Tag: Helen Hoang

The Wednesday Post (11)

Posted April 17, 2019 by Rowena in Books, Features | 6 Comments

Can’t Wait Wednesday is hosted by Tessa over at Wishful Endings and it was based on Waiting on Wednesday that was hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme that is hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words.

I decided that I’m going to do a mashup of the Can’t Wait Wednesday and WWW Wednesday posts here on my blog. I’m bringing them together and calling it The Wednesday Post. Here’s what I’m up to this week.

WWW Wednesday

What did you recently finish reading?

Magic Burns (Kate Daniels #2) by Ilona Andrews | 4.25 out of 5

I’m in a reading slump like no other. I’m hoping that this week is the week that I finally kick it to the curb for good but it’s Wednesday and I’ve only read one book. I enjoyed Magic Burns a lot more than I did the previous book but my reading slump is responsible for why it took me so long to read it. It was a fantastic book with magic, kick-ass heroines, charming side characters and a romance that just won’t quit. I’m so here for all of the Kate Daniels magic that I’ve been hearing so much about. I can see it and I can’t wait for more.

What are you currently reading?

Hook Shot (Hoops #3) by Kennedy Ryan

I started this book this morning and already, I’m hooked. Kenney Ryan writes fabulous contemporary romances that really pull at your heart strings. I can’t wait to dig more into Lotus and Kenan’s romance. I adored them in the other books and look forward to seeing them shine on their own.

What do you think you’ll read next?

The Bride Test (The Kiss Quotient #2) by Helen Hoang

I can’t wait any longer to get this book read. I need more Asian romances in my life. Kwan, here I come!

Can’t Wait Wednesday

The Wednesday Post (11)If It Makes You Happy by Claire Kann
Published by Macmillan, Swoon Reads on June 4, 2019
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
Point of View: First Person
Pages: 288
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
Add It: Goodreads

High school finally behind her, Winnie is all set to attend college in the fall. But first she's spending her summer days working at her granny’s diner and begins spending her midnights with Dallas—the boy she loves to hate and hates that she likes. Winnie lives in Misty Haven, a small town where secrets are impossible to keep—like when Winnie allegedly snaps on Dr. Skinner, which results in everyone feeling compelled to give her weight loss advice for her own good. Because they care that’s she’s “too fat.”

Winnie dreams of someday inheriting the diner—but it'll go away if they can't make money, and fast. Winnie has a solution—win a televised cooking competition and make bank. But Granny doesn't want her to enter—so Winnie has to find a way around her formidable grandmother. Can she come out on top?

My friend Holly put this book on my radar. First of all, that cover is gorgeous. I love the colors and the cover model is too freaking adorable. Her outfit is super cute and that blurb had me requesting this for review with a quickness. I need to read more diverse stories and this fits the bill well so I’m all about it. This book comes out on June 4th so mark calendars, lovely readers, this one promises to be good one. I just know it!

So, what are you reading this week? Anything good? Anything that you want to rant about?
Are you looking forward to If It Makes You Happy by Claire Kann? What other books are you looking forward to releasing this year?

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The Wednesday Post (10)

Posted April 10, 2019 by Rowena in Books, Features | 2 Comments

Can’t Wait Wednesday is hosted by Tessa over at Wishful Endings and it was based on Waiting on Wednesday that was hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme that is hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words.

I decided that I’m going to do a mashup of the Can’t Wait Wednesday and WWW Wednesday posts here on my blog. I’m bringing them together and calling it The Wednesday Post. Here’s what I’m up to this week.

WWW Wednesday

What did you recently finish reading?

Fumbled by Alexa Martin | The Shameless Hour by Sarina Bowen

I finished Fumbled last night and The Shameless Hour the night before last night. Both books were great reads and I’m super glad that I requested Fumbled for review. Poppy could have been me. She even talks like me and I really enjoyed seeing her with Ace and Big Ace. The romance was fantastic, the dialogue was real and I really need to go back and read Intercepted. Alexa Martin has made herself nice and comfy on my auto-buy list with just this one book. Total score for me.

Ever since Sarina Bowen put her Ivy Years series on Kindle Unlimited, I’ve been binge reading these books during the day at work. I love this series and it continues to be a favorite of mine. I liked Bella’s story a lot more with this reading than I did the first time and I can’t wait to jump into my work re-read of DJ and Lianne.

What are you currently reading?

Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews | Hook Shot by Kennedy Ryan

What do you think you’ll read next?

Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs | The Bride Test by Helen Hoang

Can’t Wait Wednesday

I will always look forward to new releases by Sarah Dessen. She writes the kind of stories that I absolutely love and always want to read. This upcoming release sounds like a great addition to her back list and I can’t wait to dig into my review copy of it. Woot!

The Wednesday Post (10)The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen
Published by Harper Collins on June 4, 2019
Genres: Young Adult
Point of View: First Person
Pages: 400
Format: eARC
Source: Edelweiss
Amazon|Barnes & Noble
Add It: Goodreads

Emma Saylor doesn’t remember a lot about her mother, who died when she was ten. But she does remember the stories her mom told her about the big lake that went on forever, with cold, clear water and mossy trees at the edges.

Now it’s just Emma and her dad, and life is good, if a little predictable…until Emma is unexpectedly sent to spend the summer with her mother’s family—her grandmother and cousins she hasn’t seen since she was a little girl.

When Emma arrives at North Lake, she realizes there are actually two very different communities there. Her mother grew up in working class North Lake, while her dad spent summers in the wealthier Lake North resort. The more time Emma spends there, the more it starts to feel like she is divided into two people as well. To her father, she is Emma. But to her new family, she is Saylor, the name her mother always called her.

Then there’s Roo, the boy who was her very best friend when she was little. Roo holds the key to her family’s history, and slowly, he helps her put the pieces together about her past. It’s hard not to get caught up in the magic of North Lake—and Saylor finds herself falling under Roo’s spell as well.

For Saylor, it’s like a whole new world is opening up to her. But when it’s time to go back home, which side of her will win out?

So, what are you reading this week? Anything good? Anything that you want to rant about?
Are you looking forward to The Rest of the Story? What other books are you looking forward to releasing this year?

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Review: The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

Posted July 6, 2018 by Rowena in Reviews | 8 Comments

Review: The Kiss Quotient by Helen HoangThe Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
Series: The Kiss Quotient #1
Published by Penguin, Berkley on June 5, 2018
Genres: Contemporary, Romance
Point of View: Alternating Third Person
Pages: 336
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
Add It: Goodreads
five-stars

A heartwarming and refreshing debut novel that proves one thing: there's not enough data in the world to predict what will make your heart tick.

Stella Lane thinks math is the only thing that unites the universe. She comes up with algorithms to predict customer purchases--a job that has given her more money than she knows what to do with, and way less experience in the dating department than the average thirty-year-old.

It doesn't help that Stella has Asperger's and French kissing reminds her of a shark getting its teeth cleaned by pilot fish. Her conclusion: she needs lots of practice--with a professional. Which is why she hires escort Michael Phan. The Vietnamese and Swedish stunner can't afford to turn down Stella's offer, and agrees to help her check off all the boxes on her lesson plan--from foreplay to more-than-missionary position...

Before long, Stella not only learns to appreciate his kisses, but to crave all the other things he's making her feel. Soon, their no-nonsense partnership starts making a strange kind of sense. And the pattern that emerges will convince Stella that love is the best kind of logic...

It took me a really long time to read The Kiss Quotient and when I finally did, I wanted to kick myself in the tits because it was the most complete romance that I’ve read in a long time. Sure, I read and gave some 5 stars already this year but those books weren’t complete stories. Burn for Me was amazing and I adored it to pieces but the beginning was a little slow and there was so much information that it took me a while to figure things out but that wasn’t the case with The Kiss Quotient. Right from the very beginning, I was hooked.

There were a lot of things that I wasn’t prepared for when we meet Stella Lane. She’s a high functioning autistic heroine and that’s a huge part of her and a big part of the story. The author does a great job of making the reader understand what a person with Aspergers goes through and lives with every day. She doesn’t bring it up and then brush it under the rug. The reader lives through Stella’s days and in her thoughts and I couldn’t help but connect with her. There was never any middle ground with her, she was either indifferent or obsessed and I found that understanding these things about Stella helped me to care about her a lot deeper than I thought I would.

“All the things that make you different make you perfect.”

My book boyfriend for this week goes straight to Michael Phan because he was everything that I hoped for and everything that I wish for in real life. I’m not going to lie and say that I wasn’t prepared to like a male escort hero as much as I did for reasons I don’t even know but Helen Hoang gave Michael a story that anybody would come to love.

There’s a lot to love about Michael. He had dreams and he aspirations that he had to put on hold so that he could pick up the broken pieces of his family that his father left behind. He became the head of his family and took that position very seriously. He did whatever needed to be done to make sure that everyone he loved was safe, protected and well cared for. He put himself last at every turn and when Stella came into his life, he tried to do the same with her.

I loved seeing Michael fall in love with Stella because it was slow and it was sure. He understood Stella a lot more than anyone else did and he loved every single thing about her. He was patient with her and he was careful with her and he just won me over at every turn.

Here’s who I pictured as Michael Phan and I already know that it’s perfect because it’s mentioned in the book that he was a dead ringer for Daniel Henney and…*swoon*

Overall, this was an amazing story about a high functioning autistic heroine and the male escort that fell in love with her. This Pretty Woman storyline worked its magic on me and I have every confidence that it will do the same to you. Give it a try, I don’t think you’ll regret it.

Final Grade

5 out of 5

Buy the Book

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Google Play

The Kiss Quotient Series

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five-stars

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