ARC Review: Finding It (Losing It #3) by Cora Carmack

Finding It

Author: Cora Carmack

Pages: 320

Genre: New Adult

Publisher: William Morrow

Release date: 1^st October 2013

Amazon

Synopsis. (Goodreads)

Most girls would kill to spend months traveling around Europe after college graduation with no responsibility, no parents, and no-limit credit cards. Kelsey Summers is no exception. She's having the time of her life...or that's what she keeps telling herself.

It's a lonely business trying to find out who you are, especially when you're afraid you won't like what you discover. No amount of drinking or dancing can chase away Kelsey's loneliness, but maybe Jackson Hunt can. After a few chance meetings, he convinces her to take a journey of adventure instead of alcohol. With each new city and experience, Kelsey's mind becomes a little clearer and her heart a little less hers. Jackson helps her unravel her own dreams and desires. But the more she learns about herself, the more Kelsey realizes how little she knows about Jackson.

Review: 2 out of 5 stars

Finding It is the third book in the Losing It series by Cora Carmack and to be honest it didn't really wow me much at all, I was a big fan of Losing It and Keeping Her, Faking It was a bit of a let down and this one was also a disappointment.

Our main protagonist is Kelsey Summers who we were introduced to in the first book as Bliss’s best-friend and is partying her way through Europe and shirking all responsibilities to have a bit of fun. In the beginning of the book (which had me giggling) we see her at a bar trying to pick-up two locals but is spotted by a gorgeous guy who is having a good laugh at her expense and proceeds to take care of her after she drinks way too much.

I seem to be drawn to Ms. Cormack’s male characters more so than the females, Jackson Hunt was caring, protective and charismatic; his past was heart-breaking but he has come out of it a better person but the tidbits we do have of him are brief and lack detail and depth. Kelsey I didn’t like whatsoever in this book and couldn't connect with her at all, yes I felt sorry for what she had to endure and the dysfunctional relationship she has with her parents, she seemed alone but she was so indecisive about the path she wanted to take and her actions I found to be immature and extremely childish, I adored her in the first book and thought she bought some great comic relief but this book has more of a woe is me whiny feel to it. I also didn’t feel the problems both characters had were resolved at all.

The romance was slow to progress but only because Jackson held himself back but the attraction was instantaneous; I did find myself liking their interactions when Kelsey wasn’t trying to get in his pants (this girl was highly sexed!) and I enjoyed the flirting between them. The ending I thought was a little too rushed and would have liked it drawn out for more closure.

There was a twist I suspected early on in the book so when it actually came out I wasn’t so shocked, what started out as a fun and carefree plot turned into one which was increasingly more serious and I found these parts to have the most depth but overall it was completely lacking in anything substantial which was disappointing.

This book had a lot of potential, Cora Carmack writes some great scenes with wonderful dialogue; the European setting I quite liked and her writing is engaging. If it wasn’t for my inability to connect with Kelsey who drove me bonkers, I would have rated this book higher.

Overall, I really enjoyed the books in this series which follow Garrick and Bliss but Cormack's other characters haven't appealed to me at all. I wasn't invested in this couple whatsoever unfortunately and the overall story-line I felt was severely lacking.

Thank-you kindly to William Morrow for the opportunity to read and review Finding It.

About the author: Cora Carmack is a twenty-something writer who likes to write about twenty-something characters. She's done a multitude of things in her life-- boring jobs (like working retail), Fun jobs (like working in a theatre), stressful jobs (like teaching), and dream jobs (like writing). She enjoys placing her characters in the most awkward situations possible, and then trying to help them get a boyfriend out of it. Awkward people need love, too. Her first book, LOSING IT, is a New York Times and USA Today bestseller. 

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Review: Keeping Her (Losing It #1.5) by Cora Carmack

Keeping Her

Author: Cora Carmack

Series: Losing It

Pages: Novella 100

Publisher: William Morrow

Release date: 13^th August 2013

Amazon

Synopsis: (Goodreads)

Garrick Taylor and Bliss Edwards managed to find their happily-ever-after despite a rather . . . ahem . . . complicated start. By comparison, meeting the parents should be an absolute breeze, right?

But from the moment the pair lands in London, new snags just keep cropping up: a disapproving mother-in-law-to-be, more than one (mostly) minor mishap, and the realization that perhaps they aren't quite as ready for their future as they thought.

As it turns out, the only thing harder than finding love is keeping it.

Review: 4 ½ out of 5 stars

I absolutely adored Bliss Edwards and Garrick Taylor in Losing It so I was so anxious to read the novella Keeping Her which shows them travelling to London to meet the parents.

Bliss and Garrick have had many ups and downs but they are committed and ready to settle down so travelling to the UK was a big step that didn’t come without the nerves and insecurities but the love they had for one another really shone through despite the obstacles they had to face such as a doubtful mother-in-law, a number of awkward moments, a job offer and a lot of distrust and misgivings but I loved the way it was all dealt with.

Bliss has really matured and I found myself admiring her, shed make the perfect best-friend and Garrick {swoon} is caring, sweet and oh so smexy! I loved their interactions and the way they supported one another. Things didn’t come easily for them but I adored the way they would work everything out – together.

Keeping Her was a great addition to the series, I always enjoy catching up with characters I have loved to see where they are up to. Garrick’s friends Rowland and Graham were wonderful additions to the story and bought us some fun times and humour.

Keeping Her  is a quick, easy read with a wonderful outcome, beautifully written with dual POV’s and truly entertaining; I’m not usually a fan of novellas but this one was well worth it.

My only gripe is I wish it was a full length novel, Bliss and Garrick are fabulous! Losing It should be read before this book.

Thank you kindly to William Morrow/Edelweiss for the opportunity to read and review Keeping Her.

About the author: Cora Carmack is a twenty-something writer who likes to write about twenty-something characters. She's done a multitude of things in her life-- boring jobs (like working retail), Fun jobs (like working in a theatre), stressful jobs (like teaching), and dream jobs (like writing). She enjoys placing her characters in the most awkward situations possible, and then trying to help them get a boyfriend out of it. Awkward people need love, too. Her first book, LOSING IT, is a New York Times and USA Today bestseller. 

  

ARC Review: Faking It (Losing It #2) by Cora Carmack

Faking It

Author: Cora Cormack

Series: Losing It

Genre: New Adult

Pages: 304

Publisher: William Morrow and Company

Puchase: Amazon : TBD

Source: Netgalley

Release Date: 13^th June 2013

Synopsis. (Goodreads)

Mackenzie “Max” Miller has a problem. Her parents have arrived in town for a surprise visit, and if they see her dyed hair, tattoos, and piercings, they just might disown her. Even worse, they’re expecting to meet a nice, wholesome boyfriend, not a guy named Mace who has a neck tattoo and plays in a band. All her lies are about to come crashing down around her, but then she meets Cade.

Cade moved to Philadelphia to act and to leave his problems behind in Texas. So far though, he’s kept the problems and had very little opportunity to take the stage. When Max approaches him in a coffee shop with a crazy request to pretend to be her boyfriend, he agrees to play the part. But when Cade plays the role a little too well, they’re forced to keep the ruse going. And the more they fake the relationship, the more real it begins to feel.

Review: 3 ½ out of 5 Stars

Faking It is the second book in the Losing It series by Cora Carmack and is Mackenzie ‘Max’ Miller and Cade Winston’s story.

Cade was Bliss’s best friend from Losing It who also fell in love with her, he is reeling from a broken heart until he meets tattooed, confident Max in a coffee shop who asks for his help to play her fake boyfriend whilst her uber conservative parents are in town – in saying this she already has a boyfriend but he doesn’t fit with who they would want her with hence her on the spot plan to use Cade.

I loved smexy, golden boy Cade, he was an absolute sweetheart but angry girl Max not so much unfortunately; she started off as a strong character but as the book progressed she came across weaker and weaker; her persona completely changed which really threw me off.

The relationship was sweet and the chemistry hot, both of these characters were complete opposites but similar in the sense that they both have emotional baggage; together they were able to work through it and came to form a trust and bond that drew them closer. I liked watching the progression but not so much the denial on Max’s part about how she truly felt, she didn’t feel worthy of Cade and pushed him away constantly.

The story is told from both characters POV which I always like, it was an insight into how different their lives really were and the pain both were experiencing.

What let Faking It down for me was it was quite predictable, the romance and relationship was typical new adult with nothing that stood out amongst the other books in the genre – the only difference I felt was this time we have a good boy/bad girl (who isn’t really bad per se) rather than the usual misunderstood bad boy/good girl scenario. It wasn’t unique unfortunately.

In saying this, I did like Faking It, it has a storyline I always find myself enjoying; Ms Carmack’s writing is entertaining, I really like the humour and dialogue she writes and despite not connecting fully with Max, I really liked Cade. It was also nice to get snippets of Bliss and Garrick from the first book and to see how their relationship has progressed.

Overall, Faking It is a quick easy read and despite not enjoying it as much as the first book in the series it was enjoyable none the less.

I am looking forward to the next book in the series, Finding It which is Kelsey’s story, the snippet we get at the ending of this book sounds quite intriguing.

Thank-you kindly to William Morrow and Company and Edelweiss for the opportunity to read and review Faking It.



About the author:  Cora Carmack is a twenty-something writer who likes to write about twenty-something characters. She's done a multitude of things in her life-- boring jobs (like working retail), Fun jobs (like working in a theatre), stressful jobs (like teaching), and dream jobs (like writing). She enjoys placing her characters in the most awkward situations possible, and then trying to help them get a boyfriend out of it. Awkward people need love, too. Her first book, LOSING IT, is a New York Times and USA Today bestseller.