Nicole Reads A Lot

so many books, so little time

Color Me Crazy by Carol Pavliska

Title:Color Me Crazy
Author:Carol Pavliska
PublisherEntangled Publishing
Publication Date:May 2015
Publisher's DescriptionNever fall for a rockstar...

Julian Wheaton views the world through a kaleidoscope of synesthesia, seeing the colors of every sound he hears. His life as an iconic rock guitarist was a stressful psychedelic trip that nearly destroyed him. Now he’s abandoned the rock ’n’ roll lifestyle for the peaceful sanctity of his recording studio, but when fiery Cleo Compton comes to work for him, she brings chaos with her.

Cleo Compton has had her flings with rockstars—and it’s left her wary and bruised. Julian may have those sexy bedroom eyes and drool-worthy tattoos, but Cleo is determined to keep things strictly professional—until Julian turns out to be every dream she’s ever chased. When he risks it all to hit the road with a band again, Cleo fears he’ll return as the one thing she can no longer abide—a rockstar.
My rating:****

cmc

This book had a lot happening in it and I appreciated how Ms. Pavliska brought it all together in a meaningful way. In some stories, the synesthesia itself would have been the entire focus, but I like how she showed what having that condition could mean to a musical prodigy with nearly crippling performance anxiety. Julian and Cleo were a good match, and I appreciate the time that both of them put into thinking about things before jumping into a relationship together. Cleo in particular was interesting to me, and I liked watching her consider the implications of dating Julian, based on her own past history. I found the inclusion of the characters’ families helpful to understanding why they were the way they were. I didn’t know what to expect when I requested this book from Netgalley, but this is a very solid story, and I’m glad that I read it.

I wasn’t actually a fan of the cover, and it might have turned me off if I hadn’t read the description before seeing it.

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Flying by Megan Hart

Title:Flying
Author:Megan Hart
PublisherHarlequin MIRA
Publication Date:April 2014
Publisher's DescriptionEver hear of wanderlust? Every other weekend, Stella buys a ticket on the next flight out of town and leaves her life behind. Home is a place with too many memories, and departure is the sweetest possible distraction. As soon as she arrives at her destination, Stella visits the airport bar. She orders a drink and waits for the right guy to come along. A bored businessman, a backpacker, a baggage handler just off shift. If he's into a hot, no-strings hookup, he's perfect. Each time is a thrilling escape from reality that gives the term layover a whole new meaning. When Stella meets the enigmatic Matthew in Chicago one weekend, she hits some serious turbulence. Something about him tells her she's not the only one running from the past. The connection between them is explosive, and for the first time, one taste is not enough for Stella. But returning to find a gorgeous man waiting for her is the easy part& facing the reason she's there is a whole other matter.
My rating:***.5

flying

I really liked some of Ms. Hart’s earlier books, but couldn’t connect with her more recent offerings. Flying returns to what I liked best about her earlier books: her richly drawn worlds and the sense that everything about her characters, including their sexuality, is about them trying to make sense of the world. I like you learn about what Stella does before you learn why she does the things that she does, because by the time you get to the explanation, you realize that you knew the essential truth about her long before the “what”. Likewise, you understand a lot about Matthew before he reveals the specific reasons and events that keep him tethered to his old life.

If you’re looking for a happily ever after type of book, this probably isn’t going to be for you; Matthew and Stella have a lot to work through, and their story is far from over at the end of the book. Still, I found the sense of hope that I felt at the end of this novel to be more honest and satisfying than a lot of happily ever afters I’ve read.

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Invisible City by Julia Dahl

Title:Invisible City
Author:Julia Dahl
PublisherMinotaur Books
Publication Date:May 6, 2014
Publisher's DescriptionJust months after Rebekah Roberts was born, her mother, an Hasidic Jew from Brooklyn, abandoned her Christian boyfriend and newborn baby to return to her religion. Neither Rebekah nor her father have heard from her since. Now a recent college graduate, Rebekah has moved to New York City to follow her dream of becoming a big-city reporter. But she’s also drawn to the idea of being closer to her mother, who might still be living in the Hasidic community in Brooklyn.

Then Rebekah is called to cover the story of a murdered Hasidic woman. Rebekah’s shocked to learn that, because of the NYPD’s habit of kowtowing to the powerful ultra-Orthodox community, not only will the woman be buried without an autopsy, her killer may get away with murder. Rebekah can’t let the story end there. But getting to the truth won’t be easy—even as she immerses herself in the cloistered world where her mother grew up, it's clear that she's not welcome, and everyone she meets has a secret to keep from an outsider.

In her riveting debut Invisible City, journalist Julia Dahl introduces a compelling new character in search of the truth about a murder and an understanding of her own heritage.
My rating:****

icdahl

What happens when the stranger in the strange land isn’t exactly a stranger? In Invisible City by Julia Dahl, Rebekah finds herself navigating a lot of new waters at one time: journalism, New York City, and the Hasidic population of Brooklyn. When Rebekah’s barely-understood Jewish heritage unexpectedly gives her an in, she fakes her way through knowing more than she really does to keep the information coming. Along the way she makes some mistakes, uncovers details about the crime that would have been impossible for any other reporter to get, and tumbles headlong into a world that barely makes any sense to her.

Rebekah is smart and determined, and the missteps that she makes could be the result either of her youth or of entering into an insular world that she wasn’t raised to understand. At times she reminded me of Tess Monaghan, both because of her dual Christian-Jewish heritage, and also because of her attempt to break into journalism at a time when the newspaper business is tougher than ever. I liked this book a lot, and would definitely read the next Rebekah Roberts outing; the revelation at the end of the book makes me want to know more about Rebekah’s family. I love it when an author can leave me wanting more, without using an abrupt cliffhanger to achieve this effect.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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The Tycoon’s Socialite Bride by Tracey Livesay

Title:The Tycoon's Socialite Bride
Author:Tracey Livesay
PublisherEntangled Publishing, LLC
Publication Date:February 10, 2014
Publisher's DescriptionTo avenge his mother's mistreatment at the hands of her upper-crust employer, self-made real estate tycoon Marcus Pearson needs entree into their exclusive world. When D.C. socialite Pamela Harrington comes to him for help, Marcus realizes the golden admission ticket he's been seeking has suddenly fallen into his lap.

Pamela will do anything to save her favorite cause, even agree to a marriage of convenience. The altruistic "it-girl" isn't worried about the pretend passion with Marcus turning real; she's sworn off powerful, driven men who use her for her family's connections.

So she'll deny the way her pulse races with one look from his crystalline blue eyes. And he'll ignore the way his body throbs with each kiss from her full lips. Because there's no way he'll lose his blue-collar heart to the blue-blooded beauty.
My rating:****

tsb

I really enjoyed this book. This is a side of the self-made bajillionaire genre that I feel often gets glossed over: having money isn’t always enough. Marcus learns the hard way that, no matter how many zeroes come before the period in his net worth, they’re not going to be enough to help him break into the upper strata of Washington DC society. Without those contacts, he’s never going to be able to buy the one piece of property that he needs to gain closure from his childhood. The person who can help him get his foot in the door is Pamela Harrington, a blue blood whose relationship with her powerful father is perfectly encapsulated by the fact he makes her address him as “[the] Senator.” Brrrr.

This is my favorite type of interracial romance because people of different races fall in love, but their races themselves are no. big. deal. This part, too, felt correct, because at this level of society, lineage trumps wealth. In fact, it is Pamela, the racial minority in the relationship, who has the contacts and social clout that Marcus’s money cannot buy. I enjoyed being able to read this book without feeling like I’d wandered into a fetish novel.

As with the best marriage of convenience books, both Marcus and Pamela have clear motives for going into this relationship. It was a pleasure to watch them grow closer to one another and to integrate this new relationship into their existing motives. Marcus in particular is flawed but is a compelling character to read about. Pamela is a multidimensional character whose advantages in life haven’t insulated her from everything, and who wields her privilege to help those who are less fortunate. It takes Marcus longer to turn his gaze outward, but the rewards are immense. This is how to do a revenge plot without being completely annoying. I highly recommend this book!

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Undone by Shannon Richard

Title:Tell Me When
Author:Shannon Richard
PublisherForever Yours
Publication Date:July 2, 2013
Publisher's DescriptionThings Paige Morrison will never understand about Mirabelle, Florida:

Why wearing red shoes makes a girl a harlot
Why a shop would ever sell something called "buck urine"
Why everywhere she goes, she runs into sexy-and infuriating-Brendan King

After losing her job, her apartment, and her boyfriend, Paige has no choice but to leave Philadelphia and move in with her retired parents. For an artsy outsider like Paige, finding her place in the tightly knit town isn't easy-until she meets Brendan, the hot mechanic who's interested in much more than Paige's car. In no time at all, Brendan helps Paige find a new job, new friends, and a happiness she wasn't sure she'd ever feel again. With Brendan by her side, Paige finally feels like she can call Mirabelle home. But when a new bombshell drops, will the couple survive, or will their love come undone?
My rating:***.5

undone

This is a great book for anybody who is a fan of fish out of water stories.

Paige is a sympathetic protagonist who learns that first impressions in a small town can pay dividends for a very long time. I’m not a big fan of small town romances that feature humble, salt of the earth people who are direct foils to the evil, selfish, shallow city idiots who sling around their big city rudeness before being driving back to their dens of iniquity. I like small towns. I like cities. I don’t like any book that relies only on stereotypes to depict the citizens of either type of area.

While some of the supporting cast in this book were more caricatures than characters, I still enjoyed this story. It was interesting to watch Paige feel her way around life in Florida, and overcome the lingering wounds left by her last relationship.  Brendan was a great guy, and even though he was interested in her all along, the way that he took care of Paige wasn’t a ploy to get in her pants. I appreciated how much effort he put into helping her build a life.

Ms. Richard did an excellent job of building emotion. Her funny scenes were really funny, and the sad ones hit me right in the feels. This book was a great start to the series, and I look forward to reading the next one.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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