Book Review: In this Moment by Autumn Doughton

Author: Autumn Doughton
Title: In this Moment
Genre: Contemporary Romance (NA)
Released: August 12th 2013

~Get it at Amazon~

Every moment possesses its own kind of magic...Aimee Spencer learned the hard way that for some moments, there are no take-backs, no rewinds, no do-overs. A year ago her world imploded and Aimee has been running ever since. She doesn't want to feel. She doesn't want to remember. To bury the ghosts that haunt her, she is living a life that has become unrecognizable.

Cole Everly is a golden boy with a cocky smile and an attitude to match. He's grown accustomed to girls throwing themselves at his feet, but when Aimee trips and literally lands in his lap one afternoon, she's not at all what he expects. Difficult, damaged, closed-off. If Cole needed to make a list of qualities to avoid in a girl, Aimee would probably match up with every single one of them. He knows that he should stay away but he's drawn to her in a way that he can't exactly explain.

In this honest and absorbing story, Aimee and Cole struggle to sort out the thin spaces between loss and love. Ultimately, they will need to learn how to navigate through the pieces of the past if they want to hold on to the future and each other.

~o~

I got to Beta Read this beautiful story and I've been dying for release day so you could read it to. I've said it before, but I'll say it again, Autumn's writing style is just so freakin poetic. Everything she writes is gold and I will forever read anything that has her name on it.
Her stories are so real. The circumstances, the relationship development, the characters, the story--everything just jumps right off of the page and makes itself right at home in your heart.

Let's start with my favorite part: Cole Everly.

Cole Everly (I mean, seriously, how hot is that name?) is 100% swoonworthy. I adored him completely.

“Aimee. I let the name roll around in my head, making room for the idea of her.”

You just swooned a little, amIright? I know. It's okay, I did too.

“…but my mind is still elsewhere—a few miles away with a girl that I know isn’t thinking of me."

Seriously. Don't you just want to hug him?

”She could reach into my chest and rip my heart out of my body because it already belongs to her.”

Cole Everly, you could totally claim my heart as your own. For reals.

Now don't get this Cole-Love-Fest wrong, I really liked Aimee too.  Autumn writes such vivid, believable characters. 

Aimee is a broken girl--her pain is real and completely justified. In fact, though I won't tell you WHAT happened to her, I will tell you that what Aimee suffered through is one of my BIGGEST fears. As I was reading and starting to put the pieces together I even emailed Autumn to tell her so. She told me that it happened to some people when she was a kid and it just sort of stuck with her. TERRIFYING I tell you. Just thinking about it makes me want to throw up. I could completely relate to everything Aimee thought and felt and I feel like I would've reacted the same way.

“The world doesn’t want to be forced to look at my scars.”

Autumn writes her steamy scenes in an abstract sort of way that makes you feel all of the tension without the graphic-ness that's pretty popular right now. 

“All it takes is one second, one brush of a finger to feel that…possibility.”

You remember what that's like right? When the faintest touch makes your insides turn to to slush?

 “It’s a kiss so deep and hungry that it drenches me—soaking every pore of my body, weighing me down, making me go soft in the knees.”

But it's not all swooning and steam. There are some ridiculously funny parts mixed in there as well. For example, pretty much any scene that Jodi is in cracked me up. I also love the fake book title game and the whole discussion about if you don't want to attend Hogwarts you're a douchebag (True story).

I loved every single page of it and highly recommend it anyone who loves romance with just the right amount of every-single-kind-of-emotion humanly possibly to feel. It's there.  Every single bit of it.

Read it. Love it. Then shoot me a message so we can talk about how wonderful it is.
 

PS Autumn is doing something interesting with her pricing that is going to benefit early readers. For the first week it's going to be priced at .99 then the next week it will go up to $1.99 and after that will remain at $2.99. 

PPS And don't forget if you read it and love it leave her a review! Authors like those. :)

Book Review: Sweet Thing by Renee Carlino

Author: Renee Carlino

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Released: March 17th 2013

 

 

   

A USA TODAY bestseller, Sweet Thing tells the story of Mia Kelly, a twenty-five-year-old walking Gap ad who thinks she has life figured out when her father’s sudden death uproots her from slow-paced Ann Arbor to New York City’s bustling East Village. There she discovers her father’s spirit for life and the legacy he left behind with the help of an old café, a few eccentric friends, and one charming musician.

Will Ryan is good-looking, poetic, spontaneous, and on the brink of fame when he meets Mia, his new landlord, muse, and personal heartbreaker.

A story of self-discovery and friendship, Sweet Thing shines light on the power of loving and letting go.

I got Sweet Thing when I was at Book Bash. Elizabeth and Autumn both said they loved it so I picked it up (and a fun Sweet Thing Swag guitar pick which I totally use...you know, to play the 2 whole songs I know)

See? It's even signed and everything:

I've been slowly making progress through the stack of books I got from Book Bash. I think I only have 2 more of my own to read but I should probably read the one I borrowed from Elizabeth so I can give it back to her next (sorry Liz! I sorta forgot!)

PS Can you tell I had the BEST time at Book Bash since it's over a month later and I'm STILL talk about it?! Can't wait until next year!

Okay, anyway, on to my review:

Sweet Thing started off much different than I expected. The prologue (and epilogue for that matter) are not told from the MC's POV at all but rather a complete outsider. Which seems kind of weird at first but once I actually read the whole book, I thought it was a really nice addition to the story. I can't think of another book that does the same thing so it was cool that it was so unique.

I read the first few chapters and while they were kinda cute, it wasn't an "oh my gosh I'm going to love this book" kind of feeling which was disappointing since Liz and Autumn both recommended it. I sat the book down and went about my business. I wrote a lot of my own stuff (finishing a rough draft of one book and made good progress on another). Then last night, after spending all day writing, I knew I needed a mental break (plus my eyes hurt from staring at my laptop screen for so long) so I decided to pick it back up and I didn't put it down until I finished it after 1am. (which probably wasn't good for my eyes but it was totally worth it)
I think the turning point for me was when Will moved in to Mia's apartment. He was just so stinkin' sweet and thoughtful that it was easy to fall in love with him. Which of course made me increasingly frustrated with Mia because she was being just so darn stubborn about it.

But the ending was soooooooooo worth it.
*sigh*

Seriously folks, this is one sweet read. It will make you laugh, cry, want to throw your book (or Kindle) one minute and want to hug it close to your chest in a giant Will-inspired bear hug the next.
 It was sooooo good! Check it out!

<3 Will Ryan <3

Review: The Fault in our Stars by John Green

 

Author: John Green
Genre: YA, contemporary romance
Released: January 10th 2012


Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.

FIVE + STARS and a standing ovation

 I was nervous to pick up this book after my recent diagnosis with Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma. But I had my thyroid removed and was given the “all clear” and decided that I was ready to give this book a chance--especially since I haven’t met one person who has read it who didn’t love it.

I’m so glad I decided to read it because John Green is brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.

Sure, I haven’t met any real-life teenagers who talk like Hazel and Augustus, but I want to. I really want to.  It sort of reminded me of the way they talked on Dawson’s Creek only better.  I really enjoyed their characters.  I didn’t find them overly pretentious like I’ve seen a few negative reviews point out (heck, I can’t even imagine how this book has any less-than-positive reviews period). I thought they were very endearing and quite frankly perfect for each other.   

I went in to this story knowing that there wasn’t going to be a happily ever after. How could there be with a terminally ill teenager as the narrator? I didn’t guess the ending though. I won’t say anything more than that, but that it did hit me hard because it was so unexpected.  I probably spent the last 40% of the novel trying not to cry (unsuccessfully).

This is the kind of book that leaves you awake thinking about it for hours after you’ve finished. 

It really is a wonderful, inspiring story about learning to make the most of today because you never know what tomorrow might bring.

Definitely a 5+ star read for me and quite possibly my new favorite next to The Sea of Tranquility.

Right now it's only $3.99 on Amazon. I'm not sure if this is a promotion price or if it's going to be priced like that from now on (I heard a rumor that traditional publishing companies were going to be lowering their ebook prices...) but since his other ebooks are $8+ , I'm guessing this is a limited time offer. If you haven't had a chance to read this book yet, I highly recommend it.

 

 

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Review: On an Edge of Glass by Autumn Doughton

Author: Autumn Doughton
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Released: March 9th 2013

You can’t plan for everything…
That’s what Ellie Glass realizes after she has a chance encounter with a young musician. Long-haired, a bit scruffy, and undeniably sexy, he’s the exact opposite of her “type,” but now Ellie can’t stop thinking about him. When fate intervenes and the two are thrown together, Ellie gets more than she bargained for. Pretty soon she finds herself feeling and doing things that she never thought were possible.
This is the captivating story of an undeniable attraction, the choices that we make, and ultimately, the unexpected power of love

OH I loved this so much! Autumn has a poetic way of describing things that is just so lovely. "Here, on the edge of campus, where the University blends into the comings and goings of everyday life, the sidewalk is active with people." "If I'm being fair, it was the best kiss of my life--a kiss that finds all of your seams and pulls them apart, stitch by delicate stitch." "One minute you're tied to earth by gravity and everything you know about the world, and the next you're up, floating, soaring."...moOH I loved this so much! Autumn has a poetic way of describing things that is just so lovely. This book has been sitting on my kindle for weeks now, maybe even months. I can't even remember when I bought it but I'm pretty sure it was April or May and since it's now July (where did summer go?) it's safe to say it's been neglected for way too long. My best friend Elizabeth is a book addict and she always tells me what books I need to read and she is always right. So when she and Komal BOTH recommended this book I knew I had to read it. At first it was going to be my reward for finishing the first draft of In the Shadows and then the whole "c" word fiasco happened and I decided to take a mini-break from writing in order to remove the stress of my self-imposed deadline all in the name of good ju-ju. I was thinking I would just take it easy, relax and read all the new books that I've been meaning to get around to while I mentally prepared myself for my surgery. But I found myself in a reading funk. I'd start books (books that I normally would devour) but I couldn't make myself focus enough to finish. Then I went to Book Bash a week later and picked up The Sea of Tranquility. It only takes one good book to break out of a reading funk and The Sea of Tranquility was it for me. I finished it (and loved it), then I picked up Tangled by Emma Chase again (I started it weeks ago...reading, funk remember? Loved this one too) and cracked up over the inner-workings of the male mind and then I immediately delved into On an Edge of Glass and was swept away by the poetic stylings of Autumn Doughton. No seriously, the lady is a freaking poetic genius. She describes things in such an interesting, unexpected way that never would even occur to me but somehow fit perfectly. Her words grab ahold of you by your shirt and refuse to let go until you feel every.single.detail. "A line of impatient caffeine addicts snakes out the door just behind me, letting in an unsettling gust of cool air. It ruffles my hair and the pages spread out on the low table in front of me."  "Here, on the edge of campus, where the University blends into the comings and goings of everyday life, the sidewalk is active with people." "If I'm being fair, it was the best kiss of my life--a kiss that finds all of your seams and pulls them apart, stitch by delicate stitch." "One minute you're tied to earth by gravity and everything you know about the world, and the next you're up, floating, soaring."

Lovely, right? And this book is filled with them. I started this book late last night and read until my eyelids fell close on their own accord. Then when the sun peeked in through my curtains this morning and the dog whined to be let out of her kennel I picked it back up and didn't put it down until I read the last page (3 cups of coffee later).
And it's funny too.

"I wish that I had said that I, too, care about polar bears, and pencil sharpeners, and about deforestation in South America, and about the sanity of the people that walk around the planet thinking that the mullet is still a reasonable hairstyle, and about calzones not being at all the same as pizza."
It's a normal, REAL story about two people who can't deny the pull between them and the real obstacles that stand in their way of being together.
There was just enough angst to keep it interesting without being over-the-top and unbearably painful to read. But at the same time, you felt the pain that Ellie felt (and even Ben) because it was just so relatable.
Autumn makes you remember what it feels like to feel that immediate attraction to someone. The beautiful kind of fluttering and longing that is the start of every new relationship, the lurch in your stomach when something goes wrong and the faint stirring of hope when you know there is a chance for everything to work out after all.
You feel it all.
You remember it all.
And it's just so darn beautiful.
On an Edge of Glass is being added to my shelf of all-time favorites.
I highly recommend this book to everyone I know.

Review: Walking Disaster by Jamie McGuire

Author: Jamie McGuire
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Finally, the highly anticipated follow-up to the New York Times bestseller Beautiful Disaster.

Can you love someone too much?

Travis Maddox learned two things from his mother before she died: Love hard. Fight harder.

In Walking Disaster, the life of Travis is full of fast women, underground gambling, and violence. But just when he thinks he is invincible, Abby Abernathy brings him to his knees.

Every story has two sides. In Beautiful Disaster, Abby had her say. Now it’s time to see the story through Travis’s eyes.





*Note: This should be read AFTER you've read Beautiful Disaster, but who am I kidding? Who HASN'T read Beautiful Disaster? :)*



“One of these days you’re going to fall in love, son. Don’t settle for just anyone. Choose the girl that doesn’t come easy; the one you have to fight for, and then never stop fighting. Never.” 


When I read Beautiful Disaster, I LOVED the beginning and most of the middle but when they went to Vegas, well, it sorta lost me a little. I mean, I still loved it and it's a great story but it definitely sort of lost steam for me towards the end.
Same applies to Walking Disaster. I loved the beginning even though the opening was completely heartbreaking. I loved seeing the relationship between Travis and Abby develop through his eyes, again, lost me at the Vegas part BUT the epilogue was fun!
There are obviously extra scenes in the beginning and the end but what was nice was that the rest of the story is pretty different too. We only saw what happened when Abby was around in Beautiful Disaster so in Walking Disaster we see more interaction between Shep and Travis as well as Travis and his family which is nice. Those boys cracked me up!
You definitely don't feel like you are reading the same book twice which is nice and Jamie totally nailed the male POV.
People aren't lying when they say Walking Disaster will make you fall even more in love with Travis.
I think my favorite thing was learning exactly why Travis called Abby "Pigeon." <3
I highly recommend this for fans of Beautiful Disaster, it definitely completes the story and the epilogue is a nice treat for Travis and Abby fans. :)

Forever Too Far by Abbi Glines

Here’s my review for Forever Too Far by Abbi Glines….No one hate me….

Oh where do I begin?  First I want to say that I did like Fallen Too Far, I hated Never Too Far because it was too short and I felt that it was cranked out just to appease fans, that story could have been an epilogue, or fleshed out a little and made into a better book or released as a novella. I was disappointed that I paid $3.99 for it. 
Anyway. Over to Forever Too Far.  To say the least, I’m disappointed (for the first half of the book).  Abbi Glines, I like you, you seem like a really sweet person and you love your fans and actually listen to them when they speak, and I love your voice it’s cute.  But this book was annoying.  I hated that it went back and forth between Rush and Blaire so much. Half the time I didn’t know who was speaking and I had to go back and check.  I would have liked it better if you’d stuck with one or just let it go for a couple chapters so I could connect with them better.  I was left feeling confused and unsure how each really felt.  And I HATED Grants POV.  Wow, what a perv and I would never want a man to think of me in that way.  He referred to Harlow as a walking sexual fantasy.  I would never want my son to think of women in this way and I hope that no boy my daughter is interested treats her as an object of a fantasy instead the respect that she deserves.  I understand that men think with their downstairs brain, but really, this was just really wrong.  If I was Harlow, I would run in the opposite direction, ESPECIALLY when I found out he dated Nan.  I would never want to do anything to ruin Nan further than she already is. 

So, it WAS sweet how protective Rush was of Blaire, but it quickly became too much.  Let the girl breathe!  I don’t believe what Rush is showing to Blaire is love.  All he does is drag her around and not talk to her and then get mad when she talks about Nan.  I also think that Blaire has devolved into this shy, weak, wimpy mess.  She used to be kick ass.  She took care of her mom and pulled a gun on Grant and Nan, but now she just slinks off into the corner and lays in bed the whole time.  And what the heck about her cramping and bleeding.  What doctor would allow her to fly off in a plane the next day? And sex would be a huge no no.  For real. A doctor would have explained all that upon discharge.  Also, Blaire supposedly needs no stress and says she needs time to think while at her dad’s so when Rush asks to come see her, she should have said NO! “No, I need to think, give me a day.” But no, she lets him come. And then her dad drops that, oh, by the way, you have a brother! And the Rush says “hey, you have a week to plan the wedding…” Yeah. No stress my patootie. 

Ok, the book turns around after the wedding.  Rush and Blaire’s wedding was sweet and simple.  It was cute what Rush did right before the wedding.  I almost cried.  I almost cried again when she was walking down the aisle, and yes, I bought the dang song on itunes.  Its ok, Rush’s voice is weird.

I LOVE that Blaire had a natural birth and that she’s breastfeeding…I’m a mom, I did those things so it resonates with me. 

And Blaire did her kick ass back a little at the end.  I liked that, but I wish it would have been there the whole time. 

I still feel really sorry for Nan.  She needs someone.  Anyone.  Please Abbi, let Nan fall in love.  There doesn’t always have to be a villain.  Everyone deserves to be loved and shown love and to have someone in their life who cares. Second chances are awesome, even if it’s the 10^th second chance. 

School was hard, and other musings

Blah, so it's Tuesday and I didn't write a blog post! I have a super amazing one in my head.  School is really kicking my bootay this week and I just haven't even had much of chance to do anything else! I haven't even read much in Forever Too Far (WHAT! I know).  I think I just wasn't too impressed with Never Too Far so this hasn't really been the page turner for me that it is for most.  BUT, I'm not judging it until I finish it. Sometimes books start out really slow for me, and then BAM! I hit a good part and can't put it down.  I have several books on my Kindle right now waiting to be read, but I want to finish FTF quick because spoilers are popping up, and Abbi just posted that people were writing rude reviews.  That's sad.  I've written rude reviews, but I've recently gone back and edited them because I feel that the book is something that the author spent time on and quite possibly put their whole heart into, and being really harsh and rude is just mean.  There's a difference between constructive criticism and meanness (<--Who knew meanness was spelled that way?).
Anyway.  What books are you all currently reading? I just finished On An Edge Of Glass and OMG it was amazing. That's what the super amazing blog post in my head is about. I also just downloaded Stitch and Anne of Green Gables (I love a good classic AND its apparently considered YA!).  I really need August to get hear so I can read Komal Kant's new book.....wink wink.....And also Erica Cope needs to get to writing.....but she has an excuse to not....
So yeah, boring blog post. So comment and tell me what to read!!!

Steele Wolf By Chanda Hahn

Ack! So I've been on vacation for the past week and I haven't been able to do anything except fun vacation things lol.  I was super bummed to find out that Abbi Glines was in LA the day AFTER I was there. I probably would have stalked her.  I also stupidly left my kindle at home (what was I thinking?!)! So I got no reading done. I have the kindle app on my iphone, but it's such a tiny screen that it's hard to read anything.

Anyway, so here's my review of Steele Wolf by Chanda Hahn, I did manage to finish it before I left.

Steele Wolf starts where Iron Butterfly ends.  Thalia is back in her homeland, trying to fit in and pick up where she left off before being taken.  She finds this difficult because she is not the same person she was.  Her father is distant and ignores what happened to Thalia and dismisses her when she tries to tell him.  In an attempt to quell his daughter's new behavior her father sets up a Kreg Aruh (think Merida's situation in Brave), where suitors from all over the land come to fight for Thalia's hand.  Thalia, who doesn't like this, competes for her own hand and may have won if she hadn't been discovered. 

A series of events happen and Thalia is kidnapped and she discovers how she was first taken and who the Raven might be.  We also learn that Joss's sister has been kidnapped so Joss, Thalia, Kael and Hemi make the trek to Joss's home town of Skyfall to search for her. 

 I like that this book has more character information, but I still wish more physical description was used.  We know that Joss is blond, but are all Denai blond?  Thalia has dark hair, but so was Mona and her brother who we discover are evil.  I also kind of got lost in Skyfell. Maybe it was just me, but it could have been described a bit better. 

This series really wants to be good, but more detail need to be written out for the reader to fully comprehend the world this story takes place in.  If you are looking for a fun summer read, this is definitely something to pick up.  I got Iron Butterfly for free (on Amazon!) and I was loaned Steele Wolf by a friend.  I think I will have to buy the third one, but Steele Wolf was about $2, so I don't mind!

I did love that we learned more about Kael and how he's tied to Thalia.  It's kind of sad.  And while Chanda did a good job of explaining everything, we still don't know what he left behind (a wife, kids?).   What will ultimately happen to each of them? I'm assuming this will be answered in book three due out in August of this year (it can't come soon enough!).

 I get to pick up my kindle tomorrow (I forgot yesterday!) so I'll finish On an Edge of Glass and start on the summer reading list Erica posted yesterday.  Last summer was really busy for me, so this year I'm looking forward to laid back days of pool trips, sprinklers, ice cold sun tea, and of course, READING!

Iron Butterfly By Chanda Hahn

Iron Butterfly by Chandra Hahn. 

Firstly, this is the first book in a trilogy.  Book 2 is Steele Wolf and the third book is yet to be released, so I will review only Iron Butterfly and not the entire story.

Brief Summary

Thalia, was held in a torture prison, where the evil Septori performed medieval style torture on her.  It is unclear why or for how long until she escapes with the help of Kael, a worrier who fight the Septori guards and directs her to safety.  With no memories, Thalia is found by two Denai travelers on their way to the Denai capitol city of Haven where the younger of the two, Joss, is to be a student at the Denai School called the Citadel.
Thalia is brought before the Denai high council and found to be harmless and I put to work at the school.  A series of events leads her to become a student at the school and because of attacks against her from an unknown source, she begins combat training with the schools professors and eventually learns of her heritage. 

So many questions were raised in this book that were left unanswered.  Who are the Septori? Who are the Denai? Where and in what time does this story take place? Why was Thalia taken? Why is she so special? Who is Kael and why does she have this pull to him and why does he want her to hate him?
I understand that this is part one in a series, but as an author, you can’t leave so many questions unanswered and then open more in the last chapter-why does her family suddenly show up? Why do the Denai just let them take her? Why does her family clan hate the Denai so much? 
I was confused most of the book because I felt like I was already supposed to know the people who lived in this (unnamed) land.  I have no idea what everyone looks like and how Thalia is different from them physically (because it’s mentioned more than once that there are physical differences between Denai and other races). 

I felt that there wasn’t good flow throughout the story.  The author just told me what was happening instead of taking the time to create a story, setting the scene and showing me what was happening.  It was choppy and storylines seemed to be introduced out of convenience instead of necessity.  For example, Thalia had apparently been spending time in the stables with horses, but no mention was made of it until she had to meet Faraway the horse.  And then Faraway ends up being her guardian that she called upon, but then it’s not explained what a guardian is or why he was summoned, only that Thalia is the first person to call upon one in hundreds maybe thousands of years. 

This story is also written in the first person, but when new characters are introduced Thalia seems to know their names and who they are and what they do.  She also knows the names of buildings and places even though she has no memories and has never been to Haven before. 

Even with all the confusingness, I’m still drawn into this story.  I’m invested in Thalia and finding out who she really is and where she comes from, and what makes her so special.  I want to find out her relationship with Kael and Joss. 

I will continue to read the series and hopefully find out the answers to all the questions. 

Over all, it was well written, the ideas needed to be fleshed out a little, but the story is very intriguing and I can’t wait to continue with it.  

Thanks for reading!

Heather

Book Review: Suddenly Royal

Author: Nichole Chase Released: April 23 2013 Genre: Romance Samantha Rousseau is used to getting her hands dirty. Working toward a master’s degree in wildlife biology while helping take care of her sick father, she has no time for celebrity gossip, designer clothes, or lazy vacations. So when a duchess from the small country of Lilaria invites her to dinner, Samantha assumes it’s to discuss a donation for the program. The truth will change the course of her life in ways she never dreamed. Alex D’Lynsal is trying to keep his name clean. As crown prince of Lilaria, he’s had his share of scandalous headlines, but the latest pictures have sent him packing to America and forced him to swear off women—especially women in the public eye. That is, until he meets Samantha Rousseau. She’s stubborn, feisty, and incredibly sexy. Not to mention heiress to an estate in his country, which makes her everyone’s front-page news. While Sam tries to navigate the new world of politics and wealth, she will also have to dodge her growing feelings for Alex. Giving in to them means more than just falling in love; it would mean accepting the weight of an entire country on her shoulders When I heard about this book I knew that I would like it. Modern day fairy tale? Count me in! I started reading this while in the waiting room at the dentist office and I couldn't put it down until I finished it. Suddenly Royal is a super sweet story, with a super swoonworthy lead male. I loved the main character. She was feisty, intelligent, and compassionate.  Her lines had me cracking me up throughout most of the story and Prince Alex left me feeling all giggly and such.  I'm pretty sure I had a smile plastered on my face throughout the entire story (well, minus what happened at the end. Even though it was expected, it was still pretty sad. However after the sad part was over, I was right back to smiling again) I really loved the unfolding of the relationship. I kept waiting for the ball to drop but there wasn't any soap-opera-esque drama. On the contrary, the only "drama" in the relationship was a very real, believable, reluctance which I enjoyed immensely. It was a nice change of pace from the usual "main-character-has-a-deep-dark-secret-that-will-ruin-everything-only-it-never-really-does" story lines I've been reading lately. Not that I don't love those too! Suddenly Royal was just refreshingly different! And holy cow when Alex was helping Samantha with her zipper......*swoon* That part earned the book 5 stars on it's own! This was definitely a book that I will go back and re-read over and over again whenever I'm in the mood for a sweet romance with a real Prince Charming. Which will probably be pretty often. ;)