Fathomless Reveries

Review+Giveaway: Fighting for the Edge

Thursday, February 13, 2014 Labels: 4 Stars, Blog Tour, Giveaway, Review

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Fighting for the Edge (Edge #3)

by Jennifer Comeaux

Release Date: 11/05/13

Amazon || B&N

Summary from Goodreads:

Two friends. Two dreams. One night that changes everything…

Ice dancer Aubrey London scoffs at romance. She’s focused on winning a medal at the upcoming Olympics and uses that as her excuse to avoid serious relationships. But when she and longtime friend Chris Grayden are thrown together by unforeseen circumstances, Aubrey finds herself questioning everything she's ever known about love, complicating her life both on and off the ice.

Pairs skater Emily Petrov embraces romance. She and her husband Sergei still act like honeymooners two years after their wedding. As Emily’s coach, Sergei provides constant support while she prepares to challenge for gold at the Olympics. But Sergei’s support might not be enough to help Emily overcome the one challenge she never saw coming.

With the Games only weeks away, Emily and Aubrey are on the verge of realizing their dreams. But one snowy, stormy night sets in motion a series of events that will test them in ways they never imagined, giving them more to fight for than Olympic medals.

Previous Books on the Series

Life on the Edge (Edge #1)

Goodreads || Amazon

Edge of the Past (Edge #2)

Goodreads || Amazon

Praise for the Edge books

"Jennifer Comeaux puts you in the action, makes you smell the ice and hear the roar of the crowd during the nail-biting competitions, and she's a master at creating first love jitters in your stomach from the steamy scenes that are so hot without being explicit." - Christina Jean Michaels, author of Epiphany

“Both touching and suspenseful, Fighting for the Edge is a game changer that will have fans of the series giving both the characters and the author a standing ovation once they've turned the very last page. If I could pass out medals, Jennifer would earn gold for writing my favorite romance of all time.”– Jenna at Jenna Does Books

Review

I got absorbed in this entire series, from the journey of Emily and Sergei’s relationship in the first book, and the countless dramas the characters have experienced in the second book. But, this third book is sort of different because dual POVs were provided (Emily and Aubrey’s.) At first, it was kind of confusing when the first POV (Emily) will switch to third POV (Aubrey.) But after I got that nailed down, this story is beautiful, and the series of problems and drama really got me hooked up.

Emily and Sergei once again encounters an unexpected challenge of their own. I love how Sergei is always supportive of whatever Emily decides, as long as it is for the good. He just knows the right things to say to boost Emily’s confidence up, and I really admired him for that. His unrelenting devotion to Emily is truly stunning.

Emily is also a character that I adored. She has strong spirit and determination to get the things she want done. She continues to grow as a person throughout the series, but I think this is the point wherein she grew the most. I like the way she doesn’t drill people to tell her how they feel towards a situation, and she just gives an ear when they’re prepared.

I enjoyed reading Aubrey’s side as well. I’ve always seen her as the bubbly person she always is, but reading this book has made me realize that she also has her own sad, depressing moments. It was great to see that she was able to change, and learn how to believe in things. She may have experienced a lot of troubles and drama, but she got past through it all. She was strong, in the way that she put herself out there.

Above all else, I loved Chris the most. He stayed regardless of whatever problems Emily and Aubrey had to face, and he continued to support them. He became their bedrock, and really, it’s nice to have a person like that. He was protective of his friends, but he also knows how to give space. I really admired him for the way he wholeheartedly accepted Aubrey even after knowing her past. Not many people can do this, and I really loved him for it.

I really felt like I was in the book, together with the characters, and it made me feel what it’s like to be in the skating competition. I wasn’t into the book right away in the first half, so I wasn’t really reading it continuously. I had countless breaks in reading this, but when I reached the latter half, I got really absorbed, and it had almost made me pull up an all-nighter.

Comeaux’ Fighting for the Edge is a beautiful story of love, family and friendship, along with a feel of the world of figure skating. This last instalment to the series can be read as a standalone, but I would definitely recommend reading the first two books first.

Rating

About the Author

Blogspot || Goodreads || Twitter || Facebook || Pinterest

Jennifer Comeaux is a tax accountant by day, writer by night. There aren’t any ice rinks near her home in south Louisiana, but she’s a diehard figure skating fan and loves to write stories of romance set in the world of competitive skating. One of her favorite pastimes is travelling to competitions, where she can experience all the glitz and drama that inspire her writing. Jennifer loves to hear from readers! Visit jennifercomeaux.blogspot.com for contact information and to learn more about her books.

Giveaway

$25 Amazon Gift Card (INT)

RULES AND RESTRICTIONS:

Contest is void where prohibited. Entrants must be 13 or else have parent or guardian’s permission to enter. Winners will be notified via email and will have 48 hours to respond or another winner’s name will be selected. Winning entries will be verified for authenticity.

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Review: Life on the Edge

Thursday, February 6, 2014 Labels: 3 Stars, Review

Title: Life on the Edge

Author: Jennifer Comeaux

Publishing House: Astraea Press

Publishing Date: January 3, 2012

Summary from Goodreads:

Nineteen-year-old Emily is new to pairs skating, but she and her partner Chris have a big dream–to be the first American team to win Olympic gold. Their young coach Sergei, who left Russia after a mysterious end to his skating career, believes they can break through and make history.

Emily and Chris are on track to be top contenders at the 2002 Winter Games. But when forbidden feelings spark between Emily and Sergei, broken trust and an unexpected enemy threaten to derail Emily's dreams of gold.

Review

Although I don’t understand any single thing about ice skating, I actually do love watching it. It’s pretty awesome to see people glide on ice like as if they own the rink. I have always loved that aspect, so I thought it’d be great to be able to read something related to ice skating. To be able to visualise what’s happening on ice with my own imagination was what really prompted me to give this book a chance. Not to mention that the cover is really nice too, with all those colours blending together. It was what caught my eye at first, before the synopsis.

However, while I was in the middle of reading this book, I really wanted to drop it and stop. I was on a reading slump for a long time, and I wanted to be able to read a book that could bring me back up again. I thought I had a lot of expectations for this book, but I guess I was wrong.

Comeaux definitely captured Emily’s passion and drive for ice skating really well. I was hooked with every performance Emily and her partner, Chris, had on ice. I cheered for every success the pair made, and felt frustration whenever they were down. However, I felt a bit more connection with Emily’s skating compared to her romance.

From admiring Sergei, to having coffee together and falling in love with him, the romance between Emily and him appeared to be more of lust rather than love. This is because the development was too fast, and there were so many complications in the lives of both Emily and Sergei that there was little opportunity to further develop the romance between the two of them. There was always something that prevented them from having quality time. There were also times wherein Comeaux had narrated things instead of showing them. I would have preferred it being shown rather than said. However, towards the end of the book, I somehow felt their connection more, which was good for me.

I thought Emily was boring at first, and this also became one of the reasons why I wasn’t so engrossed with the book, but she changed gradually and I came to like her personality better. Nevertheless, I liked Sergei and Chris better than her character because both seemed more realistic. Sergei was really sweet, and I liked that he was respectful of Emily’s choices and responsible for his own decisions and actions. Even though Chris had some issues with Emily, it was obvious that he was doing it for her. I really liked the camaraderie between the two of them, and Chris seems to be someone that it would be really great to be friends with.

As for the pacing of story, I got confused at some parts. There were at times where the story was narrated on a daily basis, but there were also times wherein it would jump a few months. It was kind of confusing, and it didn’t make the story flow well. Having the experiences of an entire year fit into one novel also sort of made it a little more fast-paced than usual.

Overall, I’m glad I decided to continue reading Life on the Edge, and I’d definitely recommend it to people who would be interested in reading a dramatic, contemporary romance, with a touch of ice-skating story. I’m quite excited to read the second book already! :)

Rating

Review: Camp Christmas

Wednesday, February 5, 2014 Labels: 5 Stars, Review

Title: Camp Christmas (Camp Boyfriend #1.5)
Author: J.K. Rock
Publishing House: Spencer Hill Press
Publishing Date: December 17, 2013

Summary from Goodreads:

Hannah never meant to be a mean girl – at Camp Juniper Point or at her high school. It just sort of happened during one painful year when her parents split and her life fell apart. Who knew being mad at the world would catapult her to popularity? But since changing the status quo would make her some serious enemies, she’s prepared to ride out her time until graduation. That is, until a camp friend calls her on the act during their school ski trip. Will Julian out her to her friends? Or will the guy she once accused of being King of the Nerds make her wish she was a whole lot more like him?

My Review

CHARACTERS

Even though I didn't really get Hannah's love/hate relationship with her friends, I did kind of understand her using popularity as something of an outlet for the frustration she felt with her family falling apart. It's nice to know that in the end, she found growth and realization in her life, and she got her own happy ending. And then there's the ever awesome Julian. I love how he was able to see through Hannah's mean facade and even took it to himself to break it. He was a good listener and was always willing to learn. Most of all, though, I admired that he was confident enough to not care what other people thought of him, because that's something really rare nowadays.

PLOT

The plot was shown in the perspectives of both Hannah and Julian, and that was really great because it saved me the trouble of trying to grasp the thoughts of the other. (Also, I'm a total sucker for guy POVs.) The book was well-written, and it was fun as well as a bit dramatic.

CONCLUSION

This novella was entertaining enough to read, and it makes me want to try out all the other books in the series. Fortunately, though, it can be read as a standalone, so you don't have to worry if you haven't read the other ones yet!

Rating

Blitz+Excerpt: Chasing Wishes

Tuesday, February 4, 2014 Labels: Blitz, Excerpt

Chasing Wishes by Nadia Simonenko

Publication date: Winter 2014

Genres: Contemporary, New Adult

Synopsis:

“I wish I didn’t have to go home. I wish I was someone else — someone with a future…”

For sixteen-year-old Nina Torres, it feels as if life is nothing but a dead end. Despised by her rich classmates and afraid that she’ll become just like her drug-addicted mother, Nina’s future seems to get dimmer every day.

There is one bright spot in her life though…

Sitting beside her one night, the only person in the world who cares about her makes a promise. No matter what happens — no matter how much Isaac’s wealthy family disapproves — he and his girlfriend Nina will be together forever.

Fate plays a cruel trick on Nina, though, and a visit from Child Protective Services the next morning turns Nina Torres into Irene Hartley, a woman with a future but who will never see her beloved Isaac again.

Nine years later, a blind and incredibly handsome young entrepreneur hires Irene to be his personal assistant. Terrence Radcliffe reminds her so much of Isaac that she can hardly believe her eyes, and she’s falling for him fast. Irene knows that fairy tales don’t come true, but she allows herself one last wish. She wishes that she could finally say goodbye to Isaac and let herself take a chance on Terrence.

What she doesn’t know is that Terrence is also searching for someone: a shooting star who streaked through his life nine years ago, and he won’t give up until he finds her…

Chasing Wishes is a powerful contemporary tale of lost love and wishes come true, recommended for ages 17+ due to adult content.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18713315-chasing-wishes?ac=1

Purchase:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00I48V9XM

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/chasing-wishes-nadia-simonenko/1118395894

Excerpt

He raises a finger to his lips, loops his arm around mine and then guides me slowly toward the bed.

My pulse quickens in excitement, beating faster and faster with each step closer to those exquisitely

comfortable sheets, and then it skips a beat entirely as Terrence whispers into my ear.

"I'd like you to try something a little different tonight," he whispers, and I shiver in delight as his lips

brush against my ear.

He sits cross-legged in the middle of the bed, and I climb up and sit beside him, first smoothing out

my short black skirt as if trying to retain some modicum of decency and then giving up and sitting

on my knees instead. Even though I know he can't see me flashing him, I still feel self-conscious

about it for some reason.

"I hope you're not bored of me already," I tease.

Now that I'm sitting on the bed with him, sitting so near to him that I can feel his breath on my skin

as he leans in close, my imagination fills with all sorts of delightful ideas and desires. I can think of

plenty of things that would be 'different' and I'm intrigued to find out what he's thought up.

He shakes his head and smiles knowingly, and then my breath catches in my throat as he pulls a

black satin eye-mask with delicate lace trim from the back pocket of his jeans.

"Put this on, please," he tells me, and he gently presses the blindfold into my hand and closes my

fingers around it.

"And then what?" I ask, tugging nervously on mask's elastic band and running my fingers along its

soft lace. I don't know what I'd been expecting him to say, but I'm surprised at a blindfold being

involved.

"Let me take charge tonight, Irene. Just trust me," Terrence whispers mischievously. He leans in to

kiss me but misses my lips and gets me on the cheek instead.

"No whips, chains, handcuffs, anything like that, right?" I ask worriedly as an inkling of panic rises

inside me.

"Of course not," he answers, raising an eyebrow incredulously. "Why does everyone think that's sexy

these days?"

"I blame Fifty Shades," I joke, and he laughs and shakes his head.

"None of that, I promise. Just trust me, Irene."

I let out a sigh of relief as the tension in my shoulders relaxes. Thank heaven he's not into that sort

of thing. I'm sure it's fun for some people, but I'm not touching that stuff with a ten-foot pole.

"Trust you, huh?" I repeat, and he nods silently.

Even though I trust him—I trust him more than anyone since… well, since Isaac, really—I'm still a

little nervous. I don't know where he's going with this once the mask goes on, but how far could he

go if he's promising not to tie me up?

He could be about to take pictures of me while I'm not expecting it. What wonderful blackmail material that'd be.

No way… he wouldn't do something like that. My doubts have gone so far overboard that even I

don't believe them now.

"You don't have to if you're not comfortable," he says, but as he reaches out to reclaim the mask, I

yank it away from him and stretch the elastic over the back of my head. The soft black fabric slides

down over my eyes and my pulse pounds in my head as darkness engulfs me.

"It's on, Terrence," I say, my voice wavering with a strange blend of excitement or trepidation.

"Thank you," he whispers in my ear, and then he unexpectedly kisses me…

About the Author

Nadia Simonenko is a scientist and author currently living in Pennsylvania with her husband, two cats and a dog. When she isn’t writing, she develops new drug compounds and dreams about someday painting her office to look like a forest.