ARC Review: Make You Mine by Macy Beckett

   Book Name: Make You Mine
   Author: Macy Beckett
   UK Release Date: 6th May 2014
   UK Publishers: Headline Eternal
   Summary:

For ninety-nine years, every man in the Dumont family has remained a perpetual bachelor. Residents of Cedar Bayou, Louisiana, whisper about a voodoo hex cast upon the family, sabotaging each man’s chance at marriage. In truth, the Dumont men have their own player personalities to blame, and Marc is no exception. As captain of his family’s riverboat, he’s broken hearts up and down the Mississippi. That is, until his high school crush strolls on-board…

Allie Mauvais rocks the boat when she fills in as his pastry chef. She hasn’t seen Marc since senior year, when rumors flew that her great-great-grandmother was the one who cursed the Dumonts. After two weeks on the water, neither can deny the attraction that still burns between them. But to truly reach Marc’s heart, Allie must show him that the hex is all in his head and it’ll take more than her mouthwatering sweets to prove it. Will Allie’s love be enough to finally make Marc hers?

 

Praise for Macy Beckett:

 



"Beckett (Sultry with a Twist) begins her Dumont Bachelors series with this pleasant story of a riverboat captain and the pastry chef who captures his heart. Marc Dumont has been attracted to Allie Mauvais since their high school years in tiny Cedar Bayou, La. Trouble is, after a Dumont man left Allie’s voodoo-priestess great-great-grandmother at the altar, she cursed the whole family to be unlucky in love. When Marc’s regular pastry chef gets ill immediately before a scheduled voyage, Marc hurriedly hires Allie to sub in the kitchen. Strange episodes ensue, and everyone thinks it’s Allie’s fault—or the curse’s. Still, Marc can’t stay away from her. While the story gets a bit annoying when everyone’s assuming Allie can fry them with her supposed voodoo magic, overall this is a solid tale that portends a likeable series." Publishers Weekly

Review:

I requested this from Bookbridgr (run by Headline Publishing) this does NOT affect my review!

I absolutely loved this book! The characters were very well written, the storyline was fresh with a hint of cliché in there. The romance was very well developed and I loved that it was fast paced and not over the top with sex. Every little thing that happened between Marc and Allie happened for a reason. To Marc it was because of the curse. For Allie it was because it was supposed to happen.

The book was great and I loved that there was a mini side story intertwined into it; Joy and Ryan who found love after going to Allie for advice. Joy learned to live her life the way she wanted, and not the life her parents wanted her to live. Getting a tattoo led to Joy finding her perfect guy; Ryan.

I'm not always a fan of reading books by authors I've never heard of, but I'm glad I discovered this author. Her writing style is simplistic and natural. It flowed very well and I felt like it was very well researched for the surroundings in the story as it was mostly set on the boat, but also set on different islands and I loved that. I was glad there was room for more than the boat. It allowed the story to expand and a lot more drama for the characters.

Overall, I seriously loved this book. And I cannot wait until the second book in this series because this has become a guilty pleasure read. I would highly recommend buying this book because it is beautiful. I gave this a 4/5 Stars!

Quote:

'Like a great new Adult novel only sexier.' Bookbitchreviews.blogSpot.co.uk

Book Review: Irresistible Enemy by Mary Costello

   Book Name: Irresistible Enemy
   Author: Mary Costello
   UK Release Date: March 17th 2014
   UK Publishers: N/A (Penguin Books Australia)
   Summary:

Cassie Bowtell adores her idyllic life in the bush and after a chance encounter by the roadside, even her love life is looking up. So when a housing estate is planned right next door to Cassie's beautiful rural property, she vows to fight it with everything she has.

Wealthy businessman Hart Huntingdon can't stop thinking about the mystery woman he met in the country. And then he discovers Cassie is the one of the people responsible for holding up his plans and doing her best to turn the locals against him.
With both of them firmly believing they are in the right, Cassie and Hart are soon locked into battle, a battle every bit as fierce and passionate as their growing obsession with each other. But sometimes love has a way of bringing happiness where it's least expected…

Review:

 

I received an E-Arc copy of this book via NetGalley. This does not affect my review in any way!

 

 

I'm a massive lover of Contemporary/New Adult (it's a mix of both) and I've read quite a few of them, but for me, this one was lacking behind any of the ones I have read. We are introduced to both Cassie and Hart out in Diggers Creek where Hart nearly knocks over Cassie, she's stopped because of an animal stepping out onto the road. Cassie thinks Hart is gorgeous and Hart thinks Cassie is just average looking with big eyes. Which is such a cliché. People have been writing these sort of fiction for years, and I've read a few of them.

 

The big thing that off put me in this book was that I felt that there was no connection with any of the characters. I didn't feel for Cassie when she was left in Diggers Creek that was being taken over by a fire. I didn't feel for her when she meets Claudia, Hart's interior designer. I just never had a connection with the characters. Which is unknown to me in these genre books, I get them feelings in Fantasy or Sci Fi, never NA/Contemporary.

 

Another reason why I disliked this book was because  I felt the romance was a bit forced. They were friends which was great! Then in the space of a minute they were lovers, it just didn't flow properly. Maybe if it had happened in another chapter then it might of worked. I also found Hart to be quite stupid for a business man when it came to his feelings. He thought Cassie was average with big eyes that he liked. Then he'd say 'All I need is her, she's beautiful.' and he'd go right back to thinking that she was average. GRRRRR! MAKE. UP. YOUR. MIND!

Lastly I think the writing in this book was very poor. The book didn't flow and I sometimes found words being thrown in for the sake of it! The characters would never use words like that and it got on my nerves. In perspective, the reason why I believe there was no connection to the characters was because of the writing. To describe it in one word: simple.

 

However, I did enjoy the animal part of the book. It was great to have a character that cared for them. But overall, I didn't enjoy this book. 2 Stars!

 



Book Review: Burn for Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian

   Book Name: Burn for Burn
   Author: Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian
   UK Release Date: Published in 2012
   UK Publishers: Simon and Schuster
   Summary:

Lillia used to trust boys, but not after what happened this summer. And she'll do anything to stop the same thing happening to her sister.

Kat's over the rumours, the insults, the cruel jokes made at her expense. It all goes back to one person - he ex best friend - and now it's payback time.

Four years ago, Mary left town because of a boy. Now that she's back, she's going to make him pay.

Three very different girls who want the same thing: revenge, sweet revenge. And they won't stop until they've each had a taste.

 

Praise for Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian:

'This book has what every girl wants in a summer.' Sarah Dessen, Author of Along for the Ride.

'This book was as beautiful.' Goodreads

 

Review:

I decided to pick this book up after April Brooks stated that she absolutely adored the book. I actually thought that I wouldn't like it that much, but I turned out to absolutely love it! All three girls have completely different personalities, but I do feel like in the first chapter of each girl they all had the same voice. I didn't feel like I had changed to someone else's POV. After that it became more clear.

The writing style is so great and it makes it easy to connect with the characters. The book also had me in tears because I can connect with Mary having been bullied for years about my weight, and like her I always took it on the chin even though on the inside it hurt.

Did I feel like this book was any bit predictable?

Definitely! Of course this book was going to be predictable it's about getting revenge and I think most people knew that it wasn't going to end well. But the way the characters dealt with it was realistic and that's what you want: something that makes your heart flutter, but has that realistic element.

I would highly recommend this book. I gave it a 4/5 Stars and it thoroughly deserved it! I cannot wait for book 2: Fire with Fire.

Quote:

'This book is like a rollercoaster. You're never going to know if you're going up or down.' bookbitchreviews.blogspot.co.uk