Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This is one meme I can get on board with - I LOVE lists! I'll show you mine if you show me yours!

Top Ten Books On My Fall 2013 TBR List

There are, literally, hundreds of books on my TBR list right now. It's honestly stressing me out a bit because there's way more than 10 that I want to read RIGHT NOW. They all just sound so good! So, to help narrow down this list, I'm going to only include books that are coming out this fall.

1. The Iron Traitor (Iron Fey: The Fall of the Forgotten #2), by Julie Kagawa

2. House of Hades (Heroes of Olympus #4), by Rick Riordan

3. Finding It (Losing It #3), by Cora Carmack

4. Trust In Me (Wait For You #1.5), by J. Lynn

5. Allegiant (Divergent #3), by Veronica Roth

6. Four Seconds to Lose (Ten Tiny Breaths #3), by K.A. Tucker

7. Sentinel (Covenant #5), by Jennifer L. Armentrout

8. The Fiery Heart (Bloodlines #4), by Richelle Mead

9. The Edge of Always (The Edge of Never #2), by J.A. Redmerski

10. Crash Into You (Pushing the Limits #3), by Katie McGarry

NEW ADULT MONDAYS: If You Leave (Beautifully Broken #2)

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.

If You Leave (Beautifully Broken #2), by Courtney Cole
Published August 6, 2013
Publisher:  Forever
Format: e-ARC, provided by NetGalley
Genre:  new adult contemporary romance
To Buy: Amazon * Barnes & Noble

Rating:  5 STARS

(From Goodreads) 26-year old Gabriel Vincent is a badass hero. Or he used to be, anyway. As an ex-Army Ranger, Gabe never thought he needed anyone. But after one horrible night in Afghanistan scars him in a way that he can't get past, he needs someone who can help him heal...even if he doesn't realize it.

25-year old Madison Hill doesn't need anybody...or so she thinks. She grew up watching her parents' messed-up abusive relationship and she knows there's no way in hell that she's ever letting that happen to her.

They don't know it in the beginning, but Gabriel and Madison will soon develop a weakness: Each other.

But Gabriel's got a secret, a hidden monster that he's afraid Maddy could never overcome... And Maddy's got issues that she's afraid Gabe will never understand. They quickly realize that they need each other to be whole, but at the same time they know that they've got demons to fight.

And the problem with demons is that they never die quietly.

Courtney Cole is on my map. I've only read two books by her, but both books in the Beautifully Broken series have gripped me in a unique way. Both are new adult books, and therefore include certain standards - 20-something main characters, troubled pasts, steam and sex. But, there's something about her books that draw me in and touch me in crazy ways. 

Madison has always been the "responsible" older sister. When her parents died, she resigned herself to living a mediocre life so that her younger sister Mila could have a full one. Now, Mila is married with a baby on the way, yet Madison still can't cut the past loose. A chance meeting with Gabriel at a club one night, then again at her restaurant has given her something else to think about. And then someone else to lean on when the rest of her world starts falling apart. Only, Gabe has his own problems - big ones - left over from his time in Afghanistan. And those problems may stop their relationship before it really gets going. 

I have a new weakness - books featuring war heroes. I've read three or four now, and If You Leave was one of the best. Gabe spent time in Afghanistan and experienced something truly awful. As a result, he's suffering from some pretty extreme PTSD. There's something about these sad, broken men who find themselves again once they find someone to love that really gets me. Gabriel has a hyped up protective instinct that is my achilles heel - I see that come out in a guy, and I'm instantly in love. BAM - hello, new book boyfriend. 

Gabe is rough around the edges - he spent much of his time recently around a bunch of other guys in the desert, for crying out loud. He's not smooth or sweet. But, when the guy realizes what he feels for Madison, he goes balls to the wall to try and keep her.

"It's like I'm not whole when I'm not with you. You're a piece of me. A big piece of me. And, when you're gone, I can't function right. I'm only half a person... I don't deserve you. That much is true. But, all I want is you. And if I can't have you, then I don't want anyone." 

Madison is a female lead I can get behind. I get her self-sacrificing attitude, and the way Cole writes her, it doesn't seem artificial or over-the-top. Madison is a strong person who doesn't take any crap from anyone. She's learned to depend on herself and her sister. And, I love how Gabe is the one who cracks her hard shell. She doesn't really make it easy for him, either. There's no insta-love here (thank you for that, Ms. Cole). Which makes the inevitable get-together so much sweeter and fulfilling. 

One of the best parts is the solid presence of Mila and Pax from If You Stay. They play a major part in Madison's and Gabe's story, and I really loved that. I fell in love with Pax, and seeing him as a husband and father-to-be was so amazing. 

If You Leave is told in dual POV - Madison's and Gabe's. Gabe's thoughts were particularly compelling, especially toward the end when he starts to face everything that happened to him. I finished this book in record time. It was completely engrossing and so, so emotional. I was brought to tears several times.

Before We Fall (Beautifully Broken #3) is the next book in this series, and it comes out in early December. Based on my experiences with Courtney Cole and her Beautifully Broken series so far, I may just have to one-click book three right now, because it's a sure thing as far as I'm concerned.     

DUAL COVER REVEAL: Selling Scarlett (Love, Inc. #1) and Taming Cross (Love, Inc. #2)

A few months ago, I discovered Ella James when I read Selling Scarlett (Love, Inc.), and instantly became a fan. When I heard that she had redesigned their covers, I was so excited to help her show them all to you. So, without further ado...

Today author Ella James is revealing the new covers for Selling Scarlett and Taming Cross!

 

Title: Selling Scarlett (Love Inc. #1)

Author: Ella James

Genre: NA Romantic Suspense
Read my review

(Synopsis) Elizabeth DeVille doesn't belong at a party like this--one where the gowns cost more than her Camry and cigars run higher than her grad school utility bills. Dragged out of seclusion by her best friend Suri, Elizabeth is merely playing dress-up, rubbing elbows with a crowd that banished her troubled family years ago. Hunter West is tired. Tired of parties, tired of pretending, and tired of trying to right a wrong that haunts him every day. Bourbon heir and professional poker player by day, by night Hunter is gambling with his life in a high-stakes game of crime and blackmail. When Elizabeth stumbles into Hunter's den of vices,
she's a light in the darkness, a flame in the void. And, just like everything he touches, Hunter mars her in a record time. To rectify the damage done, Elizabeth needs money she doesn't have, and she's come up with a foolproof way to get it. Follow Elizabeth--code-named Scarlett--to the lush Nevada brothel where she'll auction her virginity and risk the only thing that's not for sale: her heart. The highest bidder is a familiar face, with wicked hands and the devil's mouth. And a secret so dark that it could cost her life.

**Mature Content Warning** Not recommended for readers under the age of 17 due to mature language, sexual content, and violence.

Selling Scarlett is a full-length novel of 107,000 words. It has a complete happily-ever-after ending with no cliffhanger. It's the first book in the Love Inc. series, featuring a different couple in each novel.

Buy Selling Scarlett:  Amazon * Barnes & Noble
 

Title: Taming Cross (Love Inc. #2)

Author: Ella James

Genre: NA Romantic Suspense
Read my review

(Synopsis) For twenty-three years, Cross Carlson was a playboy. You know the type. Tall, dark, and wealthy. Blue-eyed. Charming. He seemed to have it all so easy. But Cross was harboring a terrible secret - one that helped ruin the life of an innocent girl and almost ended his own.

Finally out of the hospital, Cross is flailing, scarred in both body and mind and stifled by the weight of the secret he still keeps. The only way to absolution lies in a Mexican convent, and going there could cost him everything. If there's anyone who knows what it's like to screw up big time, it's Meredith Kinsey. Just a few years ago, Merri was an ordinary girl with a job at her college newspaper and white picket fence kind of dreams. Now she's holed up in a Mexican convent, hiding from a drug lord who thinks he owns her. What happens when the only way out of hell is with the son of the man who put you there? They say love conquers all, but does it really?

Cross and Merri's story is a Love Inc. Book. It features some characters from Selling Scarlett, but it follows a completely different story line can be read as a stand-alone. Taming Cross is a new adult romance novel and is not intended for young readers due to violence, sexual situations, and mature language.

SPECIAL KINDLE SALE - For this weekend only (September 13, 14 & 15), Taming Cross will be on sale for only $0.99!
 

Buy Taming Cross:  Amazon * Barnes & Noble

About The Author

Ella James is an Colorado author who writes teen and adult romance. She is happily married to a man who knows how to wield a red pen, and together they are raising a feisty two-year-old who will probably grow up believing everyone's parents go to war over the placement of a comma.

Ella's books have been listed on numerous Amazon bestseller lists, including the Amazon Top 100; two were listed among Amazon's Top 100 Young Adult Ebooks of 2012.

Learn more about Ella James --> Facebook / Twitter / Blog / Goodreads