Review & Giveaway: Wanted by Kelly Elliot

 

Wanted

(Wanted #1)

by Kelly Elliot

New Adult Contemporary Romance

Published November 30, 2012

 

*Self Purchased Ebook*

Synopsis via Goodreads:

Verbally abused by her mother for years, 18 year old Ellie Johnson always believed she would never be loved or wanted by anyone. She focused all her attention on her grades and getting into UT to start a new life away from her mother.

The last thing Ellie expected was to fall in love with Gunner Mathews, a starting linebacker for UT football team and not to mention, her brothers best friend.

Gunner only had two passions in life, football and his grandfather's ranch, until he falls for his best friends little sister. He will stop at nothing to show Ellie how much he wants her, even if it means he has to move faster than she would like.

Gunner knows they are meant to be together forever, but Ellie keeps denying her feelings out of fear of being hurt. Every time he gets close to winning her love, something pushes her away. Will Ellie ever be able to let go of the past?

Grab Your Copy:

 

Barnes & Noble

About the Author (per her Blog):

"Really I'm just a wife to a wonderful Texas cowboy who has a nack for making me laugh almost daily and supports my crazy ideas and dreams for some unknown reason...he claims it's because he loves me.....so I'll just go with that one!

I'm also a mom to an amazing daughter who constantly is asking me to make her something to eat while she has her fingers moving like mad on her cell phone sending out what I'm sure is another very important text message!

Oh...and I like to sit down and write in my spare time!"

Connect with Kelly:   Goodreads   Blog    Facebook    Twitter

My Review:

My gosh! I read Wanted a while back and have no idea why it's taken me this long to post my review! >_< I read it in 2 sittings so maybe that had something to do with it. I started it and finished it quickly so it slipped my mind. LoL

I adored the characters in Wanted. Ellie's struggle to overcome the verbal abuse that her mother put her under for years is gut-wrenching. I mean, put yourself in her shoes. You're told over and over again growing up that no one will ever want you. This happens all over the world, every day. It's heart breaking and I think the parents deserve a serious ass kicking because of it. Sorry - soap box... LoL

I loved that Jeff was such an amazing big brother. I'd hate to think of where Ellie would've been had it not been for having a big brother like Jeff. Gunner - swoon - he's the gentlemanly character that every girl should want. I adored Gunner's relationship with his grandparents. I think that was my favorite part of the entire novel.

Not only is Ellie struggling with just the words stuck on replay in her head thanks to her crappy mom, she also has to deal with contantly being cheated on by crappy boyfriends. Those jerks just reinforce what her mom planted in her head. My heart broke for her over and over again because it was like she couldn't get a break. The more that happened, the more she believed that her mom was right - no one would ever want her. She's never be truly wanted.

Yes, there are moments that are predictable - few romance novels can truly say that they don't contain such moments. If you enjoy sweet romances with a few mountains that have to be climbed, then this is it.

The only aspect of the entire novel that kinda left me saying "eh.." were several spots that the editing could've been better. A few patches were pretty rough. Overall, for me, it wasn't a deal breaker but I did want to take a red pen out a handful of times.

I do want to warn readers that there's a lot of cussing. I don't complain because I cuss like a sailor but a lot of readers don't like to read it. So if swearing, a lot, is a deal breaker for you, you might not want to pick this one up.

It was a nice, quick read for me. Yes, there are emotional ups and downs in the story, but it flows well and I was glued to the pages.

I can't wait to start Saved! Kelly Elliott is definitely an author I've been following since reading Wanted. Since I read the novel several weeks ago, I have been following Kelly and keeping up with her. Guys, she's so much fun. Her obsession with Gary Taylor *sigh* definitely benefits those that follow her FB page :) If you don't know who Gary Taylor is, go look him up. He's Kelly's inspiration for Gunner.


Overall Rating: 4 Stars
Cover Rating: 5 Stars <- Love this cover!
Characters: 5 Stars
Plot: 4.5 Stars
Climax: 4 Stars
Ending: 5 Stars

Giveaway Time!

Kelly was awesome enough to send me over some SIGNED Wanted Postcards to giveaway!! You know you want one!!! :)

So Here's what I'm gonna do:

Use the rafflecopter below to enter for your chance to be one of 4 lucky people!

Yes, I'll have 4 winners!

Each of you will receive a signed Postcard plus a bookmark that you can share

(or tuck away in your copy of Wanted) ^_^

***Yes, this is an international giveaway***

 

 

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ARC Review & Giveaway: Wide Awake by Shelly Crane

Wide Awake

by Shelly Crane

New Adult / Mature YA Contemporary Romance

202 pages

Published March 22, 2013

*ARC ebook obtained directly from the author in exchange for an honest review*

Synopsis via Goodreads:

A girl.
A coma.
A life she can't remember.

When Emma Walker wakes up in the hospital with no knowledge of how she got there, she learns that she's been in a coma for six months. Strangers show up and claim to be her parents, but she can't remember them. She can't remember anyone. Not her friends, not even her boyfriend. Even though she can't remember, everyone wants her to just pick up where she left off, but what she learns about the 'old her' makes her start to wish she'd never woken up. Her boyfriend breaks up with the new girl he's dating to be with her, her parents want her to start planning for college, her friends want their leader back, and her physical therapist with the hazel eyes keeps his distance to save his position at the hospital.

Will she ever feel like she recognizes the girl in the mirror?

Grab Your Copy:

Barnes & Noble

About the Author:

Shelly is a New York Times & USA Today Bestselling author from a small town in Georgia and loves everything about the south. She is wife to a fantastical husband and stay at home mom to two boisterous and mischievous boys who keep her on her toes. They currently reside in everywhere USA as they happily travel all over with her husband's job. She loves to spend time with her family, binge on candy corn, go out to eat at new restaurants, buy paperbacks at little bookstores, site see in the new areas they travel to, listen to music everywhere and also LOVES to read.

Her own books happen by accident and she revels in the writing and imagination process. She doesn't go anywhere without her notepad for fear of an idea creeping up and not being able to write it down immediately, even in the middle of the night, where her best ideas are born.

Connect with Shelly:   Goodreads    Blog    Twitter    Facebook

My Review:

Oh my gosh... A new fave to add to my list. I know what you're thinking - girl in a coma & waking up... Yes that's been written in a million books & movies... but I promise you, this isn't like any other "coma story" you've read. This book is about accepting YOU and moving forward... even if others don't want to accept that you've changed...

This emotional, gut wrenching, heart warming take of trying to find and accept YOU was amazing! I loved every second of this book and when I reached "The End," I wanted to cry because it was over.

Emma/Emmie - I can't imagine being in her shoes. Emmie is out one night at a party drinking with friends, catches her boyfriend cheating, and decides to walk home. She ends up getting hit be a vehicle and left there to die. Once medical personnel get to Emmie, she's lost so much blood and nearly lost her life. She's left in a coma for months. Her mother & father place her in a hospice unit for care, to help make her comfortable, and they visit every day. Mason ends up being the physical therapist who is assigned to Emmie.

No one expects her to wake up, but she does. She doesn't remember a single thing about who she was... she wakes up an entirely different person. Her parents, friends...well everyone except Mason, the hospice staff who've become her friends, and Emma (Emmie before she woke up - Emma after) want the "old Emmie" back. They want the girl who loved pink everything, wore her clothes too tight & too short, was head cheer leader, queen bee of the school.... etc.....

Emma is left not liking who she was but trying to figure out who she should be. The only person she has on her side is Mason. Everyone else doesn't understand why she just can't be her old self... My heart broke for her over and over because I can only imagine feeling like two people - the "was" and the "am now." I wanted to reach out and hug her constantly because it felt like she had no one on her side... God forbid the new Emma likes peaches... the old Emmie hated peaches so she should too... at least that's what she goes through... I wanted to reach out and smack her dad upside his head.... >_<

Then of course you have her "friends" from school. Ugh... Andy, Emmie's boyfriend, just wants to go about life just like it was before... he thinks that she should just go back to exactly how it was before the accident... he could care less that she's not the same person... Oohhh and the twist! Shelly! Took me by surprise & I was honestly sad by the events that unfold... I mean, I didn't want him to get a happily ever after, but I wasn't expecting... well, I'm not spoiling it! :)

Mason (swoon) was such an amazing character and role model. He thought he was nothing, no one, and at fault for his mom's accident. I loved this man & couldn't get enough of him. He works hard to take care of his mom (I won't spoil any of his life history though - just read the book! LoL), try to keep his little brother out of jail, and now he's Emma's rock of support. I can't say enough about how much I adored him. He's struggling with his own demons and can't let go of the guilt that he carries around with him. Emmy ends up being his rock of support when he needs her. 

Loved this book! I could go on for days!! ^_^

Overall Rating: 5 Whopping Emotional Stars!
Cover Rating: 4.5 Stars <-I love the image on the cover and it reminds me of when Emmy opens her eyes for the first time in the hospice bed and looks up at everyone.
Characters: 5 Stars <-Can I have a Mason? Please? ;)
Plot: 5 Stars
Climax: 5 Stars
Ending: 5 Stars <--Thank you a million times over for the epilogues Shelly! Emma was overcoming a million and one obstacles in this story - but so were you while writing. I would've waited another year for this book if that's what it would've taken because you're amazing!

Giveaway!

Shelly is so absolutely awesome & she sent me some SIGNED Wide Awake & Significance bookmarks to share!



Use the Rafflecopter below to enter to win a signed Wide Awake & Significance Bookmark! I've got 2 of each to giveaway so there will be 2 winners!!! It's open internationally!

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