This book starts off where book one ends but can be read as a standalone but I highly recommend reading book one where you get to meet the ...
586090
I gave this book 4.5 stars!!!

I read the first book where we meet the Caine Cousins.  This book starts off where book one ends but can be read as a standalone but I highly recommend reading book one where you get to meet the secondary characters and see the storyline that continues in this book.

Lynx is all around country boy with a bad a$$ attitude and has been in love with Reagan for over 10 years. Reagan has had on/off again relationship with her now ex boyfriend and Lynx is not waiting any longer to make Reagan his.  When a mad man from his cousin girlfriends past comes back to kill her and tries to take Reagan along with her, Lynx vows he will protect her.  Can he prove to Reagan that he not a playboy anymore and win her heart?

I love the Caine cousins, we also get to see the boys from the Southern Mafia group,  The Walker boys and Sniper 1 Boys, Nicole really gave us all in this series.  Cant wait to see what she comes up with next.

**ARC provided for honest review**
2208343
This was one of my favorite beginnings in book 1, if you get this book 2 don't hesitate to finish the story.
2669795
Seraphinas Initiative is a continuation from book one in the Seraphina series by Sheena Hutchinson, and I am so happy that I tried this series again because I really enjoyed this book much more than I did the first one. I was really on the fence with book one, mostly because it was pretty predictable at times and tended to drag a bit, but book two really takes off with the story line and it really draws the reader in. I really liked how much faster the pace was in Initiative when compared to book 1 which really made my enjoyment of the book higher as well. Seeing Nate and Seraphinas relationship change throughout this story really gives the reader a great understanding of them and how Hutchinson is such a fantastic writer. I cant wait to see where she takes this series. It is a must buy for anyone who is wanting to dive into a book full of fallen angels, danger and suspense.
4293792
I was asked by the author for an honest review.

I don't often read books set in the past, but the 1947 setting described in Book One of Love Released didn't seem too much different than current time, so I would recommend it to people who don't usually like historical fiction.

I would not call "Book One" a stand alone novel. The last page of the book has a very short intro for Book Two and ends on a cliffhanger, so you'll want to have Book Two available shortly after you finish this one.
1622188
Not having read the first one, this can be read as a stand alone book. Love that the beginning has a quick rundown of the characters and their background to get you caught up. Had me hooked from the beginning and hard to put down !
3414257
I read book one of this series and have to say it is were you need to start to understand what the author LeTeisha Newton is trying to get across cause this starts where book one left off.

Ethan was sent to jail for manslaughter. He accidentally killed
his best mate in an underground fight.
While he was in jail his life changes for the worst when he got out he
was not the same person.

After Ethan got out he bought a boxing
club this is were River comes into the story she goes to the boxing club
to try to get Ethan to train her to kill someone but Ethan told her no and
not to come back again. River was attack by some thugs her ex put on
to her and they nearly killed her while she was in hospital Ethan came
to see her and told her he would teacher her now this is the start of there
relationship.

This is a dark story , but once you get started it just pulls you into it.  I received this ARC for an honest review.  Would I recommend this series yes if I know the person likes this kind of read and have to a few that I thought may like it as well.  Well done so far.
4671346
It was great to learn more about Adela after reading the first book in the series. She was raising her daughter alone after her shifter mate (Marcus) accused her of cheating when she became pregnant. She suffered again when he was part of the group that kidnapped her in the first book. He is now out of jail and determined to prove his worth to her if she will let him.

Adela wants to protect her daughter but she can't seem to resist Marcus. He looks like a bad boy and has made some poor choices. She knows he didn't want to hurt her and was trying to protect her during the kidnapping. She doesn't want him to break her heart again.

I liked that both characters get a chance to narrate the story. It helps you connect to them. It is especially important as you need to know Marcus really wants what is best for Adela and Luci. Marcus, Adela and their daughter Luci make a great family and you want her to give him a second chance.

I do recommend reading the first book before this one but you could read it as a standalone.

I am voluntarily reviewing a copy I received.
4776650
First off I love how the book is in different POV's. I don't know how anyone else feels about that but I like when a book shows you the views of
 t
 he other characters of the book. It makes me feel as if I am more connected to them.

We start with Lexie, her mother Ruby and her little sister Ella. Alone after the death of her father the 3 learn to deal with their loss. Moving on is difficult for them all but most of all for Lexie. She begins to feel lost and a recurring dream of a boy with beautiful blue eyes is the only thing she has to hold onto. After months of being on their own Ruby falls for and marries Dragos who in turn has 3 boys of his own. After this Lexie's life makes a turn for the worst. They decide to leave the only house Lexie has ever known to make a new start in Maine.

While in Maine Lexie starts to feel increasingly unsafe around her oldest Brother Maxim and her close relationship with her mother and sister is almost nonexistent. Lexie is close to one of the brothers Alik who is sweet and has a kind smile. After meeting up with some newly acquainted friends Lexie comes in contact With Torin. She feels a strange connection to him. I don't want to go into too much more detail about the story without giving it away but let's just say that the rest of the story about Lexie finding Torin and the issues with her new family get more and more exiting as this book goes on.

I could not put this book down and I am ready to start the second book of the Erris Coven series right now.
4080103
The Girl I was Before is a standalone and is part of the Falling series. If you are a fan of the series, I highly recommend you read this. If you have not started this series, I highly recommend you read it.

I went into The Girl I was Before blindly. I didn't read the blurb, I just knew it was Paiges story. Paige is Cass twin sister. Rowe is in the first book and Cass is in the second book. Paige is like Barbie. Shes blonde, pretty and is social. Usually these Heroines make me cringe, but Ive invested into Paige since the first book and I was super curious to how Paige would redeem herself.

The first two books in the series follow the same time-line, HOWEVER The Girl I was Before is after the first two books. I really liked this and Im glad Ginger went in this direction. Paige is known as the stuck up, self-centered, selfish, spoiled girl. Shes upset with a lot in life, mostly because she has to deal with her sisters illness. Shes trying to change for the better, but its a slow process.

When the story starts, we see Paige the way she was in book one. Shes mean, spiteful and very calculating. She will hurt people to get her way and get ahead. Crazy as it sounds, I loved it. Paige is so complex, I just couldn't get enough of her. Why is she the way she is? Why is she so mean? Does she have any feelings? To answer your question, yes, she does.

Paige has a lot of feelings. I loved reading her POV and I loved getting into her head. I completely clicked and related with her character. Way to go Ginger!

"Ill indulge in the fact that I have a crush- a crush on a guy whom I under no circumstances really want to be with  but a crush all the same."

At first Houston seems like your typical college Hero. He works hard and he lives at home to help support his mother. Hes was slightly flirty when I read the little teaser from the second book. So, I just had to sink my teeth into Houston when I started the book finally. I loved him from day one. Hes a good guy and he has a heart of gold. A complete opposite of Paige. Kind of ironic no?

Houston needs help with Spanish and Paige happens to be at the library while Houston is studying. She reluctantly helps him. The banter between Houston and Paige is off the charts cute, adorable and funny. I loved how rude Paige was and I love how awkward Houston was.

But not everything is what it seems right? Paige isn't a nice person and Houston comes with baggage. Houston doesnt have time for a personal life, hes too busy working and hes focusing on school. Paige doesnt want anything to do with Houston because well, for one, she has a boyfriend and another she has girl drama she has to deal with.

Somehow, they forge this crazy bond and it just worked for me. I enjoyed this book so much because the characters are so complex and Ginger really pulled everything together nicely. I got the issues and I understood both sides (Houston and Paiges). I felt for them and I was rooting for them both.

When you want something for someone else more than you want them to be here for you-when you just wish they had more time, rather than more time with you. Im pretty sure thats love

More stuff happens in the book and it was a delicious delight as I uncovered more and more. I wouldnt say this book is too angsty, which surprised me because that is what Ginger is known for, but it had that enough mild tension to keep you panting for more and happy.

Its a coming-of-age college romance book that will pull at your heart and make you sigh in a very good way.

An ARC was provided
2368595
4.5 star rating:  I started this book without reading the other two in the series.  In some ways this was a mistake.  This is definitely not a stand-alone story.  Part way in, I decided to go back and read the first book in the series before continuing  reading this one.  I must say that the parts of this book that I read allowed me to understand a lot of what happened in the first book better.  Even though, I did not read the second book in the series, I was able to piece together what happened based on the events in this book.  This a very gripping series, but the past events that Quentin in particular went through are very dark and disturbing and bothered me tremendously.  It is not a light read by any means.  I became very invested in what happens to the two main characters and am anxiously waiting for the next in the series to see what happens.
2335245
While both stories are great stand alone stories, I highly recommend getting this set!  I'm so not a fan of waiting a year to find out what happens next. What is so awesome about this series is book 2 picks up right where book 1 left off. Both stories are heart wrenching and I loved every page!
383589
This book is a part of the Transformed series but it can be read as a standalone. You don't have to have read any of the previous books in the series to have read this one. It does have characters that have been in some of the previous works but it doesnt focus on that aspect of their storyline. The author did a really good job with this you get a little bit of the history in certain parts but this book completely stands apart from them and I really enjoyed finding out the connection between these new characters with the previous ones. I first met Jet and Ziamara in Lost Wolf and I instantly wanted to read their story and Im glad I did. I really liked seeing the struggles they went through to get to where they are now. Ones a vampire the other a werewolf how could this possibly work out but they just go so well together that you just cant help but root for them. I highly recommend this book it was an awesome and easy read.
4590274
I purchased this book the second I saw it was released. If you liked book one then you will love this one because you get the characters you already live, but much more evolved. If you were on the fences about book one, I still recommend this because the setting and tone of this one is quite different.  I finished the book in 2 days. I loved it. I must have screamed out loud at least 20 times, but that comes with the territory.  In this book we see how flawed the heroine Emily is after "maturing"  in book one. The hero Thomas is still every bit as wonderful and swoon worthy, but quickly things take a turn for the worse. And then we have Gabriel. Ohhhhh Gabriel where do I even begin. I thought I had him all figured out in book one, but boy was I wrong. I love a reformed badboy. And if you do too then you NEED to read this book! I can't wait for the next one.
3682679
I was lucky enough to get an arc of this book and omg I was so excited I loved the first one so I was super excited for the 2nd. I don't want to give too much away but I missed seeing the growing connection between the two main characters in this story they were not together in most of it thats the only reason I gave it 4.5 stars instead of 5 although we still havnt gotten many answers the mystery has grown and the questions are stacking up. I can not wait till book 3 so we can get some answers im hoping for a HEA with these characters but this is written by T.Fischer and C.Hoover so who knows how this story will wnd one thing's for sure in thourgly enjoying the ride!!
4844781
The Traitor's Trap (Sebastian and the Hibernauts Book 2)

I was given this book to review without having heard of the series and without having read Book 1.  I don't recommend trying to read these books independently.  With the level of depth and detail in this story I believe they are developed as a series specifically, not as stand-alone stories.
That said I liked the writing style and when I get through my to read list Im going to get Book 1.

I read chapter 1 and had to re-read it in order to start wrapping my head around the basics of the story. It still took me a few chapters to start to feel the flow of what was going on. Without having read book 1 I felt as though I was missing a fair amount of basic understanding.  I was unfamiliar with the different character histories, the different races, some terms used without being specifically defined and the varied locations - all relevant to proper and full comprehension.  I am assuming that these building blocks are within book 1 and look forward to discovering the roots of this series.

I enjoyed the characters, their development, and the many intricacies of the twisting plot.  I enjoyed the unravelling of the mysterious traitors identity at the closing of the book.  It is impressive to me that the story can progress as this one did, knowing there is a traitor somewhere in the characters you have encountered, but you are so well-distracted from the who done it factor that you forget to try to figure out who the traitor is.  I found I wasn't focused on trying to figure it out and just enjoyed the adventure.  I was glad to have things explained at the end.  But perhaps that would have been a different experience had I read book one first.

All in all this is a solidly written adventure story with mystery, mayhem and magic in great proportions.
I am looking forward to reading book one.
1993523
Order of the Lily book 2 is an outstanding continuation from the first book. It jumps right back into the fray from the beginning. I think this one is even better than the first book because the mystery of what has been happening to the Chosen and Seekers is finally falling into place in a wild and interesting way. Audrey finds how unique she is and the importance of the Order and their healing ways. The villains are revealed and surprises abound in this book. I couldn't put this one down.

The whole premise of this story is very different and interesting. The world needs healers to bring it back to life and make it thrive again. It is a book of new beginnings from new growth for food, new stations in life for some of the characters, births taking place and making the society stronger. Audrey has grown with all she faces and responsibilities she now has to protect everyone. I was glad to see Hound back and with Audrey. There are many twists and turns in this story but in trying to preserve the Order and Seekers the sacrifice Aubrey and Ace has to make broke my heart. Audrey really at that moment became a true leader sacrificing for the greater good.

This book though a fantasy still has elements of romance, love, acceptance, and courage. I enjoyed this book and the end leaves it unfinished and open for more adventure.

If you like a good action packed read this one is it, even if you don't usually read fantasy
3561976
While this is not the first time me reading a Caroline Linden book, this is my first time reading a book in her Scandalous series because while I actually own the first three books in this series I wasn't able to read them in time for me to read this book since I unexpectedly fell into a book slump this month. Thankfully Six Degrees of Scandal reads really well as a standalone and I was able to really get into the story and enjoyed it so much.

The story which follows a widow as she reignites her relationship with her childhood love as he helps her get out of some trouble caused by her late husband's unsavory business practices was everything. I'm a huge fan of second chance romances and loved the way that the author went about it in this historical setting. I especially loved that the story starts with Olivia and James as children so that the reader can 100% understand the history between the two of them before we see them as adults. It makes the story more satisfying to have seen them as children and then see how strong the feelings between them still are after a decade apart.

But while I loved the romance to pieces in this book what I really loved in this book is all the chaos that was going on thanks to the actions of Olivia's late husband Henry Townsend and Lord Clary. It was all very exciting and I loved the way that Olivia and Jamie banded together to take down Clary and make him pay for all the things he had down to them and the people they loved. And talking about the ones they loved, I loved how much the author included the couples of previous books in this story. While I had not read the previous books in this story, I loved their appearances and am now more anxious than ever to get around to finally reading the first three books soon.

Overall, I really loved this book. It was absolutely amazing and while I had not read the first three books in the Scandalous series, I could still totally see that this really was a perfect ending to a series and I highly recommend it to all historical romance fans.

*Review originally posted on my book blog The Rambling Book Junkie on Mar. 29, 2016.