Book Blitz: The Touch (The Cotiere Chronicals Book 2) - Michelle Bolanger

Alexander Koch lives a life most men would kill for. As the sole heir to his family’s enormous wealth, he enjoys the finer things in life despite the crippling pain that increases with every passing day. Until he meets the one he's intended for. The one whose slightest touch makes the pain vanish. But after a chance meeting at the first Gathering of their kind, the girl runs from him in terror. Now he’s willing to spend every last cent to find her.

Jessalyn Vogt escaped her father’s controlling ways and has settled into a simple life, caring for her horses and brewing coffee for her customers. Until Alexander Koch tracks her down. She wants nothing to do with his arrogance, his money, or the undeniable attraction drawing her to him. But she knows she is the only one who can relieve him of the horrible pain racking his body.

The Cotiere has been reunited, but that was the easy part. Greed and old traditions threaten to tear it apart again. Trust has been compromised and hidden agendas are destroying the fragile truce between parents and children. It’s in the hands of the new counsel to keep it together, even if it means some must be willing to lose everything.

Exerpt:

       Fighting to keep the echo of confusion out of her voice, she replied as coldly as she could. "I'll have your pour over right up, Alex, but I have work to do."
   

     Alexander stiffened, and she flinched harder this time, sure he would raise his voice. His expression grew puzzled. "If you don't mind please, it's Alexander, and I can wait until you have the time." His tone never changed, but there was doubt in his face. He slid a fifty-dollar bill across the counter, his stance softening when she didn't immediately take the offered money. "Keep the change, Jessi."

     Frustrated by her body's response to him, and angry at his ridiculous tip, she gritted her teeth. She swiped the bill off the counter, slapped it into the register, and slid his full change back. Hurt flickered on his face before she turned away and let her echo punctuate her frustration. "I can't be bought." Instead of the anger she expected, she was hit with his confusion. Her own doubt was followed by regret, but she reminded herself who he was. He's just not used to anyone telling him no. He'll get over it.

     Her eyes involuntarily rose to the mirror as she reached for a mug and pour over vessel. Peter was leaning against the far wall with his left foot planted beside the opposite knee. His arms were crossed while he watched them. Peter lifted his chin toward her as a satisfied quirk curled his lip. Unfolding his arms and kicking away from the wall, he took a seat across from Alexander at a table near the counter. Sitting together, they looked like two lions prepared to wait for their next meal. A cold shiver raked Jessi's back at the thought.

My Review:
The Touch is Michelle’s 2nd book, and her writing has just gotten better! I knew from the moment I started hearing about Alexander and Jessi that I was going to love them, and I was 110% correct! This book brought so many goofy grins to my face, and then there were moments where I just had to put the book down and walk away because of the emotional roller coaster.

What I Loved: I’ve already mentioned that I knew I would love Alexandar and Jessi, but really I loved their individual personalities and how different they were. I really enjoyed their banter and emotional dance. The tension between the two was spot on, and leaves you either wanting to throw a bucket of ice on them or screaming “get on with it already.” Both of Alexander and Jessi have uneasy backgrounds, but at this point in their lives they are primed to be ready to move forward and move past their past…but how? Especially when the past wants to come back and bite them.

The back stories in The Touch really made this book interesting. We met Alexander in The Kiss, but to know more about where he comes from, and some of what he’s gone through within The Cotiere really helps to build the backbone of this book. Then you’ve got Jessi’s story, and together it's all a bit of a mess.

Not So Much: There never seems to be enough book. There’s not really anything I can say here, honestly. I knew I was going to love Alexander and Jess!

The Verdict:
 I wish I could get more people to take a chance on Michelle’s books – they are awesome stories! I would consider these to be clean New Adult books, with a slight paranormal/fantasy aspect – and I highly recommend them.

Author Bio:

Michelle Bolanger has been an avid reader all her life. In 2014 and with the encouragement of her family and friends, she decided to take the leap and publish her own books. The Kiss is her first full length novel and the beginning of what is to be a four book series titled The Cotiere Chronicles. Michelle is also a talented vocalist and amateur photographer. She enjoys going on cruises, cheering for her favorite professional hockey team, and falling asleep to the sound of auto racing on TV. Michelle lives in Ohio with her husband and two dogs.
Website: http://www.michellebolanger.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michellebolangerauthor/
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/MBolangerAuthor
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mbolangerauthor/

Book Review: Cinder & Ella - Kelly Oram

Title: Cinder & Ella
Author: Kelly Oram

Synopsis:
It’s been almost a year since eighteen-year-old Ella Rodriguez was in a car accident that left her crippled, scarred, and without a mother. After a very difficult recovery, she’s been uprooted across the country and forced into the custody of a father that abandoned her when she was a young child. If Ella wants to escape her father’s home and her awful new stepfamily, she must convince her doctors that she’s capable, both physically and emotionally, of living on her own. The problem is, she’s not ready yet. The only way she can think of to start healing is by reconnecting with the one person left in the world who’s ever meant anything to her—her anonymous Internet best friend, Cinder.
…
Hollywood sensation Brian Oliver has a reputation for being trouble. There’s major buzz around his performance in his upcoming film The Druid Prince, but his management team says he won’t make the transition from teen heartthrob to serious A-list actor unless he can prove he’s left his wild days behind and become a mature adult. In order to douse the flames on Brian’s bad-boy reputation, his management stages a fake engagement for him to his co-star Kaylee. Brian isn’t thrilled with the arrangement—or his fake fiancée—but decides he’ll suffer through it if it means he’ll get an Oscar nomination. Then a surprise email from an old Internet friend changes everything.

My Review:
I have seen and passed up Cinder & Ella multiple times on Amazon.com. It was one of those – eh, I’ll probably like that book but I’m not sure. I’m not totally into the whole Hollywood aspect of the story. However, when a friend and fellow blogger over at Celebrity Readers was reading it and really enjoying the book, I knew I had to get it. (Bonus for being on sale for $.99, but at that point, it didn’t matter – she was raving and I knew I had to have it.) I have not done a ‘book binge’ in a long time, however I started reading this book probably at about 5:30 Friday night, and finished it at 1am Saturday morning. Aaaannnnd I was exhausted all day Saturday (I want to say it’s not because I can’t handle going to bed late, but I lift some heavy weights, and have three kids…so truth is, I can’t handle going to bed late…)

What I Loved: What didn’t I love? First, it’s loosely based off a fairy-tale. Right there is a winner for me, but that’s obvious based on the title alone. Second, the interaction between Cinder and Ella, which is mainly NOT in person, is so perfect and funny! The banter, I totally fell in love with the banter, and the fact that both of them have this mutual “I really like this person…but I only know them via the internet” stigma; kind of just made it all that much better. It was also nice that the story changed perspectives, and you really got a good idea of what both Ella and Brian (Cinder) were going through.

Third, there were no innocent parties in this book, everyone is a victim of something, everyone has issues. I liked this because this wasn’t a perfect heroine needing rescued. Ella has had a complete life changing experience, and she really has the hardest hand in the entire book – but she is not faultless, she is not flawless (er, I’m speaking internally…). The fact that you’re reading this book and genuinely end up liking almost all of the characters was okay for me. I think that for this book, it really made for a well rounded story.

Fourth, this book felt so incredibly real. I wanted to read The Druid Prince. I wanted see the movie, go to the FantasyCon (I think that was what it was called..) with my new friends. I did not fall in love with Cinder myself, I wanted him so badly for Ella. I wish that I could call my new friends on the phone!!

Not So Much: There really isn’t a lot for me to put here. The one thing I can think of is I didn’t quite understand Rob’s character in the book. I understand he ended up being this great friend, but I was left feeling like he got a really crappy deal over all, especially since he was kind of a great guy. There was a part of me that wanted him to fall for one of Ella’s step sisters, or something just to make it all better.

The Verdict: 
GREAT Book! I will read it again, and probably love it just as much. I have already purchased more books by Kelly Oram because I’m pretty sure that I’m going to love all of her works. Cinder & Ella was clean over all, perfect of YA and NA loves in my opinion! Go grab it now, last I checked it was still $.99!

Book Review: Whisper of the Woods - D.G. Driver

Title: Whisper of the Woods (A Juniper Sawfeather Novel - Book 2)
Author: D.G. Driver

Synopsis (from Goodreads):
Juniper Sawfeather seems to have a talent for finding mythological creatures. Or maybe the creatures are finding her.

The mermaids she saved from the oil spill are long gone. There’s no evidence of them, and she’s been branded as a liar and a fake in the media and at school. Her environmental activist parents have moved on to a protest to save Old Growth trees from being chopped down. June isn’t particularly concerned with this cause until after falling asleep at the base of a giant tree she wakes to find herself 40 feet in the air on one of its branches!

From this point on she becomes obsessed with the tree, and it appears the tree is becoming obsessed with her too. Soon, she is trapped 170 feet above the ground, and the magical spirit that resides in the tree isn’t interested in letting her go free or allowing anyone else to save her. Is the tree spirit good or evil? Will Juniper’s feet ever touch the ground again?

My Review:
After reading Cry of the Sea, author D.G. Driver asked me if I might be interested in reading Whisper of the Woods as well. Juniper and her adventure was still in my head when she asked, so I decided to go for it, even though I’m slowing down on accepting review requests and pushing towards my #2016TBRChallenge. I’m glad that I accepted the request, and it’s going to be difficult to get through 2016 (if the book comes out) to wait read the last installment.

What I Loved: Whisper of the Woods really drawled me into its story, keeping me wondering what was going to happen next – especially the tree itself. ‘Why does it seem to talk only to Juniper, and what is it going to do next?’ were some of the questions I was asking myself while reading. I really enjoyed going on this journey with Juniper and learning more about the legend of the great tree, and it’s tie into the mermaids in Cry of the Sea, especially when I found out at the end that it was based around (I’m sure with creative licenses used at will) a true Indian legend. I was intrigued by the tree’s pull on Juniper from the beginning, how she became obsessed with it and knowing as much information about old trees as she possibly could.

I am also happy to know that while things don’t seem to be exactly great, Juniper’s relationship with her mother seems to be improving from where it left off in Cry of the Sea, and I feel like the third installment of this series will probably be a big one for the both of them.

Not So Much: I was confused by Juniper and Carter’s relationship in this book. Clearly they are in the midst of dating, however it felt like things weren’t going well over all. There was never any real good interactions between them to make it to the end of this book and everything be happy again.

I also felt like there were many times in the story where the tree was manipulating the feelings of Juniper and others who were near or touching it, however that didn’t seem to come up in conversation either. I just feel like things were taken at face value and accepted by the supporting characters: Juniper climbed up a tree, or is she stuck in the tree? There is something weird going on with the tree. Juniper never seems to make a real effort to explain it to anyone believing she wouldn’t be trusted anyway. Even at the end it was glossed over, yet everything is just…okay.

The Verdict:    
I enjoy stories that suck me in, even if after everything is done I still have questions. This book is clean and very YA appropriate, and I love that there are great messages of caring for the earth, and animals and others woven into to the foundation of this series.