4-stars – Page 6 – Talk Nerdy Book Blog

The Eagle (Spy Girl, #2) by Jillian Dodd

By Sarah

In 4-stars, Book Review

August 31, 2017

T

Series: Spy Girl

Release Date: October 10th, 2016

Synopsis:

Revenge won’t change anything—or will it?

From USA Today bestselling author Jillian Dodd comes the second book in a sizzling series filled with action and adventure. Fans of The Selection and The Hunger Games will discover a heart-pounding thrill ride of espionage and suspense set in glittering high society.

The world’s most deadly assassin, a man known only as The Priest, has come back from the dead to take a series of high profile hits. When the assassin completes his first task—shooting an important world leader, the global community goes into collective shock and his government vows retaliation.

With her cover firmly cemented as Huntley Von Allister, Spy Girl’s vacation on the Royal Yacht is cut short when she’s called home for her next mission—and, this time, it’s personal.

Can Huntley accomplish her mission before the next hit takes place?
And what will happen when she finally comes face-to-face with the man who killed her mother?

With a kickass heroine and intrigue, this page turner will have you spellbound and drooling over your new book boyfriend. – H.M Ward, New York Times Bestselling Author.
The Spy Girl series is an intrigue filled, exciting ride through a world you’ll wish you were part of and want to know more about! – J. Sterling, New York Times Bestselling Author.

Ending

 HFN

Representation

No strong representations of the following:
• BIPOC characters
• LGBTQIA+ characters
• characters with a disability
And doesn’t address fatphobia

Possible Triggers

• Violence
• Death
• Terrorism
• Murder

Mature Themes

• Allusions to sex
• Underaged drinking
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Rating: 4/5 stars

Note: This is a review of the second book in the series; therefore, there will be spoilers from the first book below. Click Here to read my review of the first book in the series.

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What’s Left of Me (What’s Left of Me, #1) by Amanda Maxlyn

By Sarah

In 4-stars, Book Review

January 27, 2017

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Series: What’s Left of Me

Release Date: December 12th, 2013

Synopsis:

Life works in mysterious ways.

Four years ago I became known as the girl with cancer.

I refuse to cry.

And I refuse to give in.

A relationship with a man is the last thing I’m looking for right now, but one night with Parker changes everything. He is persistent, and he knows what he wants. Me.

He doesn’t treat me like I’m fragile.

But he doesn’t know, and I’m not ready to tell him.

What if it changes everything?

Tragedy found me when I was seventeen.

Love found me when I was twenty-one.

My name is Aundrea McCall, and this is my journey.

Ending

  HFN

Representation

No strong representations of the following:
• BIPOC characters
• LGBTQIA+ characters
• characters with a disability
And doesn’t address fatphobia

Possible Triggers

• Does have OTT sad parts
• Heroine has had cancer for the past 4 years
• No abuse

Safety Rating: Safe

• No cheating
• No OW/OM
• Does have the Heroine pushing away
• Does not have a separation between the Hero and Heroine
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Rating: 4/5 stars

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The Lucky Charm (The Portland Pioneers, #1) by Beth Bolden

By Sarah

In 4-stars, Book Review

January 26, 2015

T

Series: The Portland Pioneers*

Release Date: May 4th, 2014

Synopsis:

IT’S THE BOTTOM OF THE NINTH …

Izzy Dalton’s about to strike out. Her new job as the sideline reporter for the Portland Pioneers major league baseball team is problematic on several levels:

1. Baseball is her least favourite sport. Falling behind golf, tennis, and maybe even curling.
2. What Izzy knows about baseball could fill about three minutes of airtime.
3. Her last experience in front of a camera was in college. Six years ago.
4. The Pioneer’s second baseman has a wicked sense of humour and even wickeder blue eyes.

AND A FULL COUNT …

Jack Bennett couldn’t be more uninterested in a little sideline action. He just wants to show up at the park and win baseball games. Izzy is the one woman he should steer clear of, but she’s also the key to his success – and his heart, too.

All Izzy has to do is convince her misogynistic boss she’s competent, learn what the heck an RBI is, and stay away from Jack Bennett. Izzy tells herself it’ll be a snap, but 162 games is longer than she ever imagined and Jack more irresistible than she counted on.

Ending

 HEA

Representation

No strong representations of the following:
• BIPOC characters
• LGBTQIA+ characters
• characters with a disability
And doesn’t address fatphobia

Possible Triggers

• Heroine’s family died when she was young
• No abuse (Heroine does have rude bosses though)

Safety Rating: Safe

• No cheating
• No descriptive sex scene with OW/OM
• Does have the Heroine pushing the Hero away
• Does not have a separation between the Hero and Heroine
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Rating: 4/5 stars

*Each novel in the series is Standalone

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Beneath the Scars By Melanie Moreland

By Sarah

In 4-stars, Book Review

December 31, 2014

B

Series: Standalone

Release Date: October 14th, 2014

Synopsis:

The sound of the ocean, the of the waves as they kick up against he sand and rocks – these are the only sounds Megan Greene wants to hear. She wants to leave the rest of the world behind, and find some peace.
The offer of a private house on the beach, set in a small town in Maine, is perfect. Time to think, to be by herself. It’s all she wants. it’s the escape she needs.

Until she stumbles across the painting that seems to echo her own chaotic mindset. Until she meets the unfriendly artist behind the stormy painting and discovers his secrets.

All Zachary Adams wants is to be left alone. His canvases, and the unending score of the ocean and sand, are his life. They direct him – fill his hours. Bring him focus.

Until she enters his life. She dredges up memories of the past – the haunting images he has hidden for years; the fears he has never shared. A story he keeps buried below the surface.

Can she make hims see what he is missing? Can he trust her enough to believe?

Together they embark on a journey where their pasts collide and threaten to tear them apart. Will their fragile bon hold or wash away with ebbing tide?

Ending

 HEA

Representation

• Side character with a disability

Possible Triggers

• Gaslighting
• Emotional abuse
• Attempted murder (Off-page, described)

Safety Rating: Safe with Exceptions

• No cheating
• Does have OM drama
– The Heroine’s ex-boyfriend steals her book and paints himself as a vindictive, gold-digging, lying woman
• No OW
• Does have the Hero and Heroine pushing away
• Does have a separation between the Hero and Heroine
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Rating: 4/5 stars

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Black City (Black City, #1) by Elizabeth Richards

By Sarah

In 4-stars, Book Review

December 6, 2014

B

Series: Black City

Release Date: November 13th, 2012

Synopsis:

A dark and tender post-apocalyptic love story set in the aftermath of a bloody war.

In a city where humans and Darklings are now separated by a high wall and tension between the two races still simmer after a terrible war, sixteen-year-old Ash Fisher, a half-blood Darkling, and Natalie Buchanan, a human and the daughter of the Emissary, meet and do the unthinkable – they fall in love. Bonded by a mysterious connection that causes Ash’s long-dormant heart to beat, Ash and Natalie first deny and then struggle to fight their forbidden feelings for each other, knowing if they’re caught, they’ll be executed – but their feelings are too strong.

When Ash and Natalie then find themselves at the center of a deadly conspiracy that threatens to pull the humans and Darklings back into war, they must make hard choices that could result in both their dreams.

Ending

  Cliffhanger

Representation

No strong representations of the following:
• BIPOC characters
• LGBTQIA+ characters
• characters with a disability
And doesn’t address fatphobia

Possible Triggers

• Drug abuse
• Oppression
• Torture
• Attempted rape
• Gruesome death
• Violence

Safety Rating: Safe with Exceptions

• Does have OW drama
– The OW is the true soulmate to the Hero–the Heroine had a heart transplant when she was younger… she received the OW’s heart, which made it seem like the Heroine and Hero were soulmates.
– The Hero is then confused whether he should be with the Hero or Heroine
• Kinda has cheating
– After finding out about the OW being the Hero’s true soulmate, he kisses the OW
• Does have the Hero and Heroine pushing away
• Does have a separation between the Hero and Heroine
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Rating: 4.25/5 stars

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Uncovered by Emily Snow

By Sarah

In 4-stars, Book Review

December 3, 2014

U

Series: Standalone

Release Date: August 5th, 2014

Synopsis:

My name is Lizzie Connelly, and I have it all. The gorgeous apartment. The new job most women would rip out their own souls for—working for Margaret Emerson at Emerson & Taylor. I have one of those lives you’ve always dreamt about, the kind you only see on HBO. But, the thing is, that life is a lie. A façade.

It all started with one call. “Everything you know about your story—your father’s story—is a lie. It’s up to you to uncover everything.” One call, and I turned my world upside down to dig my way into Margaret’s life—the woman who I’d never laid eyes on until recently. My stepmother who took everything after my father died fourteen years ago.

The plan was simple—figure out what role she played in my father’s death and expose her to the world.

But here’s another thing: simplicity doesn’t exist, and my plans are flawed from the beginning because I never anticipated Oliver. Sexy, too smart for his own goddamn good, and infuriating, he’s the one person who could blow my plans to uncover Margaret. She’s his mother, and in another life, that would have made him my stepbrother.

I want to pretend that none of that matters, that I can simply finish what I came to do without sparing him a second glance and another thought.

Like I said, though, there’s no such thing as simplicity.

My real name is Gemma Emerson.

And this is my story.

Ending

 HEA

Representation

No strong representations of the following:
• BIPOC characters
• LGBTQIA+ characters
• characters with a disability
And doesn’t address fatphobia

Possible Triggers

• Death of Heroine’s father
• Herione’s stepmother steals her birthright
• Blackmail
• Murder

Safety Rating: Safe

• No descriptive sex scene with OW/OM
• Does have the Hero and Heroine pushing away
• Does not have a separation between the Hero and Heroine
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

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Now You See Her by Linda Howard

By Sarah

In 4-stars, Book Review

November 30, 2014

N

Series: Standalone

Release Date: May 1st, 1998

Synopsis:

With the scintillating sensuality and high-volatage thrills that distinguish all of her blockbusters of romantic suspense, Linda Howard grips the imagination and touches the heart as only she can, in her sixth dazzling New York Times bestseller.

A talented painter in hear early thirties, Paris Sweeney has achieved enviable success: her work sells at an exclusive New York City gallery, and her popularity is at an all-time high. Life is good, and Sweeney, as she prefers to be called, is content.

But lately, Sweeney’s dreams — lush, vivid, and drenched in vibrant hues — seem to echo a growing restlessness that has taken hold of her. Suddenly, impulsively, Sweeney falls into a night of intense passion with millionaire Richard Worth. Now, the true dangers of her all-consuming urges are about to be revealed where Sweeney least expects it: in her paintings.

After a creative frenzy she can barely recall, Sweeney discovers she has rendered a disturbing image — a graphic murder scene. Against her better instincts, she returns to the canvas time and again, filling out each chilling detail piece by piece. But when a shattering, real-lfie murder mirrors her creation, Sweeney falls under suspicion. With every stroke of her brush, she risks incriminating herself with her inexplicable knowledge of the deadly crime. And every desire — including her hunger for Richard — is loaded with uncertainty as Sweeney races to unmask a killer.

Ending

 HEA

Representation

No strong representations of the following:
• BIPOC characters
• LGBTQIA+ characters
• characters with a disability
And doesn’t address fatphobia

Possible Triggers

• Murder
• Violence
• Death

Safety Rating: Safe with Exceptions

• No cheating
• Does have OW drama
– The Hero’s ex-wife wants more in the settlement and attempts to use the Heroine to get what she wants
– The Hero and Heroine met while he was still married but didn’t get together until after he was divorced
– The Hero stayed in his marriage (and had sex with his wife) despite knowing his wife had affairs
• No descriptive sex scene with OW/OM
• No pushing away
• No separation between the Hero and Heroine
– But, the Hero and Heroine met while the Hero was still married. Then, they met again later, after the Hero’s divorce; that’s when they started dating.
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Rating: 4/5 stars

(more…)

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Secret Catch by Cassie Mae and Jessica Salyer

By Sarah

In 4-stars, Book Review

November 24, 2014

S

Series: Standalone

Release Date: October 7th, 2014

Synopsis:

Tyler Koontz is Trojan gold all the way. There’s nowhere he loves to be more than on the football field.

Sam Nolan is Skyhawk red born and raised. With her mom’s alcohol problem and her dad’s recent death, she lives for her little brother who is a big football fanatic.

There’s one rule in this town …

Trojans and Skyhawks don’t date. EVER.

So when Tyler and Sam fall fast and hard for each other, what are they to do? Keep it a secret of course.

The problem is in a town this small, secrets don’t stay secret for long.

Ending

 HEA

Representation

No strong representations of the following:
• BIPOC characters
• LGBTQIA+ characters
• characters with a disability
And doesn’t address fatphobia

Possible Triggers

• Death (Heroine’s father dies and the Heroine becomes the primary caretaker to her younger brother because her mother has checked out)
• Violence
• Allusions to physical abuse

Safety Rating: Safe

• Both the Hero and Heroine are virgins
• No cheating
• No OW/OM drama
• Does have the Hero pushing away
– This is what made the book Safe with Exceptions for me. Most would find this book completely safe but it really bugged me how the Hero purposefully broke his promise to the Heroine to “protect her.” For someone who’s been repeatedly abandoned by the people she loves, it was not a well thought out move. The good intention was there, but the Hero just ended up hurting the Heroine that much worse.
– And then, worse than that, he didn’t have the courage to stand up for his relationship when the Heroine asked him to during their separation. It took until the end of the novel.
• Does have a brief separation between the Hero and Heroine
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

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Count On Me (Count on Me, #1) by Melyssa Winchester

By Sarah

In 4-stars, Book Review

November 12, 2014

C

Series: Count On Me*

Release Date: April 19th, 2014

Synopsis:

There are people that tell you high school is the best time of your life.

They lied.

High school is horrible when you’re like me and you’re autistic.

They think that because I don’t talk and I seem to always be lost in my own world, I’m stupid or deaf. Some even think I’m retarded. i’m none of those things and I don’t like that word.

Just because I’ve got issues, doesn’t mean it’s all I am. There’s a lot more to me, but no one really takes the time to get to know t. St least that’s how it was until Kayden.

Kayden Walker is bad news. he spends his time making people that are different, like me, feel even worse about themselves and he does it with a smile. He’s everything I don’t need in my life, yet he’s the one person I can’t seem to live without.

Underneath, there’s more to him that he’s afraid to let the rest of the world see. I’ve seen it and as I’m finding out, we’re not so different after all.

Ending

 HFN

Representation

• Main character is autistic
• Supporting character has Asperger’s Syndrome

Possible Triggers

• Physical abuse
• Emotional abuse
• Psychological abuse
• Allusions to alcoholism
• Warning: The bullying of Bella is detailed and includes intense psychological as well as physical abuse.
• Note: The Hero is a very cruel bully of the Heroine–he is never physical with her.

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Safety Rating: Safe

• No cheating
• Kind of OW drama
– The Hero dated-in the past-the Heroine’s main tormentor. But, there was no drama in relation to the OW wanting Kayden back.
• Does have the Hero and Heroine pushing away
• Does not have a separation between the Hero and Heroine
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Rating: 4.25/5 stars

*Each novel in the series is Standalone

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The Dark World (Dark World, #1) by Cara Lynn Shultz

By Sarah

In 4-stars, Book Review

October 31, 2014

T

Series: Dark World

Release Date: May 27th, 2014

Synopsis:

Paige Kelly is used to weird–in fact, she probably corners the market on weird, considering that her best friend, Dottie, has been dead since the 1950s.

But when a fire demon attacks Paige in detention, she has to admit that things have gotten out of her league. Luckily, the cute new boy in school, Logan Bradley, is a practiced demon slayer-and he isn’t fazed by Paige’s propensity to chat with the dead.

Suddenly, Paige is smack in the middle of a centuries-old battle between warlocks and demons, learning to fight with a magic sword so that she can defend herself. And if she makes one wrong move, she’ll be pulled into the Dark World, an alternate version of our world that’s overrun by demons-and she might never make it home.

Ending

  Cliffhanger

Representation

No strong representations of the following:
• BIPOC characters
• LGBTQIA+ characters
• characters with a disability
And doesn’t address fatphobia

Possible Triggers

• Violence
• Killing/murder
• Death
• Bullying
• Girl-hating
• Sex-shaming

Mature Themes

• Allusions to sex
• Training to kill
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Rating: 4.25/5 stars

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Category4-stars

The Eagle (Spy Girl, #2) by Jillian Dodd

What’s Left of Me (What’s Left of Me, #1) by Amanda Maxlyn

The Lucky Charm (The Portland Pioneers, #1) by Beth Bolden

Beneath the Scars By Melanie Moreland

Black City (Black City, #1) by Elizabeth Richards

Uncovered by Emily Snow

Now You See Her by Linda Howard

Secret Catch by Cassie Mae and Jessica Salyer

Count On Me (Count on Me, #1) by Melyssa Winchester

The Dark World (Dark World, #1) by Cara Lynn Shultz

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