Author: Colleen Hoover

Weekly Wrap Up: January 22 – January 28, 2018

Posted January 28, 2018 by Rowena in Features, Giveaway Winners | 2 Comments

What We Reviewed

Holly’s review of Judgment Road (Torpedo Ink #1) by Christine Feehan | 3 out of 5
Rowena’s review of About that Kiss (Heartbreaker Bay #5) by Jill Shalvis | 4 out of 5
Tracy’s review of The Trouble with True Love (Dear Lady Truelove #2) by Laura Lee Guhrke | 4 out of 5
Tracy’s review of Beyond Scandal and Desire (Sins for All Seasons #1) by Lorraine Heath | 5 out of 5
Holly’s throwback review of Heart of Steel (The Iron Seas #2) by Meljean Brook | 5 out of 5
Tracy’s review of About that Kiss (Heartbreaker Bay #5) by Jill Shalvis | 4 out of 5

What We Posted

Release Day Spotlight: About that Kiss by Jill Shalvis
What Are You Reading? (+ Contemporary Giveaway)
WTF Cover Saturday (245)
Sunday Spotlight: Moonlight Sins by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Book News

We have some cover reveals that dropped this week that we’re pretty stoked about and are sharing them here for those of you interested in that kind of thing. We have two cover reveals that dropped this week, All Your Perfects by Colleen Hoover and Brooklynaire by Sarina Bowen and both got some squees from us here at Book Binge.

Check it out.

Weekly Wrap Up: January 22 – January 28, 2018All Your Perfects by Colleen Hoover
Publisher: Atria Books
Publication Date: July 17th 2018
Pages: 320
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of It Ends with Us--whose writing is "emotionally wrenching and utterly original" (Sarah Shepard, New York Times bestselling author of the Pretty Little Liars series)--delivers a tour de force novel about a troubled marriage and the one old forgotten promise that might be able to save it.

Quinn and Graham's perfect love is threatened by their imperfect marriage. The memories, mistakes, and secrets that they have built up over the years are now tearing them apart. The one thing that could save them might also be the very thing that pushes their marriage beyond the point of repair.

All Your Perfects is a profound novel about a damaged couple whose potential future hinges on promises made in the past. This is a heartbreaking page-turner that asks: Can a resounding love with a perfect beginning survive a lifetime between two imperfect people?

Colleen Hoover books always bring out my emotions. All of them. When I read her books I’m either pissed to high heaven or I’m swooning over the swoonworthy hero or I’m sobbing like a baby because I just can’t even deal but whenever I finish a book, I’m always saying that this is it. No more Colleen Hoover for me because I just can’t…but I always lie because with the next release, I’m chomping at the bit to own it, to devour it and to end up loving the hell out of it.

This cover doesn’t really do much for me. It’s pretty simple but I can dig that. It’s not ugly.

Weekly Wrap Up: January 22 – January 28, 2018Brooklynaire (Brooklyn Bruisers #4) by Sarina Bowen
Series: Brooklyn Bruisers #4
Also in this series: Rookie Move, Rookie Move, Hard Hitter, Rookie Move, Hard Hitter , Pipe Dreams, Pipe Dreams, Pipe Dreams, Brooklynaire, Rookie Move, Overnight Sensation, Superfan , Superfan

Publication Date: February 12th 2018
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Add It: Goodreads
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A sexy new standalone from USA Today bestseller Sarina Bowen.

You'd think a billion dollars, a professional hockey team and a six-bedroom mansion on the Promenade would satisfy a guy. You'd be wrong.

For seven years Rebecca has brightened my office with her wit and her smile. She manages both my hockey team and my sanity. I don't know when I started waking in the night, craving her. All I know is that one whiff of her perfume ruins my concentration. And her laugh makes me hard.

When Rebecca gets hurt, I step in to help. It's what friends do. But what friends don't do is rip off each others' clothes for a single, wild night together.

Now she's avoiding me. She says we're too different, and it can never happen again. So why can't we keep our hands off each other?

Nate and Becca’s book finally has a cover and if you ask me, I love it. Holly isn’t that thrilled about it but I think Nate is hot and I’m all kinds of excited to finally get their story. I feel like we’ve been waiting forever for this story even though it’s only three books…but yippy skippy, we’re so close to getting to know Nate and Becca up close and personally. Woot!

Current Giveaways

Sunday Spotlight: January 2018

Monthly Reads: December 2017

What are You Reading? (+ Contemporary Giveaway)

Giveaway Winners

We have some winners to announce this week! Congratulations to the following…

What are You Reading? (+ Paranormal Giveaway)

bn100

Winners: An email will be sent to you shortly. Please let us know where you would like us to send your prize. You have two weeks to get back to us before we choose another winner. Check back on Sundays to see if you’re a winner in one of our giveaways.

That does it for this week’s weekly wrap up. How was your week in books? Hear any book news that you’d like to share? Get any new books you want to share? Review any books we should check out? Please share.


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Guest Review: It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover

Posted September 14, 2016 by Tracy in Reviews | 1 Comment

Guest Review: It Ends with Us by Colleen HooverReviewer: Tracy
It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover
Publisher: Atria Books
Publication Date: August 2nd 2016
Add It: Goodreads
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four-stars

SOMETIMES THE ONE WHO LOVES YOU IS THE ONE WHO HURTS YOU THE MOST

Lily hasn't always had it easy, but that's never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She's come a long way from the small town in Maine where she grew up - she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily's life suddenly seems almost too good to be true.

Ryle is assertive, stubborn, and maybe even a little arrogant. He's also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily, but Ryle's complete aversion to relationships is disturbing.

As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan - her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.

With this bold and deeply personal novel, Colleen Hoover delivers a heart-wrenching story that breaks exciting new ground for her as a writer. It Ends With Us is an unforgettable tale of love that comes at the ultimate price.

This book contains graphic scenes and very sensitive subject matter.

When Lily Bloom was fifteen years old she met Atlas. He was a senior in high school to her sophomore.  She’s wondering what he was doing living in the abandoned house behind her own.  She makes a point to talk to him and they soon strike up a friendship. It turns out that Atlas’s mother kicked him out because her new husband didn’t like him and since he was 18 she was under no obligation to let him live with her. Lily helps Atlas take showers, as well as get clothes, food and blankets to survive. Their friendship soon becomes love but then Atlas contacts his uncle in Boston and moves there so that he can have a real home.

Lilly’s own home life wasn’t fabulous either.  Her father abused her mother on a regular basis and she couldn’t understand why her mom didn’t take Lily and leave.  She thought of her as weak.

Fast forward to Lily at the age of 22 when she is just back in Boston – her new home – from attending her father’s funeral.  She decides to watch some stars and finds an apartment building near her own that has a great roof deck.  While there she unexpectedly meets Ryle.  Ryle is a neurosurgeon competing his residency.  They tell each other some hard truths – they call them naked truths – but when Ryle gets called away they don’t plan on seeing each other ever again.  Lily wants a husband and family and Ryle thinks marriage is repulsive and wants nothing to do with children.

Six months later and Lily is opening her own flower shop like she’s always wanted.  She hires Alyssa who wanders in off the street and she ends up being Ryle’s sister.  Neither Ryle nor Lily can get the other off their mind.  They end up together but it turns out that Ryle has some issues that cause Lily to really look at him, their relationship and their future together.  When she meets Atlas again after seven years apart Lily has to face her thoughts about him and how their relationship ended.

Let me tell you it’s so very hard to write this review without giving you HUGE spoilers but I’m gonna give it a whirl.

This story was incredibly hard to read at times.  The subject matter is about something that you hope, in your life, you never have to face, but Lily did.  Looking at things about herself and Ryle from the inside of their relationship made her see that nothing is black and white.  She assumed that if she saw the same issues in another couple that her decision would be non-negotiable but seeing things from the inside was different for her.  The way that Hoover made us look at matters from a different point of view was quite heart-wrenching.  While she had me smiling at different points in the book she had me crying at others.

The characters in the story are really amazingly written.  I really loved them all – yes, ALL.  Alyssa with her wonderful personality as well as her husband, Marshall who cracked me up whenever he was on page.  Atlas had an incredible soul – even at 18 years of age and that didn’t change when he was older, either. Lily was an incredible strong girl and woman.  I didn’t ever see her as weak and truly admired her.  Ryle, as much as I wanted to hate him I just really couldn’t.  Despite his issues I still liked him at the end of the book which is saying something, let me tell you.

I want to say that though the blurb alludes to a love triangle there isn’t really one in the book.  I truly hate love triangles.  I try to avoid them at all costs so went in to this book with a sense of trepidation.  I was thrilled with the way that Hoover dealt with Lily, Ryle and Atlas – it was so well done! (I did hate his name, however.  It threw me out of the book so many times it got a bit frustrating, I must say.)

The book was fun and funny at times. It was also painful and sad to read for a whole slew of reasons. A lot of people would stay away from it because of those reasons but you shouldn’t.  It’s not a typical Hoover book but it was definitely worth reading.

Rating: 4 out of 5

four-stars


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Reading #November9 (+ a Giveaway!) by Colleen Hoover

Posted November 9, 2015 by Holly in Reviews | 2 Comments

Reading #November9 (+ a Giveaway!) by Colleen HooverReviewer: Holly and Rowena
November 9 by Colleen Hoover

Publication Date: November 10th 2015
Genres: Fiction, New Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 320
Add It: Goodreads
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five-stars

Beloved #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover returns with an unforgettable love story between a writer and his unexpected muse.
Fallon meets Ben, an aspiring novelist, the day before her scheduled cross-country move. Their untimely attraction leads them to spend Fallon’s last day in L.A. together, and her eventful life becomes the creative inspiration Ben has always sought for his novel. Over time and amidst the various relationships and tribulations of their own separate lives, they continue to meet on the same date every year. Until one day Fallon becomes unsure if Ben has been telling her the truth or fabricating a perfect reality for the sake of the ultimate plot twist.
Can Ben’s relationship with Fallon—and simultaneously his novel—be considered a love story if it ends in heartbreak?

Rowena and I agreed to read November 9 by Colleen Hoover so we could review it together. She started it in the morning. I started it in the afternoon of the same day. The Premise:

inigo montoya

Girl is having awkward and painful breakfast with her father when boy in the next booth over comes to her rescue and pretends to be her boyfriend. They spend the day together and agree to meet up every year for 5 years on November 9th. The story is only told during their November 9th meetups, so everything we learn about the characters we learn from their meetings one day a year.

We kept messaging each other as we read. Things like:

giphy

Me: OMG! This book is adorable!
Her: I KNOW! I’m loving this.

You guys, I’m serious. This book was freaking adorable. The banter. The wit! The romance! The humor!

giphy (1)

She was busy during the day and didn’t get much reading time in. I had the same problem. We were both frustrated because we just wanted to get back to the book.

Picard

Finally, around 8pm I had a chance to really sit down and dig into the story. It was freaking adorable!

giphy love

So there I was, cruising right along, loving this adorable story when BAM, I got to the Fourth November 9. I was like, WTF JUST HAPPENED RIGHT NOW!?!?

giphy Brave

I couldn’t read fast enough. I had to see what was going to happen. AND THEN IT GOT WORSE, YOU GUYS. IT FUCKING GOT WORSE.  MY LIFE WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN!

I finished the book and texted Rowena:

2015-10-20 15.58.17

 

I was so overcome I took to Twitter:

Nov 9

Nov 2nd 9

I waited for Rowena to finish the damn book. Finally she messaged me around 11pm.

2015-10-21 10.20.03

Then I sat back and waited, because I knew what was coming. I knew.

2015-10-20 15.57.10

I know, Rowena. I know.


Finally I texted her around 12:30am to ask if she’d finished the book. She called me at quarter to 1.

 

Her: Holly! What was that?  I can’t even right now.
Me: I don’t even know. I…it..I just…
Her …
Me: …
Her: I fucking hated that book.
Me: Same.
giphy no

The next morning I sent her a message.

Me: I’m still thinking about the book.
Her: Me too.
Me: …
Her: …
Me: I fucking loved that book.
Her: Same.

giphy happy

 

Okay, so for all that, the truth is we loved this book. It was a wild roller coaster ride neither of us wanted to end. We laughed, we cried, we got so angry we wanted to smash something…

It was perfect.

 

Holly’s Grade: 5 out of 5
Rowena’s Grade: 5 out of 5

 

Giveaway: Win 1 of 5 prize bundles of one signed copy of NOVEMBER 9 and a pair of #November9 sunglasses! Contest is open until November 30th. Use the rafflecopter widget below to enter or click here*.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Please Note: This is not a Book Binge sponsored giveaway. Winners will be contacted direct via the publisher.

Gifs via GIPHY

five-stars


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Review: Ugly Love: A Novel by Colleen Hoover

Posted July 31, 2014 by Holly in Reviews | 2 Comments

Review: Ugly Love: A Novel by Colleen HooverReviewer: Holly
Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover

Publication Date: August 5th 2014
Genres: Fiction, New Adult
Pages: 336
Add It: Goodreads
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four-half-stars

#1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover returns with a new heart-wrenching love story.
When Tate Collins meets airline pilot Miles Archer, she doesn't think it's love at first sight. They wouldn’t even go so far as to consider themselves friends. The only thing Tate and Miles have in common is an undeniable mutual attraction. Once their desires are out in the open, they realize they have the perfect set-up. He doesn’t want love, she doesn’t have time for love, so that just leaves the sex. Their arrangement could be surprisingly seamless, as long as Tate can stick to the only two rules Miles has for her.
Never ask about the past. Don’t expect a future.
They think they can handle it, but realize almost immediately they can’t handle it at all.
Hearts get infiltrated. Promises get broken. Rules get shattered.Love gets ugly.

The only other thing I’ve read by this author is the novella Finding Cinderella. If these two are any indication clearly I need to more.

Tate moves to San Francisco to finish grad school and get a job. To save money, she moves in with her brother, who happens to be a pilot. Much to her surprise, he lives in a high rise in the middle of downtown. He’s out of town the night she arrives and she finds a man passed out in front of his door. He turns out to be Miles, another pilot and one of her brother’s friends. They don’t get off to a good start and Tate pretty much wants nothing to do with him. Except the pesky fact that she’s wildly attracted to him. He might be a jerk, but he’s a hot one and they have off-the-charts chemistry.

It isn’t long before they begin an affair. Tate doesn’t have a lot of time for a relationship, but the more she gets to know Miles the more she wants to make time. Unfortunately, he’s emotionally closed off. He made her promise she wouldn’t ask about his past or try to create a future with him, and it’s clear he isn’t going to change his mind. Which is too bad, since she knows they could be great together.

Miles dealt with something really tragic in his past, which has turned him off love and relationships. He’s deeply damaged and not really looking to get better. But Tate makes him want to love again. He just…can’t.

The novel is written in the first person with alternating POVs. The chapters from Tate are told in the present while the chapters from Miles share his past. Novels like this tend to frustrate me, because I hate waiting to find out what the big secret from the past is or I want more in the current tense. That wasn’t the case here.  I was completely riveted by both stories, their relationship in the present and Miles’ past.

Tate was a strong woman who was relatable and approachable. She was sure of herself and focused on her career. She wasn’t looking for a relationship when she met Miles, but she wasn’t closed to the idea. She had a sometimes smart-mouth and extremely quick wit.

Dillon doesn’t seem to take the hint. He just continues to stare at me until my sandwiches are made.
I’m not offering to make him a damn sandwich if that’s why he’s still here.
“I’m a pilot,” he says. He doesn’t say it in a smug way, but when no one’s asking you what your occupation is, voluntarily contributing it to the conversation naturally comes off as smug. “I work at the same airline as Corbin.”
He’s staring at me, waiting for me to be impressed by the fact that he’s a pilot. What he doesn’t realize is that all the men in my life are pilots. My grandfather was a pilot. My father was a pilot until he retired a few months ago. My brother is a pilot.
“Dillon, if you’re trying to impress me, you’re going about it the wrong way. I much prefer a guy with a little more modesty and a lot less wife.” My eyes flash down to the wedding ring on his left hand.

If I had a complaint about Tate it was how quick she was to lose herself in Miles. She didn’t give up her career or sacrifice her schooling, but she did put up with more from him than she should have, because she was hoping he’d fall in love with her. What saved her for me was how quick she was to realize it. No, she wasn’t able to walk away from him, but she wasn’t unaware of his effect on her.

If any other man ever treated me like he did, it would be the one and only time. I don’t put up with the things I’ve seen a lot of my friends put up with. However, I find myself continuing to make excuses for him, like something could actually justify his actions last week.
I’m beginning to fear that maybe I’m not so tough after all.

The Miles of today from Tate’s point-of-view and the Miles of the past from his own POV are entirely different. It’s clear he was deeply affected by what happened in his past. I felt like we got to know the real him from his chapters, as well as flashes of things he did or said to Tate in the present. The closed off, angry, guilty man who wants nothing but sex from Tate.

I can see why he hasn’t been in a relationship for six years. He’s obviously clueless when it comes to how a guy should treat a girl, which surprises me, because I get these vibes from him that he’s really a decent guy. However, his actions during and after sex seem to contradict his character. It’s as if pieces of the guy he used to be bleed over into the guy he’s trying to be.

Not only did I want to learn what happened to make Miles into the man he is today, I also wanted Tate to break through and form a true relationship with him. Once it’s revealed why he’s so broken, my heart hurt. I wanted him to open up to Tate, but I understood why he couldn’t.

Despite the heavy tone of the book, there’s a surprising amount of humor. The way Tate looks at life and the relationships she’s formed are very real. I couldn’t help but laugh at some of the scenarios she describes, expecially those involving her mom and brother.

Let me explain something about my mother. She’s a great mom. A really great mom. But I have never been comfortable talking to her about guys. It started when I was twelve and I got my first period. She was so excited she called three of her friends to tell them before she even explained what the hell was happening to me. I learned pretty early on that secrets aren’t secrets once they reach her ears.

The secondary relationships are all well-written. Tate’s relationship with her family and one of the employees in their building, Miles’ relationship with his friend Ian, and the way Tate’s brother Corbin fit in with them really stood out.

This novel is heartbreaking and poignant, with just the right amount of humor to keep the story from being bogged down. I laughed, I cried. It was beautiful..and it was ugly. A must read.

4.25 out of 5

This book is available from Atria Books. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

four-half-stars


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Review: Finding Cinderella by Colleen Hoover

Posted April 16, 2014 by Holly in Reviews | 2 Comments

Review: Finding Cinderella by Colleen HooverReviewer: Holly
Finding Cinderella by Colleen Hoover
Series: Hopeless #2.5
Publisher: Atria Books, Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: March 18th 2014
Genres: Fiction, New Adult
Pages: 176
Add It: Goodreads
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four-half-stars
Series Rating: five-stars

A chance encounter in the dark leads eighteen-year-old Daniel and the girl who stumbles across him to profess their love for each other. But this love has conditions: they agree it will last only one hour, and it will be only make-believe.
When their hour is up and the girl rushes off like Cinderella, Daniel tries to convince himself that what happened between them seemed perfect only because they were pretending it was. Moments like that happen only in fairy tales.
One year and one bad relationship later, his disbelief in love-at-first-sight is stripped away the day he meets Six: a girl with a strange name and an even stranger personality. Unfortunately for Daniel, finding true love doesn’t guarantee a happily ever after . . . it only further threatens it.
Will an unbearable secret from the past jeopardize Daniel and Six’s only chance at saving each other?

This was a free downlaod.

Finding Cinderella first came on my radar when Atria announced plans to put the free short story into print, based on a push from fans on Twitter. The idea that readers would pay (I later discovered quite a bit. It’s set to be priced at $9.99) for a hardcover short story that’s available free online is intriguing.

Due to a scheduling mix-up, Daniel has no class 5th period. Instead of fessing up and getting his schedule fixed, he choose to hide in the broom closet each day, hoping no one discovers him. All is working out well until a girl sneaks into his sanctuary one day. She’s upset and laments ever finding a good guy – one who doesn’t care about her reputation and will love her for her. Just as disillusioned as she with love, Daniel proposes an experiment – they pretend to be in love, for that one hour, just to see how it feels.

Unfortunately for him, he really falls in love that day. Maybe it’s just an illusion, but it feels real. Sadly, his Cinderella disappears, leaving him lost and alone. One year later, he’s put Cinderella behind him and has just come out of a bad relationship. That’s when he meets Six. She’s everything he’s ever wanted in a girl. She’s quirky, laughs at his jokes, doesn’t play games and before long he’s absolutely in love. Which only solidifies when he realizes she’s his Cinderella…until he realizes Six has secrets, ones that could rock his world.

I can see why fans loved it so much. Though short, the story is engaging and beautifully written. Told from the first-person point of view of the hero, Finding Cinderella tells a story of heartbreak, healing and love.

I can’t say I would pay $9.99 for a novella I can get for free in e-format (though the printed version will include bonus material), but I can say this was a story that really touched me. I look forward to reading the other books in the series.

4.25 out of 5

This book is available from Simon and Schuster. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

four-half-stars


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