August 2014

Book Review: Her Best Laid Plans

Katie August 15, 2014 0Comment

This month’s COSMO Red-Hot Read is “Her Best Laid Plans” by Cara McKenna.  I’ve decided to cut back on my romance novel  reading, but considering that I love these red-hot reads so much, they are the only ones allowed (for the most part).  This book did not disappoint.  Like most of the red-hot reads, it came in at under 100 pages.  The book follows Jamie who is going on vacation to Ireland for 10 days.  She is supposed to be joined by her best friend Kate, but at the last minute Kate gets a job offer and backs out of the trip, but Jamie decides to go ahead on her own.

Her first night in Ireland she ends up at a pub, and why not?  There she meets Connor, a sexy bartender and the two seem to hit things off.  Jamie has just gotten out of a relationship and isn’t looking for anything serious, and Connor doesn’t seem to be either.  The two know that she will be leaving in just a few days and decide to make the most of it – he teaches her to drive a stick shift and shows her around Ireland by day, and they spend the night in each other’s beds.

Jamie gets home and the two vow to keep in contact online, but Jamie hasn’t even looked him up. It’s been two weeks and she can’t seem to get over him. Then she thinks she sees someone familiar show up at the bar where she is a bartender.  Could it be?

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

Experience Ireland—the dramatic beauty, the warm hospitality…and the smoking hot local guys!

Imagine nursing a pint in a cosy, authentic country pub, far from Cork’s busy city pulse. Getting here took you a plane, bus, taxi and…um, bicycle. But just as you’re resigning yourself to drinking beside grey-haired farmers, you see him—a man with the looks and charm to soothe any heartbroken girl.

He’s your bartender. Your really, really gorgeous bartender.

For American Jamie Webb—recently dumped and housesitting for two weeks—Connor Kelleher is like a six-course feast after a 23-year starvation diet. But it’s gotta be casual. She’s just begun rerouting her life after a three-year man-related detour. Still, a sexy romp (or twenty!) with Sexy McBartender?

But what happens when Jamie’s best-laid plans for no future plans with any man begin to change?

Book Review: Sex on the Beach

Katie August 15, 2014 0Comment

Sex on the Beach is Book #2 in the Tropical Trysts series – the first being Mai Tai For Two.  I was not a big fan of Mai Tai For Two.  I found this book to be a bit better, but not much.  It’s the companion piece so while the first book was Julie and Alan – this book is going on at the same time between Jeremy and Amanda.  Amanda goes to Hawaii with her friend Julie – who had won the trip – and surprise, surprise, her ex who had moved away without asking her about it shows up as well.  He is there on a mission to win her back and Amanda is there to have some vacation hook ups.  I’m sure you can figure out where this leads to…

No, it’s not Sex on the Beach.  But maybe pretty darn close.  The romance is this book was a bit “hotter” than the first, but the story still seemed to fall a bit flat – not to mention since it was going on at the same time as the first book, it kind of ruined any potential “suspense” that may have been there with Amanda and Jeremy. (Although, it’s a red hot read you don’t really even have to read the companion book to know what is going to happen.)  If you choose to read one over the other, I would choose to read this one over Mai Tai For Two 🙂

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

Hawaiian Vacation To-Do List:

Bikini up! You’re in Oahu, and it’s time for fruit drinks with umbrellas in them!Being obsessively organized doesn’t work during a Hawaiian vacation. Relax. Seriously.Scan the resort for hot dudes. Huh. That hot jogger who ran by looks a lot like your ex, Jeremy—only fitter, harder and sexier.Moonlit walks mean bumping into Hot Jogger Guy. Who is your ex.Don’t panic. Instead, think with your libido! Also debate the merits of ex sex.Ignore the consequences. Go for it.Revel in the afterglow. Go for rounds two and three.Ooh, kayaking!Round four.Oops!Definitely do not think about why you broke up in the first place. Or that you’re having wicked-hot nookie with the man you were here to forget…

Book Review: Chasing Woodstock

Katie August 15, 2014 0Comment

Chasing Woodstock is written by Ron Evans, who happened to grow up in the town I was born in!  Ron did not attend Woodstock, but ended up receiving a program from the concert festival and it ends up taking him on quite a journey!  Ron decides that he is going to get the program signed by artists who performed at the festival while trying to never let the program leave his sight.  This book recaps the meetings and some of the road blocks along the way in trying to meet his goal.

This book was a really neat read, especially because Ron lives so close to me so a lot of the venues he was talking about are near by and ones I have even attended shows at myself.  I applaud him for the dedication he put in to his project – most of which was done before the internet and smart phones were in everyone’s pockets!  This project has been going on for longer than I’ve been alive – which is just crazy to think about such dedication to a project!

If you were at Woodstock, wish you were at Woodstock or just love the concert scene, you’ll want to check out this book!

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

During the summer of 1969, approximately 500,000 people traveled to upstate New York for Woodstock, a three-day long music festival, designed to celebrate peace and love. However, times in America were anything but peaceful. The country was divided by an increasingly unpopular Vietnam War, and protests were growing. Meanwhile, large numbers of teens and college students rejected the cultural norms of their parents and the 1950’s; campaigning passionately for civil rights, fighting discrimination, and demanding equality for all Americans regardless of race, gender, or social status.

In his debut book, Chasing Woodstock: Finding the Cost of Freedom,author Ron Evans provides an inside look at how the summer of 1969, Woodstock, and its music changed his life forever. His curiosity was first piqued when, through a simple act of kindness, he received a rare artifact from the festival. With an insatiable thirst for discovering the truth behind America’s loss of domestic tranquility, Evans takes his readers on the quest of a lifetime. He shares never before heard stories, exclusive interviews and photographs; transporting his readers backstage, on stage, off stage, and into the dressing rooms of the greatest and most prolificrecording artists in history including: The Who, Santana, Joan Baez, CS&N, Joe Cocker, and many more.

Book Review: How to Reprimand Your Rock Star

Katie August 15, 2014 0Comment

How to Reprimand Your Rock Star caught my eye, obviously because it was a romance novel about music.  But what I found funny was that the main character, Thea, was a student at UCONN which is where most of my high school classmates went to school. (And because of that, a school I didn’t even bother applying to.)  Thea plays for the Lady Huskies – and if you are from CT or even somewhat interested in college hoops you would know is a big deal.  So the fact that she is allowing herself to get sidetracked by a rock star is also a big deal. (Especially since she is only a freshman and is on her way to becoming Rookie of the Year!)

Thea meets Keaton, in the girls locker room.  She has no idea who he is, but is immediately attracted to him.  He seems to know everything about her and somehow his bands tour is perfectly syncing up with the Huskies play off schedule.  But then the problem arises – will thinking about him help or hurt her basketball game?  A lot of sneaking around starts happening and she is very close to getting caught.  Can she secretly date this rock star without her teammates finding out and without jeopardizing her team’s chances at winning?

This book also had a BDSM aspect to it – with a bit of a twist – Thea is the dominant and Keaton is the submissive.  This is the opposite of pretty much every other book I’ve read with this topic present. It made things a bit more interesting, to say the least.

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review, I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

In this fun and saucy romance novel, all-star college basketball player Thea dominates on the courts—and off—with a rock star who is determined to win her over.

Thea is a star basketball player at UConn on track to be Rookie of the Year. That is, if she can stay focused on the game. Lately that hasn’t been going so well, as her knee has been bothering her. But that’s not the only thing on her mind…

Ever since rock star Keaton Lowe surprised her in the girl’s locker room, Thea can’t stop thinking about him. On top of his status and enticing ways, he seems to know everything about her. But some of his actions cross the line, and Keaton needs to be punished. Will Thea keep her head in the game, or get distracted by her other favorite pastime—reprimanding her rock star?

Book Review: The Fault In Our Stars

Katie August 13, 2014 0Comment

Let me preface this review by saying – if you have not yet read this book but have any intention of reading this book – leave this review immediately. I had the book spoiled for me before I read it and after reading it I can not wish that upon anyone. So click the X, leave the post, read the book and come back later.

I mean it…

Okay. As I mentioned previously – I had the book ruined for me. I supposed this is somewhat my own fault because I had bought it and had it sitting around for a while before I read it. The movie came out – and well movies mean all sorts of memes all over twitter and facebook and while I tried to avoid clicking any links related to anything – pictures just kind of show up in twitter now so… yeah. I knew the ending before I started the book and while I didn’t know exactly how it played out, knowing what was going to happen was always in the back of my mind.

I also went into this book after having listened to the audio book of “An Abundance of Katherines” which I thought was one of the worst books ever read to me, which was also disappointing because this author is supposed to be the greatest.

I will say that I did enjoy The Fault in Our Stars much more than An Abundance of Katherines. So there’s that. And I think I would have liked this book more (or probably, hated it) if I hadn’t known how it was going to end before it started. It made things a lot less emotional for me (though I am a cold hearted bitch as well so that may have had some to do with it too) and so I didn’t get that shock, I guess, that others have gotten when reading it that made them so obsessed with this book.

Was it a good book? Yes. Will I read it over and over again and dissect it? No. Even though I own it and it’s not an e-book that is going to expire like most of my other books.. Am I obsessed with it? Not in the slightest. Will I watch the movie? Maybe once it hits TV.

Although this book has redeemed John Green so perhaps I will check out some of his other books. Can anyone recommend another good one? Just the title – don’t spoil me!

About the Book

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten.