Mini Review: Sweet Little Lies by Sierra Hill

Hey guys so excited to be sharing this quick and simple mini review with y'all!! I know this post is going to be a little shorter than my usual posts but thats only because I'm so excited to get this review up and out onto into the open!!
  I typically don't read that many steamy romantic reads (mostly because I am too busy burying myself into the addictive worlds that both Leigh Bardugo and Sarah J. Maas have gifted us with) but when I stumbled across this book I just couldn't help it I had to get my hands on it IMEDIENTLY! You know me I love a good romance and what I love even more is a good bad boy romance so when this title flashed across my eyes I just couldn't not look into it (plus that cover?!?! Pure adorableness!)
 Sorry if I'm boring you all with my swooning but I cannot help it! A romance with a cute and naughty basketball player and a sweet and protective good girl? Yes please! If romance isn't your typical style I highly recommend checking this out if your in need of a change because this story will melt your heart!

Sweet Little Lies

By Sierra Hill

Rating: 4/5 (steamy) stars


Summary: Lance:
Some lies are meant to deceive. Others to protect.
My lies have done nothing but harm. They push people away. Even the people that I want to hold onto for dear life. Mica Reyes is too beautiful and pure for my tarnished soul, although I want her with a fierceness of a caged lion.
They say letting go of your grief and your sins will unburden you and set you free. But it's her I need to set free from the pain I’ll cause from loving her too much.

Mica:
My Abuelita always said I should never give my heart away unless I knew it would be in capable hands. To give it to a man who would love and cherish me and put me first above all others.
But my heart didn't listen. I fell for Lance Britton, the college basketball player who uses humor to outwardly disguise the emotional turmoil that lives inside him. To hide his painful secrets.
But I know him. And although I hate ultimatums, I may need to give him one before the lies between us grow any deeper. Letting go may be the only way to reach him. 

This book was SO much fun! I honestly wasn't expecting a lot that happened and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised multiple times while reading this! I loved the concept of the off the rails party boy Lance pinning after an out of his league good girl- Mica who happens to have suppressed feeling for him as well! 

  Mica and Lance were absolutely adorable and I loved the way their romance grew and progressed over time!! I personally love a good game of cat and mouse between two characters and the sexual tension between them made it nearly impossible to put this book down! I really liked how this book also touched on the importance of race and how different families viewed their relationship (because Mica was Mexican and Lance was white) and I thought it only added to the depth of the story. 

 This book was the perfect amount of intense and steamy as well as sweet and heart wrenching and I LOVED every bit of it! I cannot wait to get my hands on the next book when it comes out!! I highly recommend to readers that love a steamy romance with a broken leading man and a strong sensitive leading lady that only make one another stronger when they find one another!!

 Thank you Net galley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for a review!! 

Lets Chat!

Have you read any good romance reads lately? Have a favorite character that sweeps you off your feet? Love a good game of cat and mouse? Let me know in the comments below!!

BOOK REVIEW: Vendetta by Catherine Doyle

Vendetta

 By: Catherine Doyle

Rating: 4/5 stars 

summary: When it comes to revenge, love is a dangerous complication.With a fierce rivalry raging between two warring families, falling in love is the deadliest thing Sophie could do. An epic debut set outside modern-day Chicago.

When five brothers move into the abandoned mansion in her neighbourhood, Sophie Gracewell's life changes forever. Irresistibly drawn to bad boy Nicoli, Sophie finds herself falling into a criminal underworld governed by powerful families. As the boys' dark secrets begin to come to light, Sophie is confronted with stinging truths about her own family, too. She must choose between two warring dynasties - the one she was born into, and the one she is falling in love with. When she does, blood will spill and hearts will break.

OMG this book was AWESOME!!! 

I mean in all honesty I have (and always will) have a soft spot for bad boy romances. And oh boy was this another winner in that department! The story takes place in a small town where a girl named sophie works in her dads dinner. Its summer time and her days are pretty boring, mostly filled with work, hanging out with her friends, and coping with moving into her new house. Sophie's a very likable, normal teenage girl who I think most girls could relate to in one way or another. 

In all honesty the beginning of the book is a bit boring... as most beginnings of series are (too much background info.... yuck) Things finally start to get a little spicy when the creepy mansion thats been vacant for years ends up with new residents. And lets just say the new residents aren't old boring people but 5 HOT ITALIN BROTHERS! this alone was enough to sell me (and sell me on the rest of the series)

Sophie ends up encountering the brothers (not knowing they moved in) at the dinner where she works (naturally all occurrences in small towns always seem to happen in dinners- at least in books) This is where we all meet the swoon worthy Nicoli! and his rude (but still annoyingly hot) brother Lucas. And so begins the instant attraction and affair that is sophie and nicoli. 

“Do I frighten you?' He tilted his head.
'Yes,' I said weakly. 'Are you proud of yourself?'
He looked at me for a long moment before replying. 'No, I'm not,' he said so faintly I had to strain to hear him.” 

This book is so fabulously entertaining I seriously could not put it down! (no for real I stayed up waaaayyy later than I should have reading this) (school was a total drag the next day!) But it was SO worth it! The forbidden romance! The midnight kisses! And the hidden danger that is always lurking because news flash! The italians are a part of the mafia!!! (did I mention I love this book? because I LOVE this book!) 

“I knew I couldn’t trust my illogical heart, and that meant I had to do everything in my power to stay away from him so I wouldn’t have to.” 

Plus the action packed ending?!!?!? How could you do that to us Catherine Doyle! Like why must you tear out my heart and then potentially make me switch ships.... hey I said potentially people!! (I hate to cheat on Nicoli... but I may have no choice here!) (*takes deep breathes*) 

“There is beauty everywhere; even in the dark, there is light, and that is the rarest kind of all.” 

I quite literally need the second book... oh I don't know NOW!!!! If you have not read this series I HIGHLY recommend you give it a chance especially if you are a sucker for bad boys, mafia related drama, secret romances and a whole lot of gut wrenching action (I mean there was a few scenes in there where I wanted to SCREAM at Sophie in order to stop her from doing some seriously idiotic stuff!!)

PLEASE READ!!

Have you read Vendetta? If so what did you think? If not have you read any good romance reads lately? Let me know in the comments below!

-BubblyBooks

Anti Valentines Day Book Tag! (Books that are basically anti-romantic mushy feelings and a whole lot more action!)

Hey guys! Happy Sunday! I'm sure you guys all know valentines day is right around the corner and as usual you can find me holed up in my house probably watching some outrageously unrealistic rom-com and eating see's candies. While I'm sure some of you are fans of this over commercialized holiday- I however am not one of them. Its not that I'm against that holiday in general its just that in my history valentines day has always been an uneventful weekday the highlight of which is the heart shaped candy that accompanies it.

 So in honor of my feelings towards this day of love I have created the Anti-Valentines day book tag in which I ask you all what books you have read that are basically anti mushy feelings, happy endings, or anything that holds a candle to Ten Things I Hate About You or The Notebook (if you have not heard of said romance movies than I suggest this valentines day you acquaint yourself with them ASAP) The goal is simple: just follow the rules listed below and answer the questions!

Rules of the tag:
1) Link back to the blog that tagged you!
2) Answer the 10 anti valentines day questions provided
3) Come up with your own 10 anti valentines questions
4) Don't forget to tag ten of your favorite bloggers!


Questions:

1) Name a character that annoys you for no apparent reason.

2) Whats a book you read that ended in total heartbreak?

3) Whats a book where one of your fav characters doesn't make it?

4) A character thats a total buzz kill?(we have all experienced that downer character that sometimes you wish would just go away!)

5) A book in which  the dread love triangle makes an appearance?

6) Name a book filled with action packed fighting scenes.

7) A book in which the older brother causes issues for the main couple?

8) A really sad book that makes you cry your eyes out while simultaneously breaking your heart?

9) A book filled with blood and gruesome scenes you can't get out of your head?

10) Whats your favorite anti-valentines day movie?

My Answers:

1) Name a character that annoys you for no apparent reason.

Megan chase bothered me for some reason! Its like every time she was in danger she would do the stupidest things! And also she would never listen to Ash or anything he said about danger, I don't know she just bothered me for some reason.

2) Whats a book you read that ended in total heartbreak?

 This book was INTENSE! The good kind however (one of my all time favorite series to be exact) However the ending of these book always left me in pieces and quite literally ripped my heart out and continued to stomp on it repeatedly (although this is also one of the reasons I LOVED this series because it made me FEEL THINGS!) So if you need a book with anti instant love or mushiness I highly recommend this series. 

3) Whats a book where one of your fav characters doesn't make it?

Okay I'm not going to give away who died here for obvious reasons (spoilers..) but this ending crushed me and quite literally ruined me for all future Alice in Wonderland spin offs in the future.

4) A character thats a total buzz kill?(we have all experienced that downer character that sometimes you wish would just go away!)

The main character, Zoey Redbird (which is such a book name now that I think about it) was a complete clueless and idiotic teenage girl who's personality was pretty much a toxic combo of every teen stereotype known to man. Her attitude towards everything was completely toxic and is what made her a total buzzkill for me.

5) A book in which  the dread love triangle makes an appearance?

Okay, okay so I just finished this book (like yesterday) and there wasn't a flat out love triangle going on... the whole thing was a lot more subtle than all that but there was DEFINITELY a love triangle vibes! I trust my instincts here...

6) Name a book filled with action packed fighting scenes.

I will forever rant about how AMAZING this series is because I just love it so much!! This whole series has great action scenes and there is quite literally never a dull moment! I mean theres fighting evil vampires, evil classmates, undermining villains... the list goes on! The perfect series if your not feeling valentines day this year!

7) A book in which the older brother (or best friend/ other sibling) causes issues for the main couple?

So this book would have to fall under the best friend category when it comes to this question... and by that I am referring to Blue and Adam while having Gansey hanging over Blue's head the whole time. The whole situation is very mysterious and frustrating because of the irony of it all (like we all know who blues going to end up with yet we have to deal with this!?! Really?)

8) A really sad book that makes you cry your eyes out while simultaneously breaking your heart?

This book is actually severely underrated and was surprising the least read book I picked up according to Good Reads last year. Its all about a boy who hasn't spoken in years and a girl who apparently can live for forever. Its really touching the way these two connect and share memories and the ending brought tears to my eyes while touching my soul at the same time. I highly recommend! Especially if your in need of a good cry this valentines.

9) A book filled with blood and gruesome scenes you can't get out of your head?

So this book wasn't gruesome so much as graphic and descriptive. I consider myself a reader that can handle a lot of explicit violence in books (as long as it isn't unnecessary and contributes the the plot) but the opening scene of this and the scene in the end where they explicitly describe the part in which the girl is violated at a college really stuck with me. Maybe its because the girls age isn't that far off from mine or just because it reminded me of the unknown dangers that lurk in the world (or perhaps its that stories like these have really happened that scared me the most) either way this book really stuck with me and I highly recommend!!

10) Whats your favorite anti-valentines day movie?

I love this movie for when I'm in the mood for some mind numbing action filled with sexy cars and a fast paced story line, a perfect movie for Anti Valentines day!

I Tag:

- Cait @ PaperFury
-Aimee @AimmeAlways 
- Michelle @As Told by Michelle 
-Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight
-Marie @ Drizzle an Hurricane Books
-Sophie @ Blame Chocolate  
- Cassandra @Functional Bookaholic
-Many @Book Princess reviews
-Loretta @Laughing Listener 
- Amber @ The Literary Phoenix 

I also tag all you readers out there!!

How do you feel about Valentines day? Do you love it? Hate it? Do you read any books for the occasion? Let me know in the comments below!

-BubblyBooks

Top Ten Tuesday: Books that have been on my TBR for the longest time (and how I still haven't gotten around to reading them...)

 Hey guys! Happy February! January felt like a total drag but I'm glad to say its over and I survived. 2018 is officially in full swing and I hope for all our sakes that this year will be even bigger and better than the last!

 On that note I hope your 2018 has been filled with tons of reading! (Friends: Hey wanna hang out sometime? Me: Cant sorry I'm busy *Picks up book and sits on the couch*) I don't know if it was just me but january was a really successful month of reading for me! (YAAS!) but somehow I must have drained all my luck because this month has been ROUGH! I have not picked up a physical book since the start of the month... and I' starting to wonder what the heck I'm doing wrong to deserve this terrible book karma (book gods if you listening its me and I really need an amazing book right now).

 That being said in place of reading I have been endlessly stalking Good Reads and adding to my TBR like never before (I swear there are more books being added per day than nachos that have been eaten this past sunday) I mean I can't be the only person that when they wake up the first app they check is not twitter, its not Instagram, nope for me its Good Reads (I think its becoming a problem how much time I now spend on there.... should I be concerned? *checks goodreads while writing this*)

 Anyways since my reading is at an all time low I thought I would share with you all the wonderful books that have been keeping my TBR company:

Callum and Harper
 by: Fisher Amelie

Summary: Life sucks for orphans Callum Tate and Harper Bailey. 

Kicked out of their foster homes because they suffer the 'eighteen disease' with nothing but a hundred dollar check from the government and a pat on the back, they're forced to rely on a system that failed them miserably. 

So they sit. They sit inside Social Services, waiting for their social workers to call their names and offer them the miracle they know will never come but they sit anyway because they have nowhere else to go, no other options on their very literal and figurative empty plates.

But as they sit, they notice the other. Although captivated, they each come to the conclusion that life is complicated enough without throwing in a boiling tension that can't ever be acted upon because they're both too busy thinking about where their next meal will come from but when their names are called and both are placed on a year long waiting list for permanent housing, suddenly relying on each other seems like a very viable plan B. 

And, oh, how lovely Plan B's can be. 

Well, except for the psycho from Harper's past that haunts her and, oh, yeah, there's the little issue that neither of them knows they're in love with the other. 

Needless to say, Callum & Harper's life just got a bit more complicated.

“One day, you and I are gonna’ wake up and be alright. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow but one day. One day. I promise you.” - Callum Tate

 Rereading this summary I am still REALLY excited about this book! I mean it has everything I love! Tortured romance, foster care, finding each other as there finding themselves!?! Not sure why I haven't read this yet...

Wayfarer (passenger #2) 

 By: Alexandra Bracken

Summary: (has spoilers considering its the second book so since I'm so kind I will not be sharing it with you all because spoilers) 

Okay so I read the first book and I liked it but I guess I haven't liked it enough to pick up the sec on book? I mean to be honest its been so long I remember like... nothing that happened in the first book so... yeah there that. 

Summary: Ethan Wate used to think of Gatlin, the small Southern town he had always called home, as a place where nothing ever changed. Then he met mysterious newcomer Lena Duchannes, who revealed a secret world that had been hidden in plain sight all along. A Gatlin that harbored ancient secrets beneath its moss-covered oaks and cracked sidewalks. A Gatlin where a curse has marked Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals for generations. A Gatlin where impossible, magical, life-altering events happen.

Sometimes life-ending.

Together they can face anything Gatlin throws at them, but after suffering a tragic loss, Lena starts to pull away, keeping secrets that test their relationship. And now that Ethan's eyes have been opened to the darker side of Gatlin, there's no going back. Haunted by strange visions only he can see, Ethan is pulled deeper into his town's tangled history and finds himself caught up in the dangerous network of underground passageways endlessly crisscrossing the South, where nothing is as it seems.

I liked the first book in this series... but to be honest I didn't love it and will probably not continue this series because of that... but who knows maybe one day? (AKA I will never delete this from my TBR) 

Summary: The story begins in 1962. On a rocky patch of the sun-drenched Italian coastline, a young innkeeper, chest-deep in daydreams, looks out over the incandescent waters of the Ligurian Sea and spies an apparition: a tall, thin woman, a vision in white, approaching him on a boat. She is an actress, he soon learns, an American starlet, and she is dying.

And the story begins again today, half a world away, when an elderly Italian man shows up on a movie studio's back lot—searching for the mysterious woman he last saw at his hotel decades earlier.

What unfolds is a dazzling, yet deeply human, roller coaster of a novel, spanning fifty years and nearly as many lives. From the lavish set of Cleopatra to the shabby revelry of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Walter introduces us to the tangled lives of a dozen unforgettable characters: the starstruck Italian innkeeper and his long-lost love; the heroically preserved producer who once brought them together and his idealistic young assistant; the army veteran turned fledgling novelist and the rakish Richard Burton himself, whose appetites set the whole story in motion—along with the husbands and wives, lovers and dreamers, superstars and losers, who populate their world in the decades that follow. 

Gloriously inventive, constantly surprising, Beautiful Ruins is a story of flawed yet fascinating people, navigating the rocky shores of their lives while clinging to their improbable dreams.

This seems really interesting but again will forget all about it after five seconds and that is why folks I have an endless TBR

Summary: When it comes to revenge, love is a dangerous complication.With a fierce rivalry raging between two warring families, falling in love is the deadliest thing Sophie could do. An epic debut set outside modern-day Chicago.

When five brothers move into the abandoned mansion in her neighbourhood, Sophie Gracewell's life changes forever. Irresistibly drawn to bad boy Nicoli, Sophie finds herself falling into a criminal underworld governed by powerful families. As the boys' dark secrets begin to come to light, Sophie is confronted with stinging truths about her own family, too. She must choose between two warring dynasties - the one she was born into, and the one she is falling in love with. When she does, blood will spill and hearts will break. 

Ok so cheers to me on this book because I actually put this on hold at my local library so I might actually get around to reading something on my tbr?!?! (crazy right? *high fives self*) Plus my book club already read it without me... so I guess I'm just really behind with everything in life right now? (senioritis is real my friends!) 

Summary: “I made the wrong choice.”

Lina is spending the summer in Tuscany, but she isn’t in the mood for Italy’s famous sunshine and fairy-tale landscape. She’s only there because it was her mother’s dying wish that she get to know her father. But what kind of father isn’t around for sixteen years? All Lina wants to do is get back home.

But then she is given a journal that her mom had kept when she lived in Italy. Suddenly Lina’s uncovering a magical world of secret romances, art, and hidden bakeries. A world that inspires Lina, along with the ever-so-charming Ren, to follow in her mother’s footsteps and unearth a secret that has been kept for far too long. It’s a secret that will change everything she knew about her mother, her father—and even herself.

People come to Italy for love and gelato, someone tells her, but sometimes they discover much more.

 This looks adorable. I mean look at that cover! There is literally ice cream on it! However I have heard some really negative things regarding this book and because of that I don't know if I want my high expectations to be squashed (and have me be a crying heap on the floor) (Hear someone crying in class, yeah thats me trying to collect myself after having my dreams crushed by this book! I just don't know if my heart can handle another book disappointment! I may never crawl out of the book slump I'm in!) (*breathes heavily and tries not to panic*)

Summary: The new Abby Abernathy is a good girl. She doesn’t drink or swear, and she has the appropriate number of cardigans in her wardrobe. Abby believes she has enough distance from the darkness of her past, but when she arrives at college with her best friend, her path to a new beginning is quickly challenged by Eastern University's Walking One-Night Stand. 

Travis Maddox, lean, cut, and covered in tattoos, is exactly what Abby needs—and wants—to avoid. He spends his nights winning money in a floating fight ring, and his days as the ultimate college campus charmer. Intrigued by Abby’s resistance to his appeal, Travis tricks her into his daily life with a simple bet. If he loses, he must remain abstinent for a month. If Abby loses, she must live in Travis’s apartment for the same amount of time. Either way, Travis has no idea that he has met his match

Okay this is probably the book that has been on there the longest... love the plot line.. love the idea... will probably only read if its just me, this book, and the apocalypse. 

Summary: Scarlett Dragna has never left the tiny island where she and her sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval—the faraway, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show—are over.

But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt-of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.

Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. Nevertheless she becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic. And whether Caraval is real or not, Scarlett must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over or a dangerous domino effect of consequences will be set off, and her beloved sister will disappear forever.

Welcome, welcome to Caraval…beware of getting swept too far away.

Okay this was one of my most anticipated reads of this past year but all I have heard is the sound of other Good Read members and bloggers tears as they rant about how disastrous this book was! Cannot say I wasn't disappointed. Probably will never pick this up now...

Summary: Surprises abound and sparks ignite in the highly anticipated, utterly romantic companion to My Life Next Door

Tim Mason was The Boy Most Likely To:
- find the liquor cabinet blindfolded
- need a liver transplant
- drive his car into a house

Alice Garrett was The Girl Most Likely To:
- well, not date her little brother’s baggage-burdened best friend, for starters.

For Tim, it wouldn’t be smart to fall for Alice. For Alice, nothing could be scarier than falling for Tim. But Tim has never been known for making the smart choice, and Alice is starting to wonder if the “smart” choice is always the right one. When these two crash into each other, they crash hard.

Then the unexpected consequences of Tim’s wild days come back to shock him. He finds himself in a situation that isn’t all it appears to be, that he never could have predicted . . . but maybe should have.

And Alice is caught in the middle.

Told in Tim’s and Alice’s distinctive, disarming, entirely compelling voices, this return to the world of My Life Next Door is a story about failing first, trying again, and having to decide whether to risk it all once more. 

Okay super cute right? I literally do not know what is wrong with me and why I haven't picked this book up because if you could encompass everything I love about books and throw it in a single book? This book would be it. Maybe I'm just having a book reading crisis... because I keep seeing books that are perfect for me and yet I do nothing and end up not reading anything?!?!

Summary: Their romance shaped a nation. The rest was history.

1777. Albany, New York.

As battle cries of the American Revolution echo in the distance, servants flutter about preparing for one of New York society’s biggest events: the Schuylers’ grand ball. Descended from two of the oldest and most distinguished bloodlines in New York, the Schuylers are proud to be one of their fledgling country’s founding families, and even prouder still of their three daughters—Angelica, with her razor-sharp wit; Peggy, with her dazzling looks; and Eliza, whose beauty and charm rival that of both her sisters, though she’d rather be aiding the colonists’ cause than dressing up for some silly ball.

Still, she can barely contain her excitement when she hears of the arrival of one Alexander Hamilton, a mysterious, rakish young colonel and General George Washington’s right-hand man. Though Alex has arrived as the bearer of bad news for the Schuylers, he can’t believe his luck—as an orphan, and a bastard one at that—to be in such esteemed company. And when Alex and Eliza meet that fateful night, so begins an epic love story that would forever change the course of American history. 

I have recently rediscovered how much I LOVE historical fiction and I really want to read this one day... I just don't think its going to be any time soon! (RIP me) 

Have any books you haven't gotten a chance to read yet? Do you struggle with your endless TBR on the daily? Don't worry your not alone. Look for comfort in the comments below as we all try to work through are never ending TBR's! 

-BubblyBooks