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Review: Sweet On You by Kate Perry Blog Tour

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Title: Sweet On You (Laurel Heights, #6)
Author: Kate Perry
Genre: Adult, Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Phoenix Rising Enterprises, Inc
Release Date: 20 December 2012
Pages: 122 (eBook)


Synopsis
Sugar and spice and everything…naughty?
Pastry-chef-to-the-stars Daniela Rossi wants one thing: the abandoned building South of Market. Turning it into a soup kitchen for the homeless is the only thing that’s excited her in months. And Daniella needs to feel again. Until she finds herself feeling too much – for the man who’s competition for the property.
Ruthless entrepreneur Nico Cruz wants one thing: the abandoned SOMA building he grew up in, where his brother was killed. Destroying it is the only thing that will set his brother’s soul at peace. And Nico always gets what he wants. But Daniela’s sweet temptation makes him question what it will take to soothe his own soul.
Fortunately, in this bidding war, all’s fair…
My Rating
* * *
The Review

It’s been a long time since I last picked up an adult contemporary romance so when I came across Sweet On You, it sounded just what I needed to get back into the genre. And it was. Sweet On You begins with Danielle who is all but had it with her choice of career. She might have been the best at being a pastry chef but lately, it’s been all work. She’s had enough of people treating her more like a pastry chef and less like a person.
Call it a pre-midlife crisis or call it a change of heart, Danielle knows she won’t be ever going back to her former glamorous life once she spots a kid giving her sister a teddy bear from the trash bin. She’s never known life on the other side of the tracks but she does know she needs to feed the homeless kids. And maybe buy the building they’re living in so that she could turn it in a soup kitchen. It sounds perfect. However, that’s where Nico comes in, he’s had his sights set on the building just so he could buy and have it demolished in order to fulfill the promise he made to his brother. Thus, starts a battle between Danielle and Nico.
Despite what started as a surprising first chance meeting, the instant attraction and the heavy flirtation kind of felt off. Still, it was easier to see how Danielle and Nico fit together and hot to read about. I could see where both of them were coming from and it was easy to predict how it would all end, but it was fun reading about it. Sweet On You is definitely all it promised to be, sugary, spicy and naughty.
Even though I wasn’t expecting Danielle’s assistant Marley to have a story of her own, it was nice reading it. It definitely gave a much clearer insight inside the world of Danielle. What I really liked about Sweet On You is how much Danielle and Marley grow in just over a hundred pages. The pace is fast and the chapters are arranged in multiple perspectives of Nico, Danielle and Marley. It’s refreshing to read them because you get the know-how of what’s everyone thinking and doing but it also leaves space for the reader to be left guessing a little.
Sweet On You is the sixth book in the Laurel Heights series but it can be read as a stand alone. I would totally recommend it as a light read which can be finished in a single sitting. A guilty pleasure read, if you must. I would definitely be reading more from Kate Perry. Also I think I can guess who the next book in the series will be about!


Best Quotes:

“Love doesn’t cause catastrophes and death.“ 
“No, those are just parts of living.” She cupped his face. “Love dictates how we react to them though.” 
About the Author
As a little girl, Kate dreamt of many things. Like becoming a ninja. Dressing up in black and carrying a big sword? Seemed like a no brainer.

However, Fate had other plans for her, and she studied Kung Fu San Soo instead. A Kung Fu Master, Kate now has more weapons than she ever imagined—including several swords.

She lives in San Francisco. Voted by her friends as the woman they’d most want to stroll with down a dark alley, Kate’s as likely to be spotted at the opera as she is doing tai chi in Golden Gate Park. The rest of the time, she’s in her favorite cafe, working on her next novel.

Kate Perry can be found at 
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Buy Sweet On You (Laurel Heights, #6)
Thanks to Kate Perry and ATOMR for providing me a copy of Sweet On You for review.

Review: Tundra 37 by Aubrie Dionne Blog Tour

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Title: Tundra 37 (A New Dawn, #2)
Author: Aubrie Dionne
Genre: Science Fiction, Romance
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Release Date: 7 February 20
Pages: 288 (eBook)


Synopsis
Gemme is a hi-tech matchmaker who pairs the next generation of Lifers aboard the Expedition, a deep space transport vessel destined for Paradise 18. When the identity of her lifemate pops up on her screen, she’s shocked that he’s the achingly gorgeous and highly sought after Lieutenant Miles Brentwood—a man oblivious to her existence. Believing everyone will think she contrived the match, she erases it from the computer’s memory.
Just as comets pummel the ship and destroy the pairing system forever. 
With the Expedition disabled, the colonists must crash land on the barren ice world of Tundra 37 where Gemme is reassigned to an exploratory mission, led by Lieutenant Brentwood. Only in the frozen tundra does she understand the shape of his heart and why the computer has entwined their destinies.
My Rating
* * * *
The Review

It was simply an astoundingly melancholic and an unlikely emotional experience for me to read Tundra 37. So, to say that Tundra 37 is an unpredictable read would be an understatement. I didn’t expect the book to tug at my heartstrings. The book really made me appreciate the life on Earth more than anything else. All the loss and the madness that then ensues longing and deprivation is enough to make anyone lose their minds.
The story of Tundra 37 is not limited to the protagonists alone. The twin sisters aboard the Expedition, known as Seers, play an important role in the story as well. This is where the unpredictability kicks in. Without giving much away, the way the memories connected with the orb blew me away. The flashbacks to Old Earth painted a very vivid picture which made reading those scenes very engrossing.
Gemme, with her job as a Matchmaker, is a determined women and a true Lifer which is why she gives preference to predestination over choice and organization over chaos. But life certainly has entirely something else in store for her starting from her pairing with Brentwood, one of the Lieutenants on board the Expedition. Then she lands a job as an explorer from a matchmaker, talk about a makeover!
Brentwood, on the other hand, has his whole life laid out for him and has never expected more than that. So when something beyond their control happens, altering their course and the foundation of their mission, Brentwood is left to be the leader of his people. 
But the question remains, is it enough to go through with what destiny seems to have chosen for them and not merely computers? From then on, Tundra 37 plunges into the heart of the ice on the planet making it a fast-paced book with never a dull moment in between. The life of the Seers still has me reeling in unbelief. I would highly recommend this book to lovers of science fiction and to everyone else simply because the book has a lot of elements of humanity and the value of human life.
Best Quote:

“The moment felt inevitable, each second pulsing forward to bring them here, at the edge of this world, at the beginning of their own.”

Aubrie Dionne can be found at 
| Website | Blog | Twitter | Goodreads | Publisher |

Review: Paradise 21 by Aubrie Dionne Blog Tour

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Title: Paradise 21 (A New Dawn, #1)
Author: Aubrie Dionne
Genre: Science Fiction, Romance
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Release Date: 2 August 2011
Pages: 228 (eBook)


Synopsis
Aries has lived her entire life aboard mankind’s last hope, the New Dawn, a spaceship traveling toward a planet where humanity can begin anew—a planet that won’t be reached in Aries’ lifetime. As one of the last genetically desirable women in the universe, she must marry her designated genetic match and produce the next generation for this centuries-long voyage.
But Aries has other plans.
When her desperate escape from the New Dawn strands her on a desert planet, Aries discovers the rumors about pirates—humans who escaped Earth before its demise—are true. Handsome, genetically imperfect Striker possesses the freedom Aries envies, and the two connect on a level she never thought possible. But pursued by her match from above and hunted by the planet’s native inhabitants, Aries quickly learns her freedom will come at a hefty price.
The life of the man she loves.
My Rating
* * * *
The Review
What attracted me towards Paradise 21 was the synopsis, I haven’t read much sci-fi books and this one seemed good enough to read. So despite the cover which seems to scream steamy romance, I was hooked from the first sentence.

Matched with a manipulating, power-hungry Barliss to preserve the gene pool aboard New Dawn, Aries Ryder couldn’t have it worse. She is not your typical heroine; because even though she is a first class Lifer on New Dawn, she wants out. So she plans her escape and lands onto a deadened planet Sahara 354. Little does she know what’s in store for her; from lizard men who have a habit of stealing to the giant sandworm ready for a kill.

Luckily, for her, there’s Striker abandoned by his fellow pirates on Sahara 354 five years ago. And he’s not only good at surviving in the desert; he has a much bigger plan. An alien ship that crashed into Sahara 354 along with the eggs that won’t hatch is the only hope for their survival and escape from Sahara 354 and land on Refuge.

The two fall into an easy companionship, but they don’t have much time because it’s centuries after Earth disintegrated and technology has far since taken on a new meaning. So it wouldn’t take long for Barliss, to whom Aries is bequeathed, to come out looking for her with the help of her locator and what not. And then there’s the ex-fellow pirate, Drifter and the ex-girlfriend, Tiff who may have found the hidden map to Refuge. But they need Striker to decode it.

Paradise 21 is a fast-paced read, so you never lose interest because there’s something happening at all times. It’s admirable to see the strong protagonists and the world-building is awe-inspiring as I could actually imagine the universe after earth. All the betrayal, the fight for life, the concern about gene pool, remnants of the old Earth and the journey towards Paradise 21 come together in unpredictable ways. The book seems to have it all.

Best Quote:
“The world’s a tough place, and the universe is colder still.”
Aubrie Dionne can be found at 

Review: Always You by Shilpa Mudiganti

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Title: Always You
Author: Shilpa Mudiganti
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: InkSpell
Release Date: 6 March 2012
Pages: 112 (eARC)


Synopsis
Lyla had to move on. With Nick, her fiancé. So, what if she cannot seem to either forget or forgive Alex, the modern day Casanova who broke her heart. She will try again. Just as she had done for the last 5 years.

What Lyla did not know was all that Alex wanted in those five years was her. Because the Casanova had fallen in love. Five years back, when Alex met a grieving Lyla at his friend Andrew’s grave, the world had blurred in the background. He fell deeply in love. Yet, Alex was harboring a secret that, if known, would destroy his relationship with Lyla and it did.
But now, fate brought them together in such a way that they had no option but to remain dangerously close – dangerous enough for Lyla to fall in love with him again. How can she?, she argues. Not after what she knows about Alex? What he did to Andrew?

It is true Alex seemed different. Changed. And attractive enough to defeat her defense against their dark past. But is it enough? What will happen when two broken people with a past come together? Can they forgive or heal?
My Rating
* * * 
The Review

Always You is a short entertaining read and I finished it in a few hours. What attracted me to Always You is the awesome cover with Eiffel Tower in the background which I just love! Moreover, the cover fits the story perfectly which I think is an important thing for any book.
From the beginning of Always You, it dives into the heart of the matter. Lyla has been hurt and deceived by Alex five years ago, but she still is unable to move on despite being engaged to another. She has decided to move back to Spain after her current project. But little did she know that she was to meet Alex again and what it would do to her. She wanted her last project to be memorable and boy, was it! Needless to say, she still has feelings for Alex as do Alex himself. But stubborn as she is, Lyla chooses to ignore those.
I fell in love with the character of Alex because he had so much to offer to the reader! Sensitive and down to earth, Alexander Knight is a character who is hot and caring at the same time. A Casanova for sure!
From then on, as Alex her boss and a business trip to New York and Paris on the schedule, it is a whirlwind ride into the world of second chances and how much damage can misunderstandings initiate. I really loved how the author has managed to integrate the whole concept by writing such a thought-provoking story.
I really enjoyed Always You and it is a really good debut by Shilpa Mudiganti. I will surely be looking forward to more books by the author!

Best Quote:
“She hated him more than anything else. But why couldn’t she find anyone who could replace him? As night fell over her window, she wondered if she really had tried or was it that she didn’t want to forgive and forget.”

Review: Before I Go to Sleep by S J Watson

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Title: Before I Go to Sleep
Author: S J Watson
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Doubleday
Release Date: 14 June 2011
Pages: 368 (Hardcover)


Synopsis
‘As I sleep, my mind will erase everything I did today. I will wake up tomorrow as I did this morning. Thinking I’m still a child. Thinking I have a whole lifetime of choice ahead of me …’

Memories define us. So what if you lost yours every time you went to sleep? Your name, your identity, your past, even the people you love – all forgotten overnight. And the one person you trust may only be telling you half the story.

Welcome to Christine’s life.


My Rating
* * * 
The Review
I started reading Before I Go To Sleep with a lot of expectations and well, it all turned out to be a very twisted, almost unemotional, ending to a promising story. The cover is very striking and the synopsis had me intrigued from the get-go.
However, every day Christine has to go through the part where she discovers she’s 47 and not in her twenties. Due to these descriptions, I felt that she found herself ugly just because she found her skin to be wrinkly and saggy. It is normal for her age; but the descriptions had me in doubt about her looking more as if she’s 75 and not 47. And the repetitions didn’t really help, of course.
Moving on, I have two rather contradictory opinions about this book. The first one veers me towards everything that is likable in the novel. The second of course, makes me want to roll my eyes at the un-likability factor when the mystery part is taken into perspective.
I liked Christine, her character grew very stably and it was very moving for me to read about her lost hopes at a future. And that feeling, of being helpless of knowing that, in her own words, “The worst thing is that I don‘t even know what I don‘t know. There might be lots of things, waiting to hurt me. Things I haven‘t even dreamed about yet.”

Before I Go To Sleep could have easily deserved 4 stars but the whole chase didn’t help the case. The ending was bland, cold and not even in line with the rest of the story. Only a single paragraph telling the hours she spent reconciling with Ben. Taking into account that with almost no contact for years, her real husband suddenly realizes that he wants to be with her? After all this time? Just…wow. Plus, the son. It seems highly unlikely that they didn’t try to contact Christine on a regular basis.

These are just a couple of nagging little thoughts I have been having. From the book, it is apparent that Claire is on seemingly normal terms with Adam. And if there is that chance then how come Adam doesn’t know that his parents are apparently back together? Why all the unnecessary miscommunication?

Moreover, when she had all those glimmers or flashes of memory something doesn’t set in right.In all of the book, she is unable to see a single memory flash of Ben and then she has it finally. Plus, she also comes to know of all the time they spent together shortly after that. Maybe the particular truth triggered her memory, but how far can fiction be twisted?

However, S.J.Watson made a good effort at writing about something written many times before and forming a novel story line. I wanted to more than like Before I Go To Sleep, the writing was beautiful and the expressions profound. Her sorrow at the uneventful turnout of her life stretching into a long wait of dying every day waiting for the actual death to arrive. Of feeling lost. But, in the end, I just keep getting the feeling that something small, something crucial is truly amiss from the story.
Best Quote:

“I step back further, until I feel cold tiles against my back. It is then I get the glimmer that I associate with memory. As my mind tries to settle on it, it flutters away, like ashes caught in a breeze, and I realize that in my life there is a then, a before, though before what I cannot say, and there is a now, and there is nothing between the two but a long, silent emptiness that has led me here, to me and him, in this house.”