The Romance Bookie

2013!!! Where have you gone???  It feels like just yesterday that I was doing the countdown with my friends for 2013! Now I'll be doing it AGAIN tonight! 2013 was such an interesting year! When it comes to reading I started the year strong, but then it sort of dwindled around summer time. But personally I think I have a pretty good excuse for that...I met someone this year.  And while I still read, I will admit it isn't my number one priority anymore.  And to be honest, it's kind of a relief!  The last couple of years reading has become a chore to me.  Authors, publishers, agents, etc. sending me request after request, and me being the type of person who can't so no...I finally realized something...READING IS SUPPOSED TO BE FUN!! So what now? you may be asking.  Is there still a future for The Romance Bookie? ABSOLUTELY! Of course!! The Romance Bookie is my baby! I have put so much hard work into getting The Romance Bookie to where is it today! But...

I'm so excited that I was able to able to finish Miranda Kenneally's latest novel, Racing Savannah, before the end of the year!  I had no other choice...I got it in the mail late last week, after having ordered it off of Amazon for only $5.99, and of course had to read it immediately! Miranda has become one of my favorite authors! From Goodread : They’re from two different worlds. He lives in the estate house, and she spends most of her time in the stables helping her father train horses. In fact, Savannah has always been much more comfortable around horses than boys. Especially boys like Jack Goodwin—cocky, popular and completely out of her league. She knows the rules: no mixing between the staff and the Goodwin family. But Jack has no such boundaries. With her dream of becoming a horse jockey, Savannah isn’t exactly one to follow the rules either. She’s not going to let someone tell her a girl isn’t tough enough to race. Sure, it’s dangerous. Then again, so is dating...

Hey Guys! So I didn't think I would be finishing another Audiobook this year, but thanks to the 45 minute commute to take my final last night, I finally finished listening to Kody Keplinger's Shut Out ! From Goodreads : Most high school sports teams have rivalries with other schools. At Hamilton High, it's a civil war: the football team versus the soccer team. And for her part, Lissa is sick of it. Her quarterback boyfriend, Randy, is always ditching her to go pick a fight with the soccer team or to prank their locker room. And on three separate occasions Randy's car gas been egged while he and Lissa were inside, making out. She is done competing with a bunch of sweaty boys for her own boyfriend's attention.   Lissa decides to end the rivalry once and for all: she and the other players' girlfriends go on a hookup strike. The boys won't get any action from them until the football and soccer teams make peace. What they don't count on is a new sor...

Hey Everyone! I just can't believe it...but it's been THREE YEARS since I started The Romance Bookie!! Wow, I know I say this every year, but what an incredible three years! This past year brought on my first major publisher sending me books (Atria and Gallery, which are publishers through Simon and Schuster). Over the the past three years I have written almost 250 reviews! 250!!  I just counted them up...and can I just say I'm a little bit in a state of shock! Unbelievable! 250!!!!!!! Before I say thank you to everyone that has helped me with this blog over the last three years, I just want to say again how sorry I am about neglecting The Romance Bookie the last six months! You see 2013 was a year of many firsts for me.  Among them was getting my drivers license, which has allowed me a lot more freedom, getting TWO news jobs, and also meeting an incredible guy.  Before this year, I had always been a bit of a loner.  I will admit at the time I preferre...

Hey Everyone!! So Jamie McGuire made a super awesome announcement a couple of weeks ago, that had me squealing like a serious fan-girl! Fans of Travis Maddox, from the Beautiful Disaster  series will be thrilled to know that on December 10th (next Tuesday! One Week from today!!), the story of Abby and Travis's wedding will be revealed when Beautiful Wedding is released! Well, thanks to the wonderful publishers at Atria I was lucky enough to get an advanced finished copy of the book last week, so of course, me being the squealing fan-girl started to devour it right away! From Goodreads: You know that Abby Abernathy unexpectedly became Mrs. Maddox. But what do you really know? Why did Abby pop the question? What secrets were shared before the ceremony? Where did they spend their wedding night? Who else knew about it . . . and didn’t tell? Everything about Abby and Travis’s elopement was top-secret . . . until now. Fans of Beautiful Disaster and Walking Disaster will get...

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! It's Thanksgiving here in the US, and I hope all of you get to enjoy that special time with your family, stuffing your faces with amazing foods!  I know I will be!  Can't wait for that Green Bean Casserole!  Not to mention the yummy Carrot Cake we bought for the occasion!! :) Enjoy your Holiday! :) The Romance Bookie :)

***WARNING***ADULT CONTENT INVOLVING INAPPROPRIATE SUBJECTS FOR ANYONE UNDER THE AGE OF 18!!!*** Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!! This is a bittersweet moment...in one sense it's exciting to read the conclusion of a series, just because it's nice to add that final book to your collection on your bookshelf; but at the same time it's sad to say goodbye to characters you've slowly begun to know as friends...maybe that's just me though! I love getting to know characters, and Christina Lauren's Beautiful Bastard series was no exception! From Goodreads : Love that Cover! Back when not being able to stand each other also meant not being able to keep their hands off each other in  Beautiful Bastard , neither Bennett nor Chloe could have seen this day coming. An exasperated bride who just wants to elope. A determined groom whose only focus is getting to the wedding night. And—of course—a whole lot of name calling. My Thoughts: This series ...

Hey Everyone! So I saw Catching Fire on Saturday!! From  IMDB And let me just start by saying it was amazing! Description and image above from  IMDB : Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark become targets of the Capitol after their victory in the 74th Hunger Games sparks a rebellion in the Districts of Panem. My Thoughts: I read Catching Fire   early late 2011, and honestly thought of it as my favorite book in the Hunger Games Trilogy!  I thought it had the best story line, the best adventure, and the most going on. The movie was no exception!  Jennifer Lawrence did an amazing job, once again, as Katniss Everdeen! I loved the new editions to the cast! One of my favorites was hands down Jena Malone as Johanna. She had some of the best rebellious quotes toward the Capitol!  I don't if it was me, but I don't really remember the tributes of the Quarter Quell rebelling against the Capitol; but Johanna definitely didn't hold back! Loved that! I ...

Hey Everyone! So I just got some exciting news to share with all of you from Atria! ATRIA BOOKS SIGNS FOUR-BOOK DEAL WITH #1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR ABBI GLINES (NEW YORK) – November 22, 2013.  Atria Books announced today a four-book world rights deal with #1  New York Times  bestselling author Abbi Glines. The first three books in the runaway new adult bestselling  Too Far  series, FALLEN TOO FAR, NEVER TOO FAR and FOREVER TOO FAR, will be published as eBooks in January 2014 with trade paperback editions to follow. Atria will also release a never before published novel, RUSH TOO FAR in eBook and trade paperback simultaneously in May 2014. The book will re-tell the story of  Fallen Too Far  from hero Rush Finlay’s perspective. Fallen Too Far, Never Too Far,  and  Forever Too Far,  originally self-published by Abbi Glines, established her as one of the foremost authors of the new adult genre, selling over 400,000 eBooks each, wit...

***WARNING***ADULT CONTENT INVOLVING INAPPROPRIATE SUBJECTS FOR ANYONE UNDER THE AGE OF 18!!!*** Hey Everyone!! It's been a while once again, but I've finished another awesome book, and just wanted to share my thoughts with you! From Goodreads : A bombshell bookworm. A chronic Casanova. And a lesson in chemistry too scandalous for school. When Hanna Bergstrom receives a lecture from her overprotective brother about neglecting her social life and burying herself in grad school, she’s determined to tackle his implied assignment: get out, make friends, start dating. And who better to turn her into the sultry siren every man wants than her brother’s gorgeous best friend, Will Sumner, venture capitalist and unapologetic playboy? Will takes risks for a living, but he’s skeptical about this challenge of Hanna’s…until the wild night his innocently seductive pupil tempts him into bed- and teaches him a thing or two about being with a woman he can’t forget. Now that Hanna’s ...

Hey Everyone! It's time for In My Mailbox and Stacking the Shelves!! Bought: Secrets of My Hollywood Life by Jen Calonita  This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen From Publisher: The Way Home by Cindy Gerard  (Released October 29th, 2013) The Runaway Wife by Rowan Coleman  (Releasing on November 12th, 2013) The Redhead Revealed by Alice Clayton  (Released on November 5th, 2013) The Redhead Plays Her Hand by Alice Clayton  (ARC) (Releasing on December 24th, 2013) Beautiful Player by Christina Lauren  (Released on October 29th, 2013) A HUGE THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN TO GALLERY BOOKS!!!! WON: Burn for Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian Fire with Fire by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian and a little goodie bag that was put together by the authors! A HUGE THANK YOU to Pulse It!! Alright everyone that's what I got in books this month! Now to my recap in reviews: Wild Cards by Simone Elkeles Just One Year by...

Hey Everyone!! So I finished another book, and just in time for me to take a new one with me when I go on my vacation to Disneyland tonight!!! I finished the newest novella addition to the Beautiful Bastard Series by authors Christina and Lauren (yes, there are two awesome women who wrote this series!!), entitled Beautiful Bombshell ! From  Goodreads : The gentlemen from  Beautiful Bastard, Beautiful Stranger , and  Beautiful Player  are out for a wild night on The Strip. When Max, Henry, and Will steal Bennett away for a weekend of shenanigans and strippers in Vegas, the first stop of the night doesn’t go at all as planned. With their scheme for a Guys Weekend completely derailed anyway, Max and Bennett begin to play a wild game of stealth and secrecy in order to have their bombshells all over Sin City. My Thoughts: The sexiness continues with this great edition to one of my favorite adult series! Beautiful Bombshell  was overall a cute sexy r...

Hey Everyone! Once again, it's been a while, but I guess that is what happens when you've got four jobs, plus school, plus relationships and a social life to uphold :).  But anyway, FINALLY finished Gayle Forman's latest release Just One Year, the sequel to earlier this year's release  Just One Day . From Goodreads : Just One Day. Just One Year. Just One Read. Before you find out how their story ends, remember how it began.... When he opens his eyes, Willem doesn’t know where in the world he is—Prague or Dubrovnik or back in Amsterdam. All he knows is that he is once again alone, and that he needs to find a girl named Lulu. They shared one magical day in Paris, and something about that day—that girl—makes Willem wonder if they aren’t fated to be together. He travels all over the world, from Mexico to India, hoping to reconnect with her. But as months go by and Lulu remains elusive, Willem starts to question if the hand of fate is as strong as he’d thought. . . ...

Hey Everyone! From  Goodreads : After getting kicked out of boarding school, bad boy Derek Fitzpatrick has no choice but to live with his ditzy stepmother while his military dad is deployed. Things quickly go from bad to worse when he finds out she plans to move them back to her childhood home in Illinois. Derek’s counting the days before he can be on his own, and the last thing he needs is to get involved with someone else’s family drama. Ashtyn Parker knows one thing for certain--people you care about leave without a backward glance. A football scholarship would finally give her the chance to leave. So she pours everything into winning a state championship, until her boyfriend and star quarterback betrays them all by joining their rival team. Ashtyn needs a new game plan, but it requires trusting Derek—someone she barely knows, someone born to break the rules. Is she willing to put her heart on the line to try and win it all? My Thoughts: First off, let me just say I ...

Hey Everyone!! It's time for my new IMM and Stacking the Shelves!! I finally had time to make a video, which I haven't done in a few months! From Publisher: The Identified Redhead (Redhead #1) by Alice Clayton  (just finished this one this week! See my review HERE! ) White Trash Damaged (White Trash Trilogy #2) by Teresa Mummert  (Out NOW!) The Descent (The Takers Trilogy #3) by Alma Katsu  (ARC) (January 7th, 2014) A Terrible Love by Marata Eros  (Out NOW!) THANK YOU GALLERY BOOKS FOR THESE FABULOUS NOVELS!!! Bought: Wild Cards by Simone Elkeles Just One Year (Just One Day #2) by Gayle Forman New Releases from this past month!! Reading Wild Cards  right now!! OMG Simone it's been way too long!!  And I am SO excited to read Just One Year , the much anticipated sequel to Just One Day !!! So that's that I got in books this month! What did you get? Recap in Review from this past month: (WARNING: The list ...