say that this book did not make me laugh. I love Puck... and I really wanted him to obtain his own happy ending. I was kind of confused with the last bit of the epilogue, but after reading it again? I get it and I'm super happy with the ending result!

And even though Meghan didn't exactly appear much in The Iron Knight, her presence is always there. The reason to Ash's entire resolve to gain a soul is ultimately because of Meghan... and I was almost left with no hope for them when Ash took his final test. Living a life as a human and growing old... while Meghan (and their son!!!! I totally died at this point) lives on forever and never age. How tragic is that?! But oh no, this is when Julie Kagawa pulls her last twist in the book and it totally surprised and delighted me. So overall, if you have been with this series all the way from the beginning, you will definitely love this book! Hey, you'll know when a book is that good whenever you think about it and you smile.

Rating: ★★★★★

Changing the Game by Jaci Burton

If I were to compare The Perfect Play versus Jaci Burton's latest installment, Changing the Game... in my opinion of course, I would say I liked Gavin's story with Liz a lot more than Mick and Tara's. Looking back, I felt as if Mick fell in love with Tara way too fast? So it was kind of unrealistic. While at least Liz and Gavin both went into this "thing" between them knowing that it was just a fling and something fun. Or was it really? I guess I have a thing for unrequited love and Liz's love for Gavin was just so heartbreaking. Gavin himself is pretty dense for not noticing it but it was just so sad to know that Liz didn't want to lose herself to him when she already lost her heart. There was just so much emotion and seriously, the chemistry between these two was off the charts! I was really anticipating as to how their relationship would all work out when the situation seemed hopeless... but thankfully! Everything turned out to be much more than I had hoped for. ;) With all that said, I'm extremely looking forward to Jenna and Ty's book, Taking a Shot. We get a little sneak peek of their chemistry together and heh, it seems like we'll get another gem in store for us next year.

Liz was an interesting character to begin with and I loved seeing the layers of her real personality begin to crumble when she finally enters in a relationship with Gavin. Personally, after what she did to Tara and Nathan in the first book, I thought that I wouldn't come to like her because of her manipulating and cold personality... but of course, that was just a facade. Her childhood was pretty sad to begin with and I can understand why she became the person that she is today. I also came to love how strong and independent she was; it was about time Gavin fell in love with her! I did not have much of an impression of Gavin in the first book because he was often overshadowed by Mick... and it was quite apparent in this book when Mick decided to interfere in Gavin's relationship with Liz. Why are you such an ass, Mick? At least he apologized... but he almost ruined their relationship! Well anyway, Gavin went into this fling with Liz because he thought it was just that. He never intended to fall in love with her, but sometimess, you can't help deny your feelings when it comes suddenly unexpected.

I loved how Liz and Gavin's relationship was just so sweet and cute yet so hot at the same time. They had amazing chemistry together and Gavin can be so tender at times! He often thought about her and kept missing her whenever she had to go away for a business meeting and... *Sigh* That's when you know when you've fallen in love with someone. But sadly, the conflict in this book totally lies on Mick's constant interference and douche baggery personality when he thought he was doing Gavin a favor. I mean really, who asked for your opinion Mick? Did Gavin interfere in your relationship with Tara? I think not! I also didn't like how Gavin handled the part when Liz told him that she loves him. He pretty much questioned her if she said that to all her clients. Gah! Overall, great book and I really had an amazing time reading it! It definitely did not disappoint. 5/5 stars!

Rating: ★★★★★