Review: With These Hands

With These Hands by Daryl Banner
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

5 I don't write with words" Stars

I think I'm in the minority when I say that I've loved Sam since Read My Lips. There was just something about her lack of emotion and her deadpan responses that drew me in. When Daryl said she was getting a book I was excited. I couldn't wait to see what he would do with this boring girl with no personality. Because let's be honest, Sam wasn't the most intriguing character. And Dmitri? Well, I wasn't sure what to expect with Dmitri.

Daryl delivered. Let's just say that he surpassed my expectations with this story. He took us back to a time when writing your name on a seating chart could alter your future. He took us to a time when hitting the cute boy in front of you could change the dynamic forever. And the right roommate could mean the difference between going hungry and having a full stomach. It's all about the paths you make, the lives you encounter, and the friends you have.

I love this book. I love the M/M, the M/F, and the M/M/F. It's fantastic. It's wonderfully written and something that not everyone can write. And I didn't see it playing out the way it did. I didn't see the characters coming together the way they did. I didn't know. I just didn't know.

Liking a boy is so stupidly stressful.

Do we remember that time Sam dated a guy who played the bassoon? I remember. I also remember wondering why in the world she would put herself through such torture. But after reading With These Hands, I think it makes more sense. Is it better to have someone around than to be alone? Would you prefer the chaos of your mind to the company of others? So, yes, Sam, liking a boy is stressful, but so is feeling alone.

I can't open my eyes until he says something. Was it that bad? Does it need work? Did I even play anything at all, or are we still here waiting for that right moment?

I feel like the majority of this book, Sam is just waiting for the right moment. Dmitri is just waiting for the right moment. But how do you know when the right moment is here? Does the moment happen naturally or do you make it happen? Dmitri and Sam have been waiting for their moment for years. YEARS. And I never saw Dmitri coming. I didn't imagine he'd be as amazing as he is. I'm not sure why, but he surpassed all of my expectations. And that moment? That moment these two have been waiting for? It's the most beautiful thing.

He is an open soul. He is fearless.

I have never been more satisfied by a character who doesn't fit societal norms as I am with Dmitri. He's bi. He isn't gay, he isn't straight. He's bi. It takes a strong person to admit to liking members of both sexes. It's not greedy, it isn't because the person is wishy-washy, it's just how they work. I think it's a true testament to love is love. Because it's true, love is love. He is both, and he is neither, and it seems as natural to him to be this way as breathing. It's just who he is; nothing more, nothing less. How I wish everyone was completely comfortable within their own skin. Dmitri seems to have this figured out.

"You are more than just poetry to me, Sam."

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Review: When I Was Yours

When I Was Yours by Samantha Towle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Nothing beats a second chance romance. This book is amazing. I loved the audio, I loved the characters, and I loved the romance.

Adam and Evie are the couple everyone strives to be. They may be young, but they are head over heels in love with each other.

So what could possibly tear them apart? What destroys a marriage? What hurts Adam and Evie beyond repair?

This is one of those books you need to read to truly appreciate. It's a book you should experience. You don't want the details because the details are what make the book. Those details make the story. Those details, the little ones and the big ones, make Adam and Evie.


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Review: #FinishLine

#FinishLine by Cambria Hebert
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have to thank Cambria Hebert for giving me more of Hopper and Arrow. I know she didn't write this book specifically for me, but it feels like it. #FinishLine ties up all the loose ends I felt in #Blur. This gives me the more I so desperately craved at the end of that book.

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Unless of course you get married. That shit will follow you anywhere.

Can I just say #TRUTH? Because I got married in Vegas last year and that shit followed me right back home. ;-)

I wasn't a hard guy to get along with, not really. Just don't fucking talk to me.

I feel ya, Lor. I really, really do.

And my ovaries? They exploded towards the end of this. I won't tell you why either because spoilers. But just read it. If you felt like #Swag or #Blur were unfinished, I promise you won't feel that way when this is over.



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Review: Found Underneath

Found Underneath by K.L. Kreig
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

5 You are worth fighting for Stars

This is the conclusion to the Finding Me series. If you have not read Lost in Between then you need to turn away now. This review will be spoilery for that book. I will do what I can to not ruin this one though.

I felt so strongly while reading this. I laughed and cried and loved. I wanted more of Shaw and more of Willow. I also wanted more of Annabelle, more Noah. Hell, I even want more Reid. I want it all!!!

Willow and Shaw are worth fighting for.

Somehow, someway you have managed the impossible. You have captured every shred of my heart, every piece of my mind, every bit of my very soul. Everything I am belongs to you.

God, Shaw. I'm pretty sure this was on repeat throughout the entire book. I couldn't come up with other words. Everything he did, everything he said, everything he didn't do.

"Did your soul ache for mine every fucking second of every fucking day?"

My soul ached for these two the entire time I read this book. I savored this book, I took my time with it, and felt every little thing Willow and Shaw felt. The writing is powerful.

Possessiveness rages inside me. He has parts of her I want. Lazy conversations. Inside jokes. Secret looks.

Reid Mergen poses a threat to the relationship of Willow and Shaw. He has information that could destroy this new relationship before it even has a chance to flourish. Reid is a man from Willow's past and he has collided headfirst with her future. But he wants her, of that there is no doubt.

"You are different because I'm in love with every last piece of you. The scared, the scarred, and the sacred."

I am in love with this entire book. The writing, the prose, the slow, slow burn, the uncertainty, the surety, the love. It's all here. It's all here and more. Shaw is more.

I am his. He is mine. There is an us. It's love, without a doubt, no matter if we say it or not.

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Review: Fighting Silence

Fighting Silence by Aly Martinez
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

5 "You don't need harder, you need deeper" Stars

I listened to this book so I won't have any amazing quotes or lines to put in this review, but just know that Till Page is amazing. He's sweet and kind and he's in love with Eliza Reynolds.

Eliza and Till meet when Till literally falls through a window when they are only 13 years old. Both coming from less than stellar home lives, they find solace in each other. They find solace within the four walls of the condemned apartment that feels more like home than where either child lives.

For years, Till and Eliza keep this apartment life separate from their real lives. This secret life is where they can be themselves and they can be everything to each other.

So much happens, this is a beautiful story that shows what can happen as two kids grow up and learn to love--something they don't have at home.

I loved this book. I can't wait to move on and read about the other Page brothers. If they are anything like Till, they will be amazing.


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Review: From This Day Forward

From This Day Forward by Shannon Myers
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Do you ever read a book where there isn't a single redeemable character in the entire freaking thing? Yes? No? I've read a couple, but they always seem to get exactly what they deserve in the end.

This book? I hope you aren't looking for an HEA because this isn't it. This is one of those books where I'm pretty sure everyone gets what they deserve. You can even be satisfied with this ending if you like that kind of ending. However, if you want to see this all wrapped up, you're gonna have to grab book two.

Once you've had a taste of something forbidden, it's a lot easier to go back to it the second time around.

This pretty much sums up this entire book. The whole book is about love and betrayal. Betrayal, betrayal, betrayal. And this line, this line is the truth.

"You wanna get your fucking hands off of my wife or do you need some help?"

Probably my favorite line in the entire book. I crushed hard on David. And this totally alpha line is probably why.



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Review: Somebody Else's Sky

Somebody Else's Sky by Jessica Hawkins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It's hard to write a review for a book that was so perfectly written, a book that brought tears to my eyes, a book that broke me.

Because Somebody Else's Sky broke me.

"You wasted your time."
"Maybe I did," I said,"but time never feels wasted on you."

Lake is waiting for Manning. She is waiting for time to catch up to her love. She is waiting to turn eighteen. Eighteen is the magic number, at least she thinks it is. What's keeping Manning from Lake isn't just a number, but a whole world of life and experience. A whole world of hurt and pain. A whole world of fear. Eighteen is a nice number, but it isn't magical. And waiting isn't always what you want it to be.

I couldn't tell her I loved her. I couldn't tell her I didn't.

Oh, how I wish he could just say something! Something more than the nothing Lake is given. She knows though. She knows by the way he looks at her, speaks to her, can't hide from her. He may be hiding from everyone else, but Lake sees him. They are, after all, inevitable.

"You're what I want."
"But I can't be what you need."

But, but whhhhhhhhyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! It's times like this that I just want to strangle Manning and Lake and Tiffany. Tiffany because she has some need to see her sister in pain. Some deep, twisted need that I just cannot understand. Lake because she puts Manning in a position that he shouldn't have to be in. Manning for not doing exactly what I want.

"You think I don't know how you feel? You think I don't carry the burden of our love on my shoulders just to keep it from crashing down on you?"

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