Review: AS DUST DANCES by Samantha Young!

 

My Review: I'm not sure I can really review this without becoming a blubbering mess. I loved this. Though I'm not sure that word is strong enough. I FELT this. Every time Skylar hurt, I hurt. During her happy moments, it was like the sun came out again. I connected with her so well. Sure, I don't know what life in the limelight is like, but I know what it means to have anxiety and unresolved issues, and I am so grateful that I got to see that so well represented in this book. 

While the emotional component is what sticks with me the most, it was far from the only good thing about this book. I loved the banter between Skylar and Killian. Seeing them snip back and forth with their sarcastic comments brought a ridiculous cheesy smile to my face. And Killian's inability to be romantic during all the big moments was true perfection. There's an amazing Happily Ever After here, but be prepared... your emotions are going to work extra hard to get you there.

Cover Lovin': So ethereal and pretty!

Recommendation: Can be read as a stand alone.

Final Rating: FIVE out of FIVE stars (5/5)!! I cannot express how much I loved this. From how real Skylar's breakdown felt to how intensely emotionally her return was... this was a solid gold read!!

The New York Times Bestselling author of the On Dublin Street series and PLAY ON returns to the world of the arts in this intense and emotional standalone romance about love, sacrifice, and surviving both. AS DUST DANCES is now available on all retailers! Grab your copy today!

 

About AS DUST DANCES:

Once upon a time Skylar Finch was the lead singer of a hugely successful American pop-rock band. But fame made her miserable. When years of living a lie suddenly ended in tragedy, Skylar fell off the map.

Eighteen months later she’s sleeping in a tent in a cemetery in Glasgow, making just enough money to eat by busking on the streets. She manages to avoid recognition, but not the attention of one of Glasgow’s ambitious A&R executives.

Killian O’Dea works at Skyscraper Records, Scotland’s most successful record label. Raised by his uncle and owner of the label, Killian’s upbringing would have been devoid of affection entirely if it wasn’t for his loving sister. Killian is unflinchingly determined to bring the label more success than ever, and the young homeless woman who busks on Buchanan Street is going to help him do that. Her music speaks to him in a way he refuses to over-analyze. All he knows is that if it can touch his dark soul, it’ll set everyone else’s alight.

Skylar makes it clear that she doesn’t want to sign with him. But when she experiences the dangerous reality of a woman sleeping rough, Skylar has no one else but Killian to turn to. An undeniable connection forms between them. But Skylar doesn’t want the career Killian is trying to forge for her, and when her past comes back to haunt her Killian will be faced with a decision that could ruin him. He must either free Skylar from his selfish machinations and destroy everything he’s ever worked for, or lose a woman who has come to mean more to him than he ever thought possible…

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Samantha Young’s AS DUST DANCES – Review & Excerpt Tour Schedule:

August 8^th

A Literary Perusal – Review & Excerpt

Bellereadersthoughts – Review

Catty Jane Book Lovers – Review & Excerpt

iScream Books Blog – Review & Excerpt

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Reading Under Street Lamps – Review

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August 9^th

Avid Reads – Review

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Three chicks and their books – Review & Excerpt

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August 10^th

Aaly and The Books – Review & Excerpt

Book Angel Booktopia – Review & Excerpt

Confessions of a Pinay Bookaholic – Review

Garden of REden – Review

KsiążkowaPasja – Review

Lisa Loves Literature – Excerpt

Novel Addiction – Review

Reads All the Books – Review & Excerpt

The Review Loft – Review

Words of Wisdom from The Scarf Princess – Review & Excerpt

August 11^th

A Fortress of Books – Review & Excerpt

Book Bitches Blog – Excerpt

Fifty Shades of D and J – Excerpt

Greyland Reviews – Review & Excerpt

My Book Filled Life – Review & Excerpt

Nose Stuck in a Book – Review & Excerpt

SJ's Book Blog – Excerpt

The Bookish Sisters – Review & Excerpt

The Escapist Book Blog – Review & Excerpt

We stole your book boyfriend – Review & Excerpt

August 12^th

All Things Dark & Dirty – Excerpt

Bookishly Yours – Review & Excerpt

Crazii Bitches Book Blog – Review & Excerpt

Devilishly Delicious Book Reviews – Review & Excerpt

Ginreads – Review

KDRBCK – Review & Excerpt

Mustreadbooksordie – Review

Roxy's Reviews – Review

The Reading Cafe – Review & Excerpt

Words are Life – Excerpt

August 13^th

4TLOReading – Review

Buttercup's Book Blog – Review & Excerpt

Collector of book boyfriends – Excerpt

Kindle Friends Forever – Review & Excerpt

Literati Literature Lovers – Review & Excerpt

Movies, Shows, & Books – Excerpt

Ramblings From This Chick – Excerpt

Somewhere Lost in Books – Review & Excerpt

Two Books in a Shelf – Review & Excerpt

What Is That Book About – Excerpt

August 14^th

Adventures of a Bookworm – Review

Bad boys and bedtime stories book blog – Review

BibliotekaMoniko – Review & Excerpt

Clare & Lou’s Mad About Books – Review

Jax's Book Magic –Review & Excerpt

Marta Likes to Read – Review & Excerpt

Onceupon_a_bookdream – Review & Excerpt

Romance Readers Retreat – Review

The Curvy Savante – Review

TSK TSK What to Read – Review & Excerpt

August 15^th

Ali’s Reviews and More – Review & Excerpt

Between The Lines – Review & Excerpt

Book Flame – Excerpt

Desperately Seeking HEA’s Book Blog – Excerpt

Margie's Must Reads – Review & Excerpt

Novel Grounds – Review

Reading Between the Wines Book Club – Excerpt

Relentless Romance – Review & Excerpt

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Book Boyfriends – Review

Total Book Geek – Review & Excerpt

August 16^th

Always Falling for Book Guys – Review & Excerpt

Badass Bloggettes – Review & Excerpt

Bookaholic Confessions – Review & Excerpt

Dirty Girl Romance – Review & Excerpt

Read. Eat. Love. – Review & Excerpt

Romance Schmomance – Review & Excerpt

Stuck In Books – Excerpt

Witchy Richey’s Booktastic Reviews – Review & Excerpt

August 17^th

Angie and Jessica's Dreamy Reads – Review & Excerpt

Books 4 Girls – Review & Excerpt

GataLeitora – Review & Excerpt

Librarian Laura Great Reads – Review & Excerpt

Read Love Blog – Review & Excerpt

Reading and funny – Review

Smokin' Hot Book Blog – Review & Excerpt

True Story Book Blog – Review & Excerpt

Wrapped Up In Reading – Review & Excerpt

About Samantha Young: Samantha Young is the New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of adult contemporary romances, including the On Dublin Street series and Hero, as well as the New Adult duology Into the Deep and Out of the Shallows. Every Little Thing, the second book in her new Hart’s Boardwalk series, will be published by Berkley in March 2017. Before turning to contemporary fiction, she wrote several young adult paranormal and fantasy series, including the amazon bestselling Tale of Lunarmorte trilogy. Samantha’s debut YA contemporary novel The Impossible Vastness of Us will be published by Harlequin TEEN in ebook& hardback June 2017 Samantha has been nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award 2012 for Best Author and Best Romance for On Dublin Street, Best Romance 2014 for Before Jamaica Lane, and Best Romance 2015 for Hero. On Dublin Street, a #1 bestseller in Germany, was the Bronze Award Winner in the LeserPreis German Readers Choice Awards for Best Romance 2013, Before Jamaica Lane the Gold Medal Winner for the LeserPreis German Readers Choice Awards for Best Romance 2014 and Echoes of Scotland Street the Bronze Medal Winner for the LeserPreis German Readers Choice Awards for Best Romance 2015. Samantha is currently published in 30 countries and is a #1 international bestselling author.  

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Release Day: RESPECT by Jay Crownover!

   

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Jay Crownover, comes the next title in her The Breaking Point romantic suspense series, RESPECT. Don’t miss the amazing excerpt below, and order your copy today!

   

About RESPECT:

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess who called a corrupt kingdom home sweet home.

Protected and sheltered from the worst the world had to offer, she fell in love with the crumbling city that burned and blazed around her. Every dirty corner, every scary shadow, found a place within her heart. So did a man who was violent and dangerous, just like the streets she claimed as her own.

He was all business and brutality, except when it came to her. With her, he was calm, caring, and heartbreakingly patient.

He warned her over and over that he wasn't the man for her, but she refused to listen. She never expected either the streets or their enforcer to hurt her, since she'd given her heart so completely to both.

She should have known the streets in the Point were always going to be savage, and so was the man committed to keeping control of them in the hands of criminals and bloody kingpins.

Blindsided by a betrayal which cut so deeply she was sure the wounds would never heal, the princess fled the home she loved and the man who broke her heart. Throwing away her rusted, twisted crown was supposed to help her forget. All it did was make her long for everything she left behind. She told herself she would never go back, but in this tormented kingdom, family is everything. Eventually, she has no choice but to return.

While she was gone, the people who loved her worked hard to make the city safe, and the man who destroyed her sank deeper into the darkness. Going back shouldn't feel like surrender... but it does. As this pretty princess hovers on the edge of the unknown, the past attacks with a vengeance. It's a good reminder that puppy love eventually grows up and turns into something with sharp teeth and one hell of a bite.

She never asked for the keys to the kingdom. She'd much rather go out and build her own.

   

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EXCERPT: ~Karsen~ I had no plans to leave the Point. It was ugly, mean, hard, and unforgiving, but these streets were home and I couldn’t imagine being happy anywhere else. This place had long since made my hands and the edges of my soul dirty. It was something I would be hard-pressed to hide should I go anywhere else. I’d have to spend my days trying to camouflage the filth I was so familiar with. Here, no one looked twice at the pretty teenager with shadows in her eyes and blood on her hands. I was one of many. I wasn’t interested in leaving behind my sister or her fiancé, Race. We were an odd, dysfunctional family, but we made it work. I didn’t want to be too far away from my mother, who was living in a group home as she slowly, painfully tried to recover from her alcoholism and PTSD from an accident she caused that ended up taking the life of a young mother and her child. But more than anything, I absolutely didn’t want to leave him. I couldn’t imagine a day going by without catching a glimpse of Noah Booker. I mean, he was impossible to miss. Six-and-a-half-feet tall, body built like a professional athlete, dark and brooding with the prettiest gunmetal-gray eyes, he was the entirety of every one of my teenage fantasies. I barely noticed the jagged scar dividing one side of his face. White and raised, it cut one of his black eyebrows in half, slashed over a high cheekbone, and ended somewhere under the chiseled edge of his hard jaw. He never talked about it, but Race, Booker’s boss, let it slip that Booker got the scar when he was locked up. Or maybe it wasn’t as much of a slip-up as a thinly veiled warning. Race never kept it much of a secret that my infatuation with his massive, dangerous, ex-con enforcer made him extremely uncomfortable. He’d warned me over and over again that Booker wasn’t for me. And he’d made it clear to the man who broke knees and smashed heads for a living that he was to stay as far away from me as possible. They called it puppy love. It wasn’t. To me, it was a vicious kind of love, filled with teeth and claws that I could feel digging at my insides every single time someone patted me on the head and told me how young I was, how much life I had yet to live. This love was rabid, and I was tired of having it on a leash. I wanted to let it free, wanted to let it sink its razor-sharp fangs into the man who had awoken the primal need inside of me. It was only fair he felt the same kind of crushing bite and painful pressure around his heart that I did every single day. I was solely focused on getting to Booker. It barely registered I was done with high school and had new doors opening all around me. I couldn’t care less about getting my hands on my diploma. A piece of paper with Karsen Carter written on it in pretty calligraphy meant exactly nothing to me. The only thing I was focused on was the fact I was finally old enough to make my own choices. And I’d always picked Booker. Over and over again he was my number one priority.    

And don’t miss the first titles in The Breaking Point series, HONOR and DIGNITY! Grab your copy today!

 

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  About Jay Crownover: Jay Crownover is the international and multiple New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Marked Men Series, The Saints of Denver Series, the Point Series, the Breaking Point Series, and the Getaway Series. Her books can be found translated in many different languages all around the world. She is a tattooed, crazy haired Colorado native who lives at the base of the Rockies with her awesome dogs. This is where she can frequently be found enjoying a cold beer and Taco Tuesdays. Jay is a self-declared music snob and outspoken book lover who is always looking for her next adventure, between the pages and on the road.    

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Release Day: AS DUST DANCES by Samantha Young!

 

The New York Times Bestselling author of the On Dublin Street series and PLAY ON returns to the world of the arts in this intense and emotional standalone romance about love, sacrifice, and surviving both. AS DUST DANCES is now available on all retailers! Grab your copy today!

 

About AS DUST DANCES:

Once upon a time Skylar Finch was the lead singer of a hugely successful American pop-rock band. But fame made her miserable. When years of living a lie suddenly ended in tragedy, Skylar fell off the map.

Eighteen months later she’s sleeping in a tent in a cemetery in Glasgow, making just enough money to eat by busking on the streets. She manages to avoid recognition, but not the attention of one of Glasgow’s ambitious A&R executives.

Killian O’Dea works at Skyscraper Records, Scotland’s most successful record label. Raised by his uncle and owner of the label, Killian’s upbringing would have been devoid of affection entirely if it wasn’t for his loving sister. Killian is unflinchingly determined to bring the label more success than ever, and the young homeless woman who busks on Buchanan Street is going to help him do that. Her music speaks to him in a way he refuses to over-analyze. All he knows is that if it can touch his dark soul, it’ll set everyone else’s alight.

Skylar makes it clear that she doesn’t want to sign with him. But when she experiences the dangerous reality of a woman sleeping rough, Skylar has no one else but Killian to turn to. An undeniable connection forms between them. But Skylar doesn’t want the career Killian is trying to forge for her, and when her past comes back to haunt her Killian will be faced with a decision that could ruin him. He must either free Skylar from his selfish machinations and destroy everything he’s ever worked for, or lose a woman who has come to mean more to him than he ever thought possible…

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    EXCERPT: When I finished, O’Dea was sitting on the chair, his elbows braced on his knees. He was staring at the floor, like he was lost in thought. Then he looked up at me and my breath caught at the million heartbreaking emotions roiling in his gaze. And then they were gone, as if they’d never been there. “That’s all I have so far,” I whispered, so confused by him. “No more songs.” His expression was unreadable. “Your visitor’s visa is about to run out.” Bewildered by the response, I could only nod. “You’ve no money.” I tensed. “You’ve run away from your identity, from your life in the band, in the US. You’ve no family to speak of, and you abandoned your friends.” The man was the soul of sensitivity. “Your point?” “My point is that you don’t have many options. I think you were living in some naive fantasy that you could keep running from your problems and live a relatively peaceful life as a homeless person. Somehow, miraculously, you survived unscathed for five months. But last night you were given a giant fucking look at the reality and dangers of homelessness. I wish it hadn’t happened that way, but there was never any other way it was going to end. And it has ended, am I right?” “So, do you get, like, a bonus at the end of every day if you say a hundred patronizing things in a twenty-four-hour period or something?” He ignored me. “You can’t go back to sleeping rough.” “I think I got that, thanks.” I waved my cast at him. “So … it’s either call your old manager, your band—” “Not an option,” I snapped. O’Dea smirked. “Then I’m all you’ve got. And I’m no fucking Mother Teresa. I’m in the business of making money, Miss Finch. You’ve already proven you’re good at making it. And from what I heard today and have heard you playing when you busk, I think the world hasn’t even seen a fraction of what you can do.” There was really nothing to do but glare and hope that he withered under it. “I’ll let you stay here in this flat free of charge, give you a weekly stipend for clothes, groceries, a new guitar. You can heal up here. But all of it in exchange for a record contract. A one-album deal, that’s all I ask. When you’re healed up, you’ll be straight into the studio to record.” The thought made my stomach pitch. “I don’t want to be famous again.” “Tough shit. There is no being famous again. You are famous. And you’ve got more talent in your pinkie finger than most do in their entire being. And that talent deserves more of a platform than standing on a street busking. It’s a goddamned insult to all those people out there trying to make the big time. I don’t care what it is you’re running from. I care that you sort yourself out and make some music again. Music that matters. Music that will heal you.” I bristled. “I’ve made music that matters. I’ve got the fan mail to prove it.” “Your music in Tellurian did its job. It was catchy, appealing, and teenagers related. But your voice is meant for something else. The songs you just sang to me … those are songs that will really make people feel. It’s vulnerable and brutally honest and that’s the stuff that resonates with people. People want songs that make them feel good, but they also just want songs that me them feel, even if it breaks their fucking heart. You’ve been through a lot, Skylar. Even if I couldn’t read a newspaper, I’d know that by listening to those songs you sang. “Two years ago, you were a leader on social media and the lead singer of a pop-rock band that teens and college freshman loved. I’m not asking you to go back to that. I’m asking you to become an artist in your own right. If you don’t want the social media exposure, we’ll have someone else run that stuff for you. And we’ll do what we can to minimize the tabloid exposure. It will be hard at first considering your disappearance, but once it dies down, we can make it so you’re not hounded. It is possible.” “It doesn’t matter whether they hound me or not. I hate the fame. I hate the touring. I hate it all.” “No.” His expression hardened. “You don’t…”    

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About Samantha Young: Samantha Young is the New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of adult contemporary romances, including the On Dublin Street series and Hero, as well as the New Adult duology Into the Deep and Out of the Shallows. Every Little Thing, the second book in her new Hart’s Boardwalk series, will be published by Berkley in March 2017. Before turning to contemporary fiction, she wrote several young adult paranormal and fantasy series, including the amazon bestselling Tale of Lunarmorte trilogy. Samantha’s debut YA contemporary novel The Impossible Vastness of Us will be published by Harlequin TEEN in ebook& hardback June 2017 Samantha has been nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award 2012 for Best Author and Best Romance for On Dublin Street, Best Romance 2014 for Before Jamaica Lane, and Best Romance 2015 for Hero. On Dublin Street, a #1 bestseller in Germany, was the Bronze Award Winner in the LeserPreis German Readers Choice Awards for Best Romance 2013, Before Jamaica Lane the Gold Medal Winner for the LeserPreis German Readers Choice Awards for Best Romance 2014 and Echoes of Scotland Street the Bronze Medal Winner for the LeserPreis German Readers Choice Awards for Best Romance 2015. Samantha is currently published in 30 countries and is a #1 international bestselling author.  

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Review: IT SEEMED LIKE A GOOD IDEA AT THE TIME by Kylie Scott!

Release Date: August 7th, 2018

About the Book: Returning home for her father’s wedding was never going to be easy for Adele. If being sent away at eighteen hadn’t been bad enough, the mess she left behind when she made a pass at her dad’s business partner sure was.

Fifteen years older than her, Pete had been her crush for as long as she could remember. But she’d misread the situation—confusing friendliness for undying love. Awkward. Add her father to the misunderstanding, and Pete had been left with a broken nose and a business on the edge of ruin. The man had to be just as glad as everyone else when she left town.

Seven years on, things are different. Adele is no longer a kid, but a fully grown adult more than capable of getting through the wedding and being polite. But all it takes is seeing him again to bring back all those old feelings.

Sometimes first loves are the truest.

My Review: Sometimes I want something a little different - still romance, but has a different feel, or an author I love trying something new - and that's why I think I liked this so much. There's the usual Kylie Scott humor, which I greatly appreciate..  but I could see her moving outside of her normal tropes. And for me, this worked. I can see how some people aren't the biggest fans - because there is a definite age difference, and they met when she was 16. But I think Kylie Scott did it right.

As I said, I really liked this. I didn't want to stop reading. All I could think about while I was at work was getting back to this book, and finding out what would happened. I liked Adele's attitude, especially when she decided she wasn't taking any of Pete's crap anymore. And Pete certainly had his fine moments as well... but he also frustrated me. I can see why he'd need a younger woman, considering how immature he could be, emotionally.

This doesn't beat out Trust and Lead when it comes to my top favorites... but it's great all the same.

Cover Lovin': Oh my... yes, well done!

Recommendation: Not for everyone due to the age gap, but definitely worth a read if you like to change things up now and again.

Final Rating: FOUR out of FIVE stars (4/5)!!! An emotional, yet fun, read. Honestly, seeing Adele grow into herself and realize what she was and wasn't willing to deal with makes this worth reading. But I think the romance was great as well.

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Happy Reading!

~!~ Amanda, Novel Addiction ~!~

Review: BEDFELLOWS by Lola Leighton!

 
My Review: I'm sold! We're living in 2018, so nontraditional relationships should be readily accepted. I mean, heck.. if I could have Will and Sullivan, I would jump at the chance. I've read some menage books in the past, but it was mostly about the... ahem, erotic aspect. But Bedfellows, while it definitely has the hot stuff, is so much... sweeter, I guess is the best term. There are a lot of emotions involved, this is so much deeper than any others I've read.

Considering this author's pseudonym, I knew I'd love the book. And I knew it would be hot. But I loved seeing this different side of a favorite author. She's stretching her wings, and she did a fantastic job. I'd love to see her do even more like this in the future. I hope this isn't a one-off for the Lola Leighton name! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go off and dream about my very own relationship with Will and Sullivan...

Cover Lovin': Just a hint of hotness!

Recommendation: You need to like your books with a little extra spice.

Final Rating: FOUR out of FIVE stars (4/5)!! Loved this! I hope this author chooses to write more like this in the future. It was hot and original, a truly winning combination!

      I wasn't looking to fall for one man. Let alone two... Sullivan and Will are as close as two friends can be. Growing up in the system forced them to rely on each other, and they've become accustomed to sharing everything—including women. Now they're ready for more. To find love. To start a family. To see the dreams they've shared since childhood come true. Apparently I tick off every box on their list—brains, beauty, and sass. I never hesitate to put both men in their places—which they find sexy as hell. One problem, I'm a traditional girl, with traditional values—one man, one woman, till death do us part—kind of values. They're willing to work to prove how very right the three of us could be, but what happens next is anyone's guess...   ADD TO GOODREADS    

“Tonight has been great, Sullivan. It's just, when I think about adding Will into the equation, I get …”

“Scared?”

She shook her head. “Butterflies.”

“Butterflies are good, right?”

“I think so.” Her voice was barely above a whisper. I leaned in closer, captivated by her. Everything about her drew me in—from the swell of her full lips, to her uncertainty about this, and especially her willingness to try.

“He's not here now. Put the butterflies away.”

“Okay.” She smiled.

I leaned in closer. “I've wanted to kiss you all night.”

She wet her lower lip with the tip of her tongue and it was all the answer I needed. She wanted this, too. Wanted me.

My heart pumped faster with that secret knowledge.

Tilting her chin so that her lips met mine, I took her mouth. Gently at first, and then with a growing sense of hunger as her warm, wet tongue came out to meet mine.

She tasted incredible. Slightly sweet from the wine, and feminine and simply perfect.

        Lola Leighton is the pseudonym for a New York Times bestselling romance author who wanted to write steamier stories that her mother is most definitely not allowed to read. FACEBOOK | GOODREADS | NEWSLETTER