Review: Center Stage by Bernadette Marie

Synopsis:

John Forrester is a simple man. He goes to work. He does his job. Then he comes home to his empty apartment with his flat screen TV. After a bad breakup with his ex wife John swears he will never get married again and does his best to keep to himself. Things change for him when he is fixed up with his Boss' sister in law. Arrianna Keller is like no woman he's ever met and he can't stop thinking about her. After four years of seeing her off and on when she comes home for visits he helps her move back into her home only to be blinded by his attraction to her.

Arrianna Keller has had an amazing career on Broadway being Center Stage. Her life is upturned when she gets a surprise visit from her sister's crazy ex. Packing up to head home Arrianna finds out the person living in her rented basement apartment is the one man she has been attracted to for years. John Forrester is everything she wants in a man. Much like her he doesn't want marriage and children. Despite their age difference Arrianna finds John irresistible and can't help but want him.

When her stalker follows her home Arrianna and John must protect the Keller clan at all costs while maintaining their relationship that at times scares them. Everything is on the line and nobody is safe in the Keller family.


Hootie Says:

Let me just say that if Bernadette Marie wasn't already married I would drive her up to Massachusetts and make an honest woman out of her!!! This woman knows how to write romance let me tell you! I stumbled onto the first book in this series by accident one night while trolling the Amazon freebies list.

Needless to say I became a huge fan and ate up the other books. I was lucky enough to get an ARC of Center Stage which I was waiting for as patiently as I could because I have had the BIGGEST crush on John Forrester! He became my favorite character since he rescued Reagan in The Executive's Decision which By The Way is still FREE! So make sure you click the box below and add it to your Kindle.

Anyway getting back to the story Center Stage was AMAZING! It was everything I was desperately hoping for! It starts out with Arrianna coming home from New York after she sort of retires from Broadway. She makes it home just in time for a major family event (Go check out the series so I don't spoil anything for you!) and is greeted by none other than John Forrester! (UGH SWOON!) Every time I say his name I get chills!

Have I mentioned yet how much I love John? lol! Anyway so John ends up helping Arrianna move back into her house which coincidentally he lives in too, in her basement apartment! While helping her set up her bed (yeeeeaaaah baby) the attraction between them heats up and gives those of us who have been waiting on this exactly what we want! See John tried to fight his attraction to Arrianna because she is almost 13 years younger than him and he felt like she might want kids and a family someday and that just isn't what he wants. Hell  he's been so scarred by his failed marriage he feels he never wants to marry again! Arrianna brings out a side of him he hasn't had much use for in years and they spend several intimate moments together if you know what I mean!?

They establish that they really like each other and lay down some ground rules about their relationship before they get too serious. He wants her to himself and she wants him to herself but neither want to make it official with paperwork which suits them both fine. Meanwhile the REAL reason Arrianna moved back home starts to surface causing problems! For those that don't know, there is a bastard character that caused me heart problems in book 1 that returns for this book I wasn't ready for! I thought it was gonna be all "LA LA LA LOVE IS GRAND" but noooo  we get paid a visit by our favorite guest!

Seriously!!! I was freaking out in this book because EVERYONE in the Keller family gets involved in this shit! Things are gong along just fine, Arrianna is renovating an old theatre she's always wanted to do once she retired, and John is helping out because that man can do no wrong! She starts getting phone calls with no one on the other line, finding her family's business cards lying around in odd places and close calls happen at her theatre they can't explain. They go to the cops but those bitches are almost useless due to the law! Really what good is "THE LAW" if the shit don't help nobody and can be bent to someones will? *Steps off soapbox* My Bad, so back to the story the cops can't really help because they have nothing to go on and no concrete evidence. Arrianna starts packing heat just in case she might need it which is totally bad ass! I love a woman who defends herself and I already loved Arrianna so that just added to her characters appeal. John vows to protect her and her family at all costs which just endeared him more to my heart! I swear my daddy issues kicked in with this book hardcore! I wanted to climb into the story and sit in Johns lap!

Things come to a head when Arrianna's stalker makes his move and wreaks havoc with her theatre and her family. I was shocked by the ending honestly! I didn't see it coming but I was so incredibly happy about it I wanted to hug my Kindle! The relationship between John and Arrianna was my favorite of the series by far. They were real with each other and didn't play games, they just enjoyed being together and worked things out when faced with problems. I loved this series and It was kind of sad that things are wrapping up for the main characters in this series but the cool thing is, we get a spin-off series featuring the next generation of Keller's! PINCH ME! Major Thank you To Bernadette Marie and 5 Prince Publishing for being so gracious to allow us an early look at these books we love! I really hope you guys check them out and love them as much as I do! 

                                                             -HOOTIE

***Center Stage won't release until  December 6th***

Check out Bernadette's author page on: AMAZON

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Plus check out more amazing books from our friends at 5 Prince Publishing at: http://www.5princebooks.com/

Review: Petals by Rebekah Roberts

Synopsis from Goodreads:

“Beauty might just be the beast.”’

Calla Williams is not like other girls. Most girls spend their whole lives trying to be beautiful, Calla already is…and she hates it.

When she is shipped off one summer to live with family friends in their dilapidated Mississippi plantation, Calla is faced with the prospect of living with strangers and their teenage son. This is annoying because, like any other boy, he is sure to fall in love with her on sight. However, Griffin Davenport is not your typical teenage guy. With his hot temper and half of his face severely scarred, “hate at first sight” is closer to what she finds.

Though the two teens try to stay out of each other’s way, an odd attraction to each other makes staying away anything but easy.

Now, Calla must deal with growing feelings, her own prejudices, and finding the secret to Griffin’s past. As hate turns to friendship and friendship becomes something more, Calla learns a startling truth: God uses even how we look in His plan for our lives.

Hootie Says:

This book was like:

                                               Meets...

This book was a really beautiful version of an old classic. Calla is a young girl who sees her beauty as a burden. Always being stared at by other girls and hit on by the guys, all she wants is to not be so beautiful! (Can't imagine what that feels like lol) When her dad takes a job overseas she ends up moving in with one of his high school friends for the summer. Everything seems fine until she comes face to face with Griffin. 

Poor Griffin!! One side of his face is severely scarred up and Calla doesn't know why. All she knows is that looking at him makes her skin crawl and her stomach feel weird. She tries to make the best of being there and becomes close to Griffins mother Elisabeth and his grandmother Eloise. They dote on her and take her shopping to help her transition into staying there a little easier. It is easy to say that Griffin and Calla do not get along at all! They argue a lot causing his mother to stress out. Once his grandmother Eloise has a talk with Calla about being nice and trying to get along with Griffin things calm down a little. On a shopping trip with his mother a car full of guys start harassing Calla and making her feel uncomfortable, when Griffin drives up and runs them off! 

This is where Griffin becomes less of a jerk and turns my decision about his character around. After this incident his grandmother pushes them together for horse riding lessons trying to be sneaky! He starts to soften to Calla and they get to know each other a little better and start to actually bond. She finds out the reason he has treated her so mean, and an attraction develops between them. As the story progresses Calla starts to uncover a family secret revolving around why Griffin's face is scarred so badly. Once uncovered, Griffin confides something in her that sends her running to her brother who lives in Hawaii just to get away from the truth. 

OMG! I died so many times while reading this book I think my ghost is writing this right now! The love story between Calla and Griffin was so sweet and romantic once you get to know why the characters are the way they are. When I started reading this book, I thought Calla was a little stuck on herself. She comes off as vain and you start to wonder if maybe Griffin is right to assume she's vapid, but once you get to know what she goes through because of that beauty you understand why. She has been harassed and stared at pretty much her whole life and I can imagine that would get on your nerves after a while. I didn't want to love Griffin's character though. I thought when he came onto the scene he would not make me fall for him because he was so mean to Calla.

That didn't last long because as soon as I found out why he was so mean I fell hard for him! Watching him start to open up to Calla was like watching a rose bloom, it was an amazing feeling!  There was one scene where he protected her and made sure she was alright before he did anything for himself. I don't want to give away too much but my favorite part had to be the hospital scene! UGH! That was soooo good! I think it goes without saying that I really loved this book. I have always loved the Beauty and The Beast story especially Disney's version because I am a giant child! 

Overall I loved the story and the message behind it was powerful. That no matter where you are in life you have a purpose and value. Some of you may not agree with the spiritual undertones in the book but I personally don't think that would hinder you from enjoying it anyway. If you are looking for a good, clean romantic Young Adult story then Petals should be your next conquest!

                                                                 -Hootie

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Buy Petals on Kindle for only $2.99!!!!

Review: First Kiss - Bernadette Marie

Synopsis:

Cade Carter had a bright future as a rising football star in Wisconsin until a game ending injury sidelines him. Having to return to Aspen Creek once his father passes is not something he is looking forward too. He knows he wasn't a very good son and has always felt like his father wasn't very supportive anyway. All he wants to do is get in and handle his father's estate and leave, that is until he comes face to face with his First Kiss Olivia Baker. 

Olivia Baker has never felt like anyone wanted her. Her mother was never there for her and her step father was an unsavory character. The only one who ever cared was Cade's father Austin. When Austin dies Olivia is left with memories and heartache until Cade blows back into town. Having to deal with him again may just break her for good.

Hootie Says:

First of all most everyone knows I am a DIE HARD Green Bay Packer fan!

Judging by the fact that Cade resides in Green Bay I am going to assume he played for my team! Anyway getting back to the story!

I loved this book! Cade stole my heart even though he started out as kind of a prick. Cade and Olivia were friends once upon a time and then something changed between them. Cade never forgot her though, even after all this time. Once he gets back to town he starts to remember just why he fell for her in the begining. Aspen Creek is a small town and everyone knows how small towns are. Nothing to do but gossip about everything! Cade picks up on the local gossip and can't help but wonder just what Olivia has been up to since he left.

Olivia knows they talk about her but she doesn't care. She misses Austin and is just trying to make it day to day when Cade walks back into her life. She wasn't expecting to remember their connection. I loved Olivia's character. She was tough and vulnerable too. She had a lot to deal with from a young age and you get to see just what makes her tick and why she is the way she is. I enjoyed watching her squirm when Cade arrives. You can see she tries to fight her old attraction but that is like eating Blue Cheese. You don't want people to know you secretly enjoy chomping on moldy dairy products!

This book had a plot twist hiding deep inside that kept me trying in vain to guess which way it would go! Every time I felt we were getting close it would stop and change directions! I love when a book keeps me guessing!

I thought I knew what was happening but then something else would pop up and make me think otherwise. Well played Bernadette! 

Overall this was a wonderful romantic story that kept me hooked like Charlie the Tuna until the last page and even then I was still trying to "page down" hoping there was more! I love a good love story and First Kiss was absolutely a good one! 

First Kiss won't release until October 11th but you can download the First chapter HERE