Brighter Than the Sun (Cosmic Love #2) by Briana Pacheco

🌟🌟🌟🌓 out of 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Synopsis:
I loved love. Some might even say I was obsessed with it. I was the girl who had a fake wedding when I was six and subscribed to bridal magazines by sixteen. My happily ever was all I thought about.

So the fact that I had a crush on my brother’s best friend--a guy who notoriously doesn’t do relationships--was heartbreak in the making. I was forced to do the only thing I could--ignore my feelings and move on.

Years later, after countless failed relationships, my shy heart had slowly stepped away from its fanciful ideas of love. It was going smoothly until the guy who didn’t do relationships suddenly wanted to try having one…with me. It didn’t take long before I gave in. He was exactly how I imagined, and everything I'd dreamed about: goofy, smart, good with animals, and kind.

Still, my past break-ups were never far from my mind. I'd always crushed hard and fell fast, and no one ever caught me. But the more time we spent together, the more I started to see a future with him. And what’s shocking was that he saw the same thing as me.

He’s my forever.
I’m his.
This is our love story. 

GOODREADS LINK: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34621910-brighter-than-the-sun

*Received this ARC in exchange for an honest review*

Brighter Than the Sun is still a solid book which is due to Briana Pacheco's ability to weave an amazing story. It may not be my new favorite of her books but it solidified its place in third place of the books I have read from her. 

I love Mackenzie but this book was hard for me to connect with. I think that it was because it has a different feel and tone to it than A Sky Full of Secrets and Let Her Go. There is a lot less angst and it seems to be a lighter story focused more on the love that develops between Blake and Mackenzie. It was too sweet for me and I found that I didn't really like Blake. I think that a lot of readers will find her to be sweet and likable but I couldn't connect with her. I would have liked someone more grounded and less in love with love. 

I loved any part of the book where I got to be in Mac's head. He had an interesting point of view that was refreshing and fun. I knew that I would feel that way because I have loved him since A Sky Full of Secrets. I'm not going to lie...I was secretly a little disappointed that he didn't end up with Luna but Phoenix is amazing. It was exciting to learn more about his home life growing up. I loved getting to meet his parents! His relationship with his father melted my heart and made me love Mackenzie more! I also loved seeing him interact with the animals at the shelter and the children at his job. 

Brighter Than the Sun will be 99c for release day only and is in Kindle Unlimited.

Buy Links:

US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BC6D1KN

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07BC6D1KN

AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B07BC6D1KN

CA:https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07BC6D1KN

About Briana Pacheco:
Briana Pacheco is the author of New Adult novels (DON'T LET ME FALL, SOUNDS OF YESTERDAY, A SKY FULL OF SECRETS, and LET HER GO), a twin, a dreamer, a tattoo lover, easily swooned by accents, and a little bit of an extrovert but a whole lot of introvert.

She loves hearing from readers!

Email: brianapacheco1@gmail.com
Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/BrianaPacheco/e/B00JVZ1SVK  
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/BrianaPachecoAuthor
Twitter - https://twitter.com/BrianaPacheco20
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/brianapacheco1/
Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/brianapacheco1/

Dear Aaron by Mariana Zapata

🌟🌟 out of 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Synopsis:

Ruby Santos knew exactly what she was getting herself into when she signed up to write a soldier overseas. 

The guidelines were simple: one letter or email a week for the length of his or her deployment. Care packages were optional. 

Been there, done that. She thought she knew what to expect. 

What she didn’t count on was falling in love with the guy.

Dear Aaron is the definition of slow burn. The beginning of the book was interesting. I enjoyed how it began with Ruby writing her first few letters to Aaron through a military pen pal program. I thought that the letter and email format would stop after a while but the majority of the book is written like this with no back and forth dialogue but rather back and forth emails. This wouldn't have bugged me as much if something happened to improve the pacing of the story. There is literally nothing that happens until about 60-70% into the book. I was bored regardless of the jokes and getting to learn more about Ruby and Aaron through their letters to each other. 
I also had a hard time believing that they were in their twenties. Ruby's letters made her come across as a young teenager rather than an adult woman. When the book progressed to the point where they each talk about their ages I was shocked. I actually had to read and reread that page because I didn't believe it. Ruby's maturity level just wasn't right in order for me to believe that she was in her twenties. 
Aaron and Ruby's relationship was sweet and I loved their friendship but I wanted more from the story. They each had issues but the author stuck to the surface of them rather than driving into them. I think that it would have helped with the pacing of the book  as well as the overall story if the author would have spoken about the characters issues more in depth. I was curious about Aaron's life but he is skipped over in favor of Ruby's disastrous dating life. 

What He Doesn't Know (What He Doesn't Know Duet #1) by Kandi Steiner

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 out of 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Synopsis:

On the northeast side of town, there is a house.

The house was once magical, filled with love and joy and plans for the future. 

Inside its walls are many things that belong to me — my books, the china from my mother on my wedding day, the beautiful cage once home to two birds, now empty, just like me.

And a man.

A man who also belongs to me.

A man I no longer wish to keep.

A man who, no doubt, has not slept, though the sun is rising. Because the house where he waits is where I laid my head to rest every night for eight years. Until last night.

No one who knows me would believe Charlie Pierce, the quiet, bookish girl who never made waves is pulling out of the driveway of a man who isn’t her husband.

But they don’t know me at all.

I don’t even know me.

Not anymore.

They say there are two sides to every story, and I suppose in most cases, that’s true. But the one I live inside of? It has three.

On the northeast side of town, there is a house.

But there is no longer a home. 

*Received this ARC in exchange for an honest review*

When I first heard about this book, I knew that I had to read it! Kandi Steiner has not let me down yet with her books and What He Doesn't Know sounded like it had more angst than the others that I had read. I don't normally gravitate towards stories that involve cheating unless they are done right otherwise I end up hating the characters and the story  but I thought that Kandi could do it justice. The synopsis hooked me in immediately and so did the story when I began reading it. 

This book was so powerful in its emotions and message that it portrayed. My heart broke for Charlie and all that she had been through. I have not personally experienced what she did in the story but the author did such a wonderful job of tapping into that particular type of pain that I felt as if I had. She was by far my favorite character in this story. Charlie tries to do the right thing and to put on a smile for everyone around her but inside she is numb. I hated to see how broken she was and I wanted her to have the love and support that she needed. She was such a sweet person and I enjoyed the interactions that she had with the students in her class. 

Now...for the men in the story. I enjoyed having both of their points of view. It was interesting to be able to be in both of their heads as well as Charlie's. I'm assuming that this part of the story was focusing on Reese and Charlie's side of things and the next installment will focus more on Cameron. I'm not going to lie. I strongly disliked Cameron for a large portion of the book. I had a hard time understanding how he could treat Charlie the way that it did and think that it was okay. Not to mention, the choices he made after the loss the Charlie went through were inexcusable. I know that he is trying to cope with things too but he won't even have a conversation with Charlie. ARGH! I'm still not sure that I like him even after the end of this book but I guess I'll see what he does in the next book and then make my final decision. 

I'm not sure how I feel about Reese either to be honest. I liked him as a character and for Charlie but he didn't make the best decisions either. She is clearly in a vulnerable state and I feel like he may have taken advantage of that to a certain extent. Plus, she is married regardless if it is a happy marriage or not. I felt for Reese because of the loss that he had been through as well. I do feel that I am leaning more on his side than Cameron's just because he seems to genuinely want to help and be helped by Charlie. He seems to understand her and her needs better than Cameron. Although, with the shocking twist at the end of this book, I'm not loving him as much as I did. He has some explaining to do. 

I'm really looking forward to the conclusion of the story because I want to know who Charlie will choose and how the story will progress now that a lot of the cards are on the table. 

Read Today!
FREE in Kindle Unlimited
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2HwSJC8
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2FEFeUo

Add to Goodreads: bit.ly/WHDKGoodreads

  

About the Author:

Kandi Steiner is a Creative Writing and Advertising/Public Relations graduate from the University of Central Florida living in Tampa. Kandi works full time as a social media specialist, but also works part time as a Zumba fitness instructor and blackjack dealer.

Kandi started writing back in the 4th grade after reading the first Harry Potter installment. In 6th grade, she wrote and edited her own newspaper and distributed to her classmates. Eventually, the principal caught on and the newspaper was quickly halted, though Kandi tried fighting for her “freedom of press.” She took particular interest in writing romance after college, as she has always been a die hard hopeless romantic (like most girls brought up on Disney movies).

When Kandi isn’t working or writing, you can find her reading books of all kinds, talking with her extremely vocal cat, and spending time with her friends and family. She enjoys beach days, movie marathons, live music, craft beer and sweet wine – not necessarily in that order.

Connect with the Author:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KandiSteiner/
Twitter: @KandiSteiner
Stay up to date with Kandi by signing up for her newsletter here:  https://goo.gl/TLsut8
Website: http://kandisteiner.com

Don't Be Afraid by C.A. Harms

🌟🌟🌟🌟 out of 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Synopsis:
Have you ever looked at someone and just knew,
knew that they were put in your life for a reason?
The one person that would be not only your best friend,
but would be your absolute everything?
That’s how I felt the first time I saw him.

That one day when a few little words changed our entire lives forever…

Don’t be Afraid, he said.
Life can change so quickly.
One moment you can be smiling and feeling as if you're walking on clouds and the next, everything you love, everything you treasure crumbles at your feet.

I told him to fight, I told him I needed him.
We needed him.
But there are just some fights that can't be won…

He was my angel then, and he’s still my angel now.
In a way, I believe he’s still looking out for us, giving us a future.
Sometimes it’s as if I can still feel his presence,
guiding us and keeping us safe.

So, I won’t be Afraid.
I'll live. I’ll fight.
It’s what he would have wanted.

I’ll do it for him… 

I absolute loved the first half of this book! I loved both Sawyer and Patrick. Their relationship is what many people strive to have and it was beautiful to see. I hated that they were facing something so traumatic that they were powerless against. I cried so much because of the pain and turmoil they felt through each of their perspectives. I was gutted especially when Sawyer and Patrick were talking about the future. I was hoping for a miracle for Patrick. They were each wonderful characters with beautiful hearts. There was no drama in this book other than the roller coaster of emotions that they each cycle through. They are each trying to be strong for each other but at times it is impossible for each of them to accomplish that. I was so happy that they had Gage and family to support them through everything. He was a great character too albeit different from Patrick because we don't get his point of view until later on in the book. Gage is a character that the author never really gives a lot of background on so I wasn't able to form as deep of a connection with him. One of my first thoughts while I was reading this book was of excitement because I thought that this would be a book I would give 5 stars to. The book began so phenomenally!
I was do disappointed to read on in the book and realize that the tone had changed so much that it felt like the second half didn't completely fit with the first half of the story. I love Gage but his place in Sawyer's life just didn't feel believable to me on an emotional level. I found it to be odd and out of place. I'm not sure if it's because of the strong connection that was already established between Sawyer and Patrick at the beginning or if it was because it was too easy and there wasn't enough time taken in order to establish the new connection and chemistry between Gage and Sawyer. I tried so hard to love the rest of the book as much as the first but it just didn't happen. I wanted Patrick back. I wanted to feel those strong emotional connections and heartache again but it just didn't happen. 

Blackwood by Celia Aaron

🌟🌟🌟 out of 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Synopsis:

I dig. It’s what I do. I’ll literally use a shovel to answer a question. Some answers, though, have been buried too deep for too long. But I’ll find those, too. And I know where to dig—the Blackwood Estate on the edge of the Mississippi Delta. Garrett Blackwood is the only thing standing between me and the truth. A broken man—one with desires that dance in the darkest part of my soul—he’s either my savior or my enemy. I’ll dig until I find all his secrets. Then I’ll run so he never finds mine. The only problem? He likes it when I run.

I think that another reviewer summed this book up best by saying that it was far more tame than was to be expected. I thought that this book would have been more dark and gritty than it turned out to be especially with the subject matter. I wish that the author would have taken it father because I think that the book would have been even better than it was. 

I didn't really like Elise. She seemed to be so fixated on finding the truth that she ran into situations without any regard for herself or others. I thought that she made so many poor choices throughout the book and I couldn't understand how anyone would want to be with her. Garrett was another story entirely. He was an intriguing character from start to finish. I craved more information about him. I know that he may not appeal to everyone who reads this due to his particular sexual interests {WARNING: this book has violence and explicit/intense sex that may be triggers for people} His particular kink just made him even more interesting to me because I haven't read about a character that had that kink before. He seemed like a contradiction to me in a way. He was a gentleman outside of that and cared about others but was very intense when he was interested in someone. 

I thought that the mystery was interesting and it seemed as if the author wanted readers to suspect one of the characters as the villain but I wasn't convinced. I was able to figure it out fairly easily but still found it to be enjoyable. Blackwood was a good book but I think that it would have been even better had Elise been a more likable character and had the mystery been explained more thoroughly. I don't feel like the conclusion was hinted at well enough. It was a great idea but it wasn't taken full advantage of by the author. 

From Lukov with Love by Mariana Zapata

🌟🌟🌟🌓 out of 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Synopsis:
If someone were to ask Jasmine Santos to describe the last few years of her life with a single word, it would definitely be a four-letter one.

After seventeen years—and countless broken bones and broken promises—she knows her window to compete in figure skating is coming to a close.

But when the offer of a lifetime comes in from an arrogant idiot she’s spent the last decade dreaming about pushing in the way of a moving bus, Jasmine might have to reconsider everything.

Including Ivan Lukov.

This book was good at pulling me into the story. It was easy to understand Jasmine's level of anger and frustration by hearing her talk about the hardships she had had to cope with in her ice skating career. From Lukov With Love was very character driven but was told from Jasmine's point of view so readers will only really understand her background. I would have liked to have learned more about Ivan. He was a bit of a mystery regardless of what was shared about him throughout the book. Ivan was not who I thought he was at the beginning of the story and I'm glad that I was wrong about him. I didn't find him very likable at first because he seemed like an extremely cocky  bully. There is more to him that meets the eye. Jasmine struggled so much in her life and sacrificed so much to make her dream come true. She never gave up even when there were people talking trash about her. I thought that was admirable and despite her not always thinking through the things that came out of her mouth I found her to be a wonderful character.
I feel like the book was bogged down by too much description and inner dialogue. There were moments when the author took pages to explain one concept when it could have been done using a paragraph or a page. It made the story more difficult to get through and I almost gave up on the book altogether. I'm glad I stuck it out because I enjoyed how the love story unfolded between Ivan and Jasmine. I'm not sure that I understand why they interacted the way that they did for so many years but that's neither here nor there. I loved how each of them were changed for the better due to their partnership. 

Let's Get Textual by T Hunter

🌟🌟🌟🌟 out of 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Synopsis:
A wrong number is supposed to be just that—a wrong number.

Delete. Done.

Do not continue to text. Do not flirt.

A wrong number shouldn’t be the first person on your mind in the morning, or the last at night…and you’re definitely not supposed to talk them into buying a baby goat.

Because that would be weird.

When Zach Hastings and I get into a wrong-number mix-up, we don’t follow the rules. We keep texting and flirting, because he’s wicked funny and perfectly nerdy and a wonderful distraction.

I’m not looking for love, and Zach definitely had the wrong number.

But maybe…

Maybe he’s the right guy.

This book was an exciting read for me! I've come to love the romantic comedy genre due largely to Meghan Quinn and I am always on the lookout for other authors that can do the genre justice. Let's Get Textual was so exciting for me because I really enjoyed reading it. The humor was on point which is the number one thing I look for in a book like this. Sometimes the humor can focus too much on sexual innuendos and raunchiness which I hate! This book had the perfect amount of humor as well as my type of humor.
I loved the back and forth between Zach and Delia. I laughed throughout this book at their antics and how they always gave each other crap. They teased each other mercilessly! Zach was such a nerdy dreamboat! I can't even fully explain why he was so awesome! He was such an original character and just everything. I don't think that anyone besides Delia's roommate truly understood her until Zach walked into the picture. She had an interesting way of  looking at things and would joke around about taboo topics like serial killers which not everyone could appreciate. I thought that she was hilarious and reminded me of myself at times. 
The conflict in the story was predictable and unoriginal. I don't even really understand why it all went down the way that it did. The explanation didn't make any sense to me. I did enjoy the way that the conflict was resolved between the two main characters though. It was original and fun! The conflict that occurs between Zach and Delia is the main reason why this book lost a star because other than this it was a fun book to read.