Review: The Player and the Pixie (Rugby #2) by L.H. Cosway & Penny Reid

4 STARS FOR RAINBOWS, PIXIES, AND FINE ARSES! ;)

"I think I have missed you all my life..."

THE PIXIE

Lucy Fitzpatrick doesn’t like rugby.

As the little sister of Ireland’s most infamous rugby player, Lucy can’t seem to escape the championship-sized shadow cast by her big brother, or her mother’s frequent attempts to micromanage her future. Her rainbow hair is as free-spirited as her quest for inner peace, yet overbearing expectations keep bringing her down. And when she’s down, her compulsive little problem lands her in seriously big trouble.

THE PLAYER

Sean Cassidy is a cold-hearted brute… or so he’s been told. Frequently. By everyone.
His blonde locks, baby blues, and rock hard bod make ladies the world over drool with desire. As the rugby world’s second most infamous player, he should be basking in his success. But Sean has never been content settling for second place, and his frequent confrontations with Lucy’s big brother leave him cold. And when he’s cold, his compulsive little problem lands him in the lap of Lucy Fitzpatrick.

THE PLAN

Sean has a problem only Lucy can solve. Lucy has a problem only Sean can fix. The solution seems obvious: you scratch my back, and I’ll bail you out of jail. But when their business arrangement unexpectedly leaves Sean scorching hot and Lucy on the precipice of inner peace, can they convince the world—and Lucy’s big brother in particular—that this is the real deal?

Either way, both the Player and the Pixie are about to teach each other some pretty monumental lessons about family, life, but most importantly, love.

* ARC generously provided in exchange for an honest review *

I didn't think it was possible, but I love The Player and the Pixie more than The Hooker and the Hermit. I really hope all of the Ronan and Annie shippers don't try to kill me! BUT Sean and Lucy as a couple are great and perfect and amazing! 

First off, Lucy! I love Lucy's loyalty to Ronan and her ability to want to see the good in everyone. Plus, I love her yoga mantras! The way that she tries to remain positive and calm, even in the most difficult of situations, which can be difficult when you have a hot piece of arse following you around. 

Second, Sean! I love Sean! His bits of the story are hilarious in my opinion! Cosway and Reid writing Sean's character to be a complete idiot in terms of sex education has to be the greatest thing that I have read ALL YEAR!! Literally, I was thinking exactly the same thing as Lucy when she says, "You can watch YouTube videos, or do a Google search, or buy a book. I hear there's one called the Karmasutra that's supposed to cover the basics." Seriously, hilarious! Then, there is the bubs! Gotta love the bubs, and the smiles, and the smolder! Cosway and Reid never used the word smolder, but in my mind, there is definitely a smolder! Also, I can't fail to mention the puppies. Sean's soft heart for puppies and his cousin is so sweet. 

I will admit that at the end of the book I was disappointed to find that there was not a discussion or scene about how Sean's family would respond to Lucy. Lucy met Eilish, which was to be expected. Especially since Rugby #3 will focus on Eilish's story, but I was hoping for some scene between Sean and his Aunt and Uncle where they meet Lucy or at least discuss his relationship with Lucy. I just felt like it would have brought a little bit more closure to the story. Annie and Ronan's story had something similar to this. Annie met Ronan's mother and they had that type of interaction. The only thing that we got that was similar to this was Lucy meeting Eilish at the end of the book at the wedding. It seemed almost a little too late in the story and just kind of thrown in or tacked at the end, so the reader and author can at least say that it happened, they met, now everyone can move on to Eilish's story. 

STILL, the lack of "parental" introductions does not take away that I do think that Lucy and Sean are perfect as a couple! The Player and the Pixie is hilarious, fun, sexy, I MEAN SEXY!! It was one of those books that once I started to read it, I couldn't and didn't want to put it down. I wanted to stay in Lucy and Sean land with rainbows, pixies, and puppies. <3 :D Thus, resulting in finishing the book in less than 24 hours. I definitely recommend this book to anyone that loves fun, modern romantic-comedy stories. 

Who I would recommend this for?

I would recommend this book to those who enjoy The Hooker and the Hermit (Ruby #1) by L.H. Cosway & Penny Reid, Stuck-Up Suit by Vi Keeland, Truth or Beard (Winston Brothers Book 1) by Penny Reid, Wallbanger byAlice Clayton, or Nuts by Alice Clayton

Review: Rebel of Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

3 1/2-4 STARS FOR MAGIC, GUN-SLINGING BANDIT CHICKS, AND PRINCES!

"She’s more gunpowder than girl—and the fate of the desert lies in her hands.

Mortals rule the desert nation of Miraji, but mystical beasts still roam the wild and barren wastes, and rumor has it that somewhere, djinni still practice their magic. But there's nothing mystical or magical about Dustwalk, the dead-end town that Amani can't wait to escape from.

Destined to wind up "wed or dead," Amani’s counting on her sharpshooting skills to get her out of Dustwalk. When she meets Jin, a mysterious and devastatingly handsome foreigner, in a shooting contest, she figures he’s the perfect escape route. But in all her years spent dreaming of leaving home, she never imagined she'd gallop away on a mythical horse, fleeing the murderous Sultan's army, with a fugitive who's wanted for treason. And she'd never have predicted she'd fall in love with him...or that he'd help her unlock the powerful truth of who she really is."


Who would I recommend this for?
I would recommend this book for those that have enjoyed Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury, The Wrath & the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh, An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir, and A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston

I am honestly really surprised with how I ended up feeling with this book by the end of it. I have been DYING to read this book since it came out in March and I finally got a chance to read it this weekend! :) BUT I am a little disappointed, because I felt like there was something just kind of missing with it. I loved the excerpt (the first 3 chapters) that I read and I overall enjoyed the first half of the book, which pretty much leaves the second half of the book that really kind of threw it off for me.

The first half of the book was great with Amani and Jin. Amani's smart-mouth is hilarious and reminds me of myself, a normal girl. She is just like any other girl would be in her situation. She has a little bit of an attitude, she doesn't want people telling her what to do or who to marry, and she wants more to life. These are all traits that I believe are relatable.

Also, I enjoy the mysteriousness around Jin. He is portrayed as this mysterious foreigner in the beginning of the book. Amani and myself, as the reader, do not really know how to feel about Jin, what his motives are, or who he really is. Yet, he still has moments where his character and personality break through and we learn more about him.

The overall world created in Rebel of Sands is interesting and really kind of fascinating. Even after I have finished the book, I am still really kind of fascinated to learn more of the world that is created. Jin talks to Amani about some of the other countries and places that he has visited and are foreign to Amani. This is a short conversation, but it provides enough information to make myself and Amani curious. Hamilton is really great at describing and creating all of the different characters, creatures, and continents. All of the characters are unique and different.

So, what is holding me back from falling absolutely in love and head over heels with this book??? There is a point in the book, I don't really want to give too much information or spoilers away, where there is shift in direction. Literally, where Jin and Amani shift their travel direction and it changes the rest of the book, in my opinion. Also, at this point the pace of the book changes. The pace of the plot sped up. I think the change of pace and the information that is revealed, really kind of changed the progression of the book. As a reader, I was really kind of caught of guard and actually took a moment to look up from the book and ponder what was left of the book and what might happen. After this shift, everything fell into place really fast and almost came across as a plot/data dump. I wanted to scream at the book, "WHOA! HOLD ON! LET ME ENJOY THE REST OF THE BOOK!" This made me question if there will be a sequel. By the way, the book does not end with a cliff hanger like you would expect it to have, if there were to be sequel.

I have found out since finishing the book that the book is actually part of a trilogy. So, yes! There will be a sequel! I am excited to read the sequel! I really do like Jin, Amani, and the world that Hamilton has created. If I were able to spend more time enjoying a slower progression of the plot and possibly a hint of what is going to happen in the sequel, then I probably would have given the book 4 stars. I am curious where Hamilton is going to be going with the rest of the series, but I guess we shall see! :)

Review: Stuck-Up Suit by Vi Keeland

3 STARS FOR SEXY GRAHAM AND THE SOMETIMES VIVACIOUS SORAYA!

*SOME SPOILERS ARE DISCUSSED! READ AT YOUR DISCRETION!*

It started out like any other morning on the train.
Until I became mesmerized by the guy sitting across the aisle.

He was barking at someone on his phone like he ruled the world.
Who did the stuck-up suit think he was...God?
Actually, he looked like a God. That was about it.
When his stop came, he got up suddenly and left. So suddenly, he dropped his phone on the way out.
I might have picked it up.
I might have gone through all of his photos and called some of the numbers.
I might have held onto the mystery man's phone for days―until I finally conjured up the courage to return it.
When I traipsed my ass across town to his fancy company, he refused to see me.
So, I left the phone on the empty desk outside the arrogant jerk's office.
I might have also left behind a dirty picture on it first though.
I didn't expect him to text back.
I didn't expect our exchanges to be hot as hell.
I didn't expect to fall for him―all before we even met.
The two of us couldn't have been any more different.
Yet, you know what they say about opposites.
When we finally came face to face, we found out opposites sometimes do more than attract―we consumed each other.
Nothing could have prepared me for the ride he took me on. And I certainly wasn't prepared for where I'd wind up when the ride was over.
All good things must come to an end, right?
Except our ending was one I didn't see coming

If this is such a sexy book, what's up with the 3 stars!?! Well, it is a very sexy book. It definitely was making me feel hot and uncomfortable at my desk during my lunch break, BUT I need a little more from a contemporary romance book. What can I say? I think that a contemporary romance novel needs to have a strong plot that can stand on its own if all of the sex scenes are removed. Also, I was a little caught off guard with how fast of a read this was. I finished the book in less than 24 hours. I don't necessarily consider this a negative, just something that I note in comparison to other books. 

There were some moments that really stood out for me. They provided a little more depth and emotion (an emotion besides hot and bothered). Such as, the conversation with Soraya and her father or the conversation with Graham's grandmother, Meme. Yet overall, looking at the work as a whole. The actual development of Soraya and Graham's relationship moved really pretty fast. No wonder her friends were okay with her consideration of ending their relationship. Also, it felt like a lot of the secondary characters were base. They were very stereotypical and predictable, but that doesn't mean that I didn't find them kind of amusing. 

So looking at the two main characters, Graham and Soraya. I'll start with Graham, just because Graham is sexy and honestly really kind of confusing as a character. Keeland initially describes Graham as this sexy, Mr. Big Prick, asshole that likes to play with his watch. He scowls, yells, bosses everyone around, and for some reason as a reader you assume that he just sleeps around. The only thing that I can recall as a reader that was discussed on the topic of his sex life was Avery saying "Did you already go through your whole list of contact to booty call and now you are back at the letter A?" (she said something to that extent). Plus, I'm pretty sure that Soraya already had the notion in her had that he just sleeps around. 

All of that aside, how Graham is described in the beginning of the story immediately seems to go out the door once Graham sees Soraya's face and takes her to dinner. After that, Graham is all of a sudden a gentleman, family man, serious relationship type guy. His feelings for Soraya are definitely stronger than her's and he is definitely more invested in the relationship then Soraya. Well, doesn't that seem a little strange for a guy that says that he has issues with a relationships, getting attached, and trust?!? Wouldn't you think that he would want to take things slow? You know, kind of see if she is only after him for his title and money? He is only a google search away and his net worth is public knowledge. This definitely leads to the whole Pretty Woman syndrome going on. Well, apparently all of his previous negative concerns with relationships and trust are gone, also, he is apparently perfect with 4 year-old kids, because you know he has spent a lot of time with kids. Yeah, a guy that is a single child and, as far as the reader knows, has little to no experience with kids, has no reservation with 4 year-old kids. He didn't learn from his first tattoo that getting someone's name tattooed is a kiss of death. All of these are chalked up to his past and is dismissed with a conversation Meme. 

(Reviewer's Personal note: my personal experience with men lead me to think that most guys seem to know nothing about kids and are honestly scared to death of babies and children. I'm not saying that there are not guys out there that are great with kids, love kids, and are perfect with them. There are! But the guys that are great with kids, either 1. Grew up with a lot of kids in there family 2. Supervised kids at camp, church, vbs, boy scouts, etc. (you know what I'm talking about) 3. Have that intuition with kids, they are not afraid of kids or being around them.)

My overall feeling with Graham is that he is the ATTEMPT at trying to have the perfect best of both worlds type of guy. The initial angry guy in control of everything, because let's be honest ladies. Sometimes seeing a guy angry is a turn on, please don't take me saying that to mean violence. In no way, shape, or form is violence okay. Then, he is the perfect gentleman. Wanting to date her, sending flowers, sending lunch, buying her clothes. The whole works. (Btw, on the topic of the flowers. I was a little taken back by that. A little bit of a WTF!?! moment happened) Lastly, Graham then turned into the perfect husband/father man. Wanting to have kids with Soraya, marriage, and be completely in Chloe's life. 

Graham pretty much went through an evolution of every type/form of a guy that a woman would want. Yet, it was all kind of weird and strange. It kind of had a Twilight feel to it for some reason. The whole love at first sight syndrome. Whirlwind romance. Like I said initially, Graham is kind of confusing. 

Now, Soraya. I really really really liked Soraya in the beginning. Yes, in the beginning of the book I really liked Soraya. She was a strong-headed woman. She spoke her mind, colored her hair, had a "I don't give a d*mn what you think" attitude. She was a sassy, vivacious woman! She wasn't the type that would really rush into things. She came across as logical, smart, not naive or immature. I felt this way, until after the dinner date I would say. Sometime when her and Graham started seeing each other, which they pretty much started to see each other like everyday. Soraya, as a character, completely did a 180 on me. I feel like she lost all her sense of confidence once any reference or interaction happened with Avery and Genevieve. When it came to actually having a relationship, she was clueless and has seriously a lot of commitment/daddy issues. I feel like she gives all control to Graham. I felt like Soraya stopped saying no, she became a yes person once she was in a relationship with Graham and Chloe came around. There is a little bit of a hint that she gets back to the person she was before. I hope so! Soraya was cool in the beginning of the book before she lost all of her mojo. 

I'm not as critical on Soraya as I am Graham. My only issues with Soraya is that she seemed to lose her spirit and has no clue when it comes to relationships. She fell in love way to fast, but she did seem to put up a fight and wanted to put some boundaries before jumping into things. That lasted like a whole 2 weeks. I do wish that Keeland told us if Graham gave Soraya his grandmother's ring, since the ring was brought up. 

Thus, 3 stars instead of 4! Too much rushing in the relationship. It gave it that whole love at first site feeling, Twilight thing. If there was more development leading to these changes in the character, I would have possibly given it 4 stars. 

Welcome to the Library of a Red Head!

Welcome to my new blog!

My hope is that I will be consistent in sharing reviews, thoughts, pictures, and all things books related on this forum. Hence the title of my blog - Library of a Red Head (I've always loved that name/title.) If you check out my GoodReads profile, you might start to see an overlap. I will try to post mostly on this blog and link it to my GoodReads profile, but if there is a book that I have already previously written a review for, then I would recommend to read the review on GoodReads, because I will most likely not post the review on here, unless I feel the need to edit my previous review of the book.

My reviews will not be stuffy and what is sometimes considered "proper" etiquette or form. I feel and believe that with a personal blog, especially with my name tied to it, that it should be real and genuine. None the less, I will be honest, open, and respectful of how I feel about the book that I read.

What types of books will I review based on my personal preference:

1. Young Adult - Most popular genre that I read
2. New Age - fiction geared to those that are between the age of 20-30
3. Romance/Erotica
4. Science Fiction - This might be thrown in here and there, but it will not be often
5. Historical Fiction - I enjoy Historical Fiction. I don't always get to read it as much as I like.

These genres are not set in stone.These are just the genres that I have the most experience reading and have found the myself always gravitating to.  If an author or publishing company would like to send an ARC for me to review then I will. Also, book recommendations are welcome! :)

*All ARC reviews will be announced at the beginning of the review and will be given an honest review*

I hope everyone enjoys my blog! I know that I will enjoy sharing all of the books that I read and hope to engage in conversation about them. While I am still getting reacquainted with the world of blogging, posts will probably be kept to the minimum of text and some basic pictures. I am hoping to get back into the swing of CSS and posting GIFs, but please bare with me. :)