Whisper To Me - Christina Lee

At college, Rachel has a reputation for being a sarcastic flirt with a thing for star athletes. No one at school knows that she’d had her heart ripped to shreds by her high school sweetheart, who’d driven them both off the side of the road on a borrowed motorcycle, and then abandoned her. No one knows the real Rachel Mattson—except one person…

Ever since he helped nurse his sister’s feisty best friend back to health, pierced bass player Kai Nakos has been head over heels in love. But the supposed bad boy can’t risk letting Rachel know the truth—especially now that the two of them are back in their hometown for the summer, together for the first time since the months following that fateful night. Never mind that Rachel’s ex is back, groveling for her forgiveness.

Shaken by her ex’s return, Rachel finds herself turning to the one guy she knows she can trust. Kai is willing to hide his feelings for her, just to have Rachel touch him again. After all, this is only a temporary fling. Until it becomes something more. But maybe it had been more all along

So the first thing I should admit is that I did not know this was part of a series.  When I was scrolling through the Net Galley titles, the blurb for this book was so good, I had to take a shot at getting approved to read this.  I love second chance love stories, or best friend turned love stories and this seemed almost like that (minus the ex, groveling for her forgiveness).  I started it as soon as I was approved for it.

This is where maybe reading the first two books might have helped, I’m not sure.  The beginning was a little slow and confusing for me.  I’m not sure how much Rachel is in the first two books, but I just felt like I couldn’t connect with her at first. 

Kai on the other hand, I loved from the beginning…and that is what kept me reading.  I often feel like something just isn’t quite right when I read male POV’s in stories.  To be honest, I don’t typically love dual POV books but in the beginning for me it was definitely the saving grace and what kept me going. 

About midway through, the story picked up for me and I couldn’t wait to see how it would all unfold.  I felt her pain from her accident.  Her suffering through not understanding what happened with her ex and the comfort she felt with her best friend Kai…well as long as her other best friend, Kai’s sister, wasn’t there. 

I truly enjoyed the secondary characters who made appearances in this book (the characters from the previous two books) as well as Kai’s best friend Shane.  I can’t say I loved Dakota…but that’s just my personal opinion. 

So I’m sure you are wondering, why…if the books picked up half way and I felt connected to it, I still only gave it 3.5 stars and that would be the slow beginning combined with what I felt like was a rushed ending.  I needed a little more.  I felt like I had been on this journey and I needed something, one more chapter, an epilogue…something to let me know it had all been worth it… 

Maybe there will be another book?

Against All Odds - Angie McKeon

Our lives shattered... Our hearts broken... Our souls torn to pieces...

He was my world, my whole life. My reason for breathing. I had a perfect marriage, a baby on the way, and I felt fulfilled—almost invincible.

Until the day life hit, leaving me broken, vulnerable, and alone.

She was my life. My ray of hope on the cloudiest day. With her, I thought I had the ultimate safety. A love that would never hurt or betray me. I gave her my heart, my body, and my soul.

Until she broke me, destroying every dream and illusion I had about life, love, and marriage.

In our grief, we made a mistake. A mistake I'm not sure we can come back from.

"Life's a fucked up state of fucked up." - That pretty much sums up the whole first half of this book, a fucked up state of fucked up.

First I will tell you, take any ideas of who you think Angie is and throw it out the window.  That happy, fun, loves everyone girl that has kept us entertained with her different kinds of loving stars over the years is not the same girl who wrote this book.

This Angie has a dark side, and it's so, so good.

Against All Odds is a story about love, loss, and the crazy that goes on when that loss is soul crushing.

After you make it through the prologue...which will make you feel like you got punched in the face - you will join Kylie Bailey after the dust has settled on the traumatic event and follow along on the journey of her now completely fucked up life.

How fucked up? They have somehow, though neither really wanting to, agreed to an open marriage where Kylie is trying to bury her feelings in sleeping with other men and Cooper is just lost.  Then, to drive it all home and make it as fucked up as possible, Cooper's best friend Grayson is the one that's been helping to take care of Kylie since the "event" and eventually confesses he too has feelings for Kylie and is no longer going to keep them to himself. WHAT?

**Tara plug - I freakin' love Gray... He's mine and I'm not sharing!!**

Gray is definitely an alpha male character, should be no surprise for Angie's followers, but has the sweetest heart for Kylie.  He has and would continue to do anything for her.  He's so amazing, I found myself cheering for her to leave her husband and be with Grayson...yes, you read that right.  I was hoping for extra bad cheating and falling in love with the other guy - this is what Angie has done to me!!

Cooper, oh how I struggled with thee.  I disliked him, and felt abused by him, but then I felt bad for him and my heart broke for him too.  He really left me feeling kinda like I had multiple personalities...actually scratch that...I'm blaming Angie for that!

Kylie is just a mess...a flat out mess.  There are times where you will love her and her heart will be yours.  And then there will be times where you just want to shake the shit out of her and ask her what's wrong with her.  But...you will care one way or the other.

I can't even tell you how many times I've read this story at this point, it's too many to count...but each time is like the first time all over again.  I read something that makes more sense this time around...or certain parts still hit me as if I hadn't read them before. 

Here's my final note... if you don't like angsty reads, or if you can't stand love triangles (or squares or whatever), or cheating in any way shape or form, then this book is not for you.  If you can have an open mind and fall in love with completely flawed and broken characters, don't miss out on this debut.