Austin by Lauren Runow, Jeannine Colette

AUSTIN: A Sexton Brothers Novel by Jeannine Colette and Lauren Runow! AUSTIN will hit your kindle on September 20, 2018! Don't forget to add it to your TBR and pre-order your copy now!

Title: Austin: A Sexton Brothers Novel

Age Group: Adult

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: September 20, 2018

 Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40811915-austin?from_search=true

Book Description

Jalynn

I’m the girl who’s always picking up the pieces of other people’s mistakes. 

Until tonight.

I accidentally cause one false start, and now I’m being pulled into a guy’s car—who everyone only knows as Falcon—before an illegal street race.

He may not want anyone to truly know who he is, but he’s met his match. 

Game on, Falcon.

Austin

People know I run these races. 

They know not to mess with me, or my car.

When the identity of the girl who causes a false start is revealed, I have to make an example of her.

Letting her see who I am was never the plan.

Neither was running into her the next day as my brother’s new assistant. 

She said she wanted nothing to do with me, but when I yank her into a janitor’s closet, making sure she keeps my secret is the last thing on my mind.

She may want more than my secrets, but my racing may be the last thing I try to hide.

PURCHASE HERE-->

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2BsaofQ
Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/2QrM0hV
Amazon AU: https://amzn.to/2N6FDmd
Amazon CA: https://amzn.to/2Mr0GdW

Lauren Runow is the author of multiple Adult Contemporary Romance novels, some more dirty than others. When Lauren isn't writing, you'll find her listening to music, at her local CrossFit, reading, or at the baseball field with her boys. Her only vice is coffee, and she swears it makes her a better mom!

Lauren is a graduate from the Academy of Art in San Francisco and is the founder and co-owner of the community magazine she and her husband publish. She lives in Northern California with her husband and two sons.

You can also stay in touch through the social media links below.

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/laurenjrunow

Instagram at https://instagram.com/Lauren_Runow/

BookBub at https://www.bookbub.com/authors/laure...

Twitter at https://twitter.com/LaurenRunow

Join her reader group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/16285...

or sign up for her newsletter at http://eepurl.com/btD6j9

Jeannine Colette is the author of the Abandon Collection - a series of stand-alone novels featuring dynamic heroines who have to abandon their reality in order to discover themselves . . . and love along the way. Each book features a new couple, exciting new city and a rose of a different color.

A graduate of Wagner College and the New York Film Academy, Jeannine went on to become a Segment Producer for television shows on CBS and NBC. She left the television industry to focus on her children and pursue a full-time writing career. She lives in New York with her husband, the three tiny people she adores more than life itself, and a rescue pup named Wrigley.

Jeannine and her family are active supporters of The March of Dimes and Strivright The Auditory-Oral School of New York.

http://jeanninecolette.com/

Fantasy of Frost (Tainted Accords #1) by Kelly St. Clare

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Sometimes it takes death to show you how to live.
I know many things. What I am capable of, what I will change, what I will become. But there is one thing I will never know...

The veil I've worn from birth carries with it a terrible loneliness; a suppression I cannot imagine being free of.

Some things never change...

My mother will always hate me. Her court will always shun me.

...Until they do.

When the peace delegation arrives from the savage world of Glacium, my life is shoved wildly out of control by the handsome Prince Kedrick who, for unfathomable reasons, shows me kindness.

And the harshest lessons are learned.

Sometimes it takes the world bringing you to your knees to find that spark you thought forever lost.

Sometimes it takes death to show you how to live.

This is not my first Kelly St. Clare book but it is my absolute favorite! I wasn't exactly sure what to expect from Fantasy of Frost. I had heard that it was different from other fantasy books out there which is a tall order considering a lot of them start to blur together after a while. Nevertheless, I was excited to read something different in the fantasy genre. I wasn't disappointed! From the moment the book began I knew that I was going to have to read the entire series. The world that Kelly St. Clare created was thoughtful and interesting without it feeling too much like an explanation from one of the main characters. I was immediately intrigued by Olina not only because of the veil she was forced to wear but also because of her spirit. She was not like the rest of her race and was genuinely kind to everyone despite what she was forced to face. She refused to break no matter how much hate her mother spewed her way. 

I loved the fact that the author managed to surprise me at every turn. Every time I thought that something was going to happen she surprised me with the book taking a different turn. The only part of the book that threw me was the ending. I'm not sure where the author is going with the series exactly but I wasn't expecting that. Believe me when I say that if you are looking for a book that is different from other fantasy books out there you should pick up Fantasy of Frost. It is refreshing and really well written!

Blood Flows Deep (Ryze #1) by N. Isabelle Blanco

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Ismini 

He wants to kill me . . . More than that, he wants to see me die.
I don’t know him. I’ve only heard about him throughout my short life.
It is my destiny to die at his hand when he sacrifices me to the Fates . . .
All so that my death can bring back his obsession.
The woman he loves.
He’s my death.
But he’s more than that.
He’s the air that destroys me with each breath. An addiction I never planned on having.
I’ve mated to my killer.
Either way, I’m going to die.
The question now is if I can survive long enough for him to complete his sacrifice and bring back the woman he truly adores.

Dyletri 

Fourteen-thousand years ago, I locked away my powers.
The loss of one woman took everything from me. I made a deal to wait. To sacrifice an innocent that would be born in the far future to bring my beloved back.
Then I laid eyes on that girl . . . and everything I thought I knew got shredded to shit.
She’s reawakened the monster in me.
The madness.
The hunger.
The creature that demands a taste of her flesh.
Even worse, for the first time in my long, brutal existence, the monster is demanding her blood.
I’ve mated to my victim.
I’ll have no choice but to keep my promise. I have to sacrifice her. And the moment I do . . .
We’re both going to die. 

I had read a few books by N. Isabelle Blanco before and enjoyed the darkness that she is capable of bringing to a story. Blood Flows Deep intrigued me because it is more of a fantasy than her other books. I thought that the premise was interesting in that Ismini is a sacrifice for a god and she is aware of that fact. When I read that I wondered what would drive a person like that and how could they be okay with that. The author was able to write such a compelling book with a sacrifice mated to her own killer and vice versa. I knew that I had to read this story to find out how it progresses. 

I loved the tension between the two main characters. It seemed so natural and I thought that the emotional turmoil that they both go through is portrayed really well. As far as characters go, I connected much more with Ismini than I did with Dyletri. He seemed very childish and entitled at times which annoyed me. 

All in all I really enjoyed the book. The only critique that I would give would be more world building. I feel like I was dumped into a world that I didn't completely understand. I was aware that there was bad blood between some of the gods resulting in betrayal and bloodshed but didn't understand much else about it. 

The Rogue Queen (The Hundredth Queen #3) by Emily R. King

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Despite the odds, Kalinda has survived it all: Marriage to a tyrant. Tournaments to the death. The forbidden power to rule fire. The icy touch of a demon.

That same demon now disguises itself as Rajah Tarek, Kalinda’s late husband and a man who has never stopped haunting her. Upon taking control of the palace and the army, the demon brands Kalinda and her companions as traitors to the empire. They flee across the sea, seeking haven in the Southern Isles.

In Lestari, Kalinda’s powers are not condemned, as they are in her land. Now free to use them to protect those she loves, Kalinda soon realizes that the demon has tainted her with a cold poison, rendering her fire uncontrollable. But the lack of control may be just what she needs to send the demon back to the darkest depths of the Void.

To take back the empire, Kalinda will ally with those she distrusts—and risk losing those most loyal to her—to defeat the demon and bring peace to a divided nation.

I had taken a break from this series but recently began reading it again. I was not disappointed at all! If anything, I loved The Rogue Queen more than the first two books. This surprised me because I loved The Hundredth Queen. The Rogue Queen begins right where the story left off with our heroes fleeing in order to live another day to fight the demon again. Kalinda is running out of time and the rest of the characters are tormented by their own thoughts and actions. I was happy to see that the world building and introductions to characters in the first two books paid off to deliver quite the story in this book. Characters we were introduced to join the fight and stories we were told about the gods come into play in the characters actions during the battle. The Rogue Queen was a nonstop action packed ride! There were moments that I felt were predictable but I still found this book thrilling!

Bird Box by Josh Malerman

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Something is out there, something terrifying that must not be seen. One glimpse of it, and a person is driven to deadly violence. No one knows what it is or where it came from.

Five years after it began, a handful of scattered survivors remains, including Malorie and her two young children. Living in an abandoned house near the river, she has dreamed of fleeing to a place where they might be safe. Now that the boy and girl are four, it's time to go, but the journey ahead will be terrifying: twenty miles downriver in a rowboat--blindfolded--with nothing to rely on but her wits and the children’s trained ears. One wrong choice and they will die. Something is following them all the while, but is it man, animal, or monster?

Interweaving past and present, Bird Box is a snapshot of a world unraveled that will have you racing to the final page.

I had no idea this book even existed until a friend spoke about it. She said that it was similar to A Quiet Place and that if I liked things like that than I might like this book. As other people started reading and enjoying this book, I decided that I had to put it at the top of my TBR pile.
I was about half way through Bird Box when I watched A Quiet Place. I thought that it might ruin the book for me but it wasn't the case. Though they are similar I found Bird Box completely different. There was so much tension and build up in this book. It was an insane thrill ride. I was terrified of what was going to happen. The author does s fantastic job of putting the reader in the exact same mindset as the Malorie. At first,  you might feel skeptical thinking that the plot is far fetched. How could something like this take place? Is there really anything to be afraid of? As the book progresses and the the losses begin to add up you start to wonder what is happening to these people. By the end of the book it didn't take much to rattle me and any sudden noise or breeze made me nervous for Malorie and her children. 
I will say this one warning for readers...if you are squeamish you probably shouldn't read this book. There is a particular part of the book that is still stuck with me that was particularly gruesome. Bird Box will terrify you and make you wonder if monsters are real. If they are real, could there be something or someone worse? 

Grace and Fury (Grace and Fury #1) by Tracy Banghart

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In a world where women have no rights, sisters Serina and Nomi Tessaro face two very different fates: one in the palace, the other in prison.

Serina has been groomed her whole life to become a Grace - someone to stand by the heir to the throne as a shining, subjugated example of the perfect woman. But when her headstrong and rebellious younger sister, Nomi, catches the heir's eye, it's Serina who takes the fall for the dangerous secret that Nomi has been hiding.

Now trapped in a life she never wanted, Nomi has only one way to save Serina: surrender to her role as a Grace until she can use her position to release her sister. This is easier said than done. A traitor walks the halls of the palace, and deception lurks in every corner. But Serina is running out of time, imprisoned on an island where she must fight to the death to survive and one wrong move could cost her everything.

*ARC provided through Netgalley via the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

Grace and Fury reminded me of The Red Queen with the exception of magic and the society that the author creates in this book. I enjoyed the world building. The author created a world that was ruled by men leaving women to be pretty baubles to be traded and looked at as beautiful statues. They are not allowed to learn to read or write and have no choices in order to keep them harmless and docile. Some of them go along with this but one of the main characters, Nomi, believes that this is unacceptable and wants to carve her own path. She is rebellious which I loved about her although she does not always think before she acts. I didn't like Serina at first because I found her to be complacent. I think that she has the most  growth in the story which made me change my opinion of her very quickly.
One of my favorite things about this book is the way that author portrays the strength of women in many different ways. She is able to capture how some may seem docile but theirs is a different type of strength. Most importantly, the author portrays women as a force that if pushed will show just what it is made of.
I didn't much care for the princes due to the plot point of the differences between them and their relationship feeling too familiar to me. However, I loved the idea of graces, how they came to be, and what they represented. I thought that it was an intriguing difference to other YA books that I hope the author will focus on more in the sequel. I want to know more about these women and how they felt about being chosen.

The Hardest Fall by Ella Maise

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The first time you meet someone, you make eye contact. You smile, say hello. Should be simple, if you’re anyone but me. The first time I met Dylan Reed, I found myself making eye contact with a different part of his body. You see, I’m very good at being shy, not to mention extremely well-versed in rambling nonsense and, unfortunately, rather highly skilled at making a fool of myself in front of a guy I’m attracted to.

At the time, I knew nothing about him and thought none of what I said would matter since I’d never speak to him again. Turns out, I was very wrong. He was the star wide receiver of the football team, one of the few players expected to make it into the NFL, and I ended up seeing him all over campus.
I might have also propositioned him, run away from him, attacked him with a cooking utensil…and…uh, maybe I shouldn’t tell you all of it. It’s pretty normal stuff, things you’d expect…from me. Eventually, the time came when I couldn’t hide anymore—not that he’d have let me even if I tried.
Before now, he never knew I was secretly watching him. Now that we see each other every day, he knows when I have a hard time looking away. It doesn’t help that I’m not the most subtle person in the world either.

He smiles at me and tells me he finds me fascinating because of my quirks. I can’t even tell him that I think my heart beats differently whenever he’s around.

He thinks we’re going to be best friends. I think I have a big thing for him, and the more I get to know him, the more I don’t care that I’m not allowed to be his friend, let alone fall for him.

The thing is, that’s exactly what I’m doing—what we’re doing, I think.

Falling.

Hard. 

I thought that this was a cute, funny romance with some angst thrown in. I honestly don't think that the angst should have even been in the book. It would have been great without it. I think that the main draw for this book is Zoe. She is an awesome character! Shout out to all the shy, awkward girls out there! She is a character I can get behind because I'm not a sultry or sassy woman. I'm actually a lot like Zoe where I have no filter and tend to say the wrong things and am not the most outgoing. I found her really relatable and enjoyed her interactions with Dylan. He was able to appreciate the qualities that many others found odd. He was a very sweet character and I liked that he wasn't a typical alpha male strutting around sleeping with every woman he laid eyes on. Their relationship was beautiful but I wish that there wouldn't have been as many high schoolesque miscommunications between them in the book. I'm not a fan of dumb drama. Zoe's secret was interesting and I was thrown off at first as to what it was. I think that it should have either taken more of a main focus in the book or have been left out entirely.