The Book Courier: June 2015

by Catherine Bybee

This title is available on Kindle Unlimited.

Cover~ B

Adorable!

Plot~ A

According to the tabloids, Katelyn Morrison has it all. Only she knows what she can't have. Oh and Dean Prescott, her brother's best friend/her ex-boyfriend, who just so happens to be the only man she has ever loved. They share secrets about what happened during their secret relationship. When she sees Dean after almost 2 years after their devastating breakup at her brother's wedding, she realizes she has a gaping hole in her life. She wants the white picket fence, adoring husband, and kids running around. Only kids aren't possible.

After returning from the ceremony, Katie discovers an infant on her doorstep with a note, a birth certificate, diaper bag, and an adoption certificate with her name on it! Determined to keep the baby until she finds the mother, Katie takes the baby girl under her wing. Taking care of a newborn is hard enough, but with avoiding her family and the tabloids, and working her first job, Kaite doesn't need Dean snooping around especially since his presence stirs up feelings from the past, which turns out never really went away.

But Dean knows Katie is up to something. She's changed. And he likes it. This time he is determined to not let her slip through his fingers again.

Characters~ B

Katie is over the stereotype of the dumb rich blonde, she is so much more than that with a degree in design and business. When she was younger she longed for the attention of her brother's best friend, Dean. She became reckless and learned to love the spotlight and attention. Now that she has had her heart shattered, she is not up for all the tabloid drama and is ready to settle down. She's got a bunch of Mommy issues that make her want to be a great mom, but also scare her that she will follow in her mother's footsteps. She is determined to love and care for Savannah as if she were her own flesh and blood, but what if this is all a cruel joke, and the mother is waiting to pounce with the tabloids?

Princesses were kept women who preened all day long and waited for their princes to give them a purpose in life. I am not a princess.

Dean is fresh out of a breakup. Six moths after the spit with Katie, Dean finds himself engaged to a woman he barely knew. But she was perfect, or so he told everyone. Turns out she was the perfect case of "If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with." He sees Katie and notice the difference in her. This time around they are going to do things right and he's not planning on letting her go.

Monica is one of those amazing side characters that you hope gets her own book.

Writing~ B

This book was just so adorable! It was told from Dean and Katie's POV, with a few chapters from Monica. I loved Dean's POV, because it was so emotional. The way the two felt about each was beautiful and complicated. Even 1.5 years and 1 broken engagement, Dean is still deeply in love with Katie. He is still so heartbroken, and it made me heartbroken reading his chapters. You could clearly feel his emotions and my heart ached for him. Their past is heartbreaking and both had different ways of coping. For Katie that was pushing Dean away so that he could be happy in his future.

I will admit I figured out who the father was around 6% of the book. I was afraid that this would ruin the book for me, but everything worked out great. I do wish that the author did no drop as many hints about the paternity so that the suspense was there.

That's the problem with relationships. You don't know if they are going to work out. There are no guarantees and tons of heartache along the way.

Overall Rating~ 4 darlin' stars!

My tags: NA, romance, contemporary, adult, cowboy, heiress, adult, Texan, baby, love, friendship, chick lit. motherhood, parenthood

by Kristin Cashore

Cover #1

Cover #2

Cover ~ C

I feel the covers do not do the book justice and fails to capture the essence of the book! It makes it look childish, even though it is YA.

Plot ~ C

In the Seven Kingdoms, people born with an extreme skill, or Grace, are feared and exploited. Cats despised hers; killing. Her uncle Randa is King of the Middluns and commands her to punish and torture his enemies.

When she meets Prince Po, who has combat Grace, they become friends and she learns disturbing truths about the Realm and its rulers. It turns out her uncle is not the most ruthless ruler in the Seven Kingdoms.

Characters ~ D

Katsa reminded me of a lesser version of Aelin from Throne of Glass! It is never good when a main character can be compared to a similar book. The characters need to be unique in some way to make them different than the competing titles.

Po was cute. I couldn't stop thinking of the word "pansy" because thats how he was portrayed in my mind. The author could have done a better job at making Po more masculine, at times he was over shadowed by Katsa. I just think he could have been more likable. But what bothered me the most was the instalove! Blah I hate it most times.

Writing ~ C

I had a difficult time getting into the book, and wasn't engaged in the book until about half way through. I liked that we met new characters throughout the entire book. My problem was that the story was changing so much, that so many things were left unresolved, which pissed me off. Maybe the next books would answer these questions, but it is doubtful. The 2nd book has completely different characters and is in a different kingdom, and I am pretty sure it takes place before Graceling.

I am unsure if I will continue the series. I am afraid if I read Bitterblue (book 3), I will not like the way Katsa and Po's relationship will turn out. It was pretty rocky at the end, which I hated because it was such a large part of the story!