NEW ADULT MONDAYS: Promise Me This (Between Breaths #4)

The New Adult genre - their bad boys and big problems and epic loves make them engrossing tales that are so easy to lose yourself in. What's not to love about that? And, now, thanks to the cool chicks at Bewitched Bookworms, we can show these books the love they deserve in a weekly feature - New Adult Mondays.

Promise Me This (Between Breaths #4), by Christina Lee
Published October 7, 2014
Publisher: Intermix/NAL Trade
Format: e-book, obtained from the publisher
Genre: new adult contemporary romance
To Buy: Amazon * Barnes & Noble
 
Rating: 4.5 STARS

(From Goodreads) Nate has developed quite a playboy reputation around campus. It's not that he doesn't respect or trust women; he doesn't trust himself. The men in Nate’s family are prone to abusive behavior—a dirty secret that Nate’s been running from his entire life—so Nate doesn't do relationships. But he can’t help himself around one girl…

Jessie is strong, independent, and works at a tattoo parlor. Nate can’t resist getting close to her, even if it’s strictly a friendship. But it doesn't take long for Nate to admit that what he wants with Jessie is more than just friendly.

With Jessie, he can be himself and explore what he’s always felt was a terrifying darkness inside him. Even when Nate begins to crave her in a way that both shocks and horrifies him, Jessie still wants to know every part of him. Testing their boundaries together will take a trust that could render them inseparable… or tear them apart.

I've decided that everyone needs a little Nate in their lives. A man who is outwardly the pretty, charming boy, but inwardly, he's a closet bad boy. That's a change of pace, right? Nate single-handedly made Promise Me This the best book in Christina Lee's Between Breaths series yet. 

Nate comes from an abusive father. His brother is already showing signs of being just like him, and Nate is determined to not let the other men in his life define him. But, the fact is, Nate is sometimes prone to a little violence himself. Granted, it's usually in the bedroom, and it's of the sexy nature, but to Nate, it's all black and white. Violence is violence, and it has no place in his life. Except, then Nate has a chance to be with Jessie, a girl he's crushed on for a long time. And, Jessie's not exactly a shy violet. As she starts to bring out those parts of Nate he'd rather keep hidden, he has to decide whether he's capable of showing her it all.

I can't imagine growing up with a father like Nate's. He beat his wife within an inch of her life, and even took a few turns at his two sons from time to time. Having a dad like that would absolutely shape the man a boy becomes. So, the fact that Nate is as sweet and chivalrous as he is is a bloomin' miracle. He's made it his life's mission to not grow up to become his dad and to eventually save his mom. Somehow, Nate has translated that into tramping down every urge he has to rough somebody up - whether it be in anger or in passion. And, that's so sad. Because those emotions - anger and passion - mean you can feel and that you're alive. As a result, Nate is practically dead inside. 

And then there's Jessie. She's artistic and creative and she brings a beacon of light to Nate's drab existence. She's had her own problems in life, but somehow Jessie has become comfortable in her own skin. And, that example is exactly what Nate needs. On an impromptu trip to Nate's old neighborhood, Jessie starts to chip away at Nate's carefully constructed composure. Because, she likes the rough stuff when it's done for fun. And, Jessie becomes determined to show him the difference, and that sometimes it's okay to unleash his inner beast. 

I felt so badly for Nate. I get why he didn't know the difference. And, I also get why he was so scared to discover the difference. The burning desire to be as unlike his father as possible is what made me love this character so much. And, Jessie's persistence and reluctance to quit made me love her. Jessie and Nate were so perfect for one another. Nate found his perfect match - the girl who challenges him and loves him unconditionally. She loves all of him - even his wild side. ESPECIALLY his wild side. 

Promise Me This was told in dual POV, and thank goodness for that. Getting inside Nate's head was imperative for this story, I think. The chemistry and passion between Jessie and Nate was off the hook, and it was the perfect complement to the story. Of all the characters we've met in the Between Breaths series so far, these two were my favorite.     

FOOTBALL FRIDAY & GIVEAWAY: Meet Dylan from All Broke Down

It's time again for Football Friday! This week, I get to introduce you to Dylan Brenner - activist, and all-around good girl.

Dylan is a lover of lost causes and tough projects. She is a good little girl who is used to doing what her parents tell her to. She dated a lukewarm boy, and the only time she ever acted out was when she and her BFF Matt decided to take up an impossible cause. Dylan really needed to get a little dirty.

Then Dylan meets Silas. In jail, no less. And Silas sees in her an opportunity to better himself. Like, being in her company, her goodness will somehow rub off on him. Funny thing is, Dylan seems to carpe diem too, and she allows Silas to tarnish her sparkly sweetness just a little bit.

I can't wait for you to meet Dylan Brenner! Learn more about her today on Cora Carmack's website.

All Broke Down (Rusk University #2), by Cora Carmack
To Be Published October 28, 2014
Publisher: William Morrow
Genre: new adult contemporary romance
To Buy: Amazon * Barnes & Noble

(Synopsis) Dylan fights for lost causes. Probably because she used to be one.

Environmental issues, civil rights, corrupt corporations, and politicians you name it, she's probably been involved in a protest. When her latest cause lands her in jail overnight, she meets Silas Moore. He's in for a different kind of fighting. And though he's arrogant and infuriating, she can't help being fascinated with him. Yet another lost cause.

Football and trouble are the only things that have ever come naturally to Silas. And it's trouble that lands him in a cell next to do-gooder Dylan. He's met girls like her before fixers, he calls them, desperate to heal the damage and make him into their ideal boyfriend. But he doesn't think he's broken, and he definitely doesn't need a girlfriend trying to change him. Until, that is, his anger issues and rash decisions threaten the only thing he really cares about: his spot on the Rusk University football team. Dylan might just be the perfect girl to help.

Because Silas Moore needs some fixing after all.

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REVIEW: Mortal Heart (His Fair Assassins #3)

Mortal Heart (His Fair Assassins #3), by Robin LaFevers
To Be Published November 4, 2014
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Format: ARC, provided by the publisher
Genre: young adult historical romance/fantasy
To Buy: Amazon * Barnes & Noble
 
Rating: 5 STARS

(From Goodreads) Annith has watched her gifted sisters at the convent come and go, carrying out their dark dealings in the name of St. Mortain, patiently awaiting her own turn to serve Death. But her worst fears are realized when she discovers she is being groomed by the abbess as a Seeress, to be forever sequestered in the rock and stone womb of the convent. Feeling sorely betrayed, Annith decides to strike out on her own.

She has spent her whole life training to be an assassin. Just because the convent has changed its mind doesn't mean she has...

We've seen Ismae and Sybella go through their training at the convent of Mortain. We've seen them go out on assignments to assassinate those who've wronged their Duchess. We've seen them fall in love and come to the realization that their abbess doesn't always know best. All the while, Annith has been sitting by, waiting for her turn to prove herself. In Mortal Heart, Annith gets her chance, but it comes in very unexpected ways. 

When the abbess tells Annith that she is to be the convent's next Seeress, Annith knows it's not her true destiny. So, she sets out on a solo journey to find out what exactly her destiny is. While her journey starts out solo, it doesn't stay that way for long, as she is joined by Mortain's own hellequin, led by the enigmatic Balthazar. While Annith tries to get a handle on her feelings for him, she continues to puzzle out the abbess' true motives and how they relate to her past. After reuniting with Ismae and Sybella, Annith's skills as a trained killer are put to the test as Brittany is surrounded by the French in the final stand-off. 

Throughout the whole of Mortal Heart, we experience Annith's crisis of identity right along with her. She has so many doubts. I can't imagine being brought up to believe one thing, and then having those beliefs shaken to the core like they are for Annith. It's a testament to her strength that she presses on for answers. 

Speaking of answers, we get lots of them in Mortal Heart. Answers to questions we didn't even know we had. As it turns out, Annith's curious past is full of lies and deceit. She's the only one of Mortain's daughters that came to the convent as a tiny baby. She was raised on that island. She had the most years of training. And, yet, she was never sent out on an assignment. Why? What are the abbess' true motives regarding Annith? How did she come to the convent in the first place? All the answers are here, and some of them blew me away. 

Mortal Heart is a big book - 449 pages. A lot happens in those many pages. Annith discovers the secrets of her childhood. And, yes - like Ismae and Sybella, she falls in love with a dynamic and powerful man. Her romance with Balthazar was the absolute best part of this book. She denies her feelings for so long, but it's so obvious how both of them feel about each other. Their dance around each other was sweet. 

Like the other books in this series, there is a fair amount of action in Mortal Heart. Annith is good with her bow, and she has plenty of chances to use it. There's also a lot of political maneuvering and plotting as Anne and her council try and find a peaceful way out of the mess in which they're in. We see the continuation of Ismae's and Duval's story and Sybella's and Beast's story, which is satisfying. I love those two couples as much as I now love Annith and Balthazar. It's awesome to see all of them interacting with one another. In a different place and time, they would all be having picnics at one another's house. 

Mortal Heart was an incredible ending to an incredible series. Balthazar was my favorite hero of the three. I was captured in the pages of this book, and every time I had to put it down, I was thinking of when I could pick it back up again. Balthazar's character, Annith's bravery and the culmination of all the actions in the first two books made this book a forever favorite.