Aira Cabrera Books: March 2014

Review: Then Came Alexandra (Southern Love #1) by E.L. Todd

7:26 PM

SYNOPSIS

"You’re everything to me. More than everything."

Alexandra…

After a horrific accident working as a nurse in the emergency room, Cassandra becomes reclusive to the world around her. Unable to be speak or function, she pushes away her boyfriend, Paul, of two years. Her distance causes him to spend time with someone else…the betrayal causes her to pack her bags and leave everything behind. She doesn’t know what comfort she’ll find in Savannah, Georgia, but she flees anyway.

Blaise…

After inheriting the most lucrative cotton field in the south, Blaise has to become a man early in life. He spends his nights with different girls, knowing they are after his money and his special abilities in the bedroom, but he makes a serious mistake with Danielle. Now she lives with him and he guards a secret that he promises to keep…even though that secret is destroying his life. When Cassandra comes into town, her smile and compassion evident, Blaise wants her, and not just in a physical way. Unable to keep his distance, he falls for her, not knowing how long he can keep his secret…

REVIEW

I received a copy from the author in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars!

Alexandra moves from New York to Savannah because of complications with her boyfriend. I'm not completely on her side because she was also unfair to her boyfriend. She had an incident working as a nurse and it made her distant and she didn't stop to think about how her boyfriend might feel if one day she was just so cold and won't tell him why. It doesn't justify what he did, but Alexandra should have at least listened to him more before disappearing to Savannah.

She goes to her aunt's house and helps her take care of the cotton there. She goes back to school to pursue a degree in English and gets a job as a Tech.

Blaise comes into the picture when he helps out Alexandra's aunt tent to the cotton fields since she hurt her back. They develop a friendship and Alexandra tries to give Blaise hints that she likes him, but he never tries anything with her. There is something, or rather someone, who is holding Blaise back. I was just so disappointed with how Daniella kept holding him back. He has nothing to lose by cutting all ties with this girl, but his conscience won't let him be free of her.

I will be anticipating for the second book!

Favorite Quote:

"Never trust someone who lies to you, and never lie to someone who trusts you."

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5stars

Review: Her Soundtrack (Masquerade, #1)

2:40 PM

SYNOPSIS

"Fairy tales don’t exist. There are no knights in shining armor and for all I know there is no such thing as real, honest-to-God, Earth-shattering romance. There is only comfort and ease when it comes to real love. I should consider myself lucky to have found someone who I’m comfortable with. There are no waves, there are no bumps in the road… so why do I feel like I want to crawl out of my skin?"

Life for Gabriella had always been straightforward, albeit a bit boring, but a passionate, almost magical, encounter with an enigmatic stranger catapults her into evolving into stronger version of herself. Her evolution does not come without consequence, though. Gabriella learns the hard way that turning on the lights can reveal just as much ugly as it can beauty. She discovers that the comfortable relationship she’d been idling in for too long is, in fact, far more dangerous than she ever imagined and finds herself desperate for the inexplicable comfort she finds in the arms of a stranger.

REVIEW

5 STARS!

Gabriella is from a very religious family. She has been with her boyfriend David for years and they haven't went beyond kissing and hugging. Gabriella likes to think that this is because she is so religious and she wants to save herself for marriage, but it's not that at all. She just doesn't feel sparks when David touches her and he's more of an acquaintance that you kiss sometimes when you feel like it rather than a boyfriend. There's just nothing there.

Gabriella and her parents go to Italy for her father's business. Gabriella's mother hears of a masquerade party and tells Ella. They were supposed to go together, but some problems came up which led to Ella going to the party on her own.

While she was there, she meets Jonathan. Jonathan was very forward with Ella and instead of feeling repulsed, she was aroused.

"At that moment I knew, there was no way I wasn't going to give in to Jonathan di Luca."

Jonathan led Ella down a staircase and proceeded to give Ella what she's never experienced with anyone before.

"The feeling of his touch on my skin, the emotion-everything was too much to handle. I had never felt like that before in my life."

Before things go too far, Ella pulls away from Jonathan and runs away from him. She couldn't believe that she almost gave in to a stranger.
Ella goes back to New York. Ella is a nurse and she was supposed to be forgetting Jonathan di Luca, but it's kind of hard to do that when she sees him in the hospital she works at and he is introduced to her as the board member who donated the new wing for the hospital.

Ella tries so hard to stay away from Jonathan, but it just wasn't possible. They go through a lot of trials together and I got so frustrated with Ella when she pushed Jonathan away. I wanted to reach inside my kindle and slap some sense into her.

David.

I loved this book and I hope Jonathan's sister Claudia gets her own book. Pretty please R. Matthews. I love her and she deserves to be happy!

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5stars

Review: Until Lilly (Until #3) by Aurora Rose Reynolds

7:28 PM

SYNOPSIS

When Cash Mayson was forced to choose between the love of his life and his unborn child, he knew exactly what he had to do. No matter how broken it left him.
When Lilly Donovan was forced to accept that the guy she loved wasn’t who she thought he was and became a single mother, she knew exactly what she had to do. Proving just how strong she was.
What happens when years later you find out that everything you thought you knew was a lie?
Can two people who once loved each other overcome the obstacles that are thrown at them and fall in love all over again?
Cash Mayson had forgotten how it felt to be loved Until Lilly came back into his life. And now that he remembers, he will do everything within his power to keep not only the woman that he loves, but also his children.
The power of love is a beautiful thing.

REVIEW

5 STARS!

I loved the first two books in the Until series, but this one is my favorite!

Four years ago, Cash and Lilly met at a coffee shop. Cash insisted on paying for her coffee which proceeded to annoy the hell out of her. Lilly, being a complete klutz, spilled coffee on him and hit him on the chin with her head. Cash knew then that Lilly was the one for him.

They spend time together, date, and fall in love. After their wonderful night full of love, everything crumbles the day after.

Cash finds out that he got one of his hook-ups pregnant. The girl is a lunatic and she's threatening to get an abortion if Cash doesn't give her all of his time. He has no choice but to save his son. He breaks up with Lilly in order to not get her caught up in the mess that is now his life.

Lilly finds out she's pregnant and texts Cash to tell him. She receives cold replies from him and she is angry and heartbroken. She has to do what's best for her baby since the father of her unborn child wants nothing to do with the both of them.

Years later, they meet again. Cash is with his son when he sees Lilly and a little girl calling her mommy. His first reaction was surprise because the little girl looks exactly like his son. His second reaction was anger because he knows that the little girl was his daughter and he's angry because Lilly did not tell him about her. As the truth comes to light, all Cash feels is regret and guilt. Lilly was still hesitant to trust Cash, but he was going to make sure that she trusts him again so that they can finally be a family. I just felt so sorry for the both of them.

"I'm going to make you fall in love with me again."

Cash fought so hard to win Lilly back, and when he finally did, I couldn't be happier! They were so amazing together and they were even more amazing as parents to Ashlyn and Jaxon.

I loved the moments when they would spend time with their children. It was just so adorable and it gave me warm fuzzy feelings.

Let me get to the not so good parts. Jules. Every bad thing that happened in this book was Jules' fault. I just hated that woman so much. She's a horrible mother to Jax. She doesn't care about him one bit. Everyone in Cash's family hated her since she made it her mission in life to ensure that they did.

When Jules wasn't in the picture, everything was delightful.

I'm glad that even though Jax's biological mother was a total bitch, Lilly was more than happy to be a mom to him. I love second chance stories and this book is one of my favorites now!

I'm so excited for Nico's book!

"I found her. I found my boom."

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3stars

Review: Push the Envelope (Blythe College #1) by Rochelle Paige

5:55 PM

SYNOPSIS

Alexa is just your average college junior, attending classes and piloting Mile High Club charter flights. Boys haven't been on her radar for a couple years after a disastrous breakup with her high school sweetheart. Her plans to focus on school hit a bit of a snag when she meets bad-boy Drake Bennett and he sets his sights on making her his own.

Drake transferred to Blythe College for the rugby team, not for a new assortment of college girls. He's sexy and cocky, and he attracts women like moths to a flame. When he meets Alexa, Drake knows he's met his match. She tries to resist him, but Drake isn't used to taking no for an answer.

This does not have a cliffhanger.

REVIEW

3 STARS!

Alexa doesn't really notice boys anymore ever since her ex-boyfriend cheated on her then proceeded to stalk her when he wanted her back.

She meets Drake at a party and for the first time in what feels like forever, she has a physical reaction to him.

Drake acted like a total jerk the first and second time they met. The third time they bumped into each other was when Drake needed to go home for his mom's birthday party and his dad chartered him a plane that Alexa and her dad was flying.

Drake thought that Alexa was in a relationship with Jackson, so he acted like a jerk because he was frustrated. He has been interested in Alexa for weeks and hasn't had the courage to come up and talk to her. Jackson is the brother of Alexa's best friend Aubrey. He is very protective of them both.

After Alexa explained to Drake that she and Jackson were not together, he pretty much takes her as his.

I enjoyed it, but I was expecting Drake to play rugby more since he did transfer schools to play the sport.

If you're looking for a quick and easy read, you should check this book out.

I'll definitely be checking out the second book which will be Jackson's story!

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4stars

Review: Break Me (Make or Break #2) by Amanda Heath

7:16 PM

SYNOPSIS

“Wes, I don’t know what you want me to say here.” Royal’s voice is broken. Maybe he is broken. Maybe I broke him. Lord knows I’m broken myself.
“Don’t say anything,” I start off with. There are so many things I want to tell him. The one thing I want him to know, that I want him, I will never say aloud. “When push comes to shove Royal, you’ll break me. I’d never be the same after you. I’d be a shell of this girl.”
His face pales but he doesn’t step away. Something I had planned on. His hands caress my face before he says, “You have that wrong, Wesley. You’ll be the one to break me.”

Wesley Bridges was lost between the living and the dead. She was clinging to her boyfriend, who passed away unexpectedly. She was left with having no way to move on. Her best friends, Annabella and Pierce were too caught up in each other to save her. Even her family turned a blind eye, not able to bear her grief.

Then one day, Royal Sanders walked into her life. Tall, dark and sinfully handsome, but aren’t all the unattainable ones? At first it was nothing. She was asked to tutor him and found he’s different than even she thought. She even turned to Royal when things got too hard. And when she falls for him, she falls hard.

But Royal’s the enemy. A long drawn out hatred brews between her friends and Royal’s. That doesn’t seem important to her, considering she’s still in love with her dead boyfriend. A love triangle between life and death…who will win?

Grief is a powerful emotion but there are several different kinds of grief. Betrayal and heartache are still knocking on her door. Things are about to come crashing down around her. It will definitely break her, but will Royal be enough to save her?

REVIEW

4 STARS!

Wes is in a state of depression. Her boyfriend was killed by a drunk driver and she still hasn't been able to get over it after six months. Her cousin and best friend Pierce is not comfortable with emotions, so he hasn't been much help to Wes. Her other best friend Annabella is too self-absorbed to see that her friend is wasting away.

Royal needs a world history tutor. If he fails history, he'll get kicked off the swim team and his father won't pay for Juilliard. Royal doesn't really have the best history with women. He's athletic, devastatingly handsome, and rich.

Wes and Royal develop a friendship because they understand what it's like to be lonely. Royal's parents barely come home, much less pay any attention to him and his twin sister Rachel. Wes' so called friends aren't there for her when she needs them. They were bound to be friends, but it turns into something more. Wes was doing well and moving on with Royal when she finds something that destroys her all over again.

I love that Royal tried so hard to win Wes' heart. Wes loves reading historical romances, so what does Royal do? He courts her.

He wrote her a letter. That letter was beautiful.

I thought he couldn't top the letter, but he proved me wrong with the songs. He sang to her every night for two weeks.

I loved almost everything about this book except Annabella. I liked her in the first book because I thought she was kinda nice, but I hate her now. She's manipulative, insensitive, and so freakin selfish it's unbelievable. I never want to read about her again, but I have a feeling she's going to have a big role in the third book. I'm super excited for the third book, but highly disappointed with the choices of who I think will be the main characters. I'm guessing there will be more drama because of the big revelations at the end of Break Me!

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4stars

Review: Take a Chance (Chance #1) by Abbi Glines

7:39 PM

SYNOPSIS

When Harlow Manning's rocker father goes on tour, he sends her to Rosemary Beach, Florida, to live with her half-sister, Nan. The problem: Nan despises her. Harlow has to keep her head down if she wants to get through the next nine months, which seems easy enough. Until gorgeous Grant Carter walks out of Nan's room in nothing but his boxer briefs.

Grant made a huge mistake getting involved with a girl with venom in her veins. He'd known about Nan's reputation, but still he couldn't resist her. Nothing makes him regret the fling more than meeting Harlow, who sends his pulse racing. Yet Harlow wants nothing to do with a guy who could fall for her wicked half-sister—even if there are no strings between Grant and Nan. Grant is desperate to redeem himself in Harlow's eyes, but did he ruin his chances before he even met her?

4 STARS

REVIEW

I was excited to read this because Grant was one of my favorite characters. He was always funny and nice so I expected a lot from him.

Well in this book, he wasn't all that nice and funny. He was a total jerk about 50% of the book and I was disappointed in him because of his decisions. His reason for getting involved with Nan was understandable, but it was dumb.

I just felt like this was Grant's motto in life :

I need to rant some more about Grant. He was in a constant battle with himself and he was just so whiny and weak! I felt like I was listening to a girl on her period. I'm sorry, but it's true. Grant sounds like me when I'm asking my mother to buy me ice cream and carry me to my bed when I'm on my period. All whiny and annoying.
The things that he were just unacceptable and downright disgusting. I'm not sure if I would have forgiven him had I been in Harlow's place.

Harlow was sweet as always and too forgiving. She tried to be "strong" and resist Grant's charms, but apparently Grant is just irresistible. At about half of the book, Grant turns into the nice caring guy that I loved. He took care of Harlow and treated her like a precious gem. Harlow is quite insecure and Grant always finds ways to assure her that she has nothing to worry about.

I liked the twist that involved Kiro. I was surprised and my heart ached for him.

This book does end in a cliffhanger so prepare yourselves.

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