Series: True Series

Guest Review: True Divide by Liora Blake

Posted December 9, 2015 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review: True Divide by Liora BlakeReviewer: Tracy
True DivideSeries: True series #3
Also in this series: True Devotion, True Divide, True North, True Devotion

Publication Date: October 19, 2015
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four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

What do you do when the one boy you were never quite able to forget lands on your doorstep?

Lacey Mosely feels stuck: in her rural town of Crowell, Montana, at her job as manager of The Beauty Barn, and in her lackluster love life. Enter Jake Holt, one-time misfit and Lacey’s secret high school love. Ten years later, Jake is a private pilot whose travels take him all over the world, and once he shows up in Lacey’s life again—at the most unexpected time—he can’t seem to stay away. Now it’s up to Lacey to decide if she’s ready to let go of the past…and take a leap of faith for love.

Lacey Mosley was born and raised in Crowell, Montana. As much as she feels stuck there she can’t imagine leaving. She has worked at The Beauty Barn since she was about 16 years old and now works there as a manager for her elderly boss.

When she takes her sister to the hospital to have her baby her brother in law has to fly in from Los Angeles as the baby comes a couple of weeks early. When Lacey sees who the pilot of the plane is she’s shocked to see that it’s Jake Holt, the boy she’d had a hidden relationship with during her senior year of high school. Jake was the bad boy skater and Lacey was the good girl cheerleader but they came together and made it work. When Jake left for parts unknown the day after graduation Lacey was shocked and stunned and now that he’s back in town Lacey’s not sure she wants to get involved with a man who she knows is just going to leave once again.

Jake needed to get out of Crowell as he felt like he was suffocating. He had lived an interesting yet hard life for a while but then got his pilot’s license and life was pretty good at the moment. He never forgot Lacey and wants to start up another relationship with her. Lacey never stopped loving Jake but again, she doesn’t want to get involved with a man who wants nothing to do with Crowell. When she finds out that The Beauty Barn will be hers for good Jake’s not sure he can handle being stuck in a small town with small-minded people. Can their love withstand the trials of each of them living in different states, or will it fizzle to nothing once again.

The final book in the True series was a good one. Lacey and Jake’s story was sweet and almost seamless for most of the book. Sure, Lacey didn’t want to get involved with him again but she can’t get past the feelings that never died for him. Their affair is fun and I loved their email conversations when they weren’t together. Jake was such a good guy and sent Lacey special gifts when he couldn’t be with her on certain occasions – it was all very romantic.

Jake could be a bit of an ass at times but truly once he figured out what he was saying would hurt in a way he didn’t intend he apologized immediately. It didn’t take the sting away completely but I liked that he was intelligent enough to realize his stupid mistakes.

The end was wrapped up a bit too quickly for my liking but I was happy that they managed to work out their differences. I’m sad to see this series end but hopefully we’ll get another great one from Blake sometime soon. 🙂

Rating: 4 out of 5

four-stars


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Review: True Devotion by Liora Blake

Posted December 1, 2015 by Rowena in Reviews | 2 Comments

Review: True Devotion by Liora BlakeReviewer: Rowena
True Devotion by Liora Blake
Series: True Series #2
Also in this series: True Devotion, True Divide, True North

Publication Date: June 22nd 2015
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four-half-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Find out if rock sensation Simon can break through tough-girl Devon’s steely exterior—if he can keep his head on straight, that is—in this second sizzling romance in the True series!

Devon Jenkins is a feisty blonde, and Simon Cole is the arrogant, sexy guitarist playing in her brother’s band. When they met for the first time, it went something like this: He hit on her, she shot him down, he made a lewd joke, she told him he was an idiot.

In the two years since then, not much has changed. From the way Simon flirts shamelessly with any set of ovaries within a 100-mile radius, Devon knows the smartest thing she can do is keep an impenetrable wall between them.

But sometimes the smart choice isn’t necessarily the right one…

Devon Jenkins brother is a rock star. She’s around musicians a lot because of who her brother is and one of those musicians is Simon Cole. Simon Cole is a rich playboy who flirts with anything in a skirt and is in Trevor’s band. One of the girls that he flirts with all the time is Devon Jenkins. They have a love to bicker relationship but he’s not on Devon’s radar…like that. At least she thought he wasn’t, until he is and she can’t get him out of her mind.

Simon has noticed Devon since the first time he set eyes on her and after two years of bickering with her over every little thing, he’s still noticing her. It’s not to be though because she’s one of the few girls who hasn’t fell for his charming personality but at Trevor and Kate’s wedding, things start looking up for Simon because a very drunk Devon is finally noticing Simon…like that. Too bad she’s drunk because Simon doesn’t want Devon for one night. He wants her for a whole lot of nights and he won’t be the guy she regrets having sex with in the morning and drunken wedding sex with him is something she’s going to regret so after taking care of her that night, he walks away.

Devon tries to move on from Simon’s rejection and forget about the whole thing but the guy is everywhere! It’s getting harder and harder to ignore how much she wants him when he keeps showing up everywhere she goes and before she knows whats what, she gets a taste and she can’t stay away.

Holy crap did Simon win me over in this book. There was not one thing about him that I didn’t absolutely love. From his flirty personality to the charity work that he did to honor his Mom to that first gift he gave Devon…he was everything.

Devon was a good heroine but there were times when her hot and cold attitude toward Simon got on my nerves. I’m glad that once she decided that she was all in with Simon, she never strayed from that. I just thought it took her a while to finally get there and it was disappointing because she hurt my Simon.

Simon was my favorite hero in the whole series, I loved him so much. I loved how giving he was, how in he was with Devon. I loved how upfront he was with everyone about how much he liked Devon. When we find out about the way he was with Devon’s best friend, my heart melted. I could go on and on about my love for Simon Cole but I’m sure you get the idea. He was great. I freaking loved him and if you want to love him too, you should read this book. It’s good, I promise!

Grade: 4.5 out of 5

four-half-stars


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Review: True North by Liora Blake

Posted November 19, 2015 by Rowena in Reviews | 2 Comments

Review: True North by Liora BlakeReviewer: Rowena
True North by Liora Blake
Series: True Series #1
Also in this series: True Devotion, True Divide, True Devotion

Publication Date: April 6th 2015
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four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

What happens when a bad-boy celebrity rocker meets a small-town bestselling novelist? Find out in this first book in the sizzling new True series by Liora Blake!

While most novelists would consider jetting off to Hollywood for a TV interview rather exciting, small-town Montana writer Kate Mosely finds it all a bit exhausting. After losing her husband in a car accident where she was behind the wheel, Kate has finally found her bearings in the world again, rebuilding a simple but stable life. And even if that means a lot of lonely nights watching old movies and quiet days writing obituaries for her hometown newspaper, Kate’s not sure she’s ready for her life to change—again.

Until she shares the stage—and a whole heap of carnal gazes—with rock star Trevor “Trax” Jenkins. Despite his intimidating on-stage bravado, underneath it Kate discovers a man with a Rilke poem tattooed on his arm, an appreciation for cronuts, and a snarky wit that matches her own.

As she and Trevor explore their heated chemistry, the scarred parts of Kate’s heart begin to heal, making room for a love so passionate it makes her want long-forgotten things equal parts naughty, heart-swelling, and joyful. But when a searing exposé in a trashy gossip magazine sends Kate running, will it threaten their chances at forever?

This series came to my attention when I read the blurb for the third and last book. I knew that both Tracy and Ames read and enjoyed the previous books so I requested the third book for review and then went back and read the first two before digging into the third.

What a great series this turned out to be. I read all three books back to back to back. I couldn’t stop. It was too freaking cute.

True North is the first book in the True series and it was a solid start to the series.

Kate Mosely is a writer from Montana who is doing the talk show circuit to promote her book when she comes across Trevor “Trax” Jenkins on one of the shows she’s scheduled for. She makes quite the impression because before she heads back home, Trevor tracks her down (with the help of his agent or manager) and asks her out. They go to dinner and when Kate goes back home, she’s surprised that Trevor is continuing whatever it is they started in L.A.

She’s a bit confused over that, since they’re from totally different worlds and she doesn’t understand why someone like Trevor would like some country girl like her. But he does and as he continues to pursue Kate, I fell a little more in love with him with every passing page.

Trevor was a great hero. He knew that his life was complicated and not at all something that Kate was used to and I loved how patient he was with her. I loved that even though she didn’t understand why he kept coming around, he still came around. He wouldn’t let her disappear from his life because he knew that she felt was he was feeling. I loved seeing the efforts that Trevor put into his courtship of Kate. I loved how he was with Kate, his family and his friends. He was an all around solid hero and I adored him.

Kate was a good heroine as well. There were times when I thought she took too long to come around but for the most part, I enjoyed getting to know her. I enjoyed her back story and I enjoyed seeing her fall for Trevor and find her place in his life. I also enjoyed her love of cronuts. Ha! I wish she would have stood up for herself more where Lacey was concerned because there were times when I wanted to strangle Lacey for her attitude toward Trevor, her high-handedness where Kate was concerned and at the same time, I wanted to strangle Kate for letting Lacey get away with saying and doing stupid crap.

The romance between Trevor and Kate was cute and sigh worthy. Oh man, what I wouldn’t give to have a rich guy like Trevor who was sweet on top of that pursuing me. I loved the things he did for Kate. I loved that his home was wherever she was and ehh, I just loved him.

I also really enjoyed the secondary characters. From Trevor’s Mom, sister and niece to Simon. When I found out that the next book was Simon and Devon’s book, I couldn’t start that book fast enough. So good. This was a great start to a great series. You should definitely read this one.

Grade: 4 out of 5

four-stars


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Review: True Divide by Liora Blake

Posted October 22, 2015 by Rowena in Reviews | 4 Comments

Review: True Divide by Liora BlakeReviewer: Rowena
True DivideSeries: True Series #3
Also in this series: True Devotion, True North, True Devotion

Publication Date: October 19, 2015
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Series Rating: four-stars

Spitfire Lacey Mosely feels stuck in a life she didn’t necessarily want. But will she find a happy ending with the man who broke her heart? Liora Blake concludes her witty and poignant True series with this spirited romance.

What do you do when the one boy you were never quite able to forget lands on your doorstep?

Lacey Mosely feels stuck: in her rural town of Crowell, Montana, at her job as manager of The Beauty Barn, and in her lackluster love life. Enter Jake Holt, one-time misfit and Lacey’s secret high school love. Ten years later, Jake is a private pilot whose travels take him all over the world, and once he shows up in Lacey’s life again—at the most unexpected time—he can’t seem to stay away. Now it’s up to Lacey to decide if she’s ready to let go of the past…and take a leap of faith for love.

When I first started True Divide, Lacey was my least favorite heroine of the bunch. She got on my nerves in True North (her sister’s book) and she didn’t exactly redeem herself in True Devotion but by the time I finished True Divide, Lacey was my favorite heroine of the entire series.

Lacey Mosely is stuck. She’s stuck at the same job she’s had since she was 16. She’s stuck in the same town that she’s lived in her whole life and she slept with her sleazy ex-boyfriend again. When her sister goes into labor and her brother in law is out of town, Lacey is in charge of getting Katie settled at the hospital. She knew that her day was going to knock her on her ass but she wasn’t prepared for running into Jake Holt, a blast from the past. He completely knocks her on her ass. It’s been a while since she’s seen Jake. She hasn’t seen him since he left town without telling her and breaking her heart in the process.

But he’s back and he wants to pick up where they left off and when he worms his way back into her good graces, Lacey falls for his charms all over again.

It wasn’t hard for Lacey to fall for him again because hell, even I fell for Jake while reading his emails to Lacey and seeing him work to get his Lacey back. I liked that he put in the work to win Lacey over. His emails were funny, they were sweet and they were hella steamy. I really enjoyed those emails and his phone calls to her. I felt the chemistry between these two throughout the whole book.

Lacey is everything that I like in my heroines. Strong, loyal and caring. You see in this book, how much she loves her family. Her sister, her brother in law and her young nephew. She’s a very loving person and I really enjoyed the scenes where she’s interacting with everyone. From her boss at The Beauty Barn to her friends, her family, she was a genuinely good person. She loved often and she loved deep and when things get crazy between her and Jake, she showed just how strong she was.

Jake Holt moved to Crowley when he was 16 and he was the black sheep at school and around town. He marched to his own tune and didn’t have two pennies to rub together but he still caught the eye of the town’s beauty queen, Lacey Mosely. He fell in love with her while they were secretly dating and he never forgot about her when he left town. His reasons for leaving made sense and while I understood why he left town without a word, when he comes back and wins Lacey over again…the way he handled their future talk left a lot to be desired.

Throughout a lot of the book, I wanted to strangle Jake. I thought his attitude toward the town and the things he would say about people in town made him snobbish. I understood why he had that attitude but I would have liked for him to have come back to town and put all of that shit behind him. I would have liked him to be more focused on his love for Lacey, the way that she was for him. Their struggles as a couple later in the book made for interesting reading but boy did I want to strangle Jake. There was no middle ground with him where living in Crowley was concerned so his attitude toward Lacey when he finds out about The Beauty Barn made me want to punch him in the throat.

Through it all, I loved how strong Lacey stood. I loved that while she loved Jake, she wasn’t going to let him bully her with the decision of their future. She had her own insecurities about every thing and I loved seeing her come into her own. When Jake finally comes around, I was glad but more so I was glad for Lacey. I wanted Lacey to have the life she always wanted with Jake but for Lacey’s sake more than Jake’s sake, if that makes any sense.

This book was good and I thought it ended the series on a high note but there were small bits of the book that chipped away at my enjoyment of the book but in the end, I was glad that things worked out. I’m so glad that I read this series.

Grade: 3.25 out of 5


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Guest Review: True Devotion by Liora Blake

Posted September 1, 2015 by Tracy in Reviews | 1 Comment

Guest Review: True Devotion by Liora BlakeReviewer: Tracy
True Devotion by Liora Blake
Series: True Series #2
Also in this series: True Divide, True North, True Devotion
Publisher: Pocket Star
Publication Date: June 22, 2015
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Add It: Goodreads
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four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Devon Jenkins is a feisty blonde, and Simon Cole is the arrogant, sexy guitarist playing in her brother’s band. When they met for the first time, it went something like this: He hit on her, she shot him down, he made a lewd joke, she told him he was an idiot.

In the two years since then, not much has changed. From the way Simon flirts shamelessly with any set of ovaries within a 100-mile radius, Devon knows the smartest thing she can do is keep an impenetrable wall between them.

But sometimes the smart choice isn’t necessarily the right one…

Tracy’s review of True Devotion (True #2) by Liora Blake.

When Devon and Simon first met it was lust at first sight. That was until Devon’s brother walked in to the room and told Simon to get his hands off of his sister. Oh boy. Simon was not happy but didn’t give up on his lust for Devon.

Devon and her family grew up in the projects of Cleveland and they were happy to get out of there. Devon especially as she left a brutal relationship behind. She turned her life around by becoming a massage therapist. She’s a happy person who loves taking care of her brother’s daughter and baking in her spare time. She loves verbally sparring with Simon but while she lusts after him she knows it won’t go further as she believes Simon to be a man-ho – even though she would love it to. She also believes that she’s not really good enough for anyone so doesn’t look further into Simon or anyone else.

Simon isn’t who Devon thinks he is. He’s a good man who has had some traumatic and emotional events happen in his life. He’s trying to do the best he can in his life and that means helping people. He finally seems to get through to Devon but when the going gets tough in their relationship Devon lets her self-esteem issues get the best of her and she makes a break for it.

This was another great book in this series. (Two out of two is a pretty good record!) I loved Devon and Simon together and I adored the chemistry of the two of them that practically flew off the page. How they ever managed to go two years without getting together is beyond me.

In this story Devon learns that Simon isn’t exactly who she thought he was – he’s more. I loved seeing her get to know him as someone other than just a guy in her brother’s band. She got to know him deep down and there was a lot to know.

Simon was awesome. I loved him from minute one and that didn’t change throughout the book. He was a good person and one who cared deeply. Don’t get me wrong, he could snark it up with the best of them and he had a great sense of humor as well. He was highly intelligent and incredibly wealthy but for all that he had he wasn’t conceited or snobbish and that was one of the things I loved about him. He was down to earth and…well, normal. The banter between Devon and Simon was entertaining but never hurtful which I liked. Simon could easily be a great book boyfriend, that’s for sure.

The book was a good one and I really enjoyed reading it. I’m looking forward to reading more from Blake in the future.

Rating: 4 out of 5

This title is available from Pocket Star. You can read it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

four-stars


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