Weekend Ramblings #8

Are you ready for another Weekend Ramblings a la KJ?!

Well then... let's get ready to raaaaammmmmbbbbbllllleeeee!!!!!

This week's rambling topic is...

*Top 10 Books You Would Give Away As Gifts*

So I love to surprise my sisters and friends with little bookish treasures every once in awhile. Sometimes it's hard to choose which book to give away though. There are just SO many that I love! But if you were to ask me right now which 10 books I would give away right now they would be:

1. Jessie Belle by Jennifer Peel
2. Taylor Lynne by Jennifer Peel
3. A Season To Love by Nicole Deese
4. Kissing Cousins by Marcia Lynn McClure
5. Undeniably Chosen by Shelly Crane
6. The Independent One by Cami Checketts
7. Pimpernel by Sheralyn Pratt8. My Sweetheart by Shannon Guymon
9. The Protective Groom by Lucy McConnell
10. Making Faces by Amy Harmon

What about you? Which 10 books would you choose to give away as gifts?

The Wedding Secret by Jennifer Shirk

Synopsis:

Ten years after a high school pregnancy left her abandoned by her family, single mother Brenna March is finally getting her life under control. In possession of her dream job as a florist at the Rose Chalet, one of the premier wedding spots in San Francisco, she’s about to prove her worth and take on her first wedding as head florist. Unfortunately, the best man is none other than Senator Ashton Mirenda—her old high school sweetheart and the father of the daughter he knows nothing about.

Ashton doesn't have time for marriage or a family. He has other aspirations and the first is winning the next senate seat election. Or so he believes until he meets a woman from his past. Seeing Brenna again stirs something inside him he'd thought long dead, and he knows that he wants her beside him all the way to the White House.

But Brenna is holding a ten year old secret, one which could not only hurt his chance for re-election but also their chance to rekindle the love they once shared.

My Review: 3.5 Stars

Brenna and Ashton were high school sweethearts. But neither family agreed with them dating. When Ashton graduates from high school and heads across the country to go to college, they decide a long distance relationship would be too hard for them. Shortly after Ashton leaves, Brenna realizes that she is pregnant. As soon as the news is discovered, her parents disown her and ship her off to live with her aunt.

10 years later things are finally starting to fall into place for Brenna and Abby. She's working in her dream job and life couldn't get any better for them. She never imagined that life would throw Ashton back into her path. Now she has to do her best to keep Abby a secret until Ashton leaves. She'll tell Ashton AFTER the election that he is a dad.

But fate has other things in store for this little family. The truth will be discovered sooner rather than later. Now they both need to decide what is going to be best for everyone involved,

I am a sucker for lost love books and this one was a fun addition to my collection. While I enjoyed this book, I wish that it was just a little bit longer, It seemed like too much time had passed for Brenna and Ashton to just pick up where they left off. I also would have liked to see Ashton find out about Abby sooner. It would've been fun to see them get to know each other and build their relationship. Their relationship kind of felt like an afterthought to me.

I am definitely looking forward to more from this Kindle Worlds series. I have already downloaded a couple more books and can't wait to read them. 

And of course I can't forget my casting!

The Independent One by Cami Checketts

Synopsis:

Haley Turnbow escapes to the tropical Isla del Sol for an ideal vacation with her five-year old. She doesn’t plan on the resident ghost stalking her and the island’s fine-looking owner drawing her in with his confident, fun personality.

Cal Johnson is king of his own island, happy and busy. A beautiful mom and her wild little boy flip his world upside down. He falls in love with both of them knowing they’re going to leave at the end of their vacation and he might not recover from the loss.

Can these two independent adults trust their hearts or is it not worth the risk?

My Review: 4.5 Stars

Haley is a single mother to an adorable little boy named Taz. He is full of energy and is constantly keeping her on her toes. When they escape to the tropical Isla del Sol for a much needed vacation, she never imagines the adventures that are in store for them. From hiking, to playing on the beach, to whale watching, to catching the eye of the gorgeous Cal, she is enjoying herself way too much to even think about worrying over the resident ghost who seems to be stalking her. 

When Cal first lays eyes on Haley and Taz, he is immediately intrigued. He has never met anyone like Haley before. He is used to women finding out he has money and instantly fawning over him. But when Haley seems to turn up her nose at the first mention of money, he knows he needs to tread carefully around her. The more time he spends with them, the more he is envisioning them becoming a family. But the longer he keeps his wealth a secret from her, the more he endangers his chances of building a forever with Haley and Taz. 

Will Haley learn to trust again? Will she learn that it's okay to lean on others for help? Or will secrets and past hurts destroy whatever future they may have together?

I just have to say that I absolutely loved little Taz! He had me chuckling left and right! That adorable little guy stole the show for me! He had the sweetest relationship with his mama and Cal. Love! <3

The Independent One is such a fun addition to this series! I loved it! I was getting frustrated when real life was getting into my reading time. I had to go an entire day without reading and was NOT happy about it! Lol. I do wish we would've been able to see Brad get what he deserved. Even if it was just getting the crap beat out of him! Haha. 

And can we talk about this cover?! GORGEOUS! I am loving all of them! I can't wait to see what's next for this series! :)  

And of course I can't forget my casting! What do you think? 

Weekend Ramblings #7

Are you ready for another Weekend Ramblings a la KJ?!

Well then... let's get ready to raaaaammmmmbbbbbllllleeeee!!!!!

This week's rambling topic is...

*Songs in Books*

So my mini laptop that I've had for years has decided that it doesn't really like me anymore. It randomly disconnects from the internet and makes trying to post on my blog a real pain in the rear end! And then all the sudden there is no sound... and I mean none! My volume controls disappeared! I tried to re-install the program and it won't let me. It constantly gives me all kinds of errors and tells me the file I'm looking for doesn't exist. Ummm... RUDE! 

After dealing with this for several weeks, I decided enough was enough. It was time for a new laptop. After doing some research I finally decided on one. It was delivered on Thursday! Woop woop! And the best part (other than it being purple)?! It has a DVD player/CD burner! My first thoughts?! I am burning me a new CD this weekend! YAY! 

And viola! We have a Weekend Ramblings post! ;)

I never really paid attention to songs in books until I started reading Shannon Guymon's Fircrest series. The more I read, the more I noticed all the songs. There were a lot of songs that I had never heard of before. So what do I do? Head on over to Amazon Prime and start listening to them. The more I listened, the more I loved! I even went as far as creating a Songs From Books Playlist on my account. I have been known to blast this list while cleaning, baking, writing reviews and any other time I could blast it! I kept thinking... I would LOVE to have these songs on a CD so I can listen to it whenever I'm in the car. Sadly, I didn't have anything to burn a CD on. :( But now I do! Hehe. You guys have no idea how excited I am about this!

What are some of the songs that are going to be on my CD? Well... let's see... 

Arms by Christina Perri, All of Me by John Legend, Ho Hey by The Lumineers, Gone, Gone, Gone by Phillip Phillips, Fight Song by Rachel Platten, Secrets by One Republic, Everybody Talks by Neon Trees, I Bet My Life by Imagine Dragons, Stand by You by Rachel Platten, Give Me Love by Ed Sheeran, Baby, I Love Your Way by Big Mountain, Bright by Echosmith, Happy by Pharrell Williams, Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran, Marry You by Bruno Mars, Come To Me by The Goo Goo Dolls, I Won't Give Up by Jason Mraz, Kiss Me by Ed Sheeran, Let Her Go by Passenger.. and that's just a few of the treasures I have found while reading! ;)

What about you guys? Have you noticed songs in books? Have you found any favorites? If so, what are they? I want to know if I need to add more to my playlist... ;) Hehe.

So come on party people... let's rrrrraaaaammmmmbbbbbllllleeeee!! ;)

And P.S. If there are any topics that you want to ramble about send them my way!

First Line Friday's #7

Ok party people! It's that time again! First Line Friday's hosted by my amazing friend Kathy over at Bookworm Nation! Are you ready?! 

This week's First Line Friday is:

The Independent One by Cami Checketts

Haley Turnbow escapes to the tropical Isla del Sol for an ideal vacation with her five-year old. She doesn’t plan on the resident ghost stalking her and the island’s fine-looking owner drawing her in with his confident, fun personality.

Cal Johnson is king of his own island, happy and busy. A beautiful mom and her wild little boy flip his world upside down. He falls in love with both of them knowing they’re going to leave at the end of their vacation and he might not recover from the loss. 

Can these two independent adults trust their hearts or is it not worth the risk?

FIRST LINE

"Haley Turnbow shielded her eyes from the sun, clinging to her five-year old's hand to prevent him from bouncing over the rail of the small ferry."

I am seriously loving all these Billionaire books! I find myself checking every week or so to see if a new one has been released. When I was searching on Wednesday and saw this one, I didn't even read the synopsis before I clicked the buy now button! These are definite auto-buys for me! Haha. And the covers! LOVE! Just when I think I have found a new favorite, another book is released! I don't think I will ever be able to pick a favorite. They are all GORGEOUS! *dreamy sigh* <3

Do you want to participate in First Line? Yes?! Then tell us what your First Line is! Are you going to do a blog post? Then don't forget to link your post back to Bookworm Nation! Post your link in the comments. Don't have a blog? No worries! Just leave a comment with the title, author name and first line.

Ready?! And GO!

Swoony Award Shout Out!

For those of you who don't know, I am one of the four hosts of the Swoony Awards. As I was going through the list trying to find my next read, I started noticing that all my favorites are getting hidden! And we just CANNOT have that! Since April is almost over, I thought it would be a good idea to give a shout out for the 2016 Swoony's and see if I can get my favorites up to the top again! ;)

What are the Swoony Awards?

The Swoony Awards are a reader’s choice award recognizing excellence in clean romance fiction. We wanted a way to show our appreciation to these awesome authors who write the kind of books that we love. It’s also a great way to find new books and a good go-to when looking for something fun to read.

What books are eligible for a Swoony Award?

-ONLY books PUBLISHED December 1, 2015 – November 30, 2016 are eligible, Please DOUBLE check publication dates before nominating books!
-Books must be published or have arc reviews before nomination. Since the award is based on readers having actually read and enjoyed the book(s) they are voting for, the book has to have been published or arcs read in order to receive votes.
-Intimacy: No sex, no/low closed door/fade-to-black, no/low innuendo, nothing crude or crass
-Language: None/mild (No F words or other explicit language) nothing overly crude
-Violence: Mild/low
-Page Count: Novellas or Novels only, 100 pages or higher, no short stories this year

-Age: Only Young Adult, New Adult and Adult, NO children’s or middle grade

Where do you vote for the Swoony Awards? 

On Goodreads! If you don't have an account it is really easy to sign up for one! And it's an AMAZING place to keep track of which books you have read, which books you want to read and of course see all kinds of reviews on books! 

What books have I read so far this year that are eligible? 

I am SO glad you asked! I would LOVE to share them with you! ;) Hehe. 

Taylor Lynne by Jennifer Peel

A Season to Love by Nicole Deese

His Personal Relationship Manager by Jennifer Peel

Pimpernel by Sheralyn Pratt

Love Under Construction by Danyelle Ferguson

The Resilient One by Cami Checketts

The Feisty One by Cami Checketts

The Rebellious One by Jeanette Lewis

The Protective Groom by Lucy McConnell

The Passionate One by Jeanette Lewis

First Crush by Heather Tullis

Duchess by Nikki Wilson

One Enchanted Christmas by Melissa Tagg

Winter's Kiss by Laura Bastian

His Kind of Cowgirl by Karen Rock

The Reclusive Billionaire by Lucy McConnell

Write Me Home by Crystal Walton

There are almost 200 books nominated for a Swoony Award so far! You can click here and go straight to our list! Head on over, check out the list and if there are any books on there that you have read and LOVED then make sure you VOTE! If you have read a book that is eligible but has not been added yet then make sure you VOTE to add it to the list for everyone to see! Again, please make sure to DOUBLE check the eligibility before voting! Oh! And feel free to add me as a friend on Goodreads if you would like.. ;) Hehe.

One last thing...

Note to Authors:
If you’ve written a book that matches the above criteria fill free to nominate it for a Swoony. Help bring awareness to your nomination, we are doing some promoting, but sometimes a newsletter, Facebook, Twitter or blog post directly from the author is the best way to let your fan base know your book has been nominated and help it get all the votes it can get.

Note to Voters:
This is a great way to let authors know you appreciate all their hard work. You can vote for up to 100 books on the list. We’ve also learned that the order you rank the books you vote on does affect the overall score of the book. So take a minute and make sure you have your books in the order you want them. Invite your friends to vote! Voting ends December 31, 2016.

So what are you waiting for?! Let's show all these AMAZING authors how much we love them AND their books! Ready?! GO VOTE!

Book Bloggers!

So I thought it would be fun to do a post on all the links that were shared and found through last week's Weekend Ramblings. There are some good ones out there and I am SO happy to be adding more to my list! :)

Are you ready?! These are in no particular order... I'm just grabbing and sharing! :)

Katie's Clean Book Collection
Bookworm Nation
Book Reviewing Rocks!

Getting Your Read On

Bookworm Lisa~

Heidi Reads...

Mel's Shelves

Tifferz & Her Sisterz Book Reviewz 

Bloggin' 'bout Books

Wishful Endings

Clean Romance Reviews
Books Are Sanity!!!
Singing Librarian Books

If you don't see a blog you love on the list then please share the link in the comments and I will update the post!

Happy Stalking!! ;) 

First Line Friday's #6

Ok party people! It's that time again! First Line Friday's hosted by my amazing friend Kathy over at Bookworm Nation! Are you ready?! 

This week's First Line Friday is:

Pimpernel by Sheralyn Pratt

For centuries, the elite of the world have sought the Pimpernel everywhere. Some want to kill him, others want to hire him, but Jack Cavanaugh knows that the love/hate relationship comes with the job title.

At present, Jack is trying to dismantle an investment scheme centered in Las Vegas, but "trying" is the operative word. It's been a month since he put the face of the scheme behind bars, yet the scam is still going strong. As Jack tries to uncover who has stepped in as the new head, what miniscule evidence there is all seems to point him back to Claire Ramsey, an introverted PhD student studying at UNLV.

If ever there as an unlikely head of an investment scheme, Claire's it. She has a genius IQ, but from all Jack has seen, Claire’s intelligence is as much a blessing as a curse when paired up with her acute OCD. Claire can barely make conversation with the cute guy down the hall, which makes it hard to believe she could be the charismatic salesperson who is getting international businessmen to invest $5—50 million a pop.

So what is Jack missing? What is the real story behind Claire Ramsey? And once Jack learns it, will he be able to walk away?

FIRST LINE

"Claire Ramsey only felt in control about 1% of the time."

So.. you're probably thinking... "You haven't read this book yet?! What is wrong with you?!" My answer?! I have NO clue!! All my friends have devoured this book already and I'm late to the party!! Haha. I thought it was about time to jump on the Pimpernel train... ;) Stay tuned for a review this weekend!! 

Do you want to participate in First Line? Yes?! Then tell us what your First Line is! Are you going to do a blog post? Then don't forget to link your post back to Bookworm Nation! Post your link in the comments. Don't have a blog? No worries! Just leave a comment with the title, author name and first line.

Ready?! And GO!