The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata

My edition: Kindle

Pages:667

Series: Stand alone

Rating: 4.5 stars

Review: So I found this book on Goodreads and it sounded good. While looking at this I noticed the author’s last name and it sounded really familiar to me. Well then I realized it’s because I have another book on my to-read list that is by the same author. Kulti, which I’ve seen many good reviews on, is another book by the author so I thought “yes I will have to read this.”

Well as I have stated in an earlier post that it is NFL Draft for three days, so I wanted to read a football romance. I am ecstatic that I chose this one. I was on an emotional roller coaster on this one. I sort of fought with myself on what I would do if I was in Vanessa’s shoes. After a couple hours of fighting with myself (which I got weird looks from Y over)  I have come to the conclusion that I would have swallowed my pride like her and said yes. But I also have a thing for big over six foot muscly guys. Example:

I am blown away. The writing was phenomenal. I liked Aiden and Vanessa’s relationship and how it grew to be more. Zapata did an amazing job writing these two. I love how Aiden starts to open up more to Van. He was so adorable. My favorite part would have been Christmas. Really, really wanted to cry a little. A happy cry though. Zapata also hit a topic that are sensitive to some people. Abuse. She writes about family abuse and of significant other abuse. Both are categorized under domestic abuse. I cringed at some parts of the book.

From where Van and Aiden come from it’s nice to see that it didn’t drag them down. They wouldn’t let the past rule over them and take control. Susie was a real surprising character to me. To have so much hate towards someone who didn’t do anything to her just… wow. I felt bad for Van. I really did. She had to put up with so much while growing up. Then her and Aiden together was at first a little boring but the more I read and the more Aiden opened up to Van, I really started to enjoy the book. The teasing Van give Aiden is funny. Aiden then starts to tease back and he’s slightly funnier.

The epilogue was amazing. I was so happy reading it. I definitely like this book and will be giving Kulti a shot for sure.

Now fair warning if you want a fast pace story and the characters are already under the sheets by 50% don’t read this. If you want a slow build romance with a HEA, this is the book for you. Seriously the heated part isn’t until the end. It was perfect. So worth the wait. You won’t be disappointed.

♣Jay♠

Alrighty then… Let’s bullsh*t.

Hey ya’ll what’s going on? Right now I’m kind of in a book slump and I want to bullshit for a bit.

When I say I want to bullshit, I mean just good ol’ fashion talking. I am going to be utterly random through out the post so fair warned.

Houston Texans

Today I’m extremely cold. Don’t know why but I am. I even have a sweater on and a portable heater on me. Still cold. Other than that my day is going swimmingly. I am a football fan. (I wouldn’t say huge because well I’m not) Today, tomorrow and the day after that is NFL Draft day. I’m super excited to see who the Houston Texans pick. If I remember correctly they will be 22.

I have the whole day recorded and Y is probably shaking his head but hey he gets to see what his team (the Colts) choose. Do you like football? If so what’s your favorite team? Don’t worry if you only like college ball you can say that too. I was born and raised a Nebraska Cornhusker fan and my second team is K-State Wildcats.

While on the subject of football, when a lot of people hear I’m from Colorado they always seem to ask one simply question. How about them Broncos? For your information I don’t like the Broncos. Why you may ask because I don’t like how they are always hyped up to be this great football team. Yes they are pretty good but let’s face it they are kind of sore losers and sore winners. I have tons of friends who are Bronco fans and they really can’t take a lose well. When they win especially against a team I’m rooting for they tend to rub it in.Do I have room to talk smack? Not really but jeez can you guys be a little more humble. I mean you can’t win all the time. Why? Because even the best get taken down from time to time.

Anywho I will write another post later talking about only football. I promise.

Colorado

As I have mentioned before that I am from Colorado. I don’t live there anymore due to it being to expensive to live there. I do miss it though. It was my home for eighteen years. I still have friends and family there and visit on occasion. Like sometime in June I will be going there for a Rockies game. Yes I love baseball too. I was brought up that way.

Feel free.

Feel free to drop a comment in any of my posts. If you like a book that I have read seriously just start talking about it. I love to talk books. Even if it was a book I didn’t like and you did feel free to say what you feel about it. But in a respectful way.  My reviews are my opinion. It is how I see things. You may not agree with me and that is completely fine because not everyone shares the same views.

Also if you have recommendations with books or movies please let me know. I’m always looking for new stuff to read. I can read just about any genre. I haven’t read all genre so that is why I say just about any genre.

Sports

Well as you have read earlier I love football and baseball. I’m starting to watch a little hockey. Not much but a little. I am not a basketball fan. Never could get into the sport. Played it for a little bit when I was younger but other than that basketball is not my forte. Soccer is the same way. Golf bores me both playing and watching unless it is putt putt golf. I can play that just fine.

Well

Now you know a little bit more about me. Again feel free to just talk. Also if there is one thing you get out of this post is that I am random as ever. Hopeful you think I would be a fun person to know. I hope that those who do read my reviews that you like them and consider ever reading the books unless you already have read them.

Have a magical day. For those of you in warm climate, please send warm this way. Just not humidity. I have enough problems with my hair.

Love talking to ya’ll.

♣Jay♠

Legend staring Tom Hardy and Tom Hardy

What the movie is about: Reggie and Ronnie Kray are twins living in London. They are gangsters taking over London. The story is told by Reggie’s wife Frances. The story follows the twins the day Reggie meets Frances. Ronnie is in a mental institute and is being released.

My opinion: Ronnie is beyond crazy. At first I liked Reggie then towards the end I didn’t like him. I wasn’t much of a fan of Frances. If you are going to watch this be prepared for a gruesome and long story. The movie is a little over two hours. There is a fight scene between Reggie and Ronnie, during the scene you can tell where the stunt double was on Reggie a lot. It was a little irritating but over all it was a good movie. I did like it. Will I watch it ever again? Probably not.

Sorry I have so much to say on this movie but I would spoil the plot twists just by talking about it.

♣Jay♠

Sisters staring Tina Fey and Amy Poelher

What this movie is about: Two sisters find out that their parents have sold their childhood home. The sisters then decide to have one final blow out and through a big party like they use to.

Yeah that is pretty much the movie.

My opinion: Oh my this was funny it was so hilarious. I couldn’t stop laughing. I do recommend if having a girls night that this is one of the movies on you list. Trust me you won’t be disappointed.

Sorry I don’t have much to say. There wasn’t much to the movie.

♣Jay♠

Superhero Challenge from April 1-30

A challenge that I signed up for and doing through the month of April.

Captain America

• Read a book set during WWII
• Read a patriotic book.

Batman 

• Read a book that features a detective/ a mystery novel.
• Read a book about a character who refuses to give up/ follows dreams/ wants to better himself {Dangerous Intentions by Dori Lavelle}

Spiderman 

• Read a book with a teen Protagonist  {Demons at Deadnight by A&E Kirk}
• Read a book with a character who was orphaned. {Broken Aro by Jen Wylie}

The Flash

• Read a book in a “flash” (10-100 pages) {Owning the Beast by Alexa Riley}
• Read a book with a heavy focus on time travel.

Aquaman

• Read a book about an underwater city/ characters
• Read a book that features a character who swims a lot.

Daredevil

• Read a book that has a blind or deaf character {Forbidden Forest by Tenaya Jayne}
• Read a book about a lawyer/ has strong law element.

Hawkeye

• Read a book about a circus/ character in the circus.
• Read a book that features a character with a military background. {Sweet Temptation by K.C. Lynn}

Falcon

• Read a book with birds on the cover
• Read a book with “genre minority”

Wonder Woman

• Read a book with a female lead   {Drop Dead Demons by A&E Kirk}
• Read a book written by a female author {Impossible by Komal Kant}

Superman

• Read a book with non-human main character  {Chains of Frost by T.A. Grey}
• Read a science fiction novel/ a book set in space.

Invisible Woman

• Read a book with a strong sibling relationship {Fallen Fourth Down by Tijan}
• Read a book with self discovery/growing up/ coming of age {Broken Illusions by Dori Lavelle}

11/22

Posting this on April 27 due to me being busy for the last few days of April and will not be able to read as much. I will post another challenge at the end of May. I’m hoping these challenges broaden my genre base. Till next challenge.

♣Jay♠

 

Fallen Fourth Down by Tijan

My edition: Kindle

Pages: 402

Series: Fallen Crest High #4

Rating: 3

Review: Well it’s time once again for a guilty pleasure. I was in need of some stupid dumb drama that made absolutely no sense. Of course I went back to ol’ Fallen Crest High.

Logan and Sam are having to face one big battle this year, no Mason. Logan is without his brother and Sam without her boyfriend. At the end of the third book Tate, Logan’s ex-girlfriend, told Sam that Logan was in love with her. Ever since then Sam let it go to her head and she has sort of avoiding Logan when she can. She doesn’t want Mason to find out because of what Mason has said in the past, no girl will come between him and his brother. Sam doesn’t want that. She doesn’t want to lose both Mason and Logan. They are her only family left that she trusts.

Mason wants a quiet year but it doesn’t seem like that is going to happen due to Park Sebastian. Park wants Mason to pledge his fraternity but Mason doesn’t want to join the fraternity even though Nate is a part of it. Mason wants to do opposite of his dad and that includes pledging the fraternity. With Nate in the fraternity (For the love of god couldn’t there have been some Greek letters or alpha beta something. Some details would be nice) and Mason just wanting to play football and not be any where near Park, tension runs high. They aren’t close as they use to be.

This one is full of what I like to call filler drama. Filler drama is stupid drama to get through till the next book. Some of it really isn’t important but some of it really is. Such as the build up with Park and Mason is important. The good stuff didn’t happen until 80% or so.

Logan hasn’t had a girlfriend since Tate and almost everyone can see Logan is in love with Sam… almost everyone. Logan also steps up as the brother role for Sam. He gets mad through the book because Sam shuts him out and then a new guy shows up. A guy who Sam has history with. Logan isn’t his funny self through most of the book which makes me sad a little. That is one of the main reasons I love Logan.

Now Marissa and Tate… I cannot stand either of these two. Marissa you can tell has a big one for Mason. She would do anything to get Mason to love her back.

Well now my drama guilty pleasure has been satisfied, I actually can’t wait for the next one. But sadly I have many other books in front of this one.

♣Jay♠

 

Forbidden Forest by Tenaya Jayne

My edition: Kindle

Pages:234

Series: The Legends of Regia #1

Rating: 3.5

Review: Forest is a halfling which is highly looked down upon. (Like it’s her freaking fault that her parents bumped uglies without safety.) She is a traffic controller. She watches the portal on Earth to make sure only shapeshifters can pass legally. Anyone or any other species else will be arrested. Forest is mostly there because she wants to prove herself and get away from Leith. Leith is a vampire who has made Forest his slave for a few years before she escaped.

Now Forest is being called back to Regia by her boss Kindel, who kind of has a thing for her, for a black ops mission. She needs to take the vampire prince, Syrus, to a wizard to fix his blindness.

Syrus teases Forest a lot. He is use to his charm working on girls because he is the prince. Forest though is immune to his charms, or so it seems. With what happened with Leith, Forest has a sort of prejudice against vampires. She made her katana out of pure silver. She wears a ton of silver jewelry all the time. To say she has trust issues is an understatement.

So it is true that there is an insta-love in this but there is an explanation behind to why there is an insta-love. So I completely understand why some people like the insta-love in this book and why others don’t like it. For me, I do like it because well… I want to tell you but that would be major spoil alert.

Now the book doesn’t just follow Forest and Syrus’s P.O.V. It shows quite a few. Mainly it’s Forest and Syrus but there are P.O.V.s from around Regia to keep the reader informed of other stuff going on and throwing in little plot twists.

I liked the book. At first I didn’t want to read it but the more I read the more it pulled me in. The are plot twists in this. I think I will read the second one when I get the time and money to buy it.

♣Jay♠

Book Slump

Well folks… it finally hit. A book slump. I didn’t have any desire this morning to start my new book. It took me a while to even pick out this next book. It sounds interesting enough. Book is called Forbidden Forest. It is about a elf/shapeshifter hybrid going on a black ops mission to transport a Vampire Prince to safety. Sounds pretty good right.

Well with me in a book slump I am finding it a bit hard to get into the mood so I went and read up on some of the reviews that won’t have any spoilers in it. Well most of them all say the same thing. Insta-love !! 

I’m trying to read a book without the insta-love and just reading that this book will have it makes me not want to start it all that much more. Bad thing though is that I already picked this one out and there is no turning back when I pick out a book.

Please help with motivation!!!

♣Jay♠

 

 

Taking the Fall by Alexa Riley

My edition: Kindle

Series: Taking the Fall box set Volumes 1-4

Review: Okay it is Alexa Riley time. I need me an aggressive hot OTT alpha male right now and well Alexa you are my go to girl.

Of course with me reviewing a box set there will be slight spoilers.

Volume 1

Pages:128

Rating: 4 stars

I love this. A twist to a normal Alexa book. This one has a plot with it that will extend into more books. Can I say that it is awesome.

Layla is in love with her bodyguard Carter. Carter is in jail for killing a man on a night Layla can’t seem to remember when she is sixteen. Layla goes to see him when she turns twenty. Carter says hurtful things to Layla. Layla leaves the prison with a broken heart and freedom. She is running away from her father and a caged up life.

Four years later Layla has a life she loves and is still in love with Carter but tries not to be. It doesn’t help that Carter turns up out of the blue.

Volume 2

Pages:79

Rating: 4 stars

Carter comes back after three months away from Layla. As he is trying to explain why he left he finds out that Layla is pregnant. That’s when he decides he needs to get Layla to the safe house as soon as possible. With her father still at large Carter doesn’t want to take any chances.

We get a little more detail on what happened that night nine years ago. We also find out that Layla’s father will use a woman against a man to get anything from the man. Carter tells Layla to stay in the safe house and under no circumstances is she to leave. One bad thing though… Layla doesn’t listen and goes to her father to save Carter.

Volume 3

Pages: 88

Rating: 4 stars

Now that Layla’s father has her, he will do anything to play with her mind. He wants her to go against Carter.What’s even worse is that he knows about Layla and Carter’s secret. There is also a big problem. Justin and Layla’s mother.

Well Carter was right about Justin. But who didn’t see that one coming. It was obvious from the first book. But what isn’t obvious is what Justin wants from Layla. That was a plot twist.

Oh the ending for Carter and Layla is so adorable. I’m in love.

Volume 4

Pages:53

Rating: 3 stars

Now we get Saint and Jeanette’s story. I thought that I was going to like their story even more than I would of Carter and Layla’s story but I ended up liking Carter and Layla’s story way more. Saint wasn’t much of an OTT alpha male as Carter. He was a little tame for me. I still liked their story just not as much as I thought I would.

P.S. There is a secret Volume in between Volume 3 and 4. This consists of the letters Carter wrote to Layla while he was in prison but never gave to her until their honeymoon.

♣Jay♠

Fantasy Football by Jennifer LoGalbo

My edition: Kindle

Pages: 175

Series: Stand-alone

Rating:4

Review:The game of football bored me beyond tears. I just couldn’t grasp the concept of a bunch of overgrown sweaty goliaths bashing into one another.

I almost didn’t like the heroine for that line but then she redeemed herself.

Baseball; now that was my sport of interest.

So this was really a good book to read after reading dark novels. It was a nice break and had some pretty funny moments. Now Parker normally keeps to herself but her senior year is turning out to be much different than expected.

At first there is a hinted love triangle but Parker only has feelings for one of the guys and chooses him which made me feel better because it was the guy I was rooting for. I’m really glad LoGalbo didn’t put in a triangle. That made me very happy.

Parker was my kind of heroine. She did not give a shit. It was awesome. I also like the queen bitches of the school are called Barbie Bitches. That gave me a laugh. Now the only thing is this story is short. It stopped at 90% on my kindle. Kind of sucked but it was good because it was a HEA and wasn’t OTT.

I’m actually kind of glad Wy picked the “football book” as he called it. It was a good break from dark novels.

♣Jay♠