Measuring Up by Nyrae Dawn

“He hurt me more than anyone ever has, but he loved me better than anyone ever did, too.”

I have yet to read more books of Nyrae Dawn's but her writing captured me in Measuring up. She used simple words, simple sentences yet altogether they made something very beautiful.

Annabel Lee is a 17 year old girl that isn't a size 0, or close to. Her mother is in very nice words a complete and utter witch. Having hired a personal trainer to help her lose weight during the summer. The last thing she expects is for her personal trainer to be blonde, muscular and funny. His name is Tegan and in her eyes just another jerk, but Tegan is much more than that. He's the boy that teaches her to box when she's having a bad day, Who jogs with her letting her set the pace.

Fitness isn't all that is on either of their minds though, and soon he offers her much more than just working out together. His kisses leaves her always wanting more. The way he looks at her makes her feel much more beautiful than what the scales read and most of all unlike her mother he does not expect perfection, or tends to shield her from the world like her father does. Tegan has a lot to learn from Annabel though. He needs to learn that he can't always protect those he loves and that sometimes you have to do what's right for you instead of what's right for others in order to ever be truly satisfied in life.

Love is a complicated thing though, and soon both of them have to learn that loving someone doesn't always mean needing someone.

Measuring up is a book that you read within a night, it's a book that makes the smallest, the simplest things in life matter. It's a book that makes you realize love is not need. To love you do not have to need that person, if anything you should love them but never need them because that love can disappear from your life in a matter of seconds.

This book gets 3 out of 5 stars from me, it was beautifully written and a perfect romance. I guess the reason it wouldn't get 5 out of 5 though is because we've all seen this story before, boy meets girl - girl isn't good enough for boy. Boy loves girl anyways, girl loves boy. Life gets in the way and then they get the perfect ending. But this book does have more than that in it, it's message is what we should all keep within our hearts for years to come.

Need is not love, and vice-versa.

Goodread's link

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

“The worst type of crying wasn't the kind everyone could see--the wailing on street corners, the tearing at clothes. No, the worst kind happened when your soul wept and no matter what you did, there was no way to comfort it. A section withered and became a scar on the part of your soul that survived. For people like me and Echo, our souls contained more scar tissue than life.”

'Pushing the Limits' is the first book in Katie McGarry's  Young Adult 'Pushing the Limits Series'. The book follows the story of Echo Emerson and Noah Hutchins. Two High School seniors who have dealt with more than their fair share of issues. The story is narrated by both Echo and Noah, in alternating first person every few chapters.

I read this book a while ago and it has stayed in my head since. So when I got the opportunity to write reviews for books this book was on the top of my list!

For both Echo and Noah their lives could have been described as content up until a point where both of them were shattered. Noah lost his parents and was put into foster care with his younger brothers. Echo lost her brother in Afghanistan and something happened to her that she doesn't remember but it had something to do with her unstable mother and the scars will be forever a reminder.

While Noah resorted to drugs and alcohol to cope Echo became closed off and shy. They may seem different but both of them are lost and looking for way to pick up the broken pieces of their lives. But that's kind of hard when you're labeled destructive and unstable, and all aspects of your life being controlled by your father and his pregnant girlfriend.

Noah and Echo first meet outside of the school counselor's office where they both attend sessions. Here starts the roller coaster that will push Noah and Echo to their limits.(see what I did there?!)

Both characters stole a piece of my heart. Echo feared so much because of that night even though she can't remember it but she still finds it in herself to help Noah. And then we have Noah, oh Noah, if I had a guy like you lets just say my life would be complete! Underneath that bad boy persona is a guy that is loving, caring and protective.

“Because growing up means making tough choices, and doing the right thing doesn’t necessarily mean doing the thing that feels good.”

Katie's writing is beautiful. It was simple but conveyed the emotions of the characters so well that you felt what the characters felt. Sometimes I found myself wishing that I could just give all of them a hug! It is really hard for authors to accomplish this but Katie did it with ease. The character development in the book was another high point it wasn't too fast or too slow. You could see how the characters began to evolve, transition and overcome.

I can really not fault this book. I think it would just be a waste of time trying to. Katie gives us an insight into how unfair life can be, the bad side to foster care and how surrounding yourself with the right people can help heal the broken pieces of ones heart and soul.

This is a book that stays with you long after you read it and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book to anyone!

This book deserves the five stars that it is getting. It was an amazing, heart breaking and emotional read.    

Goodread's link

Special Cover Reveal!

Lux: Beginnings (Obsidian & Onyx) and Lux: Consequences (Opal and Origin) will be released on the 3rd of June, 2014.

So we have been hlessed with the opputunity to help with the revealing of the book covers for both 'Beginnings' and  'Consequences.' We could not be more honoured, as we are massive fans of Jenniefer L. Armentrout's beautiful writing and creative stories!

Official Blurb:

Obsidian

There's an alien next door. And with his looming height and eerie green eyes, he's hot...until he opens his mouth. He's infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, he lights me up with a big fat bulls-eye. Turns out he has a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal his abilities and the only way I’m getting out of this alive is by sticking close to him until my alien mojo fades. If I don’t kill him first, that is.

Onyx 

Daemon’s determined to prove what he feels for me is more than a product of our bizarro alien connection. So I’ve sworn him off, even though he’s running more hot than cold these days. But we’ve got bigger problems. I’ve seen someone who shouldn’t be alive. And I have to tell Daemon, even though I know he’s never going to stop searching until he gets the truth. What happened to his brother? Who betrayed him? And what does the DOD want from them—from me?

Here is the cover reveal...

LUX: BEGINNING (Obsidian & Onyx) Links: Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19081403-beginningsAmazon: http://www.amazon.com/Lux-Beginnings-Obsidian-Jennifer-Armentrout/dp/1622664809/Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lux-jennifer-l-armentrout/1117748506

Official Blurb: 

Opal  

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 alien hybrids, the more I realize there is no end to what I’m capable. 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.

Origin 

Daemon will do anything to get Katy back. After the successful but disastrous raid on Mount Weather, he’s facing the impossible. Katy is gone. Taken. Everything becomes about finding her. But the most dangerous foe has been there all along, and when the truths are exposed and the lies come crumbling down, which side will Daemon and Katy be standing on? And will they even be together?

Here is the cover reveal...

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19081402-consequencesAmazon: http://www.amazon.com/Lux-Consequences-Jennifer-L-Armentrout/dp/1622664817/Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lux-jennifer-l-armentrout/1117748505

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 

# 1 NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY Bestselling author Jennifer Armentrout lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell, Loki.
Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen.
She also writes adult and New Adult romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

Additional links to Jennifer’s pages:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jlarmentrout

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JenniferLArmentrout

Website: http://www.jenniferarmentrout.com/

Lux Series by Jennifer L. Armentrout

This series is yet another example of Jenniefer L. Armentrout’s beautiful and creative writing and storytelling skills. 

Lux Series: 

The Lux series so far has made me laugh out loud, cry myself to sleep, want to punch someone in the face and drool over hot beautiful Aliens!

"So the dickhead had a name. Daemon—seemed fitting. And of course his sister would be as attractive as him. Why not? Welcome to West Virginia, the land of lost models."

Obsidian is the first book of this utterly captivating series. The book is written in Katy's point of view. The girl from out of town who has just moved in next door to the Black family which consists of Dee and Daemon - who are not your average everyday beautiful mortals.They are much more, they're aliens from a planet called Lux, and they are known as Luxen. They have lived on planet earth since they were children but their kind have been coming here for decades as their enemies the Arum destroyed their home. And are still out to get them, how will it all work out when it's not just Dee, Daemon has to worry about but Katy too? 

"Air punched out of my lungs. I held her tight, and I knew right then I would burn down the whole universe for her if I had to. I would do anything to keep her safe. Kill. Heal. Die. Anything. Because she was my everything."

Onyx is the second book in this series. Daemon must prove to Katy that what he feels for her is real., but they've both bigger problems right now. The Department of Defence has shown up bringing with them a new boy to the small town. He knows what has happened to Katy and tells her he can help her with learning control, but Daemon doesn't trust the boy. That's not all though Katy has seen someone that shouldn't be alive. How will Katy survive the drastic changes in her life, and will she ever be normal again? 

"I love you, Katy. Always have. Always will."

Opal, the third heart breaking book in Lux. They've no way out, danger is closing in all around them. How will they survive when they have to trust the boy who's proven he can't be trusted? Katy's world is falling apart, but it's about to get even worse. She can't be without him, and he can't be without her. So how are they going to keep fighting when they're not together?

"So I was thinking, there're eighty-six thousand, four hundred seconds in a day, right? There're one thousand, four hundred and forty minutes in a day...There're one hundred and sixty-eight hours in a week. Around eighty-seven hundred and then some hours in a year, and you know what?...I want to spend every second, every minute, every hour with you...I want a year's worth of seconds and minutes with you. I want a decade's worth of hours, so many that I can't add them up."

Origin. The fourth book in this emotional roller-coaster. We get to know Daemon inside and out in this one, as each second chapter is in his point of view. The first thing we learn is Daemon wasn't kidding when he said he'd burn down the world to save her. People they trusted can no longer be trusted, enemies surround them in every corner. With help coming from the most unlikely allies. And cliffhangers are what Jennifer L. Armentrout loves to leave us with.

As I wait patiently till August for the last book of this series ‘Opposition.’ I have begun 'The covenant series' and so far am very pleased with the writing and story.

Jennifer L. Armentrout gets five stars for this series. It was a series full of surprises. It was exciting, heart-breaking, romantic and drool worthy. I usually don’t read books about aliens, but Jenn has converted me. If every alien book out there is like this one, I’ll definitely be picking them up from now on. With her articulate writing and fascinating stories, Armentrout never seems to fail me.

Goodread's link

White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Seeing as it's my first post I'd thought I'd start with a much newer series. 

The Dark Elements 

Jennifer L. Armentrout or as some of you may know her alter ego J. Lynn writes very unique stories. From Greek mythology all the way through to aliens from outerspace. We just can't get enough of her flawless writing, beautiful stories and perfect covers.

White Hot kiss: 

'White Hot kiss,' is the first book of her newest Young-adult Series 'The Dark Elements.' It is a fantasy book, about good vs. evil. It has plenty of drool worthy boys. It has the typical good guy which in this case is a warden, with a hot body and kind eyes. But what good book doesn't have the typical bad boy with the hot tattoos (That come alive!) and the beautiful body that is also a dark, mysterious and dangerous Demon in disguise. 

Layla is the star of this series, she's far from ordinary with her eye-capturing beauty, but that's not all. One touch of her lips can steal away not just your breathe but your soul. Longing for the boy she has grown up next to, but never being able to cross that line. She is destined for a sad and miserable life of loneliness. That is until she meets Roth, a higher level demon with no soul that surely is going to lead her down the wrong road. Little does she know, he's actually out to keep her safe. Why? I hear you ask. Well you'd have to read the book to find that out. 

This series is nothing less than what you'd expect from Jennifer, she leaves us with yet another cliff-hanger (but I promise it isn't as bad as Origin's) and makes us fall for two boys at once. The question is which team will you be, Roth or Zayne?

This book was yet another beautiful story by Jenn and it was a pleasure reading it. But I'll have to deduct 1 star from it for the slow start, and also for making me have to chose between two beautiful boys. Love triangles just aren't my thing!

4 out of 5 stars for Armentrout's skillful writing and heart-stopping stories. 

Goodread's link