A Prior Engagement

  

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Living in a world built on pretenses, Everleigh Wright discovers how carefully orchestrated her Upper East Side life has been. Trapped in an arrangement for social prestige and financial gain, she finds life is not as idyllic as she once thought.
William Ryder leads a life rich in family support and endless determination. While attending university in Manhattan, he becomes enamored with a classic beauty who holds many secrets beneath her quiet propriety. William falls head over heels crazy for her, and she falls for him and his unfaltering optimism and kindness.
William and Everleigh may come from different worlds, but their attraction is instant and their love undeniable. Hoping love conquers all, they will find out if their love is unstoppable when faced with the consequences of breaking a prior engagement.
“Right here, right now is all that matters.”

Review

****This book was part of a blog tour I received a copy for my honest review****

The synopsis does a great job of summarizing the book so I am going to dive right into my review, this book was really hard for me to rate, parts of it were really good but other parts were outrageously bad. I loved how the story is told in third person, it you a broader picture of the story. William was a great guy, he has a great work ethic and his loyalty to family and friends is inspiring. Everleigh had a completely different upbringing yet she shares the same values and beliefs as William, the two of them have to push boundaries to stay together. There is no doubt that this author is a great writer, I just had problems with her being overly descriptive. I am all for setting the scene and getting things right but it becomes a problem when it takes a several sentences to a paragraph to describe something that could have been said in a few words. Other than that this was a good read and I will be checking out other books by this author. 

 

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Emma: Wild and Wanton Edition

 

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Emma Woodhouse and Mr. Knightley won the literary world’s heart 200 years ago when Jane Austen first penned the story of their friendship-turned-love. Emma is the young, rich, beautiful heroine with too much time on her hands and an overactive imagination; Mr. Knightley is her long-suffering friend who is always trying to steer her in the right direction. Their love story is one of deep, dedicated affection blooming into passion. But what about all of that sexual tension that crackles in the subtext? In this Wild and Wanton edition of Austen’s classic, Emma and Mr. Knightley burn up the pages as they give in to their baser natures. Discover the sexy scenes that readers of Emma have been imagining between Austen’s lines since 1815.

Excerpt

Mr. Knightley smiled, and Emma noticed that his lips were distractingly full. It was the only thought she was capable of before he startled her by moving from the settee to the chaise to sit beside her. The movement was slight and one he had often made in the company of others, but Emma was of a sudden reminded that she and Mr. Knightley had not been alone together, as decorum and Miss Taylor had dictated, since Emma was perhaps fourteen. Perhaps decorum was in the right. The moment they were alone, Emma’s thoughts were running rampant.

Mr. Knightley leaned toward her slightly, and she unconsciously mirrored the movement. She could feel his breath on her cheek as he spoke. “Come,” said he a bit roughly, “you are anxious for a compliment, so I will tell you that you have improved her. You have cured her of her school-girl’s giggle; she really does you credit.”

His words momentarily penetrated her focus on the way his mouth moved as he talked. She realised he had complimented her. Emma could not have anticipated the warmth she felt in her cheeks any more than she could have anticipated his praise. He was not one to throw around flattery lightly. “Thank you. I should be mortified indeed if I did not believe I had been of some use; but it is not every body who will bestow praise where they may. You do not often overpower me with it.” The last had slipped from her lips unheeded, and Emma wished the words back again. She could not tell what had driven her to reveal that thought, and in such a tone as to betray an injury Emma did not want to admit feeling. Emma could only blame the odd state of her mind at present. If she were to ever have hope of keeping her composure for the rest of Mr. Knightley’s visit, she must keep a tight rein on her thoughts.

Mr. Knightley gazed at her intently. Those eyes that she now saw had flecks of green in them had heat swirling within. He was sitting extraordinarily close. The chaise was small and afforded no ample space. She could feel the heat of his skin through his breeches and her skirts. Her gaze dropped to her lap where her hands had fisted together quite on their own. Oh dear, she thought as she felt her thoughts slip her control.

 

Jane Austen is one of the most beloved authors of all time. She never married, and as far as we know, she died a virgin. More’s the pity. Micah Persell is the award-winning author of the paranormal romance series Operation: Middle of the Garden. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English and a double master’s degree in English pedagogy and literature, and she found particular delight in driving her professors to madness by imagining the characters’ salacious untold stories during class discussions of “serious literature.” She is beyond thrilled that the object of her professors’ horror is now her profession.
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Taking Shots ( Assassins #1) 18+

The following review is for 18+ readers.

Elli Fisher has never thought she was good enough, let it be her job, her weight, her love life, nothing. That is until she meets Shea Adler. After doing a promotional shoot for the NHL team, the Assassins, she meets the hunky hockey player who shoots a puck, shattering her world.
Shea Adler was tired of the life he was living outside of the rink. The girls, the money blowing, the drinking, everything had to stop and it all did when he met Eleanor Fisher. He had never met anyone like her. She was feisty, witty, shy, and simply gorgeous. When he laid eyes on her, it was as if he was taking the hardest hit of his life into the boards, and he had to have her. Elli is a little skeptical of Shea, but he knows that they were meant to be together, and he needed her in his life.
Can Elli throw her insecurities out the window and love Shea with everything inside of her, or will she let a past relationship, and her family ruin any chance of her being happy. 

Review

***I received this book from Netgalley for my honest review***
Horrible family members, a past illness and a crushing career disappointment has lead Ellie to believe she is not good enough. She has rebuilt her life but cannot help but still see herself as what she was. A pushover, fat and just totally ashamed of herself, even though none of these things were her fault.
Shea Adler, highly successful, sexy, hockey player sees Elli for who she is and likes what he sees. But can he convince her that she is worth it.
I really loved the first book in the Assassins series from Toni Aleo. The relationship development was believable and well paced. The troubles they faced, primarily Ellie's insecurities were, although extreme at times, were believable. Shea was an amazing man to read about, his patience and support of Ellie was inspiring and I really enjoyed his character.
Of course this series is based around a Hockey team called the Assassins and there are a multitude of wonderful characters that I am looking forward to reading about in the future. Even in this story we got a secondary romance between Ellie and Shea's best friend and this was just and added little bonus. This book was very well written and paced, my only complaint would be I wanted it to keep going. I wanted a little justice for Ellie, her mother needed a smack upside the head. Of course an little epilogue wouldn't have gone amiss :)
Great, sporting, romance book, I am really looking forward to more of the Assassins.

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