If You Stay by Courtney Cole Release Day Blitz + Review + 2 Giveaways

IF YOU STAY by Courtney Cole 
Pub date: April 8, 2014
Publisher: Forever Trade Paperback; $12.00

My Review:
Wow, what a book.  Pax really is an ass at least at first and Mila is so sweet and innocent.  But this story really changes everything and I read it in an afternoon and loved it.

The story starts out very dark.  Pax uses drugs and while not an addict he almost overdoses, only saved by the fact that Mila just happens to come along.  Mila is still reeling from her parents death two years ago and feels some strange connection to Pax that leads her to his hospital room to check on him after the almost-overdose.  There a connection between the two of them begins to form.  And of course there are setbacks along the way.  You would expect no less in a New Adult book, but there is also a love story that was truly enjoyable.

The story feels real. There are many struggles, there are issues with trust, there is love.  But in the end will love be enough to hold these two together?  Well you will just have to see.

A solid New Adult book that I enjoyed every minute of. The characters while flawed (or not really in Mila's case) were great to watch the growth in. The romance was real, the struggles real and I enjoyed the storyline immensely.  If you haven't read If You Stay yet, then this is definitely one to put on your list!

My Rating: 5.0/5.0

About the Book:

Twenty-four-year-old Pax Tate is an asshole. Seriously. He's a tattooed, rock-hard bad boy with a tough attitude to match. His mother died when Pax was seven, leaving a hole in his heart filled with an intense guilt that he doesn't understand. What he does know is that he and his dad were left alone, and they have never been close. Now, he uses drugs and women to cope with the black void in his soul. He pretends that the emptiness isn't there and this has always worked . . . until he meets Mila.

Sweet, beautiful Mila Hill is the fresh air that Pax has never known in his life. He doesn't know how to not hurt her-but he quickly realizes that he'd better figure it out because he needs her to breathe. When the memories of his mother's death resurface to haunt Pax, Mila is there to save him from his overwhelming guilt. Mila restores his broken heart, even as she evokes his powerful, sexual desires. Now for Pax to keep Mila, he needs to work on his issues-and stop being an asshole. But is that enough to make her stay?

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About the author:

Courtney Cole is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who lives near Lake Michigan with her family.  She's always working on her next project... or staring dreamily out her office window.  To learn more about her, please visit http://www.courtneycoleauthor.com/

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Tour Giveaway

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My Giveaway:
One paperback copy of If You Stay by Courtney Cole (mailed from publisher, US/Canada only)

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***I received this book from the publisher for an honest review.  I was not compensated in any other way except receiving the book for free.  ***

Third Degree by Julie Cross: Review

Third Degree by Julie Cross
Publisher: Flirt
Pub Date: March 25, 2014
ISBN:  9780553390346

Genre: New Adult

My Rating: 5.0/5.0





My Review:
What a fascinating read.  It's like Gray's Anatomy meets college life.  I love the mix of the medical with "Izzy" trying to learn to lead a normal 19-year-old's life in college.  I was taken in by the first page, but the further the book went the more involved I was.  This isn't a simple story by far and I really enjoyed getting to know the characters and following the plot.

Since Izzy doesn't get into the residency program at 19, she decides with the help of her shrink to go back and have life experiences and learn to relate to others her own age in hopes that in 6-months she can retest and get her life back on track.  Of course to begin with it's pretty much a disaster.  Izzy has hardly been around her peers during her life and has a hard time relating to normal college life.  Enter Marshall the insanely hot RA on her floor.  There is chemistry and he has a real desire to help her acclimate to college life better and have real life experiences a 19-year-old should have.

At this point you know a romance will ensue, but the way it happens I never expected.  And from that point on I was fully invested in the book and the characters.  Izzy and Marsh were great.  Both finding their way together.  The turns the book take were sometimes heartbreaking but they had purpose.  The book was very well-thought out and planned to me and I enjoyed everything about it.

Looking for a little bit of medical life in your New Adult?  Third Degree is just the book for you.  Marsh and Izzy are amazing characters who take on a life of their own.  With each other and through other things they both grow and mature during the book and the journey is exciting to watch.  The romance is hot, the growth is great and I just can't say enough about this wonderful book. Read it and enjoy!

Summary

Fans of Monica Murphy and Tammara Webber will savor this New Adult novel—a story about coming of age in the heat of the moment—from Julie Cross, the internationally bestselling author of the Tempest trilogy.

I used to be “Isabel Jenkins, child prodigy.” As lame as that sounds, at least it was an identity. But now I’m not sure what I am. I just failed the most important exam of my life—the emotional readiness test required to get into a medical residency program—and it turns out my parents can’t stand each other. Now I’m trying to figure out how to pick up the pieces of my life, and that means re-enrolling as a college freshman, but this time I’m shutting the books and majoring in being eighteen.

But so far, my roommate hates me and I’m not into the party scene. The only good thing about school has been getting to know my insanely hot RA. Marshall Collins makes me wonder about everything I missed while I was growing up too fast. Pretty soon we’re hanging out constantly, but for the first time, I find myself wanting more than a no-strings-attached physical relationship. And the lesson I really need is one Marsh definitely can’t teach me: love. Because I’m going to be alone forever if I don’t learn fast.

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Author Biography (from Goodreads):

I'm the author of the YA sci-fi trilogy, the Tempest series (St. Martin's Press). I'm also the author of the YA contemporary novel, Letters To Nowhere.

But even more importantly than the above, I'm a fan of books and an avid reader/reviewer. Keep in mind, however, that a review is just one person's opinion, one perspective. My goal is to show as much bias in my reviews as possible because this makes it easier for you to decide if your perspective is similar to mine or different. Everyone's tastes are different. I like books with emotion and believability. I don't mind edgy and heavy themes. I also like humor and quirk. I like weird characters in odd situations.

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***I received this book from the publisher on Netgalley for an honest review.  I was not compensated in any other way except receiving the book for free.  ***