If I Were Beautiful Excerpt + Giveaway!

If I Were Beautiful 

by Devon Hartford 
(If I Were…, #1) 
Publication date: January 23rd 2017
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance

Synopsis:

Is life better when you’re beautiful?

Jane Johnson has tried every beauty tip and trick known to woman, but none of them have ever made men notice her.

Until now.

Finally, something is working. She barely recognizes herself in the mirror. Is it her new haircut? Two years of yoga class? Her new eyebrow tweeze? Or is it all that nasty wheat grass juice her sister insisted she drink finally working some kind of magic? Whatever it is, something is transforming Jane from plain to downright beautiful.

For the first time in her life, men are noticing her.

Constantly.

Jane is getting so much attention from men she doesn’t know what to do with it.

Before her inexplicable transformation, she couldn’t get a date to save her life. Now she has a date every night of the week. Gorgeous eligible men are throwing themselves at her. They’re even fighting over her. Actual fist fights to win her affection.

It all seems too good to be true.

The only question on Jane’s mind is whether or not her newfound beauty is going to last or if it’s some cruel trick of fate that will fade away as quickly as it appeared.

Because everybody knows, when something seems too good to be true, it probably is.

***If I Were Beautiful is a saucy romance with a mystical twist that will leave you breathless to find out what happens next. This is book one of a three book series. Book two will release April 2017, Book three, July 2017 (or sooner).

Excerpt:

I had just gone insane.

Or had a stroke.

Or maybe I was still asleep.

Whatever it was, there was no rational explanation for what I saw in the mirror.

Someone else.

Not pudgy little me with bad hair.

Some supermodel I didn’t recognize.

I blinked several times.

But I still saw the supermodel.

I was hallucinating.

I squeezed my eyes shut and rubbed them until I saw stars. Then I opened them.

Still seeing a supermodel.

Long flowing blonde hair, a bit messy and bedish, but it was silky and shiny gold and looked good enough for a photo on a box of hair dye.

A finely shaped face with high cheekbones, trim nose, wide full mouth and lush lips. Her lashes were naturally thick. When she smiled, she had perfectly straight white teeth.

The supermodel was taller than my five foot nothing. If I had to guess, I’d say she was almost 5’9” with long and slender arms and legs and an hourglass figure.

Then it hit me. I was looking through a window at another person. It was the only thing that made sense.

So I stuck my head slowly out my bathroom door to see if the blonde supermodel was standing on the other side of the wall, looking at me through a window. Super Blonde matched my movements exactly and, surprise surprise, she wasn’t standing behind the wall in my hallway.

Nobody was.

Back in front of the mirror, I scratched my head for a moment and Super Blonde did too.

Wait.

Wait, wait, wait.

Duh.

I wasn’t wearing my glasses. I was just imagining all this. The brain can be like that. Wishful thinking and that sort of thing. Probably left over hallucination from my crazy five day flu.

I walked into my bedroom and found my glasses on the nightstand where I always left them before bed. I put them on.

Whoa!

I couldn’t see!

My glasses really hurt my eyes.

I yanked them off and looked at them. Were these my glasses? They seemed like it. Was it an old pair? Maybe that was it. I put them on again. My entire bedroom squiggled and vibrated and had this magnified quality that made me nauseous. I took them off and searched through my desk for a different pair. Put those on. Same thing. They hurt my eyes too. I went back in the bathroom with my glasses and put them on in front of the mirror. Same result. They hurt my eyes and blurred everything, so I set them on the counter.

Had someone given me LASIK while I was asleep?

I’d think about that later because one thing remained the same, whether I had my glasses on or off.

I was the blonde supermodel in the mirror.

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AUTHOR BIO

Devon Hartford is a dude who writes romantic comedies because he likes to laugh as much as he likes to love.

Join Devon’s newsletter and you’ll receive teasers of his upcoming books before anyone else, exclusive freebie short stories and novellas, and no spam. Copy and paste this link into your web browser to sign up: http://www.devonhartford.com/newsletter/

Author links:

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Book Review: The Winner's Curse

*I received a copy from my public library and chose to review of my own free will*

The Winner's Curse
ebook, 

355 pagesPublished: March 4th 2014
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux

They were never meant to be together. 

As a general's daughter, seventeen-year-old Kestrel enjoys an extravagant and privileged life. Arin has nothing but the clothes on his back. Then Kestrel makes an impulsive decision that binds Arin to her. Though they try to fight it, they can't help but fall in love. In order to be together, they must betray their people . . . but to be loyal to their country, they must betray each other.
Set in a new world, The Winner's Curse is a story of rebellion, duels, ballroom dances, wicked rumors, dirty secrets, and games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.

Winning what you want may cost you everything you love

My Review

I tried very hard to stay away from this book. I had read some review on Goodreads that made the book out to be one sided. If you don’t know, this book is about slavery, revolution, and a girl falling in love with the wrong man.

Slavery does not sit well with me, expecially not books who glamorize slavery. This book made slavery out to not be as bad as it actually is. the slaves had privileges and were taken care of...but in reality, slavery is a harsh life. You need permission to just go out and by food or shoes for your children. And in this book the slaves are a once free people enslaved because they valued beauty over war.

The young female MC, whose point of view we follow through out the book, has lead a privileged life. She is wealthy, well-educated, taught in the art of fighting, and has a love of piano. She feels a comelling urge to buy a young man at the slavery block and befriends him, only t later learn of his betrayal.

Her life is turned upside down just as the native’s lives were flipped when they were first invaded. Her people are slaughtered and driven out of the country while she is taken hostage, presumably for her own safety by the young man she once bought and fell in love with.

The book des a fairly good job and showing how people who grow up with slavery as a normal part of every day life really have no idea of the darkside of slavery. The MC wonders wh slaves are fighting against it when they are provided homes, food, clothing, and jobs, while at the same time seeing slaves punished for the slightest infraction and believeing them to be deserved.

The slaves on the other hand see only the people they once were, forced out of their homes and made to do for others, instead for themselves. We see a little of the young man’s point of view, what he does to get the upper hand.

Throughout the book we see these two people from two very different worlds grow closer, to the point where they forget who the other person actually is. Even in the end, despite the betrayals committed against each other, the MC fights for both of her people...her own countrymen and the natives she once called slaves. she has grown to care for these people, see them as people not just slaves.

I really liked the execution of the Winner’s Curse. The story was well told and well developed. It was traditionally published so you know it is well put together.

I am looking forward to reading the econd book in the series.

4 stars

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Flawless Book Review

I received a free copy of this book for a fair and honest review.

Flawless

by Jennifer McGill-Sadera

Genre: Dark Contemporary

Age Category: New Adult

Release Date: September 2013

Blurb:

Nobody's perfect. Except Lia Copeland. She's flawless. And worshipped. And hated. From her perfectly proportioned figure and enviable bone structure to her instinctual talent for clothing design and cavalier attitude, Lia's the woman every other woman wants to be and every man wants to have. Catapulted from sigh-maker in the high-school halls to superstardom in the fashion world, she makes it look easy. A girl like that has everything; every reason to be happy. Then why does Lia Copeland just want everyone to leave her the hell alone?

A story about the choices made in the wake of travail and tragedy, it explores relationships with all their messy and marvelous moments and magnifies the beauty, wonder and endurance of first love.

My Review

This book is in two parts. The first was slow paced. I had to force my way through it because all I could see was a very shallow female MC who was always ‘Why me-ing?’ It took me two weeks to get through it.

So let’s start with this: I went into reading this book forgetting the description I had read when I signed up for the book review. I couldn’t for the life of me remember wat it was supposed to be about. Then little things started popping out at me: the darkness, her first time with her boyfriend. I still couldn’t remember what the book was about, but I was getting an inclination of it.

In part two, we finally hit the meat of the situation. The MC is now an adult, one of her closest friends pretty much forces her into therapy with a new psychiatrist, and the story has meaning.

The MC is no longer this little girl who is way too over confident and doesn’t give a crap about anyone. She is a woman who cares about people, has taken on the role of loving and doting aunt to her friends children, and who realizes something significant happened in her childhood that shaped her into the person she is.

By the end of the book, each meaningless scene in part one has meaning, a definition. There was a method to the narcissism. And I bawled like a baby.

Although the book could use some more editing and character building in the first part, I fell in love with the book.

The storyline is poignant and heart wrenching. Each scene created a person, not just a character or a world, but an entire person moving through life in different ways. The charaters grabbed you in their innocence, their loyalty. Their ends.

Flawless is truly one of those books that grabs you and pulls you in. It will break you down and build you back up again, just as th characters are broken and reshaped.

This book carries a trigger warning for depression, rape, and suicide. But as a victim of depression and rape, a survivor, I can tell you that it meant omething to read this back and come out stronger. Do not let fear of something that happened before keep you from moving on. 

I give 4 stars, all around. 

You can find Flawless on Goodreads

You can buy Flawless here:

- Amazon (Kindle):  

- Amazon (paperback)

- B&N (paperback)

About the author:

Jennifer McGill-Sadera first worked in the publishing industry as a junior copywriter for NAL/Penguin. She has written and edited for newspapers and magazines as a free-lancer and on the staffs of major women's publications "Woman's World" and "Redbook." Her New Adult novel "Flawless" is her first published book, though she admits to writing three previous unpublished books "just for fun." A nature lover, she recently became a certified horticulturist and has a side business designing flower gardens. She and her husband live in upstate New York with their two kids, two dogs and a lop-eared rabbit, who, incidentally, has a starring role in "Flawless."

You can find and contact Jennifer here:

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- Goodreads

- Librarything

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The Forgotten Heiress Book Review partnered w/ Xpresso Book Tours

*I received a free e-book copy in return for a fair and honest review*

The Forgotten Heiress
Susie Warren
(The Bolles Dynasty, #1)
Publication date: June 28th 2014
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

A BARGAIN IS ARRANGED…

Fionn Lynch is a self-made Irish billionaire, sought after for his striking appearance, razor sharp intellect and ability to thrive in volatile markets. When his mentor dies unexpectedly in a tragic accident, leaving his business and family in turmoil, Fionn steps in and takes charge. He seeks out estranged heiress Olivia Grey to help squash the unpleasant rumors. When the details of her secret past are leaked to the media, she must decide if she is willing to trust Fionn and allow herself to be drawn into her estranged family. Sparks fly between the two when he persuades her to accompany him to New York to salvage her family’s crumbling financial empire.

A shy clothing designer who was raised by a guardian in an attempt to save the Bolles family from shame, Olivia proves that she has the strength and determination to survive. She has to fight her way through relentless media scrutiny, memories of her father, and the expectations of the elite New York social world–all while trying to keep Fionn at arm’s length, for she refuses to settle for an emotionally distant relationship ever again.

It proves impossible to deny her attraction to Fionn. Is their growing bond enough to overcome all the obstacles thrown into their path?

***The Forgotten Heiress is the first book in a six book series. Each book is a stand-alone category romance and tells the story of one of the Bolles family members.

Goodreads / Amazon

My Review 

The bad; I really feel like this book needs another edit. The grammar was bad, misspellings and forgotten words were abundant. Also, repetition and detail that didn’t match-up, such as near the end where one moment the man is standing outside and the next he’s suddenly in the kitchen. I was thrown multiple times by inconsistencies like this.

The good: I’m just going to say it, this felt like a much better frorm of Fifty Shades of Grey, without the controlling love interest and bdsm (If you can even call it at).

The Forgoten Heiress is a breath of fresh air when it comes to romances. We have the billionaire: hot, stong, independent, and the female MC: strong, icy, and a love of fashion. One had a harsh background, the other a mentally abusive background (Although it is never stated that way in the book). These two characters have been molded into who they are based on their past and this guides them through all of their choices.

To the heart of it, fear is the guiding principle in every character. The background charcters, the Bolles family mostly, have a more spiritual influence, as in their presence makes the MC afraid and judgemental, even though she does not know much of what really happened and can only go off of what people tell her. The stepmother exists as the conflict, spreading poison wherever she goes because she hates not being the center of attention.

The romance felt real, the clashing of the two independent characters was a train wreck I wanted to see crash. The impending explosion was rushed, and of course cliched (What love story isn’t?) and I loved it.

It is a short read, a very good book to read while languising in a lavender bubble bath.

Huzzah! 4 stars
Don't forget to sign up for the giveaway, link below!!!!

Author Bio:
Amazon bestselling author Susie Warren writes heartfelt and passionate contemporary romance with tempting, larger than life heroes and smart, sassy heroines. The stories are set in elite and glamorous worlds and appeal to readers looking for an escape from everyday life by offering jet-set lifestyles and sophisticated plots. Her category length series, The Rosa Legacy and the Bolles Dynasty, feature remarkable, stylish women and the sinfully tempting heroes that challenge them to reveal their secrets, their strengths and their deepest emotions. Susie lives in New York with her inventor husband and their three lively teenagers.
Connect with her online at susiewarren.com and sign-up for her newsletter at: http://eepurl.com/bGYl_5.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

GIVEAWAY!

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Saven Deception Book Review

I recieved a free copy in exchange for a fair and honest review. 

Saven: Deception (The Saven Series #1)

By Siobhan Davis

Genre: Science Fiction Romance

Age category: Young Adult

Release Date: December 15, 2015

Blurb:

I’ve fallen hard for an alien, but he’s harboring secrets.

Massive secrets that threaten the very essence of humanity.

How can I give him my heart when his race plans on taking my future?

Sadie Owens has been slowly dying inside. Bit by bit, piece by piece, day by day. Trapped in a life she hates, she relies on only one person—herself.

Despised by her family and betrayed by an unscrupulous government, Sadie dreams of a different life. When she is chosen to participate in the government’s new social experiment, she is ecstatic at the prospect of spending six months in Thalassic City, the shiny new city under the sea.

Immediately drawn to Logan Chandler, Sadie is captivated by the beautiful boy with the ocean-blue eyes. Logan seems to embody everything that has been forbidden, but he isn’t all he appears to be.

Confused over Logan’s true intentions and concerned when best friend Jenna starts transforming in front of her eyes, Sadie partners with newcomer Jarod in a bid to uncover the government’s real agenda. The truth is more shocking than anything she could ever have imagined.

When Sadie finally understands why the Saven walk among us, will it be too late to save her heart and the human race?

My Review

I’m just going to start off with this: I do not like alien books. Jennifer Armentrout’s Lux series is the only exception to this.

With that, I went into this ignoring my bias. I knew there would be romance and I knew there would be aliens. I was hoping there would be a change in opinion and a need to get to book two in the series as fast as possible as with the Lux series. But there wasn’t.

The writing was good, the plot cliched, and the romance was typical. But, because I am a sucker for YA paranormal I will be picking up book two because I want to know what happens next.

Let’s get to the nitty-gritty shall we?

What I did NOT like: the cliches. The book was abound with them. The romance aspect was pretty much “oooo hot guy, I’m in love’ and that was that. There was no relaitonship building, no sweet moments, nothing to lead me to believe this guy was soooo amazing as the MC made him out to be. He fell in my esteem as we saw him with girl, after girl, after girl. He was controlling, narcissistic, and egotistical. What exactly is there to love with this guy? There is a bond, which makes me wonder are they in love simply because this bond exists? Near the end, they finally get together because he just cant stand to be apart from her any longer. I still hate the romance portion of the book, but I still called the MC a total bitch when she betrays him. (Spoiler alert!)

I keep getting hinged on the love at first sight thing. That crap is not gonna fly. Nope, nada. Ain’t happening, honey. Where is the depth, the emotional connection? What is she attracted to/annoyed with? What exactly about her is so appealing to him that he can want her and be with other girls at the same time?

The MC spent most of the book self-deprecating herself all from her height to how she developed due to circumstances. Talk about pathetic. This girl was not strong, she was pathetic and I hated her. Oh woe is me, I’m so short. Oh boo-hoo I’m poor. Half the world is short and poor and don't constantly badger themselves and put themselves down for it. One is genentics and the other is an oppurtinity to do better and make your life better, hence the underwater city you now live in. Jesus Christ.

Also, I wanted more worldbuilding. We saw the envious view of th MC and the judgement and prejudice of the MC against anyone who had a better life than she, but nothing else. We know her life was dirty and rungy, and the rich live in gold and marble but what else? Is that all exists? Is this in the future, a different world? What happened to ead the world to this point in time, are the aliens really just looking for a new home and ended up really evil? What?

The book needs work, a lot of it in my opinion.

But now, my likes. The romance. Let’s face it...romance sells. Aliens, or rather the paranormal, sells. We are all sticklers for the love at first site, world-ending, you die I die, type of book. We want to know that a love stronger than the forces of the world can exist. Can you choose to live without someone or lose everything for that someone?

So here I declare a three stars book. I want to hate this book because the MC is just so badly developed, but I have to admit.

She is someone I love to hate and want more of.

You can find Saven: Deception on Goodreads  

You can buy Saven: Deception here:

- Amazon USA

- Amazon UK  

- Amazon Canada  

- Amazon Australia

- B&N

- Kobo  

- iTunes

About the Author:

Siobhan Davis writes young adult science fiction fantasy romance books, and she is the author of the Amazon bestselling True Calling series. The first book in her new Saven series was released in December 2015.

A self-professed teenager forever--at least when it comes to books, music, and films, Siobhan is totally addicted to teen fiction and superhero/blockbuster movies. She loves baking, shoes, bags, makeup, anti-wrinkle cream, anything pink, Kelly Clarkson, Katy Perry, and Robert Pattinson (definitely Team Edward).

Before pursuing a full-time writing career, Siobhan forged a successful corporate career in Human Resources over the last twenty years. She resides in the Garden County of Ireland with her husband and two sons.

You can find and contact Siobhan here:

- Website

- Blog

- Facebook  

- Twitter  

- Google +  

- Goodreads  

- Amazon   

- Newsletter    

Sample chapters, quotes, reviews and book excerpts are all available to download from the authors website

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No Review This Week

The past two weeks have been a scamble. A lot of changes have been made, and now I'm trying to piece everything back together.

I've been looking for a job, cleaning my dad's house, and tending to Lil Miss. Things are coming together, slowly but surely, but it's come at a price. I'm not the oly one paying it, and I absolutely hate the pain this has all caused.

But emotions aren't like a light switch. They can't be turned on or off at a person's will. There's not much I can do in that department, but I'm still here. Pushing forward.

Tody was supposed to be review day. Obviously, that's not happening this week. But it will happen, I promise. Next week, I swear. I have a few books waiting on my TBR list waiting to be reviewed.

Also, I'm going to start writing again. I want to bget back to Crystallised and Legacy. I also have a few other books I want to start writing. I'm still fleshing out the plans for those, but I'll keep you posted.

That's it for today. I'll be back Friday, if not then next Monday. Promise.

Happy Wednesday, lovelies.

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Lola's Blog Tours: Book Review: Secret Baby Scandal

*I received a free copy in return for a fair and honest review. Thank you to Lola's Blog Tours and Joanna Rock for the opportunity.*

Secret Baby Scandal (Bayou Billionaires #4)
by Joanne Rock
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age category: Adult
Release Date: May 10, 2016

Blurb:
His proposition: pretend they’re a couple to end a scandal. But she has secrets of her own…

Tatiana Doucet has dealt with sexy, arrogant athletes most of her life. But Jean-Pierre Reynaud is a whole different animal—in bed and on the field. Unbeknownst to him, their one amazing night produced a son. Now her family’s biggest football rival is back, offering a seductive wager she can’t refuse.

Jean-Pierre despises the media. When rumors fly, he knows a fake relationship is the perfect diversion for the tabloids—and Tatiana’s unbridled passion is the perfect diversion for Jean-Pierre. But when she drops a baby bombshell, the scandal will rock them both!

My Review:

First off, yes, this is a romance book. BUT I would not classify this as smut. There was literally 3 pages of a scene, skirting around the act and mentions throughout the book. 

When you see movies with wives laying in bed reading a book...this is the type of book those women are reading. It's relaxing, it's calming, it's a book I would read to escape the realism that is my life. 

Now, typical of a Harlequin, we have the rich male MC, the down to earth female MC, and a scandal that really shouldn't even be a scandal. Then again, it is set in Louisiana and as a southern girl myself, I understand why people would see it as a scandal. But whatever, it's your own cup of tea. 

The cover is the stuff typical romance novels, the *loving gaze* *hot and sexy* characters. All fluff. But it was well made, and gives you a little treasure hunt of where in the book the cover scene takes place. 

The fact that this book stars a football elite really has no bearing, which was good for me because I don't like sports. There was a taste of the lifestyle and training, those such things, but that wasn't the main focus or even secondary focus of the book.

The writing was excellent. Ms. Rock executes the story flawlessly. Her writing follows the norms, the story is well researched (it better be with her background),  But I was completely unsatisfied with the ending. It just ended. Yeah. I'm wondering what happens to baby? What's next? Am I going to get all my answers through background characters in the next book? Not happy with that part. And I really wish that the baby was shown more. 

In the last 2 chapters there is a lot going on and it leaves you very unsatisfied. The questions are too big to just let slide to another book. And I was expecting this huge climax, a scandal, a blow-up. Just...something. But I was disappointed.

So my final judgement is 3 stars. I liked it for the de-stressing factor, but the ending, especially the last 2 chapters left a bad taste in my mouth. It's worth the price for the escapism alone, but you're going to want to read the rest of the series and the next books to get all of your answers.

Overall, 3 stars. And that's a neutral. The writing style, the cover, and the contemporary were well portrayed. But the plot left something to be desired. IF you want a light read to over you during a car ride, or at the end of the night, then this is definitely for you. I might end up reading the rest of the series out of curiosity. And that my friends, is enough for me to pick up the other books. 

For buying options and about the author, keep reading. 




You can find Secret Baby Scandal on Goodreads

You can buy Secret Baby Scandal here:
- Amazon
- Amazon Print
- Barnes & Noble
- Barnes & Noble Print
- Kobo
- iBooks

Bayou Billionaires series - Secrets and scandal are a Cajun family legacy for the Reynauds...
- Book 1: His Pregnant Princess Bride by Catherine Mann
- Book 2: His Secretary's Surprise Fiance by Joanne Rock
- Book 3: Reunited with the Rebel Billionaire by Catherine Mann
- Book 4: Secret Baby Scandal by Joanne Rock
Books can be read as standalones or in order.

About the Author:
Three-time RITA nominee Joanne Rock has never met a romance sub-genre she didn't like. The author of over seventy books enjoys writing contemporary romance and medieval historicals alike. An optimist by nature and perpetual seeker of silver linings, Joanne finds romance fits her life outlook perfectly--love is worth fighting for. A frequent speaker at regional and national writing conferences she enjoys giving back to the writing community that nurtured and inspired her early career. She has a Masters degree in Literature from the University of Louisville but credits her fiction writing skills to her intensive study with fellow author and friend Catherine Mann. When she's not writing, Joanne enjoys travel, especially to see her favorite sports teams play with her former sports editor husband and three athletic-minded sons. http://joannerock.com

You can find and contact Joanne here:
- Website
- Facebook
- Twitter
- Goodreads
- Amazon
- Pinterest
- Tumblr

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