Summer of Love Blog Hop & GIVEAWAY

SummerofLoveBlogHop

Ahh summertime… swimming, sun, sand, surf, lemonade (or margaritas), and love.

What’s my ‘summer love?’  Why reading, of course!  And not just reading, but reading by the pool.

Here are a few of my favorite reads from THIS summer:

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The Summer I Became a Nerd
By Leah Rae Miller
YA Contemporary Romance

On the outside, seventeen-year-old Madelyne Summers looks like your typical blond cheerleader—perky, popular, and dating the star quarterback. But inside, Maddie spends more time agonizing over what will happen in the next issue of her favorite comic book than planning pep rallies with her squad. That she’s a nerd hiding in a popular girl’s body isn’t just unknown, it’s anti-known. And she needs to keep it that way.

Summer is the only time Maddie lets her real self out to play, but when she slips up and the adorkable guy behind the local comic shop’s counter uncovers her secret, she’s busted. Before she can shake a pom-pom, Maddie’s whisked into Logan’s world of comic conventions, live-action role-playing, and first-person-shooter video games. And she loves it. But the more she denies who she really is, the deeper her lies become…and the more she risks losing Logan forever.

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Slammed
By Colleen Hoover
YA/NA Contemporary Romance

Following the unexpected death of her father, 18-year-old Layken is forced to be the rock for both her mother and younger brother. Outwardly, she appears resilient and tenacious, but inwardly, she’s losing hope.

Enter Will Cooper: The attractive, 21-year-old new neighbor with an intriguing passion for slam poetry and a unique sense of humor. Within days of their introduction, Will and Layken form an intense emotional connection, leaving Layken with a renewed sense of hope.

Not long after an intense, heart-stopping first date, they are slammed to the core when a shocking revelation forces their new relationship to a sudden halt. Daily interactions become impossibly painful as they struggle to find a balance between the feelings that pull them together, and the secret that keeps them apart.

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Waiting for the Storm
By Marie Landry
YA/NA Contemporary Romance

Seventeen-year-old Charlotte O’Dell knows this summer is going to suck. Her mother just died, her sister hates her, and her dad has completely checked out. Fulfilling her mother’s final wish, the family heads to Angel Island for the summer to stay in a beach house her mother once loved.

After a year of being shut away taking care of her mother, Charlotte is numb and practically afraid of her own shadow; she hopes going to the island will give her the time and space she needs to begin healing, and an opportunity to bring her family back together. When she meets her mysterious neighbor, Ezra, it doesn’t take long for Charlotte to confess the issues she’s developed. Ezra begins giving Charlotte assignments to get over her fears, and although she accepts his tasks, all she really wants is to be with him. When she’s with Ezra, she’s able to forget the hollow ache in her heart and the fact that her family is falling apart. But Ezra has secrets…

Can Charlotte pull what’s left of her family together, mend her broken heart, and allow herself to fall for Ezra? Or is it all just a storm waiting to happen?

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Letters to Nowhere
By Julie Cross
YA Contemporary Romance

Her family may be shattered, but her dreams aren’t…

From the International Bestselling Author of the Tempest series

A Mature YA contemporary set in the tough world of Elite Gymnastics.

Seventeen year old Karen Campbell has just lost both her parents in a tragic car accident. Grief stricken and alone, her gymnastics coach opens his home to Karen, providing her a place to live while she continues to train, working toward a spot on the world championship team.

Coach Bentley’s only child, seventeen year old Jordan is good-looking and charming enough to scare away a girl like Karen—someone who has spent ten times more hours on balance beams and uneven bars than talking or even thinking about boys. But the two teens share a special connection almost immediately. It turns out Jordan has a tragic past of his own, grief buried for years.

As Karen’s gymnastics career soars, her nightmares and visions of the horrible accident grow in strength. She can only avoid facing her grief for so long before it begins to surface and ultimately spin out of control in a very dangerous way. Can discovering love and lust (simultaneously) help with the grieving process or will it only provide a temporary distraction while waiting for reality to hit full force.

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Of Poseidon
By Anna Banks
YA Science Fiction/Fantasy

Galen is the prince of the Syrena, sent to land to find a girl he’s heard can communicate with fish. Emma is on vacation at the beach. When she runs into Galen—literally, ouch!—both teens sense a connection. But it will take several encounters, including a deadly one with a shark, for Galen to be convinced of Emma’s gifts. Now, if he can only convince Emma that she holds the key to his kingdom…

Told from both Emma and Galen’s points of view, here is a fish-out-of-water story that sparkles with intrigue, humor, and waves of romance.

So what were some of your favorite romance books this summer?

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Alright, now time for the fun part!  One lucky reader is going to win one of the following romance e-books.  Before you enter, be sure to check out the T&C.  This contest will be open August 12th (12a.m.) through August 18th (11p.m.), central standard time.  Good luck and have fun!  Be sure to spread the word!

One lucky entrant will win their choice of ONE of the following e-books from Amazon.com:

Click Here to Enter the Summer of Love Giveaway!

Want to see other stops on the blog hop? Click the linky below!

Blog Hop hosted by:

Summer Lovin Read-a-Thon — Day 6

The Summer Lovin’ Read-A-Thon is hosted by Reviewing Wonderland and takes place this week July 1-7.  It’s not too late to sign up if you want to be involved!

Hound Dogs

Today’s participation post asks us to:
It’s good to be Bad….boys that is!! Tell us which bad boys make your heart go pitter-patter in all the wrong right ways!

I have to admit, I tend to gravitate towards the good guys, rather than bad in books.  However, here’s a couple I think might fit the bill.

1. Will Herondale

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Poor tortured Will.  Hated everyone on the outside, because he was afraid he’d kill them otherwise.  And his only friend was a boy who was going to die anyways.

Sigh… Bad boys who are bad to save others ::swoon::

2. Jace Wayland Morgenstern Herondale Lightwood

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Jace was cocky and really messed up, but that just added to his charm. (Fan Art credit)

3. Dean Holder

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Another bad boy to protect the ones he loves.

4. Warner (Aaron Warner)

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Warner, Warner, Warner… I hated you in Shatter Me.  You were clearly the bad guy and it was easy when you only wanted to keep Juliette locked away and kill the man she loved.  But then you had to go and be all dashing and conflicted and lovely in Unravel Me. Seriously, just stop.

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So, who are YOUR hound dogs?

Summer Fling

Any of the above plus Four ❤

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And he may not be a book character (except in the fake book series created about Dean & Sam), but yeah… Dean Winchester!

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Read-a-thon Results:
Viral Nation: COMPLETED
Losing Hope: COMPLETED
Life After Theft: COMPLETED (finally!)
Forget Me Not: 66%

Top Ten Tuesday (3)

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It’s Top 10 Tuesday (hosted at The Broke and the Bookish) and the topic is:

Top Ten Books At The Top Of My Summer TBR List

So, without further ado…

My Summer TBR List

1. Unspoken by Sarah Rees Breenan

2. The Sea of Tranquility by Katjay Millay

3. The Symptom of My Insanity by Mindy Raf

4. Of Poseidon and Of Triton by Anna Banks

 

5. Defiance by C.J. Redwine

6. Cinder and Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

 

7. The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wesserman

8. The Beautiful and the Cursed by Page Morgan

9. Siege and Storm and Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

 

10. For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund

So, what are some of YOUR top ten summer TBR’s?