Book review: DREAM ON, by Jennifer Hartmann

This is the angsty type of story that I like, people dealing with issues that stop them from realizing their dreams.  Stevie dreams of a future in Hollywood, doing films with music and singing.  Lex has already done Hollywood, but a traumatic event has him running away to Chicago.

Stevie is poor but has a happy home life; Lex is wealthy but has a crappy home life.  Guess who is better off?  He sees Stevie’s home and it smells like happiness and he loves being there, crawling from her bedroom window to the roof and look at the stars.  This is the happiest he’s been.

 A tragic accident tears them apart, Lex returns to Hollywood and his movies, she’s left with physical damages and a broken heart, making do with singing at a bar.  

When Lex realizes he needs her at his side to give credence to the movie based on their story, he brings her home and realizes why he hasn’t been happy and why he can’t sleep.  His mother is a cancer eroding their lives, and I saw Lex acting as a wimp, taking all the manipulations and believing that he’s not enough to protect Stevie.

Stevie’s side of the story is full of love, family and support.  Lex’s side is full of manipulations, expectations, horrible memories.  This contrast works during all the story, and I feel sorry for Stevie’s all encompassing love, and angry at Lex’s listlessness.

This story was so riveting, as Lex and Stevie work for their happiness, Stevie with a ferociousness full of love and determination.  I saw Lex as an empty soul, like his life in Hollywood and his parents killed his zest for life, his acceptance of not having happiness. He was sort of floating around, accepting cues from his mother and his agent, letting events move him around, not doing anything to secure his happiness and take charge of his life.  

I got a little tired of seeing him suffer from insomnia, suffer from his mother’s constant bullying, coast along in an insufficient life, and not rallying.  I realized then that he’s only twenty-two, he’s young and he didn’t have the best modeling on how to live a successful life, unlike Stevie who had excellent models.  

I haven’t been so happy at reaching an HEA!  This couple really had a hard time getting there, but once eradicating the poison from his life, Lex finally got it and zoomed up high.  Great story!

Purchase links

FREE with #kindleunlimited

Amazon: https://bit.ly/45haCkU

Limited deluxe edition paperback: https://geni.us/DreamOnNovel

Audible: https://bit.ly/4lQWFkB

Narrated by: Angelina Rocca & Lee Samue

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/4kpbme2

About the author 

Jennifer Hartmann resides in northern Illinois with her own personal romance hero and three children. When she is not writing angsty love stories, she is likely pondering all the ways she can break your heart and piece it back together again. She enjoys sunsets (because mornings are hard), bike riding, traveling, bingeing Buffy the Vampire Slayer reruns, and that time of day when coffee gets replaced by wine. She loves tacos. She also really, really wants to pet your dog.

http://www.jenniferhartmannauthor.com

Book review: LAST CHORUS, by L.M. Halloran

A Perfect Song duet - part 2

Like the author promised, this was an angsty ride where she wrenched my heart, and the hearts of Eva and Wilder. In the previous book, Eva and Wilder had a calamitous ending where she asked never to talk again, Wilder accepted, full of guilt, and they have been living for six years on the fringes of each other’s lives, keeping their distance at awards and music events. Still, her parents are very worried because Eva is a shadow of the vibrant girl she used to be, and they fear she’s in the clutches of a very controlling man, Clay Eaton.

They ask help from Wilder, he takes a peek at them during  a New Year’s Eve party, and decides she does need help. And the rest is a story of love, giving, rescue, awakening a glorious woman to her wondrousness, and winning again that unfathomable soul mates love that has always lived within but had nearly extinguished with trauma, guilt, and addiction. 

There’s a little bit of suspense when you’re dealing with an unscrupulous man who wants revenge, of the PR nightmare type, delight in watching a very mature Wilder, who had won the battle over his addictions and now manages his anxiety successfully; he’s in charge and ready to claim his woman. Eva is initially lost and floundering, but she starts to see, and live, and do her music again, as she recovers. 

Their second-chance love story is beautiful, emotional, passionate, funny, and completely wonderful to read. 

Purchase links

https://a.co/d/6nLiN89 

Available in KU 

About the author

When not writing or reading, the author can be found gardening barefoot or chasing her spirited daughter. Some of her favorite things are puzzles, podcasts, and small dogs that resemble Ewoks. Home is Portland, Oregon.

Connect with L.M. Halloran:

https://www.lmhalloran.com/links/

Book review: FIRST VERSE, by L.M. Halloran

A Perfect Song Duet #1

Wilder & Evangeline

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This author is the queen of angst and I am a willing subject.  I love how she shreds my heart, how she makes her characters so perfectly adorable and broken, and their story so compelling.  

Wilder and Evangeline are the children of the Breaking Giants rock band; Evangeline is Matt Sullivan’s daughter, Wilder is Julian Ashburn’s son.  Like their fathers, they’re insanely talented and have been making music since children.  They had their own band when they were teenagers, and right after high school, Wilder debuted in the high stakes world with his band Night Theory, and with Evangeline doing keyboards and harmonizing with his voice.  They were magical together but inside, they were broken.

I truly loved this story, stopped many times because I didn’t want it to end.  I was completely captivated by both characters and also saw that they were poison to each other.  Wilder was obsessed with Evangeline and not in a healthy way, and Evangeline was constantly hurt by Wilder’s selfish wants.  I saw the love, the need, their co-dependency, loved how they harmonized together, like they were soulmates, but they feel unfinished, like they were not ready for each other.  Both needed to grow up, to learn to love themselves first before they could love unselfishly and wholeheartedly.  It was such a beautiful story, full of love and yearning, and I even loved that it ended in a cliffhanger because I understand that they needed a little more growing individually before being together.  Now I can’t wait for the next book and read what it brings!

Purchase links

https://a.co/d/2OkZiGQ 

Available in KU 

About the author

When not writing or reading, the author can be found gardening barefoot or chasing her spirited daughter. Some of her favorite things are puzzles, podcasts, and small dogs that resemble Ewoks. Home is Portland, Oregon.

Connect with L.M. Halloran:

https://www.lmhalloran.com/

Book review: THE FAULT IN FOREVER, by Claudia Burgoa

I loved this book even though it was very heartbreaking.  It’s full blast angst, all the time, as a ghost from a tragic past comes back to haunt.  So I was in angsty heaven!

Ophelia and Haydn are taking their relationship to a new level, she’s moving in with him, to the house he bought with her in mind.  They have been together five years, and he has fought for their love, helping her get over a past heartbreak that nearly destroyed her.  Now, hopeful for a new happy future, they get a surprise phone call, the man she loved many years ago and believed to be dead, is not only alive, but awake from a five-year coma, and she’s his guardian!

To say that this story is turbulent, full of many tears and guilt and heartbreak is an understatement on the angsty ride it took me on. And I loved every word of it!

All the pain, the survivor’s guilt, the trauma from that loss comes back to the front, and she has more questions than answers.  She didn’t know he was alive, his parents kept her away from him after the accident.  She didn’t know how she came to be his guardian and in charge.  And with all those questions, she and Haydn fly to Keaton’s side to see what had to be done.  This is a crazy love triangle, because one of the three was initially dead, then awoken, and invalid.  Haydn, throughout all this book, was solidly on Ophelia’s side, helping her, watching over her, making sure she rests and eats.  It’s heartbreaking for both of them, more so for Haydn who is now unsure if he will lose the woman who is everything to him.

The author did a great job of releasing snippets of information as the story evolves, so we eventually get a complete picture of all the elements involved in the story.  Just when you think you have it handled, she hands you another whammy, so you start to cry again and wonder what the heck will happen now.  

The pace is slow and reflective, we get to know all the characters feelings and thoughts, but thankfully it moves on a steady pace and you know you’re getting somewhere, hoping for an HEA.  I was all the time Team Haydn, because Keane for all his confusion, memory loss, and lack of strength, was still a entitled and selfish.  He didn’t deserve the girl, IMO!

Lovely, sad, romantic, angsty, and super riveting.

Purchase links

https://geni.us/TFIF 

Available in KU 

About the author

Claudia is an award-winning, USA Today bestselling author. 

She writes alluring, thrilling stories about complicated women and the men who take their breaths away. Her books are the perfect blend of steamy and heartfelt, filled with emotional characters and explosive chemistry. Her writing takes readers to new heights, providing a variety of tears, laughs, and shocking moments that leave fans on the edge of their seats.

She lives in Denver, Colorado with her husband, her youngest two children, and three fluffy dogs.

When Claudia is not writing, you can find her reading, knitting, or just hanging out with her family. At nights, she likes to binge watches shows or movies with her equally geeky husband.

Connect with Claudia Burgoa:

https://claudiayburgoa.com/wp/links/ 

Book review: THE SOUND OF FOREVER, by Claudia Burgoa

The first part of this book is blabby, lots of thoughts, like setting the stage for the emotional whammy the author is going to serve us during the book.  The book is like a continuation of The Fault in Forever, since this is Keane Stone’s story.  He had been in an car accident with his fiancée Ophelia, both almost died, she recovered, but Keane was in a coma for five years.  Ophelia found another love and he now has the long lonely journey into rehabilitating his body from the coma.  I loved this book because it presents us the character arc of Keane as he transitions from a selfish drug addict into a decent guy who lives for someone new.

First Keane went into rehab for ninety days to deal with his former addiction, to make sure he won’t fall back as he struggles with his many emotional and physical issues.  Then he moves to Luna Harbor, a small town, where he can have peace and space.  And there he meets his destiny!

Julianna was estranged from her older sister since their mother died.  Elena was a difficult person, and she hoarded all their mother’s possessions and shut out Julianna and her brother Oscar.  When she receives a phone call informing her that her sister is dying and she’s been appointed guardian of her little girl, she’s floored.  She may be estranged from her sister but she was not ready to lose her.  She takes her niece Rayne and moves to Luna Harbor so they can both mourn the loss of Elena and give them a chance to adjust together.  Both are struggling as they try to belong together. 

One thing that felt like serendipity is that Keane and Ophelia were having a baby, but the baby didn’t survive the accident. She would have been six years old, and that’s exactly Rayne’s age when they meet.  So it felt like kismet, a chance for Keane to make amends and repair his heart as he learns to care and protect another little girl.  I think Rayne was instrumental in Keane’s emotional growth.

The story is romantic, slow burn, positive and redemptive.  At some moments, Keane had doubts he would come out of the dark cloud he was living in, unsure he would get his music back.  And in the end, he not only got the music, he got a family too!

I love this author’s stories because they center around an angsty story.  There is sex, but as is necessary to the story.  She hasn’t fallen into the habit of other authors of using lots of sex scenes to make her books more commercial and for this she’s earned my admiration and respect.  Julianna and Keaton click because she brings peace and acceptance into his world, and he gives her the strength and protection she strongly needs at this point in her life.

Lovely story, very emotional and heartwarming!

Purchase links

https://geni.us/TheSoundofForever

Available in KU 

About the author

Claudia is an award-winning, USA Today bestselling author. 

She writes alluring, thrilling stories about complicated women and the men who take their breaths away. Her books are the perfect blend of steamy and heartfelt, filled with emotional characters and explosive chemistry. Her writing takes readers to new heights, providing a variety of tears, laughs, and shocking moments that leave fans on the edge of their seats.

She lives in Denver, Colorado with her husband, her youngest two children, and three fluffy dogs.

When Claudia is not writing, you can find her reading, knitting, or just hanging out with her family. At nights, she likes to binge watches shows or movies with her equally geeky husband.

Connect with Claudia Burgoa:

https://claudiayburgoa.com/wp/links/ 

Book review: TORE UP, by Abbi Glines

Mississippi Smoke #1

Bane & Halo

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 

The author promised angst and heartbreak and wow, did she deliver.  I lost count of how many times I cried because it was so devastating.  Talking about what happened spoils the story so let me just express my feelings during the story.  

Bane starts out as a violent, aggressive man.  Later I saw that he was in the grip of a huge pain, the loss of his little brother.  I saw the hate he felt for Halo, blaming her for his loss.  But then I saw Halo’s beautiful soul, a girl who suffered mistreatment from her family and yet, she kept being a sweet and kind person, her only weakness trying to win the love from the people who were supposed to love her. 

I saw how Bane changed, saw how all the guys in the house accepted Halo as one of them.  The first chapters of this book are harrowing as Halo learns all the circumstances of her new life, the truths of her old life.  I cried many times, but it felt so good!

The story evolves and it all turns good and everything that is sexy and deep.  I loved how Halo won everyone over because she’s just so good. And I loved how Bane found the peace that he had lost, as he cared for her.  

The story felt different because it’s not all mafia business, it’s all about heartbreak and healing.  There’s one gory scene but it’s all tied to the story and I can’t say it wasn’t needed because it was.  All in all, a story of redemption, a love that went wrong, but another that went right.  A girl who only wanted acceptance and love and finally found it, not without first suffering a heavy loss.  Astounding, heartbreaking, cause of a crying fest, but it was absolutely fascinating and wonderful.

Purchase links

https://geni.us/toreup

Add to your Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/220223196-tore-up

Find more books by Abbi Glines: https://abbiglinesbooks.com

About the author

Abbi Glines is a #1 New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Rosemary Beach, Sea Breeze, Vincent Boys, Field Party, and Existence series. She never cooks unless baking during the Christmas holiday counts. She believes in ghosts and has a habit of asking people if their house is haunted before she goes in it. She finally moved to New England into a home that is 200 + years old with it's own ghosts. She drinks afternoon tea because she wants to be British but alas she being born in Alabama, her life in New England is as close as she will get. When asked how many books she has written she has to stop and count on her fingers. When she’s not locked away writing, she is reading, and/or watching Netflix like the introvert that she is. 

You can connect with Abbi online in several different ways. 

www.abbiglinesbooks.com

TikTok @abbiglines

Twitter: @abbiglines

Instagram: @abbiglines

Snapchat: abbiglines

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abbiglinesauthor