Book Review: Tapped by Stacey Grice (+giveaway!)

So, y'all remember a while back I reviewed Totaled, then just a few weeks ago I did a cover reveal of a most anticipated book, Tapped...well, the day has arrived, yesterday Tapped was released!

This post may contain affiliate links, if you choose to purchase from one of those links I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. :)

If you didn't read Totaled, you can purchase it here . The beginning of Tapped has a short synopsis of Totaled, but it doesn't give you the complete picture, so I highly recommend purchasing it first, and at .99 cents it is a total (haha) bargain! 

Synopsis of Tapped

Unexpectedly thrust into a whirlwind romance, Bree thought her relationship with Drew could withstand any obstacle thrown their way. Excited for the future, everything she thought she knew came crashing down in one horrible night. Forced to re-evaluate her feelings, Bree is left alone with a heavy heart and the realization that Drew's nightmare changed everything.

The effects of his trauma once again surfacing, Drew had no idea how volatile his actions were until it was too late. He must work to rebuild trust with everyone around him, all while participating in vigorous therapy and being separated from Bree. When a once-in-a-lifetime career opportunity presents itself with impeccably poor timing, Drew has some tough decisions ahead.

Can he heal the wounds his past has created and quiet the demons that haunt him? Can he repair the damage done with his love or will he give up?

Discover if it’s all too much and Drew ends up...

Tapped.

Author’s Note: Tapped is a continuation of Totaled, the first book in the Totaled series. It is highly recommended to read these books in sequential order. Due to mature content, profane language, and sexual situations, this book is recommended for ages 18 and up.

Excerpt of Tapped

Something told me to walk around to the back and my legs took me. I followed the skinny path within the dunes and sea oats on the side of his house until he came into view. Standing with his back to me, he watched the water as the sun rose higher and higher above the horizon, the colors beautifully framing his silhouette. He turned his head ever so slightly, I guess sensing that I was there, and then turned around completely.

I froze.

I was unable to take another step for a few seconds as we stared at each other. His posture relaxed, relieved to see me before him, and he advanced toward me. I walked forward, my stomach in knots of nervousness, and he matched me step for step until we were mere feet apart. The salty sea breeze blew violently around us both, coming off of the crashing waves and onto our skin. The second we entered each other’s space, my world went silent. I didn’t hear the water or smell the ocean. I didn’t feel the wind on my face or the sand under my feet. I was only in tune to him.

He swallowed hard, his eyes sharp and assessing, darting around my face as he took me in. They roamed and finally settled on my cheek just underneath my left eye; his shoulders fell as he exhaled. His right arm reached for me, stopping midway and then slowly continuing up, his eyes asking for permission. I lowered my chin and leaned into him as his fingertips grazed over my skin, tracing the scar he had given me. My eyes closed at the intensity of the moment.

He moved a few inches closer and cradled my jaw in his hand, urging me to open up and look at him—to really see him. I did and his eyes brimmed with tenderness and compassion. I looked into them, trying to memorize every shade of green, every fleck of gold, not knowing what the future held. I just knew that if I was never able to lay eyes on him again, this was the image that I wanted to remember. My gentle and loving Drew, normally stuck inside a giant, rough exterior, was now exploding out, his shrapnel penetrating my soul.

I recieved an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

For me, Tapped was a long anticipated release...I hate cliffhangers with a thriving passion. I think I hate them so because one time when I was 13 I found this great book at Wal-Mart and the end was a cliffhanger and I was never able to find the next book, so I am always afraid it I will never get the end of the story! But, I knew Stacey would pull through and boy did she! I really enjoy her writing style of Totaled and Tapped because each book had a beginning, climax, and end, all the while the unconventional 2 book series over all has a beginning, climax, and end, which is a dream come true! 

Throughout the books we follow Bree and Drew; Bree, who after the death of her mother falls into the role of taking care of the men in her life, being somewhat dominated by their personalities, and not really doing what makes her happy and being honest abou it. Drew, who had a rough beginning in life and is still dealing with the aftermath of such a horrific upbringing. Stacey gives great personality to these two characters and really shows the inner turmoil these two face. From wanting to be happy themselves while still making those important in their lives happy. I think everyone knows this struggle, but what I really love is how slowly Bree and Drew learn to communicate with one another and that shows how important communication is in a relationship. 

I am not sure how much I can write without giving the plot away, but I really enjoyed this book. It is a romance, but has a really interested dedicated storyline. So many of these novels I read you can write off and only read for the sex scenes..which honestly get boring after a while because they are the same, but Stacey manages to pull you in with a real story line and a few good sex scenes thrown in to give the spice we are all looking for in our reading. ;)

Did you read Totaled? Will you be picking up Tapped?

Read below for the Raffelcopter giveaway, click this link to enter as it isn't done right here on the blog. There will be 2 winners: (1) gets a signed paper back (USA only) the other winner (1) gets a $10 Amazon Gift Card! So...enter to win!

I am a mother, wife, Registered Nurse, avid reader, and most recently have pursued taking my own writing to the next level. Born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida, the beach is my happy place.

Being an astute people watcher gives me constant inspiration for my stories. But my characters, like many authors, are conceived from actual people in my life. A hodgepodge of personality traits, real world instances, and conversations that I have directly taken part in are the foundation for my fictional world.

Find Stacey:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/staceygriceauthor

Tsu: https://www.tsu.co/StaceyGriceAuthor

Twitter:https://twitter.com/SGrice_Author

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/StaceyGrice

To add Tapped to your Goodreads TBR... https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24865564-tapped

Pinterest: http://goo.gl/xwaw19

Instagram: http://goo.gl/iUUME6

Flawless by Jan Moran

This is a novel I had been wanting to read and was so lucky to win it back in the fall during the Travel the World in Books Read-a-Thon with Mom's Small Victories and others.

I wanted to read this one because it takes place in Los Angeles and Paris, two places I love. Like I told you all in my Totaled review I love reading books based on places I have been so I can imagine myself walking down the street or sitting in a cafe with the characters.

Visit Jan Moran Writes

Excerpt of Summary from Goodreads:

"There's always a hostile side to beauty." - Jan Moran

Verena Valent is at the helm of her family's legendary Swiss skincare company, which caters to a glamorous clientele in the heart of Beverly Hills. After her parents are killed in an automobile accident, she becomes the sole provider for her younger twin sisters and her grandmother. Instead of attending college with her friends as planned, she rises to the challenge to guide and expand her family's business. She is in the midst of a critical international expansion into Asia when her carefully organized life begins to unravel.

When the unthinkable occurs and Verena's world collapses, her friends rally around her, among them Scarlett Sandoval, a top intellectual property attorney; Dahlia DuBois, a perfumer from an esteemed line of French perfumers; and Fianna Fitzgerald, a fashion designer with her own trendy boutique.

Ultimately, Verena learns that truth, family, friendship, and love are the unshakable pillars of life. But will she get a second chance in business, or in love?

Aside from the setting, the other things that I loved about this book were the strong female leads. The main character, Verena was smart and talented yet still vulnerable. Her friends seemed to be the other side of her personality looking out for her best interest seeing what she could not. Together these women made one heck of a team. I also enjoyed the back story of the book; an heiress to a beauty fortune forged by her relatives from Switzerland. She took over to keep the family dream alive. It is so far from my reality that stories like this fascinate me, and are a nice escape when I want to relax.

All-in-all, this book was a really quick read and definitely worth the time. 

Enchanted, Inc. by Shanna Swendson

From Shanna Swendson

Enchanted, Inc. is a series I started a few years back and actually forgot about! How I forgot I have no idea...I guess maybe a move from Florida to Texas to California to Canada all in less than 3 years might be how I forgot...

But, in an attempt to find something fun to read I went through my goodreads to-read list and found "Don't Hex with Texas" and fell back in love with this series!

Enchanted, Inc. starts the series off with Katie, a small town Texas girl, finding out she is a magical immune...which explains all the funny things she see's around New York City. This also makes her a valuable asset to Magic, Spells, and Illusions, Inc. Once getting a job at this company anarchy ensues making each book comical and easy to get through.

The protagonist is an easy to love southerner who tries to handle any and all situations with the utmost grace and delicacy. This often can get her in to even bigger predicaments, but it makes the books hilarious and fun to read.

Two of the books I found especially charming. The first would be Damsel Under Stress. Katie, our magical immune and her friends get to go into Central Park and kiss a few frogs that turn into Prince's! Cute huh?! My second favorite would be Kiss and Spell. Katie and her beau Owen get to live out a romantic comedy. It is quite hilarious as the way Ms. Swendson writes the book you don't actually learn what is going on until the characters do! It is super cute and excellently written.

If you love romantic comedies and New York City these books are definitely for you!

The Paris Wife by Paula McClain

I was looking through my book reviews and cannot believe I forgot to write a review about this one y'all! It was spectacular!

Goodreads

Synopsis from Goodreads:

A deeply evocative story of ambition and betrayal, The Paris Wife captures a remarkable period of time and a love affair between two unforgettable people: Ernest Hemingway and his wife Hadley.

Chicago, 1920: Hadley Richardson is a quiet twenty-eight-year-old who has all but given up on love and happiness—until she meets Ernest Hemingway and her life changes forever. Following a whirlwind courtship and wedding, the pair set sail for Paris, where they become the golden couple in a lively and volatile group—the fabled “Lost Generation”—that includes Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. 

Though deeply in love, the Hemingways are ill-prepared for the hard-drinking and fast-living life of Jazz Age Paris, which hardly values traditional notions of family and monogamy. Surrounded by beautiful women and competing egos, Ernest struggles to find the voice that will earn him a place in history, pouring all the richness and intensity of his life with Hadley and their circle of friends into the novel that will become The Sun Also Rises. Hadley, meanwhile, strives to hold on to her sense of self as the demands of life with Ernest grow costly and her roles as wife, friend, and muse become more challenging. Despite their extraordinary bond, they eventually find themselves facing the ultimate crisis of their marriage—a deception that will lead to the unraveling of everything they’ve fought so hard for. 

A heartbreaking portrayal of love and torn loyalty, The Paris Wife is all the more poignant because we know that, in the end, Hemingway wrote that he would rather have died than fallen in love with anyone but Hadley.

This book was designed, I am sure, for me to like, here's why:

• Time: 1920s
• Place: Paris
• Genre: Fiction, specifically based somewhat on history
• Characters: American Expats

So, yeah, this book was made for me to love. I love Historical Fiction-type books, escpecially ones that take place in 1920s Paris. The characters I could completely relate to as they were American expats! 

The main characters are Earnest Hemingway and his first wife, Hadley Richardson. Both come from well to do families in Midwest America. They meet, fall in love, and quickly move to Paris. They live out their life drinking, partying and even though they are constantly struggling for money have a housekeeper/nanny and travel a ton!

I love how the book takes you to Paris, Italy, Spain, and Austria. I love how all the characters are writers or artists I have hear of and are given a new life in this novel.

I did find some of the characters to be ridiculous and hope they were actually similar to how described in real life...as I would have loved to have known the Fitzgeralds regardless of their ridiculousness! (I've actually always felt that way after reading Gatsby in 9th Grade)

I feel like McClain did a great job of spinning a story based on some recorded history. I loved getting to know the characters as she portrayed them and found them very relatable, living the life I would have found exhilarating in 1920s Paris. 

Have you read the Paris Wife? If so, how did you like it? Do you have any 1920s novel recommendations for me?

There are Rocks in my Socks...

Goodreads

My birthday was yesterday, I turned 34 years old. I've been reading a lot lately and then began thinking about books I really loved as a kid.

Y'all, honestly, and don't hate my lovely mother but she never read Dr. Seuss to me, not that I remember anyway...she was probably Dr. Seuss'd out after my brother 8 years earlier. But, the only book I really remember her reading to me was "'There are Rocks in my Socks!' says the Ox to the Fox".

I remember this book being hysterical. I couldn't get enough of it. I know the copy we had was smaller than the photo to the left and had a purpelish background. The edges were used and the pages well turned.

I remember laughing my self silly when my mom would read lines like, "Eureka! I have it! Just do a flip-flop...

Put your legs in the air so your feet aren't on top
Of the rocks; which will then slide right out of your socks." Or, "With a swish of my tail, I'll give that old tack a good whack that will knock it from under my back!"

These lines are classic and the situations just down right silly. I have always enjoyed reading and it wouldn't surprise me if this book is one of the many reasons why. It has tongue twisters, silly characters, and of course a gullible protagonist. To this day I giggle every time I say, "I have rocks in my socks".


If you have the book at home for your children this is an adorable read along on YouTube:



If you would like to purchase a copy you can use my amazon affiliate link below to purchase at no extra cost to you and help support me in my blogging efforts!



Now tell me, what was your favorite book when you were a child?

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

I just finished The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. It was a tough read for me, but we will get into that later. Here is the synopsis of the book from Goodreads:

"It's just a small story really, about, among other things, a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery.

Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak's groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can't resist: books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids - as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau.

This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul."

The book starts off with a narrator I didn't realize it, but it is death itself narrating the book for you all along. I actually really enjoyed the point of view, I felt like I could really relate to some of the narration, especially about this topic since I am so sensitive to it. Death hates war, especially one like this and some of the different interjections you could just imagine that if death itself could speak, these are the the things it would want to say.

The protagonist, Liesel, is a little girl you come to love who winds up having a pretty decent life...but when bad things happen to her, they are really bad. 

I love that the family focused on in the book were good people who didn't necessarily want to make waves in the world, but they also did not want to participate in the bad that was happening in the world. 

I love how Liesel grows with her reading and her books and the role reading and the books play in her life.

This book was a seriously difficult read for me...anything dealing with WWII usually makes me quite ill. When I was in 9th grade I threw up during Schindler's List and actually had an excuse note to not watch it when we viewed it in history class. I am much too empathetic and it sickens me to think of what happened. I felt the same way when we went to the Anne Frank house, I was brought nearly to tears a few times just thinking how horrible it was to be stashed away like they were. So, reading and finishing this book was a personal achievement me.

I highly recommend it. The writing style is a bit disjointed the first couple of chapters, but stick with it...eventually it all comes together. When I got to the end I completely understood why the beginning felt so out of order. 

Have you read this book yet? Did you like it? Do you have any other WWII era books that would be a good read for me to pick up?

BTW, if you are on goodreads you can find me here...I love connecting with people on there! 

Travel the World in Books: Totaled by Stacy Grice

After reading a few heavier titles like Gargoyle and A Long Way Gone I was looking for something a little more "fun" to read, something with some actual physical romance in it, and a book that talked about sites and things I was familiar with. Totaled was the answer to that!

Totaled was written by someone I know, Stacy Grice. She is more a friend of a friend. Went to high school with my husband and college with my bff...so, of course I had to pick up this book!

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Bree Murphy is stuck. Forced to grow up too fast after the tragic death of her mother, she has little time for any sort of life for herself. Now in her early twenties, she is coming to the realization that she deserves to put herself first.

Drew Dougherty is also stuck, in a state of merely existing. Memories and secrets of the day he lost both of his parents haunt him, forcing him to cope the only way he knows how...by fighting.

When these two worlds collide, hidden truths are revealed and relationships are put to the ultimate test. At a crossroad in their lives, they must decide if taking a risk is worth everything.

Or will their love be…

Totaled.

It takes place near my hometown in Fernandina Beach, FL. Which really is what drew me to the book, I love reading stories where the scenery is familiar and I can literally imagine myself driving or walking where they are, or even remembering things that happened to me when in that spot.

The story is well written, told from the point of view of the two main characters, Bree and Drew. I really enjoy these stories, because in a love story, or romance, especially I think seeing both sides is really important. It makes the story not seem so desperate as it does when it is told just from one side. There is a great balance of "action", fighting and romance, to keep you hooked and wanting to get to the end as quick as possible!

These two characters have  made their way into my heart and the end was a killer, I was not happy with her "cliffhanger"...she better get to writin' so I can know what happens!

Travel the World in Books: Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson

If you recall I have been traveling the world in books! I just completed the read-a-thon for this (where I won two books, thank, Tanya!) and really enjoyed all the activities that went along. I decided for the read-a-thon I would read Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson.

I honestly didn't read much of this during the read-a-thon...why? The begging is horrible! Not horrible as in I it doesn't draw me in, that is the worst part! Davidson is such an amazing writer and so detailed I wanted to read it, but it is so gruesome! 

It started off with the main character, who is down on life and suffers a horrible car crash, I believe somewhere in Minnesota...I placed it there due to another character going to school there, in this crash he is severely burned. This is told in awful detail, I almost couldn't make it through, but I did. It then goes on to discuss his time in the hospital where he then begins to talk in horrible detail about the suicide he is planning once his time is done in the hospital. Again this is such horrible detail that I was on page 99 and was about to return the book and stop reading because I just couldn't take it anymore when Marianne Engle walks into his life. Now I was hooked. Life was about to change for our sad, sad protagonist...and I wanted to see his heart come to life...at least I hoped that is what would happen.

Marianne is always referred to as Marianne Engle throughout the entire novel. I am not quite sure why, but the protagonist always uses her full name, never referring to her by only her first name, I think this keeps you from becoming fully attached to her.

He meets her as she is a mental patient in the hospital. She comes to him in a very matter of fact way and is very familiar with him and he is very confused. But, once she is released from the hospital 

she comes to him often telling stories from friends she had in ancient times to her life before him and with him in ancient Germany.

I picked this book because it said it took place in Iceland. Well, some of it does. It has several settings the story of the physical therapist first takes us to China and Australia, Marianne Engel's first story about Francisco and the love for his wife take place in Italy, then there are Vikings in Iceland, and of course their story in Germany, and finally parts of all the stories come together in Hell.

The way the story is woven is interesting. The author writes as though this is a first hand account, but it is fictional. I found that intriguing, I had never read anything written in this format.

Excerpt from Gargoyle, page 352

Read how the author describes the protagonist, you can really get a feel for how he may look, but it is written as though he is describing himself, interesting right?!

I highly recommend this book. Getting through the first 99 pages in integral to understanding the narrator and seeing why he can have faith in Marianne Engel when she comes to him. They are two people in need and they feed off of one another's faith in the other. 

Normally when I would finish a book such as this I would be horribly sad, but I felt okay when all was said and done. I was actually happy for the characters because I felt as though they would be alright in the end. 

Have you read this book? If not, do you think you want to add it to your to-read list?

Books, Books, Books...+a super awesome app recommendation

A couple of month's ago I decided I wanted to finally catch up on a series of books I had been reading for a few years. I knew the next book would be coming out and I still had 10 books to catch up on. The problem with reading books in series is you wind up with a lot of clutter from buying the books, plus that gets expensive....especially when there are 20 books in a series! Usually I use my local library but many times the books weren't coming available and that was frustrating. Plus, I'd have to remember to take the books back and living in rainy, often cold places some days I simply did not want to go out. So, I decided to start searching through my library's website and see what I could turn up in way of finding books to check out through my iPad. I just knew with all the technology available today there had to be something out there....

This was when I found Overdrive Media Console. 

This app is freaking amazing. It is free to download and thousands of libraries in the US use it, a thousand some odd in Canada, plus quite a few other countries. Find out here if your library is included! On the left hand side you can click country and choose your country to then find your library.

I really can't say enough good things about this app. I love that I can browse through my libraries e-book library and audio book library and either borrow items, put them on a wish list, or put them on "hold". If I have to hold a book it saves it under "holds" and tells me what place I am in line and it updates as time goes on. When it is your turn to read a book they send you an email, you log into the app and borrow it. I then download it to my library instead of reading it in the browser so if i am somewhere without internet I won't have any problems reading. I imagine all libraries are different but I can borrow a book for 21 days....once the 21 days is up if there is no waiting list I can renew the book otherwise it forces me to "return" it, meaning they just cut off your access and send the file on to the next person. I love this system because it motivates you to read the books and when I'm waiting for a book I know I will get it in a fairly timely manner. The other bonus is I have cut down on so much clutter and saved a lot of money from not constantly buying books!

Now, as I said earlier this app allowed me to painlessly finish reading one of my all time favorite series....

The Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich!

my stephanie-plum shelf:

How Ms. Evanovich manages to keep these books entertaining is beyond me. I found the series when my Grandmother lent me one after we had moved back to our hometown and I was looking for something new. I began devouring the books. I took a break after book 10 because I was working and moving and doing all kinds of other things. I then picked them back up about two years ago and slowly read through them so I could savor them. Around book 16-18 I did start to get a little miffed with Stephanie because it seemed like the same stupid mistakes were being repeated, but Evanovich managed to over come that in Notorious Nineteen and give the series some new life. These are always a quick read, within a week if I am busy but could easily knock one out a day if I neglected my responsibilities as I have been known to do from time to time on a lazy Saturday. These books are always good for a laugh too. I really do not like reading depressing novels so to get a book in my hands that will make me shed happy tears is something I will flock to.

Now that you know my favorite genre, what is yours? Leave me a comment so we can discuss!

Around the World in Books: A Long Way Gone

Do y'all remember a while back when I posted about joining some other blogger's in an Around the World in Books Reading Challenge?  Well, today I am back to post about the first book I read for the challenge!

I'd been wanting to read this book for quite some time. Back when it came out I was insanely busy with life in general and it went by the wayside. However, when this challenge came up it was the first book that popped into my head. I think this happened for a couple of reasons:

1. I find memoirs to be very captivating
2. The story of a child soldier is one I feel needs to be told and understood so it can hopefully be prevented
3. The setting is unique: Sierra Leone 

However, once I began reading the book my heart went out to Ishmael. You see, Ishmael and I are the same age. Seriously, he was born just days after I was born.

So, this book completely put my childhood into perspective:

• When I was fretting over cowlick not cooperating on picture day in 7th and cut it off, he was running from insurgents.
• I was wielding a curling iron while he was wielding a gun.
• When I was out school shopping and then not wanting to wear certain clothes I'd bought because they weren't what everyone else was wearing, Ishmael was trying to keep the clothes on his back that he'd had for years clean.
• When I complained about going to school, all he wanted to do was go to school.
• When I refused to eat under-cooked steak as my mom "mooed" Ishmael was undergoing reintegration into civilian society.

These things really spoke to me. Do I feel guilty for them, no, and I shouldn't because we were born into two completely different situations. I will say though, this book has made me more grateful than ever for those opportunities I did have and regardless of how silly they seem now, I am happy I got to experience those situations.

A few things from the book that really spoke to me:

"That night for the first time in my life I realized that it is the physical presence of people and their spirits that gives a town life." Chapter 3, page 29

Yes, yes it is . When we were in Orlando back in 2004 or so when a hurricane basically hit the city head on which really shouldn't have happened and people were out of their homes for weeks and weeks we actually found it difficult to sleep at night knowing our neighbours weren't there...in fact, at one point we decided to head back to our parents house on the weekend because it was just too weird without people. So, I could only image crouch in a home where an entire village has fled because they are afraid of the people who may come to "recruit" them to their cause.

Page 54

I loved this page because these kids were finally seeing some normalcy in their lives. Even though they weren't with their families they were being treated like family and had even gotten to a point with others where they could joke around!

I also found it humorous here that even though he grew up with so much less than I did, compared to others in his country he was "soft" so to speak! He didn't have the skills needed to survive in a town other than the one he grew up in-attending school and having his needs attended to!

I think this is a fantastic book and recommend everyone read it! It is a short, quick read only being 200 some odd pages. I am even making my teenager read it. I think she will thoroughly enjoy it as she is the age of Ishmael in the books. 

The writing isn't totally fluid, but as a reader you can sort of see his thought process as he wrote. The other thing I didn't like was he didn't elaborate the ending and I had to search online to find out more about his adult life....wow, that sounded super creepy! ha!

So, on that note, I will leave you to go buy this book and enjoy it.

Travel the World in Books: In Too Deep (Due South Book #1) Review

These last few days, well the last week or two really, have had fall sweeping in here in Amsterdam. We have had a ton of rain, heck, even the leaves are beginning to turn!

It was a fantastic day for running errands! Not cold, but not warm....and just a wee bit of rain to mix the whole walking thing up. Not enough to make it miserable, but ya know, enough to make you feel like your in a movie and can enjoy the rain.

On my walk home I took a bit of a different route because I realized this may be a quicker walk. All in all, I think it will be but I was stunned by the colour of the trees! I know the weather is cooler but I could not believe the colours I was seeing out there!

So, this weather has us turning to more indoor activities. Ok, so mostly reading and video games. But, since I started the Travel the World in Books reading challenge a few weeks back, I've been reading a bit  more than usual.  That is why when I got the chance to review In Too Deep, Due South Book One, I was totally ecstatic! Not only did it take place some where I have never been, but dream of going, it is also within my favorite genre!

I will be honest I didn't have high expectations for the book. The cover is pretty cheesy and the title is just one giant innuendo. I love cheesy, innuendo filled books, but they usually aren't the kinds that you admit you read. I can't promise this book isn't like that, but it at least has a strong, smart main character.

It starts off telling a bit about the main character, Piper, and her career. She is a police officer who is part of a dive squad. The dive part is a part time gig, but she gets assigned dives as needed. She has a hard time with these, but not for the reason I initially assumed....which, was one of the finer points of the book.

Fast forward a chapter or two and she takes a trip to her home town where she see's the man she left the island because of....these are people who are supposed to be in their 30's so when the banter between them turned venomous I almost put the book down thinking geez, really, these people are 30-something I think she can think of more mature behavior for her characters....but, I am glad I stayed because the very next chapter it starts the story a bit from his end! Not from the total beginning, but from the moment she arrived....I love that when an author tells a story from multiple perspectives.

If I continue on I will give too much away, but the book is worth a read. It is engaging, keeps you guessing, and my favorite part-when I'd think I knew exactly where the story was headed, she would veer off in another direction and that is what keeps me engaged as a reader!

Cheesy, romantic, and yet exciting, can't ask for much more from a book! Plus, the kiwi slang is super fun. ;)

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.