Reviews: Fall With Me by Julie Particka AND How We Lived by Erin Butler

How We Lived

Author: Erin Butler

Series: -

Pages: 200

Publisher: Entangled Embrace

Amazon

Release date: 28^th April 2014

Synopsis:  Nineteen-year-old Kelsey Larkin’s parents uninvited her to her brother’s funeral. She just wanted to wear jeans and a T-shirt—the clothes Kyle would’ve wanted her in—not wrap herself up in death. So she watched the funeral from afar, like an outsider. Which is just how she feels.

Chase came, though, just like she knew he would. Until a few months ago, the three of them had been best friends, and then Chase made a mistake that shattered both families. But when Kelsey looks at him, she doesn’t see her brother’s killer. She sees the boy next door who’s always taken care of her. She sees home. 

When Chase tells her his feelings run deeper than friendship, she can’t help but get lost in him. In Chase, she finally has the closure she’s been unable to find anywhere else. But the boy she’s falling in love with is still hiding secrets about the night Kyle died. Secrets that could destroy everything they have…again.

Review: 3 ½ out of 5 stars

How We Lived is a poignant story about grief, pain, love and learning to forgive and finding forgiveness after tragedy.

Our MC is Kelsey who is struggling to move on since her brother Kyle's tragic death. Chase was Kelsey’s brother’s best friend and the reason he is no longer alive, after making a huge mistake he is now paying the price for what happened.

Both characters were likable but I felt Kelsey was too eager to please, Chase was a sweetheart and the way he was treated by everyone, except his amazing mum was heart-breaking; it was a challenging predicament these characters were in and starting a relationship in such difficult circumstances was bound to cause a ruckus but I did enjoy reading about their childhoods and their sweet friendship that had bought them to this point.

I liked that the book is told in dual POV’s which helped me to understand Chase’s motivations and the reasoning why Kelsey was so quick to forgive. I felt it was needed for this book and it worked well. The writing was crisp and entertaining.

How We Lived was an enjoyable New Adult romance without angst and drawn out drama. The author draws you in with her emotional, compassionate story-telling and leaves you eager for a HEA.

 

About the author: Erin Butler is lucky enough to have two jobs she truly loves. As a librarian, she gets to work with books all day long, and as an author, Erin uses her active imagination to write the kinds of books she loves to read. Young Adult and New Adult books are her favorites, but she especially fangirls over a sigh-worthy romance.

She lives in Central New York with her very understanding husband, a stepson, and doggie BFF, Maxie. Preferring to spend her time indoors reading or writing, she’ll only willingly go outside for chocolate and sunshine—in that order.

Erin is the author of BLOOD HEX, a YA paranormal novel, and the forthcoming contemporary romance titles, HOW WE LIVED and FINDING MR. DARCY: HIGH SCHOOL EDITION. You can visit her online at www.erinbutlerbooks.com

Fall with Me

Author: Julie Particka

Series: -

Pages: 200

Publisher: Entabgled Embrace

Amazon

Release date: 28^th April 2014

Synopsis: In the game of love…

Dumped by her college boyfriend for her best friend, the last thing Jenna Brandt needs to deal with is working beside her backstabbing-BFF's hotter-than-hot brother. But when he offers her a chance to get some revenge on her ex, she can hardly say no--even if spending more time with Sutton puts her heart in jeopardy all over again.

Someone's going to get hurt…

Sutton Bell has had a thing for Jenna since they were in high school, but after one screwed-up night, she didn’t want anything to do with him. Now, with just the summer before he leaves to begin his new career, Sutton’s determined to convince Jenna he’s not the player he used to be. But saving his sister from making an awful mistake may mean losing Jenna for good.

Review: 3 out of 5 stars

Jenna Brandt, was anticipating an engagement ring rather than a betrayal by her long-term boyfriend Adam who cheated and proposed to her best friend; deciding to return home to work with her father she wasn’t anticipating her ex-best friend Lacey's brother, Sutton Bell, to be working with her dad or to propose a plan that would get his sister away from her cheating ex.

To be honest, I wasn’t a fan of the scheming revenge plotline at all; I would have much preferred it if things were handled differently and Jenna’s relationship with not only Sutton but Lacey as well could have been worked out without an elaborate plan to get rid of the ex. I felt Jenna was a bit of a push-over by so easily forgiving her long time best friend for her betrayal; in the end it was all explained but I was seething in the process.

I wasn’t a big fan of Jenna at the beginning, I felt for her with what she was going through but I wasn’t a fan of her immature at times actions and reactions, Sutton was a guy a really liked; he had a few problems of his own but he was trying to overcome them. I did like their friendship and their chemistry.

Overall, despite a few issues this book it was a well written quick and easy read.

 

About the author: Julie Particka was told to get serious about her future in Junior High. Several years after getting a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, she realized being serious was over-rated and went back to her first love–writing. Now rather than spending her days in the drudgery of the lab or teaching science to high school students, she disappears into worlds of her own creation where monsters sometimes roam, but true love still conquers all.

She can most often be located in the Detroit area with her favorite minions (the ones who know her as Mom) where she is currently hatching a plot for world domination. It involves cookies for everyone, so she’s pretty sure there’s no way it can fail…except the minions keep eating the cookies

Thank-you to Entangled Embrace for providing me with a copy of Fall With Me and How We Lived.