Jocelyn Butler has been hiding from her past for years. But all her secrets are about to be laid bare ...

Four years ago, Jocelyn left her tragic past behind in the States and started over in Scotland, burying her grief, ignoring her demons, and forging ahead without attachments. Her solitary life is working well - until she moves into a new apartment on Dublin Street, where she meets a man who shakes her carefully guarded world to its core.

Braden Carmichael is used to getting what he wants, and he's determined to get Jocelyn into his bed. Knowing how skittish she is about entering a relationship, Braden proposes an arrangement that will satisfy their intense attraction without any strings attached.

But after an intrigued Jocelyn accepts, she realizes that Braden won't be satisfied with just mind-blowing passion. The stubborn Scotsman is intent on truly knowing her . . . down to the very soul.

Review:

A very sexy, very engaging read. Rawr!

I really enjoyed this. I think anyone who enjoys emotionally-charged contemporary romances featuring messed-up characters, such as Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire, for example, will enjoy this book. (Although I must say this is a more polished, more grown-up, sexier and more realistic story than BD without quite so many WTF? moments.) I make the comparison only because of how this book made me feel, which was similar to my reaction to Beautiful Disaster, in that I connected easily and strongly to the characters' twisted relationship and felt like I got sucker-punched numerous times. And it made me cry, at least twice. Which, bizarrely, is something I rather like my books to do.

It's a character-driven story with some very minor subplots thrown in and a strong theme of 'fear of letting people in/getting hurt'. The main culprit of this particular character flaw being Joss (Jocelyn) Butler, the protagonist.

I liked Joss, I really did, but sometimes she infuriated me. She lost her family (mother, father and sister) in a car crash at age fourteen and went a little wild for a few years, then closed off and withdrew from people altogether. Cut to 8 years later and she's still mostly walled off from humanity, but has at least managed to acquire a few casual acquaintances. However, circumstances force a sharp change in her life when she moves into a new flat, with a new room-mate, on Dublin Street. And said room-mate has a very handsome, very charming, utterly egotistical brother called Braden, and this book is all about their tempestuous relationship.

It's an extremely sexually-charged relationship, with some absolutely scorching love scenes that were H.O.T. without ever crossing any of my personal boundaries of what I want to read about (like some other highly popular books floating about at the moment that you may have heard of...). Where the annoyance with Joss bit comes in, however—and really, it's not actually her fault at all—is that she has been so unhappy and alone for so long, that when the chance presents itself to become part of an adopted family of sorts, and a loving relationship, she's too scared to take it. And I just wanted to shake her at times and say "It's right there! What you are looking for is right in front of your damn face!". But then I also kinda wanted to cry for her as well, because she's clearly terrified of losing anyone again and thinks the answer is to not care about anyone...like, ever.

*sigh*

The use of 1st person narrative through Joss works really well for this book, even though it's much more common to find romances written in 3rd. Every thought, feeling and sensation is brought to you with first-hand descriptors taking you along for the ride rather than just being a witness to it. The other plus, IMO, is that it causes Braden to be that much more of a mystery as we never have the privilege of his thoughts, so we experience Joss's worries, insecurities and emotions about him which really draws you in, and it also means we only get to see Braden through Joss's lust-filled gaze, making him seem extremely appealing!

Not that Braden needed much help to sound appealing... My, my, my. He has his caveman tendencies, sure, and I could have lived without the string of ex-Barbie doll girlfriends (as I'm sure Joss could have, too) but he was also very sweet and understanding, even when Joss was being a total basketcase. I liked his character a lot and might have a teensy weensy crush on him. Just don't tell anyone, 'kay?

To sum up, I lurved this book. I didn't want it to end. So if you're in need of a steamy, well-written contemporary read, this is the very fella for you. Enjoy!

5 Stars ★★★★★
ARC provided by the publisher for an honest review.

Original Title
On Dublin Street
ASIN
B0094J01VG
Edition Language
English
Series
On Dublin Street #1

 

Starting over sucks.

When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I’d pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring… until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.

And then he opened his mouth.

Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something… unexpected happens.

The hot alien living next door marks me.

You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon’s touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I’m getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades.

If I don’t kill him first, that is.

Review:

Now this is the story all about how
Katy's life got flipped, turned upside down
And I'd like to take a minute, just sit right there
I'll tell you how she became my new favourite YA protagonist. Oh yeah.

In sunny Florida, she was born and raised
On the beach(?) was where she spent most of her days
Chilling out, maxing, relaxing all cool
And she didn't have to put up with her neighbour being a tool 

Okay, I'm just going to stop this right here before it gets any worse. That was terrible. I will never do that again, I promise.



So yes, this is the story of a new girl (Katy) arriving in a small town where everybody knows everybody; she has a single parent who is hardly ever there; she meets a gorgeous but extremely rude boy who seems all mysterious as well as being totally hot, and he has an adorably sweet sister who wants to be her new BFF but she's sure the family is hiding something...

Sound familiar? Of course it does, it's been done several hundred times before. Twilight, of course, and The Vampire Diaries before that, and every other derivative spawn we've had to suffer through since then.

BUT! This one has something that they didn't have: a very likeable, very admirable, totally kick-ass protagonist called Katy Swartz! I loved Katy! She rescued this story for me from being just another one of those books.

Even though it's a formula we've seen many times before, with Armentrout's authentic-sounding 'teenage' voice for Katy, whom the story is told through first-person, it really, really worked. She's just so likeable and so relatable. And more importantly, even though some of the plot devices used in this book will seem very familiar to you if you've read any of the above-mentioned series, Armentrout gets things right where those others failed miserably. Several times during the book I felt Katy was on a precipice and I was waiting breathlessly with both fingers crossed to see if she would pass the 'Stupid YA Heroine Test'. Is she going to prove to be yet another dumbass, TSTL, moron doormat? Or will we finally get a heroine where we can be all "Ha! You tell him, honey!"?

Guess which one she was. I bet you can't guess.

And of course, I would be neglectful if I didn't mention His Royal Hotness Daemon Black. He truly was just as much of a douche-bag as I'd expected him to be from reading other reviews, but I still liked him very much. I got the impression he was rude not to be malicious, but just because it amused him. He liked the back and forth bickering that happened every time he and Katy attempted to converse. And I think he liked it even more that she stood up to him, every time, without fail. He's a little tinker, but I like him anyway.

I went straight out and bought book two and will be reading it next because I hear the plot has more content than this one. Can't wait!

4 Stars ★★★★

Original Title
Obsidian
Edition Language
English
URL
https://jenniferlarmentrout.com/books/obsidian-2/
Series
Lux #1

 

Sixteen-year-old Neryn is alone in the land of Alban, where the oppressive king has ordered anyone with magical strengths captured and brought before him. Eager to hide her own canny skill--a uniquely powerful ability to communicate with the fairy-like Good Folk--Neryn sets out for the legendary Shadowfell, a home and training ground for a secret rebel group determined to overthrow the evil King Keldec.

During her dangerous journey, she receives aid from the Good Folk, who tell her she must pass a series of tests in order to recognize her full potential. She also finds help from a handsome young man, Flint, who rescues her from certain death--but whose motives in doing so remain unclear. Neryn struggles to trust her only allies. They both hint that she alone may be the key to Alban's release from Keldec's rule. Homeless, unsure of who to trust, and trapped in an empire determined to crush her, Neryn must make it to Shadowfell not only to save herself, but to save Alban.