The Trouble with Goodbye by Sarra Cannon

Source:  Purchased (free book on Google Play before the release of the sequel)
Genre:  New Adult
Publisher: Dead River
Date Published: May 21, 2013
Number of Pages: 330

One night can change everything…

Two years ago, Leigh Anne Davis shocked everyone in tiny Fairhope, Georgia when she broke up with her wealthy boyfriend to attend an Ivy League university a thousand miles away. At school, she finds a happiness and independence she’s never known.

Until one terrifying night takes it all away from her.

With no place else to go, Leigh Anne heads home to reclaim her old life. A life she worked so hard to escape. On the outside, she seems like the same girl everyone has always known. But deep inside, she’s hiding a terrible secret.

That’s when she meets Knox Warner, a troubled newcomer to Fairhope. His eyes have the same haunted look she sees every day in the mirror, and when she’s near him, the rest of the world fades away. But being with Knox would mean disappointing everyone all over again. If she wants to save what’s left of her old life, she has no choice but to say goodbye to him forever.

Only, the trouble with goodbye is that sometimes it’s about courage and sometimes it’s about fear. And sometimes you’re too broken to know the difference until it’s too late.

The Gunslinger by Stephen King

Source:  Purchased
Genre: Adult Fantasy/Horror
Publisher: Plume
Date Published: June 10, 1982 (original pub. date)
Number of Pages: 231
Book 1 in The Dark Tower series

Beginning with a short story appearing in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in 1978, the publication of Stephen King's epic work of fantasy -- what he considers to be a single long novel and his magnum opus -- has spanned a quarter of a century.

Set in a world of extraordinary circumstances, filled with stunning visual imagery and unforgettable characters, The Dark Tower series is King's most visionary feat of storytelling, a magical mix of science fiction, fantasy, and horror that may well be his crowning achievement.

Book I
In The Gunslinger (originally published in 1982), King introduces his most enigmatic hero, Roland Deschain of Gilead, the Last Gunslinger. He is a haunting, solitary figure at first, on a mysterious quest through a desolate world that eerily mirrors our own. Pursuing the man in black, an evil being who can bring the dead back to life, Roland is a good man who seems to leave nothing but death in his wake.

This new edition of The Gunslinger has been revised and expanded throughout by King, with new story material, in addition to a new introduction and foreword. It also includes four full-color illustrations in the hardcover and trade paperback formats.  (from Goodreads)

Dark Lover by J.R. Ward

Source: Purchased
Genre: Adult Romance- Paranormal
Publisher: Signet
Date Published: September 6, 2005
Number of Pages: 393
Book 1 in Black Dagger Brotherhood series

In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there's a deadly turf war going on between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of brothers like no other-six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Yet none of them relishes killing more than Wrath, the leader of The Black Dagger Brotherhood.
 
The only purebred vampire left on earth, Wrath has a score to settle with the slayers who murdered his parents centuries ago. But, when one of his most trusted fighters is killed-leaving his half-breed daughter unaware of his existence or her fate-Wrath must usher her into the world of the undead-a world of sensuality beyond her wildest dreams.  (from Goodreads)

Cover Reveal: Inspire by Cora Carmack

Cover Reveal for Inspire by Cora Carmack, a book I am extremely excited to buy and read!!

All Lined Up by Cora Carmack

Source:  Purchased

Genre: New Adult
Publisher:  HarperCollins
Date Published:  May 14, 2014
Number of Pages:  322

This is only $1.99 on Kindle!! Pick it up!!

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Cora Carmack follows up her trio of hits—Losing It, Faking It, and Finding It—with this thrilling first novel in an explosive series bursting with the Texas flavor, edge, and steamy romance of Friday Night Lights.

In Texas, two things are cherished above all else—football and gossip. My life has always been ruled by both.

Dallas Cole loathes football. That's what happens when you spend your whole childhood coming in second to a sport. College is her time to step out of the bleachers, and put the playing field (and the players) in her past.

But life doesn't always go as planned. As if going to the same college as her football star ex wasn’t bad enough, her father, a Texas high school coaching phenom, has decided to make the jump to college ball… as the new head coach at Rusk University. Dallas finds herself in the shadows of her father and football all over again.

Carson McClain is determined to go from second-string quarterback to the starting line-up. He needs the scholarship and the future that football provides. But when a beautiful redhead literally falls into his life, his focus is more than tested. It's obliterated.

Dallas doesn't know Carson is on the team. Carson doesn't know that Dallas is his new coach's daughter.

And neither of them know how to walk away from the attraction they feel.  (from Goodreads)

Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

Source: Purchased

Genre: YA-Contemporary Romance

Publisher:  Dutton Juvenile

Date Published:  August 14, 2014
Number of Pages:  352

Love ignites in the City That Never Sleeps, but can it last? 

Hopeless romantic Isla has had a crush on introspective cartoonist Josh since their first year at the School of America in Paris. And after a chance encounter in Manhattan over the summer, romance might be closer than Isla imagined. But as they begin their senior year back in France, Isla and Josh are forced to confront the challenges every young couple must face, including family drama, uncertainty about their college futures, and the very real possibility of being apart. 

Featuring cameos from fan-favorites Anna, Étienne, Lola, and Cricket, this sweet and sexy story of true love—set against the stunning backdrops of New York City, Paris, and Barcelona—is a swoonworthy conclusion to Stephanie Perkins’s beloved series.  (from Goodreads)

Asher by Jo Raven

Source:  Purchased

Genre:  New Adult

Publisher: Smashwords

Date Published: May 21st, 2014
Number of Pages: 213

Now eighteen, Audrey returns to her hometown for the first time after the accident – the car crash that took her dad and scarred her for life. She’s here to start again. Go to college and have fun. Make new friends. Get over the past.

But the past won’t let go. Asher is here – her first kiss, her first heartbreak. More handsome and distant than ever, he’s still the boy who used to be her best friend. That was before he changed into someone she hardly knows anymore – the boy who started getting into fights and gave her the cold shoulder for years.

Asher isn’t what she needs. In fact, she hates him and should try her best to keep away from him. Yet her body doesn’t seem to care about how she feels, and maybe, just maybe this time her body got it right. Not that she has much of a choice. Asher draws her like a bright flame, and if she isn’t careful, she’ll burn.

And that may not be such a bad thing after all...   (from Goodreads)

Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover

Source:  Purchased
Genre:  New Adult, Romance
Publisher: Atria Books

Date Published: August 5, 2014

Number of Pages: 320

When Tate Collins meets airline pilot Miles Archer, she knows it isn’t love at first sight. They wouldn’t even go so far as to consider themselves friends. The only thing Tate and Miles have in common is an undeniable mutual attraction. Once their desires are out in the open, they realize they have the perfect set-up. He doesn’t want love, she doesn’t have time for love, so that just leaves the sex. Their arrangement could be surprisingly seamless, as long as Tate can stick to the only two rules Miles has for her.

Never ask about the past.
Don’t expect a future.

They think they can handle it, but realize almost immediately they can’t handle it at all.

Hearts get infiltrated.
Promises get broken.
Rules get shattered.
                                                          Love gets ugly.     (from Goodreads)

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

Source:  Purchased
Genre:  Contemporary Romance, Chick Lit
Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Date Published: October 1, 2013

Number of Pages: 295

An international sensation, this hilarious, feel-good novel is narrated by an oddly charming and socially challenged genetics professor on an unusual quest: to find out if he is capable of true love.

Don Tillman, professor of genetics, has never been on a second date. He is a man who can count all his friends on the fingers of one hand, whose lifelong difficulty with social rituals has convinced him that he is simply not wired for romance. So when an acquaintance informs him that he would make a “wonderful” husband, his first reaction is shock. Yet he must concede to the statistical probability that there is someone for everyone, and he embarks upon The Wife Project. In the orderly, evidence-based manner with which he approaches all things, Don sets out to find the perfect partner. She will be punctual and logical—most definitely not a barmaid, a smoker, a drinker, or a late-arriver.

Yet Rosie Jarman is all these things. She is also beguiling, fiery, intelligent—and on a quest of her own. She is looking for her biological father, a search that a certain DNA expert might be able to help her with. Don's Wife Project takes a back burner to the Father Project and an unlikely relationship blooms, forcing the scientifically minded geneticist to confront the spontaneous whirlwind that is Rosie—and the realization that love is not always what looks good on paper.

The Rosie Project is a moving and hilarious novel for anyone who has ever tenaciously gone after life or love in the face of overwhelming challenges.  (from Goodreads)

Shattered by Tracy Wolff

Source: Purchased 
Genre:  New Adult
Publisher: Flirt

Date Published: April 22, 2014

Number of Pages: 299

 Ash Lewis has poured every last ounce of his blood, sweat, and tears into reaching the very top of the professional snowboarding world—until the unthinkable happens. After the biggest competition win of his career, Ash’s mother and father are killed in a tragic accident. Unable to handle the idea of going back out on the snow to pursue the dream his parents shared with him, Ash feels that he has no choice but to walk away from snowboarding forever. Then he meets Tansy Hampton.

Wild, fun, and impulsive, Tansy has a different look and a new passion every week. As a cancer survivor who spent the past several years waiting to die, Tansy has a fresh perspective on life—even if she doesn’t have a clue about what she actually wants to do with it. But she’s determined to find out, and that means making the most of her time while she still can.

From the very beginning, their chemistry is intense. But while Ash can’t stop chasing the ghosts of what can never be, Tansy stays firmly focused on the possibilities the world holds for her—and for them. She’s already picked up the pieces of one shattered life. Now she’s determined to help Ash do the same.  (from  Goodreads)

Making Faces by Amy Harmon

Source:  Purchased
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Smashwords

Date Published: October 12, 2013
Number of Pages: 405

Ambrose Young was beautiful. He was tall and muscular, with hair that touched his shoulders and eyes that burned right through you. The kind of beautiful that graced the covers of romance novels, and Fern Taylor would know. She'd been reading them since she was thirteen. But maybe because he was so beautiful he was never someone Fern thought she could have...until he wasn't beautiful anymore.
Making Faces is the story of a small town where five young men go off to war, and only one comes back. It is the story of loss. Collective loss, individual loss, loss of beauty, loss of life, loss of identity. It is the tale of one girl's love for a broken boy, and a wounded warrior's love for an unremarkable girl. This is a story of friendship that overcomes heartache, heroism that defies the common definitions, and a modern tale of Beauty and the Beast, where we discover that there is a little beauty and a little beast in all of us.

Rule by Jay Crownover

Source:  Purchased
Genre:  New Adult
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks

Date Published: May 7, 2013

Number of Pages: 432

Opposites in every way . . . except the one that matters 

Shaw Landon loved Rule Archer from the moment she laid eyes on him. Rule is everything a straight--A pre-med student like Shaw shouldn’t want--and the only person she’s never tried to please. She isn’t afraid of his scary piercings and tattoos or his wild attitude. Though she knows that Rule is wrong for her, her heart just won’t listen.

To a rebel like Rule Archer, Shaw Landon is a stuck-up, perfect princess-and his dead twin brother’s girl. She lives by other people’s rules; he makes his own. He doesn’t have time for a good girl like Shaw-even if she’s the only one who can see the person he truly is.

But a short skirt, too many birthday cocktails, and spilled secrets lead to a night neither can forget. Now, Shaw and Rule have to figure out how a girl like her and a guy like him are supposed to be together without destroying their love . . . or each other. (from Goodreads)

Best Kind of Broken by Chelsea Fine

This is a novel I'm not entirely sure how to explain or review.  

Publisher:  Forever
Date Published:  March 4, 2014
Number of Pages:  285




Pixie and Levi haven't spoken in nearly a year when they find themselves working―and living―at the same inn in the middle of nowhere. Once upon a time, they were childhood friends. But that was before everything went to hell. And now things are... awkward.

All they want to do is avoid each other, and their past, for as long as possible. But now that they're forced to share a bathroom, and therefore a shower, keeping their distance from one another becomes less difficult than keeping their hands off each other. Welcome to the hallway of awkward tension and sexual frustration, folks. Get comfy. It’s going to be a long summer.  (from Goodreads)

Opal by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Source:  Purchased
Genre: YA-Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal Romance
Date Published: December 11, 2012


After everything, I’m no longer the same Katy. I’m different... And I’m not sure what that will mean in the end. When each step we take in discovering the truth puts us in the path of the secret organization responsible for torturing and testing hybrids, the more I realize there is no end to what I’m capable of. The death of someone close still lingers, help comes from the most unlikely source, and friends will become the deadliest of enemies, but we won’t turn back. Even if the outcome will shatter our worlds forever.  (from Goodreads)

I'm Back with a Brand New Look!!!

So...I decided to make the blog look more professional.  Completely redo it.  So when we got back from my parents' on Sunday (they live 4 hours away), I made it my mission to redo the blog on Monday.  

I failed.

Hard.

I broke the blog.  BROKE IT.  It looked awful.  Nothing worked.  I almost broke the laptop.  I cried.  I gave up.

So on Tuesday, I decided to just keep looking at templates and find something that spoke to me.  In the span of time it took me to open 2 websites, we completely lost internet.  A large part of the state lost internet (a cut fiber, or something?) and we didn't get it back until 9pm.  So that wasn't happening either.

Then this morning, amiss doctors appointments and running to the grocery store, I found a template I love (and is now a part of this blog!  Yay!) only to be forced to have my husband install it, cause I couldn't figure it out.  

Everything is finally resolved (almost! The Book Reviews tab is not working, but that will be resolved soon!) and I feel confident in saying...Welcome to the new Happy Cloud Reviews, guys!!   Thanks for all the support!!

I'm still on Twitter!!  And I'm more active!!  Let's follow each other!!
@happycloudbooks


I will resume posting reviews, which I am VERY behind in, tomorrow!!