Jenuine Cupcakes

Series: Travis Family #4 Author: Lisa Kleypas Publication: August 11, 2015   By: St. Martin's Press/Piatkus   Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads  Wedding planner Avery Crosslin may be a rising star in Houston society, but she doesn't believe in love--at least not for herself. When she meets wealthy bachelor Joe Travis and mistakes him for a wedding photographer, she has no intention of letting him sweep her off her feet. But Joe is a man who goes after what he wants, and Avery can't resist the temptation of a sexy southern charmer and a hot summer evening. After a one night stand, however, Avery is determined to keep it from happening again. A man like Joe can only mean trouble for a woman like her, and she can't afford distractions. She's been hired to plan the wedding of the year--a make-or-break event. But complications start piling up fast, putting the wedding in jeopardy, especially when shocking secrets of the bride come to light. A...

Series: Before & After #2 Author: Amber Hart Publication: December 30, 2014 By: Kensington Teen (K-Teen) Amazon | Goodreads 3 Stars Sometimes secrets kill. Maybe slowly, maybe painfully. Maybe all at once. Melissa smiles. She flirts. She jokes. But she never shows her scars. Eight months after tragedy ripped her from her closest friend, Melissa is broken. Plagued by grief, rage, and the painful memory of a single forbidden kiss. Javier has scars of his own. Life in the States was supposed to be a new beginning, but a boy obsessed by vengeance has no time for the American dream. To honor his familia, Javier joins the gang who set up his cousin, Diego. The entrance price is blood. Death is the only escape. Two broken souls could make each other whole again—or be shattered forever. Our time will come. And we'll be ready.   *I received this eARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review* This is the second installment in the BEFORE & AFTER ...

Author: Betsy St. Amant Publication: September 2, 2014 By: Zondervan Amazon | Goodreads Kat inspected rows of the same old cupcakes. They seemed to blink back at her, as if they knew she was capable of so much more. Kat Varland has had enough of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry. At twenty-six years old, Kat is still living in the shadows of her family in Bayou Bend, Louisiana. Still working shifts at her Aunt Maggie s bakery. Still wondering what to do with her passion for baking and her business degree. And still single. But when Lucas Brannen, Kat s best friend, signs her up for a reality TV bake-off on Cupcake Combat, everything Kat ever wanted is suddenly dangled in front of her: creative license as a baker, recognition as a visionary . . . and a job at a famous bakery in New York. As the competition heats up, Lucas realizes he might have made a huge mistake. As much as he wants the best for Kat, the only thing he wants for himself her is suddenly in danger of s...

Series: Off The Map Publication: October 7, 2014 By: Grand Central/Forever  Amazon | Goodreads  4 Stars It was only meant to last the summer . . . Talia Stolfi has seen more than her share of loss in her twenty-one years. But then fate brought her Bran Lockhart, and her dark world was suddenly and spectacularly illuminated. So if being with Bran means leaving her colorless NorCal life for rugged and wild Australia, then that’s what she’ll do. But as much as Talia longs to give herself over completely to a new beginning, the fears of her past are still lurking in the shadows. Bran Lockhart knows that living without the beautiful girl who stole his heart will be torment, so he’ll take whatever time with her he can. But even though she has packed up her life in California and is back in his arms for the time being, she can’t stay forever. And the remaining time they have together is ticking by way too fast. Though fate seems determined to tear them apart, they...

Author(s): Stephanie Perkins , Rainbow Rowell , David Levithan , Holly Black , Kelly Link , Gayle Forman , Myra McEntire ,  Kiersten White , Mathew de la Pena , Jenny Han , Ally Carter , Laini Taylor   Published: October 14, 2014 By: St. Martin's Press Amazon | Goodreads   If you love holiday stories, holiday movies, made-for-TV-holiday specials, holiday episodes of your favorite sitcoms and, especially, if you love holiday anthologies, you’re going to fall in love with MY TRUE LOVE GAVE TO ME: TWELVE HOLIDAY STORIES by twelve bestselling young adult writers, edited by international bestselling author Stephanie Perkins. *I received this eARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review* This was a really cute read that offered a good selection of diversity both in authors and short stories. It's a great palate cleanser, especially if you're in between books and puts you in the holiday spirit too! I enjoyed quite a few of the...

Series: Before and After Series Author: Amber Hart Publication: July 29th 2014  By: Kensington Teen Amazon | Goodreads   3 Stars Some say love is deadly. Some say love is beautiful. I say it is both. Faith Watters spent her junior year traveling the world, studying in exquisite places, before returning to Oviedo High School. From the outside her life is picture-perfect. Captain of the dance team. Popular. Happy. Too bad it’s all a lie. It will haunt me. It will claim me. It will shatter me. And I don't care. Eighteen-year-old Diego Alvarez hates his new life in the States, but staying in Cuba is not an option. Covered in tattoos and scars, Diego doesn’t stand a chance of fitting in. Nor does he want to. His only concern is staying hidden from his past—a past, which if it were to surface, would cost him everything. Including his life. At Oviedo High School, it seems that Faith Watters and Diego Alvarez do not belong together. But fate is as tricky...

Series: I'll Be There #2 Author: Holly Goldberg Sloan Publication: August 5, 2014 By: Little Brown Books For Young Readers  Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads The happily-ever-after of Holly Goldberg Sloan's acclaimed debut, I'll Be There, is turned on its head in this riveting, emotional sequel about friends, enemies, and how those roles can shift in a matter of moments. Emily Bell has it all. She's in love with a boy named Sam Border, and his little brother has become part of her family. This summer is destined to be the best time of their lives--until a charismatic new girl in town sets her sights on Sam. Now Emily finds herself questioning the loyalty of the person she thought she could trust most. But the biggest threat to her happiness is someone she never saw coming. Sam's criminally insane father, whom everyone thought they'd finally left behind, is planning a jailbreak. And he knows exactly where to find Emily and his sons when he ...

Author: Theresa Paolo Publication: October 15, 2013 By: Berkley Penguin Group (USA) Amazon | Goodreads 3 Stars! Just when she had finally moved on… …He moved back. When college freshman Liz Wagner hears her ex's voice for the first time since he moved clear across the freaking country, she does what any respectable girl would do: Dive into the girls' bathroom. Zach Roberts—the Zach Roberts—is back. And he’s everywhere Liz looks—infiltrating her friend group, buddy-buddy with her brother. It’s enough to ruin college altogether. But what choice does she have but to put on a happy face and pretend he didn't leave her vulnerable and alone in a pile of emotional wreckage? Pretending works, until tragedy strikes and the only person available for comfort is the one person she wants to stay away from. When Zach turns out not to be the jerk she convinced herself he was, but the boy she used to love, Liz needs to decide whether to open her heart again to the boy ...

Author: Juliana Stone Publication: May 6, 2014 By: Sourcebooks  Amazon | Goodreads 4 Stars! One mistake. And everything changes. For Monroe Blackwell, one small mistake has torn her family apart –leaving her empty and broken. There’s a hole in her heart that nothing can fill. That no one can fill. And a summer in Louisiana with her Grandma isn’t going to change that… Nathan Everets knows heartache first-hand when a car accident leaves his best friend in a coma. And it’s his fault. He should be the one lying in the hospital. The one who will never play guitar again. He doesn’t deserve forgiveness, and a court-appointed job at the Blackwell B&B isn’t going to change that… Captivating and hopeful, this achingly poignant novel brings together two lost souls struggling with grief and guilt – looking for acceptance, so they can find forgiveness.     * I received this eARC in exchange for an honest review* Told from alternating POVs, Boys Like You is ...

Author: E. Lockhart Publication: May 13, 2014 By: Delacorte Press Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads 3.75 Stars A beautiful and distinguished family. A private island. A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy. A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive. A revolution. An accident. A secret. Lies upon lies. True love. The truth. We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from National Book Award finalist and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart. Read it. And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE. Thank you Random House, Delacorte Press and Netgalley for this eARC.   This is one of those stories that is really hard to review because I don't want to spoil anything! I went into this with certain expectations. The title lends itself to so many different interpretations but this wasn't anything I imagined it would be either in plot or prose. I did consider DNF'ing it because trying to get a grasp of Cadence...

Author: Sara Fawkes Publication: April 8, 2014 By: St. Martin's Press Amazon | Goodreads   How did my life get so broken?    It’s a question Lacey St. James asks herself every day. Stuck raising her little brother in a trailer park while she works a dead end job at a grocery store, she has a stalker exboyfriend, a bad reputation, and no way out.  And then, she meets Everett, who changes her entire existence. Everett is an outsider who’s housesitting his family’s mansion off the coast, and for reasons Lacey can’t understand, he’s completely transfixed by her. He seems determined to show her that life can offer more than she’d ever hoped for, if only she believes in herself. She desperately yearns to trust him, but what happens when she finds out that everything he’s told her is a lie? I received this eARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  This is a tough review to write because I wanted to like this book...

Author: Lissa Price Publication: January 7, 2014 By: Random House/Delacorte Books for Young Readers 3 Stars! Goodreads With the Prime Destinations body bank destroyed, Callie no longer has to rent herself out to creepy Enders. But Enders can still get inside her mind and make her do things she doesn't want to do. Like hurt someone she loves. Having the chip removed could save Callie's life - but it could also silence the voice in her head that might belong to her father. Callie has flashes of her ex-renter Helena's memories, too ...and the Old Man is back, filling her with fear. Who is real and who is masquerading in a teen body? This is the thrilling sequel to "Starters" Thank you Random House and Netgalley for this eARC. You have to have read the first book, Starters, in order to have any clue as to what is going on in this book. A reread for those who have would be good as well because almost two years has gone by since I read the first...

Author(s): Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner Publication: December 10, 2013 By: Disney Hyperion 4 Stars It's a night like any other on board the Icarus. Then, catastrophe strikes: the massive luxury spaceliner is yanked out of hyperspace and plummets into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive. And they seem to be alone. Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a young war hero who learned long ago that girls like Lilac are more trouble than they’re worth. But with only each other to rely on, Lilac and Tarver must work together, making a tortuous journey across the eerie, deserted terrain to seek help. Then, against all odds, Lilac and Tarver find a strange blessing in the tragedy that has thrown them into each other’s arms. Without the hope of a future together in their own world, they begin to wonder—would they be better off staying here forever? Everything changes when they uncover the truth behi...

Author: Kristan Higgins Publication: October 29, 2013 By: Harlequin Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads 4 Stars! Is it really possible for a modern day marriage of convenience to end in true love? What if the perfect match is a perfect surprise? Honor Holland has just been unceremoniously rejected by her lifelong crush. And now—a mere three weeks later—Mr. Perfect is engaged to her best friend. But resilient, reliable Honor is going to pick herself up, dust herself off and get back out there…or she would if dating in Manningsport, New York, population 715, wasn't easier said than done. Charming, handsome British professor Tom Barlow just wants to do right by his unofficial stepson, Charlie, but his visa is about to expire. Now Tom must either get a green card or leave the States—and leave Charlie behind. In a moment of impulsiveness, Honor agrees to help Tom with a marriage of convenience—and make her ex jealous in the process. But juggling a fiancé, hid...