Audiobook Review: Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire

Beautiful Disaster
(Beautiful #1)
Author: Jamie McGuire
Narrator: Emma Galvin
Release: May 26, 2011
Goodreads  Amazon
Audible

INTENSE. DANGEROUS. ADDICTIVE.
Abby Abernathy is a good girl. She doesn’t drink or swear, and she has the appropriate number of cardigans in her wardrobe. Abby believes she has enough distance from the darkness of her past, but when she arrives at college with her best friend, her path to a new beginning is quickly challenged by Eastern University’s Walking One-Night Stand.
Travis Maddox, lean, cut, and covered in tattoos, is exactly what Abby wants—and needs—to avoid. He spends his nights winning money in a floating fight ring, and his days as the ultimate college campus charmer. Intrigued by Abby’s resistance to his appeal, Travis tricks her into his daily life with a simple bet. If he loses, he must remain abstinent for a month. If Abby loses, she must live in Travis’s apartment for the same amount of time. Either way, Travis has no idea that he has met his match.

Review:

You've all heard of this book, whether you read the genre or you've read the book or not. This book took the blogosphere by storm with readers' love/hate (mostly love) relationship with it. At the time it was released I had zero interest in contemporary stories so I avoided it. BUT, now that I am branching out in my reading pursuits I bought the audio to check it out. Plus, the author is now releasing the first book in a spin off series that focuses on each of Travis' brothers so I figured this was a good time to get involved in this world.

Although you have most likely read a million reviews of this one, I've reviewing it anyway for those of you who love it so much you want to read another review of it, or for those of you who, like me, didn't read it when all the hype was going on! I adored this book and was addicted to the story the whole time I was listening to it. I couldn't wait to see what the author would put all the characters through next!

Beautiful Disaster is very aptly titled, as the characters in this book and their relationships are a bunch of beautiful disasters. I love everyone and I felt like author Jamie McGuire really fleshed out all the main characters and major side characters. Our MC, Abby, is a typical nice, smart college girl on the surface with some layers of darkness, feistiness, and frankly some serious lady balls. I liked her more and more as the story went on and I could see why Travis was so obsessed with her.

And Travis. Well, come on. You've all heard the talk about this character. Travis is a wonderfully damaged guy and even though I wouldn't exactly want him as my boyfriend in real life, he makes for an amazing love interest to lust after in the book world. Especially his tattoos. He is brash and emotional and has a tendency to throw fists instead of words. He's a fighter, literally, so punching as a first reaction comes easily to him. (Let's be clear, I mean punching other dudes in the story, not Abby or any of the female characters. Just want to make that clear.) Sometimes when Travis gets into fights it shows how impulsive and damaged he is, but other times you really cheer him on - let's face it, some of the guys he hits deserve it.

Abby and Travis' relationship is off and on. It grows from friendship and has MANY rocky points along the way. If you don't love the angsty feels of a new adult college romance then this isn't the book for you. There's a lot of crying and yelling curse words and breaking things. It's wonderful. Their relationship is not exactly healthy for most of the book. And this is brought up by a few different side characters so I'm happy that it was addressed. But this book isn't supposed to be telling the most perfect love story ever. This book shows us a relationship between two maladjusted people with issues (mostly Travis' issues and Abby's past) and how they fall in love and find a way to make it work. 

Abby's best friend, America, and Travis' cousin, Shepley, have been dating a while and they are the way Abby and Travis meet each other during one of Travis' underground fights. America and Shepley feel like two very real and important characters who raise the story to another level. Although their relationship takes a backseat to Abby and Travis, you still feel really invested in what's going on with them. I love all the scenes where all four of them are together because something always goes down. And Abby and America's friendship felt realistic. Another thing that felt realistic was the college experience portrayed by Jamie McGuire. These characters stayed out late, woke up after noon, drank an unhealthy amount of shots, used fake IDs with ease, drove after drinking when they shouldn't have, etc. The author didn't give us a candy coated version of college. I felt really immersed in the story the whole time.

Overall, I LOVED this book and see why it garnered so much praise back when it came out. I am was addicted to it throughout and love love love Abby and Travis.

Notes on the Narrator: Emma Galvin is a new narrator for me and I thought she was a great fit for this book. Her voice was a little girly and a little deep at the same time...is that possible? It sounded perfect for Abby's character, just the same mix that she is. And she was able to make Travis Maddox sound sexy, which is a talent for a female narrator. I recommend the audio if you haven't read the book yet, because I think some of Travis' tirades were especially awesome to listen to rather than read. She really brought the emotion to those scenes. I also thought her voice for America was perfect, with the right amount of spunk that the character has.

Recommended for fans of: New Adult, books based in college, angst, men with tattoos, bumpy relationships, throwing things, underground fighting circles, books that are like crack.

    

  5 / 5 stars

Audio Review: Sixth Grave On the Edge by Darynda Jones

Sixth Grave On the Edge
(Charley Davidson #6)
Author: Darynda Jones
Narrator: Lorelei King
Release: May 20, 2014
Goodreads  Amazon
Audible

Few things in life can come between a grim reaper and her coffee, but the sexy, sultry son of Satan is one of them. Now that Reyes Farrow has asked for her hand, Charley Davidson feels it's time to learn more about his past, but Reyes is reluctant to open up. When the official FBI file of his childhood abduction lands in her lap, Charley decides to go behind her mysterious beau’s back and conduct her own investigation. Because what could go wrong?
Unfortunately, another case has fallen into her lap—one with dangerous implications. Some very insistent men want Charley to hunt down a witness who is scheduled to testify against their boss, a major player in the local crime syndicate. If Charley doesn't come up with an address in 48 hours, the people closest to her will start to disappear.

Add to that a desperate man in search of the soul he lost in a card game, a dogged mother determined to find the ghost of her son, and a beautiful, young Deaf boy haunted by his new ability to see the departed as clearly as he sees the living, and Charley has her hands full. The fact that Reyes has caught on to her latest venture only adds fuel to the inferno that he is. Good thing for Charley she's used to multi-tasking and always up for a challenge…especially when that challenge comes in the form of Reyes Farrow.

Review:

I adore the Charley Davidson series. I read every book shortly after its released and I always love them. Darynda Jones is an official auto-buy author for me...no questions asked. What I hadn't done, however, was try out this series on audio. For Sixth Grave On the Edge I decided to give the audiobook a try, since its one of the highest rated and most loved series on audio in the genre. And......I LOVED it!

Charley is back again and just as spunky, air-headed, and hilarious as ever. In Sixth Grave she is contemplating her decision as to whether or not to marry Reyes, which is the cliff hanger we were left with in the previous book. Charley and Reyes are so funny together! Such a weird balance of her humor and his darkness. I love them SO much and Reyes was as sexy as ever in this one. Readers will definitely be able to see how he is the current reigning winner of the Alpha Showdown (Vampire Book Club blog)! He's strong and lethal and SEXY!

In this book we learn a little more about who/what Charley is and her purpose, as well as some more of Reyes' background while on Earth. I'm aways amazed by the control Darynda Jones has in these books. She gives readers just a little bit at a time in each installment and she must be the most amazing planner ever to know just how much she wants to dole out in each book. Of course, she always leaves us wanting more more more! And, also as usual, we are left with another cliffhanger to keep us salivating until the next book!

Thank goodness we won't need to wait long. The seventh book will be out this October.  :)

Notes on the Narrator:Lorelei King is the perfect Charley. It took me a couple chapters to adore her, because I had always heard the pitch of Charley's voice a little different in my head, but once I got used to her version of Charley I loved her as the narrator. It's awesome to hear all Charley's hilarity in audio, especially all her great moments with Cookie. And her Reyes is wonderful. Spot on.

Recommended for fans of: humorous romance, mysteries, grim reaper stories, sexy Alpha Sons of Satan.

    

  5 / 5 stars

My reviews of other books in this series:
First Grave on the Right (Charley Davidson #1)
Second Grave on the Left (Charley Davidson #2)
Third Grave Dead Ahead (Charley Davidson #3)
Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet (Charley Davidson #4)
Fifth Grave Past the Light (Charley Davidson #5)

Review: Banishing the Dark by Jenn Bennett

Banishing the Dark
(Arcadia Bell #4)
Jenn Bennett
Release: May 27, 2014
Goodreads   Amazon

Complicated does not begin to describe Arcadia Bell's life right now: unnatural magical power, another brush with death, and a murderous mother who's not only overbearing but determined to take permanent possession of Cady's body.

Forced to delve deep into the mystery surrounding her own birth, Cady must uncover which evil spell her parents cast during her conception…and how to reverse it. Fast.

As she and her lover Lon embark on a dangerous journey through her magical past, Lon's teenage son Jupe sneaks off for his own investigation. Each family secret they uncover is darker than the last, and Cady, who has worn many identities—Moonchild, mage, fugitive—is about to add one more to the list.

Review:

Let's get this out of the way first - this is the last book in the Arcadia Bell series. Most of you familiar with the series probably knew that, but for some reason I didn't realize that when I started this book and it came as a big shock as I neared the book's end and realized this must be the end of the series. But whether you were aware or not, let's have a moment of silence for the end of one of my favorite urban fantasy series...........

Okay, feel better? I don't. I adore this series and I'm sad to see it end. That being said, the series went out with a bang and author Jenn Bennett did all our favorite characters justice with this final installment.

In Banishing the Dark, Cady's main focus is discovering the origins of her Moonchild powers and the mystery surrounding her strange conception in order to learn more about how to keep her mother from escaping the demon plane and taking possession of her body. Yeah, its important that doesn't happen. So, in order to protect her entire family from her mother (*wink wink* if you remember from the end of the previous book what exactly "entire family" means) Cady undergoes a memory spell in order to make her forget certain things that would put her family in danger.

Except, oops, the memory spell also accidentally wipes out her memory of her feelings for Lon. This made this book heartbreaking at times. Cady didn't remember her relationship with Lon and it was difficult to read some of the scenes between the two of them and know the suffering Lon must have been going through. It was also a smart plot point for the last book in a series because we kind of get to see Cady fall for Lon all over again. Several moments felt like their relationship in the first book, Kindling the Moon, again and it was fabulous and wicked at the same time. Sometimes Cady's memory loss was heart wrenching, sometimes it led to funny moments, and at other times it led to very steamy moments between her and Lon. I loved them all.

Jupe gets some short chapters from his POV and this was a special little addition to Banishing the Dark that I enjoyed. He plays an important role in this book, although I was yelling at him in my mind the whole time for all the unsafe decisions he was making. Jupe even gets the start of a little romance himself in this one and I thought that was a cute add on as well. Jupe is my favorite teenage side character, with so much personality and charm he jumps off every page he's on. He should get a novella or a spinoff for himself........HINT HINT Jenn Bennett........

Of course the action was great in Banishing the Dark because this series is, at its heart, an urban fantasy. Cady's new reptilian form gets used a lot in this book and she also gains some interesting knacks along with it that are fun to watch Cady play with. This series has always balanced action, romance, humor, and darkness really well and this book is no exception.

Bonus for readers who love the series: we get a wonderful epilogue that will warm your heart and give you THE FEELS. Like, whoa. The epilogue is actually the point I realized this was the last book in the series. Yeah, I'm that dense. But seriously, the series was ended perfectly. Jenn Bennet has left lovers of Arcadia and the gang wanting more more more, which is exactly the way a series ending should make you feel.

Recommended for fans of: urban fantasy, magic, bouncy teenage boys that say the wrong thing, amazing couples, strong heroines, and pirate mustaches. Always pirate mustaches.

This review is based on an advance copy of the book provided by the publisher.

    

  5 / 5 stars

My reviews of other books in this series:
Kindling the Moon (Arcadia Bell #1)
Summoning the Night (Arcadia Bell #2)
Leashing the Tempest (Arcadia Bell #2.5)

Goldilox Goes to Book Bash Plus Finding Cinderella Giveaway!

Yes, I Goldilox, lover of all things paranormal, sci-fi, and fantasy, went to and loved a book event for contemporary authors. You caught me...

And I had SO much fun!!! I was a volunteer for Book Bash this year and it was a blast. I have been on a contemporary kick for a bit and I discovered some wonderful new authors to read. It was crazy and I was SUPER tired by the end...we book lovers are cray-cray-crazy!!!

Here are some pictures of the event PLUS enter to win my giveaway of a paperback copy of FINDING CINDERELLA by Colleen Hoover, one of the most popular authors at the signing this year!

Enter to Win Below!

Had it signed by most of the authors I wanted to meet...but still managed to miss some!

The attending authors being serious and then silly.  :)

Paul Marron...YUM!!!

Karina Halle

Jamie McGuire

Paul Marron (umm...again...)

Jennifer Armentrout

Both halves of Christina Lauren

Chelsea Cameron

Alice Clayton

Blake Griffin performing

Jenese from Readers Confession and Danielle From Ramblings From This Chick

Debbie from Keep Calm and Read Romance and Jenese

Jenese

That's it! So, were YOU there? Did you wish you were? Let me know in the comments below! And enter to win Finding Cinderella!

Enter below to win a paperback copy of FINDING CINDERELLA by Colleen Hoover!
Must be 13 or older and live in the continental US to enter.

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Coastal Magic Convention - Registration Is OPEN!

The quick and dirty:

(Cause I know that's how you like it...)

What Is It?

Coastal Magic Convention

Who Are the Authors?

Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance Authors 

(Adult, New Adult, Young Adult)

Who Attends?

Readers, Bloggers, Lovers of Books!

When Is It?

February 5 - 8, 2015

Where Is It?

Hilton Oceanfront Resort

Daytona Beach, FL

How Much Does It Coast?

$85.00

Registration for the 2015 Coastal Magic Convention has begun! If you're an urban fantasy or paranormal romance reader, you need to be hanging out with us, right on the beach, next February!

Coastal Magic is a super casual, urban fantasy and paranormal romance focused convention in Daytona Beach, FL, February 5-8, 2015. There will be panels, meet & greets with fun themes, and some cool evening activities. There are 225 general registration tickets available, and the featured author list will be close to 60 once everyone is settled! It's a relatively small shindig, but full of dedicated, enthusiastic people.

I'm SO excited about the variety of authors and sub-genres represented. Everyone will have opportunity to meet and chat with their favorites, and I bet you all find some “new favorites” on the list, as well. :-) 

Here are some of the participating authors I'm most excited about:

Kait Ballenger

Amanda Carlson

Molly Harper

Larissa Ione

Kelly Meding

Kristen Painter

J.A. Souders

Jaye Wells

If you haven't checked out the complete list of who'll be attending yet... go... do that... I'll wait... 

Awesome, right!!??

There will also be a charity book sale and signing open to convention attendees, and FREE to the public. The charity, once again, is Habitat For Humanity. One of the nice things about the signing is that there will be additional authors participating, so keep an eye on the charity signing page to see who sneaks in for the afternoon! The hotel information is listed on the Coastal Magic site with a link for our group rates, for those who'll be staying on site.

I (along with the other Featured Bloggers) will be hosting some of the featured authors for guest spots and promotional posts in the next few months, so make sure you're keeping an eye out for those!!

If you want more info about Coastal Magic... here's where to find it in your favorite social media worlds:

·       Website: http://CoastalMagicConvention.com

·       Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/CoastalMagicConvention

·       Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/878971558786474/

·       Twitter: https://twitter.com/CoastalMagicCon

·       Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/coastalmagiccon/

Audio Review: Cold Blooded by Amanda Carlson

Cold Blooded
(Jessica McClain #3)
Author: Amanda Carlson
Narrator: Therese Plummer
Release: October 8, 2013
Goodreads   Amazon
Audible

Magic, mayhem and madness explode in this third installment in the Jessica McClain series.

Jessica McClain is on the run... again.

Finally reunited with Rourke, Jessica arrives home to find that her best friend has been kidnapped, her father has vanished, and the supernatural Sects -- witches, demons, and sorcerers --- don't even have the courtesy to wait until she is unpacked to attack.

Now, mastering her powers as the sole female werewolf might not be enough to save them. Thrown together in a shaky truce with the Vampire Queen, Jessica must show all the different Sects what the true meaning of "the enemy of my enemy" is or her father will die...

Review:

Cold Blooded is book three in a fun and action packed urban fantasy series by author Amanda Carlson. If you're a werewolf fan this is a series you must read! Although it has some elements familiar from other were series, the Jessica McClain series still manages to feel fresh and new.

The biggest strength of these books is Jessica herself and she just grows and gets even cooler in Cold Blooded. Jessica is finally getting a better handle on her powers and being the temporary Alpha of her group and some of her abilities are pretty awesome. We finally get to see Jessica and Rourke together for an extended period of time...including some much needed sexy times...and I loved finally seeing them act like a couple.

One of my favorite things of this particular book in the series was how much the other supernatural sects played a part in the plot. We get to see some more of the witches toward the book's beginning and then the vamps get tons of face time as well. Also, a fairly new element in the series - ghosts appear too! I loved seeing how friends become enemies and vice versa, and I especially liked how the ghosts were depicted.

The side characters in this series just plain rock. Jessica's father and brother Tyler, Danny and James - all completely awesome. The ever-grumpy cop Ray was awesome in this book. He totally came alive in the audio and his voice was done perfectly! I laughed like crazy at a few different parts in the book, but Ray specifically always made me giggle. He's so grouchy and easily angered by everything everybody does anyway, but with his new 'change' and learning about this secret supernatural world he is totally at a loss and it's great.

This was by far the best in this series yet and I'm really looking forward to what happens to Jessica next, especially with the way this book ended!

Notes on the Narrator: I didn't know anyone else who had tried the audio for this series, so I took a chance on it. I really liked it! Therese Plummer is a new narrator for me and I think she did a great job. I have no idea how she managed to do the various accents the men in Jessica's life have and not make them sound like a woman doing them, but I greatly appreciated it! She was especially awesome as Jessica, with just the right mix of sweet, sassy, and sincere.

Recommended for fans of: urban fantasy, werewolves, a gaggle of sexy men as side characters, grumpy police officer vampires, and scooters.

This review is partially based on an advance copy provided by the publisher and partially based on an audio copy purchased by the reviewer. 

    1/2

  4.5 stars

My reviews of other books in this series:
Full Blooded (Jessica McClain #1)

New Reviewer Wanted!
Goldilox and the Three Weres is looking for a new reviewer! If you're interested, fill out the form by clicking on this link: New Reviewer Form

Audio Review: Dirty Magic by Jaye Wells

Dirty Magic
(Prospero's War #1)
Author: Jaye Wells
Narrator: Morgan Hallett
Release: January 21, 2014
Goodreads   Amazon

Audible

The last thing patrol cop Kate Prospero expected to find on her nightly rounds was a werewolf covered in the blood of his latest victim. But then, she also didn't expect that shooting him would land her in the crosshairs of a Magic Enforcement Agency task force, who wants to know why she killed their lead snitch.

The more Prospero learns about the dangerous new potion the MEA is investigating, the more she's convinced that earning a spot on their task force is the career break she's been wanting. But getting the assignment proves much easier than solving the case. Especially once the investigation reveals their lead suspect is the man she walked away from ten years earlier—on the same day she swore she'd never use dirty magic again.

Kate Prospero's about to learn the hard way that crossing a wizard will always get you burned, and that when it comes to magic, you should be never say never.

Review:

With several popular, long-term urban fantasy series either having just ended or coming to an end soon, readers can take comfort in a new kick ass series to get behind. Dirty Magic is the first in Jaye Wells' new UF series…and its totally awesome. This book has everything: a mouthy MC who is great at making bad decisions, a wonderfully gritty world of magic and potions, three different magical mob-like factions, and the set up for a possible love triangle that promises to be intriguing without being annoying.

What I've come to expect from a Jaye Wells books is great action, a messed up heroine with a smart mouth, and a no-holds-bar take on swear words - and I happily found all of these things in Dirty Magic. Fans of Wells' Sabina Kane series will feel right at home with Kate Prospero, although Kate is still working up to Sabina-like badass status. Kate is a cop and she's good at her job, but when we meet her in Dirty Magic we're really seeing her just come in to her own. She doesn't always make choices that advance her personal and professional life, but at the end of the day she's smart, loyal, and does what needs to be done.

Kate lives in a world full of potion cooking, magical addicts who use potions to get high, cops who use protection spells, and cars that can run on magic instead of gasoline. Babylon, the city where the book is set, is often seedy and sordid and the way Wells describes Babylon really contributes to the story. Kate grew up in Babylon and her history there with magic is messy to say the least, so she's sworn off all magic and potions. In a world where almost everyone uses magic in one form or another, this gets in the way often. Kate gets tangled up in a complicated and gruesome case and attracts the attention of a government agency that investigates magic (think FBI-ish). Dirty Magic manages to feel a bit like a police procedural at times, with the cop characters sounding realistic despite all the talk of magic.

One such cop is Morales. He's a major hardass, all business, and enjoys giving Kate a hard time for most of the book. He has a definite interest in Kate but she keeps him at a bit of a distance because there's just too damn much going on in this book for her to get involved with anyone romantically. But, there's also Volos, Kate's ex-boyfriend from her younger years. They have a really really messy past that didn't end on good terms. Even though he's reinvented himself with money and mystery, Kate has very little trust in him and if she keeps Morales at an arm's length she keeps Volos a mile away. I know that I'm leaning toward one guy over the other, but in this book we don't see much happen between Kate and either character so things could go either way as the series continues.

Dirty Magic is one of my favorite starts to a new series in a long time. I'm excited about where Prospero's War will go in future books. This series sets up a lot of plot points that can get really twisty- turny as things speed along and I can't wait for book two!

Notes of the Narrator: Morgan Hallett is a perfect fit for Kate. Her voice is grown up but emotional and she delivers Kate's smart ass comments and slew of curse words beautifully. She also does the men's voices really well and I never felt pulled out of the story by odd sounding voices. I highly recommend the audio for this one, as some of the one-liners sound like they're much more fun on audio.

Recommended for fans of: Sabina Kane series, Kara Gillian series, gritty urban fantasy, stories with magic, and swear words.

This review is based partially on a review copy provided by the publisher.

    1/2

  4.5 / 5 stars