First Love by James Patterson

First Love is not what I would consider a normal Patterson book.

Yes, he has a lot of young adult novels.

Yes, he has some romance novels.

But, this is a cross over between the two, and I didn’t really feel like I was reading a Patterson book at all.

That being said, it was not bad. I actually really enjoyed it.

First Love is basically a new-age Bonnie and Clyde story. Two high school students, Axi and Robinson, decide to leave their small town on the West Coast and travel all over the country.

Doing something like this is completely different for Axi because she is known as a good girl who gets good grades. No one would imagine she would skip the last part of her semester to steal cars and take off around the United States.

That’s right, I said steal cars.

Axi’s original plan was to take a bus from destination to destination. She had the whole trip mapped out, and everything that they would need was packed in her bad.

Robinson had a different idea. If they were going to run away, they were going to go all out. He decides to hotwire a motorcycle as their first vehicle, and they speed away towards their first destination.

Their trip was going great; they were getting closer than ever . . . and falling further in love with each other. Then, the worst thing happened.

Cancer.

Axi and Robinson originally met in the hospital. They both had cancer, and upon deciding to go on this trip, they were both in remission.

But as their trip progressed, they realized Robinson was becoming seriously ill again. The cancer was back, and it wasn’t going to let go of him this time.

This book turned from a happy love story to one of fighting through emotions and finding strength when you only want to fall apart.

It was a roller coaster of emotions, and it was written so well that you didn’t expect what was coming.

I thoroughly enjoyed it. I found it to be a really addicting story. It was hard to put the book down when I started it. That is pretty typical for a Patterson book, but as I said before, I didn’t feel like I was reading a Patterson book.

Overall, it was a really sweet love story and an otherwise crazy plot of two kids on the run from their lives at home.

4/5 stars

Memorable Quote: "Maybe the compulsion to run away was genetic. Mom did it to escape her grief. My dad escapes with alcohol. Now I was doing it . . . and it felt strangely right"

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HOT DEAL: River of Desire by J.K. Winn

An exciting new release from one of my favorite authors! 

River of Desire is available on Amazon for .99 for a couple of days only!

I have not read the book yet, but it is going to be read and reviewed within the up coming weeks. 

Knowing J.K. Winn's previous work, I would definitely recommend picking up a copy while it is on sale. I highly doubt you will be disappointed. 

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Synopsis:

Imagine traveling deep into the Amazon Jungle, where every step is a struggle through thick undergrowth, any rock or tree may mask a venomous creature and somewhere, at some time, you will run up against a mysterious Hemorrhagic Fever.
River of Desire tells the tale of Leah Roberts, a reporter on assignment in Peru, who hires professional guide, Dylan Hart, to escort her into the Amazon jungle on the trail of a deadly Hemorrhagic Fever. On the river, Leah and Dylan encounter treacherous rapids and carnivorous creatures, but what they fear most is the attraction growing between them. Their travels finally lead them to a reclusive doctor who holds the answer to the sudden appearance of the lethal viral strain.
Don’t expect the ordinary when you begin a trip down the River of Desire. So, hop on board the boat and take a thrilling, sometimes life threatening, but always action-packed ride down the mighty Amazon with Leah and Dylan, who face daunting adventures, but know that love is the most amazing adventure of all.

Previously authored under the name J.S. Winn, here are my reviews of her previous titles

Out of the Shadow

The Spirit Keepers

Dream by Kyra Selby

Dream is best described as a magical young-love story.

Dream is about two individuals being drawn together under unique circumstances. They are as close to soul mates as you can get.

Miles has been dreaming of Ava for the last four years. Coincidentally, the dreams started after tragic events in both of their lives.

When Ava moves into town and Miles sees her for the first time, he feels like he is seeing a ghost.

After the initial shock wears off, they become inseparable. They are drawn together and cannot get enough of each other. The funny thing is, both of them have doubts about how the other feels about them.

Once the truth comes out about Miles’s dreams about Ava after a near-death experience for her, everything about their relationship begins to make sense and it becomes stronger than ever.

The first half seems to be a character build up for both Ava and Miles. Pixie and Jesse are the supporting characters here and add to the story with friendly dialogue and party experiences.

There is not much action between Ava and Miles in the first have, but from reading the excerpt it was evident that things change for those two eventually.

It is a cute story from the beginning. It is nice for a young adult novel. Sometimes a cute young love story is a nice break from some denser books you may pick up to read.

It was written really well aside from a few spelling mistakes. One more round of editing and it will be good to go.

The characters were really well rounded. Even Jesse and Pixie who were more of a supporting cast had some nice character depth to them.

4/5 Stars.

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Playtime by Bart Hopkins Jr.

Playtime is an interesting book. It is complex yet pretty simple all at the same time.

Blaine is the main character. He has a near-death experience at the beginning of the book, except well . . . he does die. BUT HE COMES BACK.

Obviously when a character beats death, there must be a reason for his existence, and in typical novel fashion, he is very important to the story.

Blaine’s near- death/actual death experience comes when he is hit by a car while riding his motorcycle. The woman that hit him originally claims that she does not have insurance because her coverage had expired, but Blaine’s brother examines her insurance plan and finds a loophole stating she has a grace period.

After settling that issue, Blaine is met with devastating news. His ex-girlfriend who he was rekindling his relationship with is reported dead. Two investigators visit him at his house to bring him the news. His whole world comes crashing down around him. What I like about this scene, Bart writes it really well. You can feel the emotion coming from Blaine, and it really sucks you in.

He had seen her just the night before at the bar she works at. A man had been harassing her a bit, and Blaine is convinced he is the one who harmed his girl.

He goes on the hunt to find this man who he has no name for. He tried working with the police department, but he feels as though they are not doing their jobs efficiently enough. He goes against their warnings of taking this into his own hands, and he goes after the man anyways.

This book does not fail in the action department, it is sure full of it. All at the right times as well. It does not feel like forced action. Rather, it is fully justifiable due to the emotions that Blaine is feeling.

The characters were all written pretty well. Blaine obviously had the most attention paid to detail as he is the main character. I would expect nothing less. Blaine’s brother did seem to be a pretty irrelevant character other than the one scene at “Sketch’s” house, though. I am not really sure what his role in the story was.  

Blaine coming back from the dead seemed to be a back-burner story line. I thought it was going to have a much bigger role in the plot. I was thinking that maybe he had something to do with his girlfriend’s disappearance and couldn’t remember due to his brain injury, then he would have to try to work through his memories to get her back – I was wrong. It happens from time to time ;)

The story is pretty easy to follow do to the simplicity of it. There is only one really big twist, though I was expecting a few more that never came.

Overall, I did really enjoy this book. I basically read it all at one time. It was really hard to put down, sort of addicting in a way. It really keeps you guessing as to what is next which makes you not want to put it down until it is finished.

4.5/5 stars

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Revelations by Léia Kiuski

Thera’s Eyes Series Book 1

Revelations sets the foundation for the Thera’s Eyes series.

It follows a group of young people who are given special gifts. They are considered “Warriors” and are the only ones that are able to fight the demons that threaten to destroy their town of Silver Blade.

The main character, Beth, was specially chosen by Thera (a goddess) herself to be the leader, but she is also the main target of the demons threatening them and the town. Her friends are her guardians and their job is to help fight the demons and make sure that Beth is safe and stays alive in order to carry out the necessary tasks.

The book begins with Beth struggling to accept her current life situations. Her parents recently died in a freak plane crash (which is later explained in the book). Her twin brother was also on the plane but mysteriously had no physical damage. He was in a coma though, and the doctors could not figure out why or when he would come out of it.

Beth constantly wakes up screaming from what the doctors tell her are “night terrors” although she doesn’t quite believe those are exactly what she is experiencing.

When a stranger named Leon comes into town and rents out Beth’s guest house, everything is set into motion. The warrior in her and her friends is awakened, and their abilities are used to fight the demons.

There is one main quest, they must find and close the portal before noon on Halloween day, or else the demons will have complete access to their world. This includes the strongest demons that they have not yet had to come in contact with. They must accomplish this all while trying to protect the town and the people in it.

Did I mention Beth and all of her friends are still in school?

They miss basically every day of school, but because her parents are dead, and the parents of the other warriors are out of the country, no one can be contacted and made aware of the problem.

I didn’t think I would find myself connecting with these characters and getting as invested in them as I did. By the end I was really rooting for them, and rooting for the budding romance that takes shape as well.

The ending leaves much to be imagined, but I would assume that is because this is only book one in a series, and the answers will be revealed in the upcoming books.

The writing was pretty smooth. I felt that it had a pretty good flow, and despite coming in at about 200 pages (PDF version so I don’t know what the published versions will be), it was a pretty quick read. The chapters were kept relatively short so it didn’t seem as though it was dragging on.

My one complaint is that it does need some more editing before being called a finished product. There were time were I found the incorrect word being used (have instead of has), and that was pretty consistent throughout the book.

Otherwise, the writing overall was pretty good. It kept my attention which isn’t always an easy thing to do with sci-fi type books.

4/5 stars. 

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Déjà Vu and Fritters Too by Janet Sharp

This was an interesting book. My first impression of it was that is it pretty long.

It is pretty complicated, but it starts to make sense the further into it that you get. It follows two different people living separate lives after they meet for the first time at the beginning of the novel.

David is an ex-marine that takes on a tough job after returning from Afghanistan. He must go under cover and reconnect with his childhood buddies to join into their gang activities. He becomes an informant for the authorities. Taking this job puts him and everyone around him in danger.

Jenny is a college girl that comes from a very financially stable household. She is a good person and volunteers every Saturday at St. Vincent’s giving food out to those who are less fortunate. She loves her volunteer job.

These two main characters come together at the beginning of the novel when Jenny is attacked and raped by a gang of teenagers that hang around the area where St. Vincent’s is located. David comes to her rescue and fights off the boys before more damage can be done to Jenny. David falls for her almost instantly, but he knows that his lifestyle is very risky, and he doesn’t want to put Jenny in any more harm.

Once Jenny’s roommate finds out about the tragic incident, she selfishly makes it all about her and moves out of the apartment they share, forcing Jenny to move also and start a whole new life somewhere else.

Jenny finds a nice apartment closer to her college and becomes instant friends with the other students that also live in the building.

Meanwhile, David is stuck doing “business runs” for the gang. He has to maintain a balance of doing his job correctly while remembering the details to report.

I was very conflicted while reading this one.

The idea and the story were right on. It was an interesting theme and story that I really enjoyed. I found myself trying to guess what came next, and when I couldn't guess I was left wondering. The way David and Jenny have two separate lives, but they keep intertwining makes for a really good and consistent story.

What I felt was off was the writing style. The writing was so textbook and formal that it was hard to get through at times. Some passages just ran really dry and were almost a bit boring.

Because of the formality of the wording, the conversations between characters were also extremely unbelievable. They did not seem natural which messed with the flow of the book.  

There were some grammar mistakes such as random quotation marks in places where there are no quotes.

There was also an area in the book where the spelling of Jenny’s name wen from Jenny to Jennie, and then it switched back.

Along with this, there seemed to be too many filler chapter for me. A lot of the chapters could be taken out, and the book would flow much better.

Overall, I would give it 3/5 stars.

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Facebook Jeanie by Addison Westlake

Facebook Jeanie described in one phrase would be: A breath of fresh air.

It has humor (and a lot of it!), it has romance, and it is also a bit touching at times.

When Clara has a chance to go back in time to college and try to mend things with her then-boyfriend (instead of staring at his pictures everyday on facebook!) she jumps right at the chance.

Have you ever wondered how your life would be different if you could go back and change something?

Clara gets to figure out!

This book allows you to explore those thoughts without it actually happening to you. She goes through some pretty hilarious scenarios from living I a huge house while having an affair with a crazy man wearing a thong and dancing to Im Sexy and I Know It, to being a hippy with a limp leg and snake jewelry.

I found myself laughing out loud MANY times while reading this book.

I mean… cat turban, anyone?!

5/5 stars. It was hilarious, it was sweet, and just an all-around complete book. 

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While you're at it, check out Addison's other book Christmas in Wine Country

The Spirit Keepers by J.S. Winn

If there is one thing that J.S. Winn can do well, that would be writing suspense novels. If you didn’t see my review for her previous novel Out of the Shadow, check it out after you read this! (Link)

The Spirit Keepers is a romance novel with a side of mystery and suspense.

It is about a woman named Sandy who packs up her belongings and moves from Philadelphia to New Mexico to take a teaching job. Carrying emotional baggage from her life in Philly, she must learn to adjust to the way of the tribe and try to fit in.

When one of her students and his family begin to be tormented by people in the tribe, she cannot help but get involved.

Along the way, she meets a fellow teacher, Ben, and they have instant chemistry that is undeniable.

He warns her that it would probably be best to stay out of the tribe’s business, but the independent woman that she is doesn’t listen to him.

She gets caught up in a mess that may kill her.

Will Sandy make it out alive and live happily ever after? Or will her concern others lead to her untimely death? You will just have to read to find out!

It was hard to put down, and its not very long. So, finishing it in a couple sittings is easy.

5/5 stars. It keeps you hanging on until the end to see who/what is behind the tormenting actions.  

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Dog Park by Deena Marie Kaylee

Dog Park is a book to read if you want a feel-good story.

It is all centered around the love of pets and the importance of pets in life. And more than that, it is also a religious story as well.

As an animal lover myself, I really it make it enjoyed how the dogs took the main stage at different parts in this book, and it made it fun to read.

Bamboo and Brutus were the stars of this books just as love was in the stars for their owners.

It is a cute love story where two members and workers of a church come together by chance at a dog park, and their lives are never the same after that.

It brings comedy to the notion that first impressions are very important, but also shows how relationships can change when two people get to know eachother.

5/5 stars. It was short and sweet, and there were plenty of adorable doggy scenes!

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Last Regress by Rachael Thorne

This book is a wonderful combination of paranormal, Sci-fi, and romance. These are three different genres (though paranormal and sci-fi can sometimes go hand in hand), but the way they are woven together makes this story captivating.

The main character, Alyssa, works for a company that investigates the paranormal. She is interested in cases that are unusual and go unsolved.

When she opens the case file of the deceased Cain Andrews, her life is changed forever. Whether that is for better or worse is up to the reader to decide after finishing the book!

The story of Alyssa and Cain is wonderful, tragic, heart-breaking, and scary all wrapped up in one. You get a dose of everything.

There is also Alyssa’s best friend, Greg, He doesn’t believe anything Alyssa is going through, and after a while, as the reader, he begins to put doubt in your mind as well.

This book is written beautifully; the characters all have a wonderful story arc, and are completely developed. You have a sense of each of their personalities and feel as if you know them personally.

5/5 stars. Beautiful story, Wonderfully written.

It also leaves open the possibility for a sequel!

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Capella Bright by Tara McCausland

The end of this book is TERRIBL…….Y SUSPENSEFUL!

My jaw dropped as I read the last line.

If you like cliff hangers, don’t even read the rest of this review, just go directly to the link and purchase this book! I promise, you won’t regret it!

But I shall continue this… even though the top part should convince you right away to get it.

Moving on…

This book is geared toward young adults and features romance, family drama (that can be very relatable to some), and….. aliens again? Common theme here in February I see!

Actually, this book was fun to read after the last one I had read because they were both so DIFFERENT! It was kinda cool to compare the way the “others” were portrayed.

Anyways, the main character is Capella Maggie Hart. She meets the new kid in town, Alex, and there is a bond between them right away. One that neither of them could have possibly predicted the outcome of.

Maggie’s best friend has instant interest and is lusting over Alex. But he wants nothing from her. He is more interested in Maggie, quite to her surprise.

As they grow closer, the truth about who Alex really is comes out, and the rest of the book is a wild adventure involving Hunters, Pods, and strange guns.

Will Maggie and Alex be able to grow their budding relationship? Youll just have to read it to find out J

5/5 stars The character development was great. I grew super attached to them, and the story was just as good!

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Alien Tears by Darren Rogers

This novel by Darren Rogers has a little bit of everything. Romance, violence, drama, and …… aliens?

When I began this novel the first thing I noticed was how long it was! But, once I began reading on, that was the furthest thing from my mind.

Alien Tears is centered (for the most part) around an individual named Mark. Mark seems like a typical teenage boy and starts falling heavily for a young lady named Tonya.

There is more to Mark than what you may think.

 -    -      -

The aliens begin taking over Earth after one of their own is killed off by the government.

No one knows how to react, the president resigns, and people are dying by the bunches. The whole world is in chaos.

Would you know how to survive an alien invasion?

All they wanted was to make society better, but society rebelled and brought destruction upon themselves.

This novel reminded me almost of a modern day War of the Worlds.

It was an intense journey. One of happiness, sadness, and some… intimate moments as well.

4/5 stars There were a few grammatical errors that were distracting at times, but if you look past that (there may be a revised version out now), the story is great and will keep you hanging on until the end!

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Read ahead for spoilers