Review: Tailspin, by Jaimie Roberts

Tailspin by Jaimie Roberts
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

**I received an ARC from the author.**

It has been a week since I finished ‘Tailspin’ and it is still consuming my thoughts. Even though my emotions are still all over the place with this one, I’m going to try and capture my thoughts in this review. Who knows, maybe it will prove to be therapeutic!

This book completely and totally wrecked me — in the best of ways. I absolutely devoured it. If I had started it early in the day, I would have read it in one sitting. As it was, I started it in the evening and read well into the night. Eventually, pure exhaustion overtook me and I fell asleep with my iPad propped up on my chest. When it finally fell over and hit me in my face, all I could think about was getting right back to the story. It was that kind of book for me. The kind that consumes your every thought until you finish it…then continues to haunt you for days or weeks afterward.

Although this book has fast become my latest favorite, I will be honest about the fact that it will not appeal to many readers. In fact, I know that many of my friends will downright hate this book. Why? Well, it deals will some difficult and controversial subject matter. This book tackles topics like abuse, rape, addiction, mental illness, etc. If you require your books to be a “unicorns and rainbows” picture of perfection, then you should run far, far away from this one.

If you are like me though, and love it when a book can make you “feel” things that you may not even be comfortable feeling, then this book is exactly what you are looking for. This book made me feel conflicted, sad, angry, joyful, devastated. You name it and I felt it while reading this one. It has been a long time since I’ve read something that took me on that kind of an emotional rollercoaster ride. It blew me away!

There is nothing that I love more than an uber-a$$hole that may, or may not, be redeemable. I have a personal weakness for leading males that make you love them in spite of all reason. Devon Jackson is exactly that type of guy.

In real life, this is a guy that you should run from at all costs. However, for me, his character was fictional perfection. I could not get enough of this complex, damaged, guy. Oh, how I loved him…even as he broke my heart.

The heroine, Andi Bellingham, was Devon’s polar opposite. She was naïve, sweet and strictly off-limits. The younger sister of Devon’s best friend, Charlie, she is hired as Devon’s personal assistant as a favor to her brother. Of course, she has spent years lusting after her older brother’s best friend, but she knows that he’s out of her league. If Andi ever had doubts, the weekly condom runs that he sends her on and his mid-day office trysts drive the message home.

When I started this book, I thought it would play out like a million other romantic comedy types. Devon was an ass, but I couldn’t help but laugh at his outrageous antics. I was sure that I knew exactly how things would play out as he began to lose his internal struggle to hide his attraction to Andi. I kept thinking, “This is great, but I know where it’s headed.” I was wrong.

Then, about half-way through, there is a shift in the story. It took on a different tone. Again, I thought I had it pegged. Nope. I was still clueless. Nonetheless, I cruised along blissfully unaware of what Ms. Roberts had in store for me.

Suddenly, big things are happening. Huge, plot twists and revelations seem to spring up out of nowhere. My world was turned upside down as I looked back at all of the subtle warning signs and clues that were there all along. Ms. Roberts left a trail of crumbs, but I didn’t want to see them. I was blinded by my own hopes and expectations. Then, she came along and pulled the rug out from under my feet.

It was absolutely brilliant! I don’t want to give too much away, because this is a story that needs to be experienced. It is a story about obsession, love and forgiveness. It was painful, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I have no doubt that this book is one that I will re-read, time and time again. I absolutely LOVED this book!

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Pre-Review: Tailspin, by Jaimie Roberts (Expected Release Date: 06/20/17)

TAILSPIN by Jaimie Roberts
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book has wrecked me! I can’t even begin to make sense of all my emotions right now. I’m angry, devastated, completely gutted and heartbroken. I’m so damn conflicted! This story…argh! It really hit me in the “feels”.

Full review to come once I’m able to get a grip. Seriously! I devoured this book and I’m a total mess right now.

**I received an ARC from the author.**

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Review: Forbidden, by Tabatha Suzama

Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wow! That was some deeply disturbing and super depressing stuff. I’m thinking this was somewhere between a 3 1/2 and a 4 star read for me. This one will take some time to digest. In fact, as I write this review days later I’m still not sure exactly what to make of this story.

Lochan and Maya have been forced to grow up too quickly. As the oldest, these two siblings have had to take on the responsibility of raising their three younger siblings. Their drunken, deadbeat mother breezes in and out of their lives when she chooses, leaving all of the day to day responsibilities up to her two oldest children. As a result, Lochan and Maya have a relationship that more closely resembles that of a husband and wife than that of a brother and sister.

Since I knew where this story was heading from the start, I wasn’t surprised at all when the siblings’ relationship started to take on a more romantic feel. However, I was incredibly surprised when I found myself rooting for them as a couple. Going into this book, part of me had convinced myself that they were going to be step-siblings or half-siblings or some other relation that would somehow lessen the taboo nature of their relationship. That wasn’t the case and I had to deal with some very uncomfortable feelings. It was so wrong, but they were just so damn right for each other at the same time.

Okay, I know what you’re thinking. You’d be right too. Awkward, right? I’m going to get it out and just say what we’re all thinking, “Ew!” I’m not going to try and deny that this was some seriously messed up stuff. Just the thought of incest makes me cringe. To say the least, this was a very uncomfortable read as a result.

Nonetheless, I found myself hoping that Lochan and Maya would somehow get a HEA. Even as I knew it was totally improbable, I wanted them to be happy. No teenagers ever deserved happiness more than these two. They bore the weight of the world on their shoulders. Right to the end, they sacrificed for their younger siblings.

Of course, this is not that kind of story. This is the type of story that you go into knowing that it will break your heart…and it does. I cried big, fate tears and probably went through half a box of Kleenex while reading this story.

Aptly titled, ‘Forbidden’ is taboo and controversial. While I won’t try to justify incest, consensual or not, I will say that this story was a heartbreakingly beautiful love story. You will fall in love with each of the siblings, as you hate their worthless mother. You’ll respect Lochan and Maya for their strength and dedication to their family. You will feel their love, anger, and desperation, even as you curse the injustice of it all. No way around it, you will FEEL while reading this story.

As much as anything else, this story made me feel conflicted. I usually don’t waver much in my convictions. However, this book made me question my values and morals. I found myself pondering “what if” more than I was comfortable with. Days later, I have to say that this story still has me feeling unsettled.

Will it make you highly uncomfortable? Yes. Would I recommend it? Absolutely! In my opinion, the books that challenge the status quo and make me look at life through a different lens are the best kinds of books. Agree or disagree, but consider alternate viewpoints. Books like this aren’t necessarily there to change what you believe, so much as they are there to make you examine why you believe what you do and consider other perspectives. Are there situations in which there should be exceptions to some steadfast rules of morality? This book will make you think about that type of thing.

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Review: Avoiding Commitment (Avoiding, #1), by K. A. Linde

Avoiding Commitment by K.A. Linde
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wow! I am still trying to get my emotions – mainly anger – under control after reading this one. I have not wanted to pummel a hero like this in a long time! Ugh! I’m not sure I can articulate how furious I am with Jack, but I’m going to give it a shot.

The story begins in present-time, with Lexi receiving an unexpected phone call from an old friend, Jack. It is very apparent that Jack broke Lexi’s heart and that there are some unresolved feelings lingering. Clearly, the two had an intense history and Lexi never recovered from whatever Jack did to her.

Almost immediately, I wanted to strangle Jack. I didn’t know who this guy was exactly at this point in the story, but I couldn’t believe his audacity. With the obvious heartache that Lexi was still harboring, he calls and asks her to convince his new girlfriend that he is capable of commitment. Say what? I was like, “This guy has some damn nerve!”

Ultimately, Lexi caves. She agrees to do this “favor” for her old “friend”. I knew that it would play out that way, but I was still like “Oh, hell no!”. After all, the story had to go somewhere.

As I’m sure you can guess, Lexi and Jack together results in a flood of sexual tension and unresolved issues. It is so obvious that neither one has ever really gotten over the other one. You know that you’re in for a lot of drama and angst.

The girlfriend, not surprisingly, ends up being a royal bitch. I loathed Bekah. Honestly, if she weren’t so despicable, I might have felt bad for her. After all, she loved Jack and he was messing around with Lexi all the time. The fact that Bekah was such a horrible person really made it easy to overlook Jack and Lexi’s indiscretions…which was crucial to enjoy this story.

Like Lexi, I began to fall for Jack’s charm and it was so easy to see how she got sucked in again. However, Jack’s sketchy behavior and indecisiveness has Lexi being jerked around. As their story unfolds through repeated flashbacks, it becomes clear that this is a long-standing pattern of behavior between Jack and Lexi.

Lexi and Jack meet in college and always seem to find their way back to each other. From their first date, Lexi is hooked. She can’t get enough of him. The feeling is mutual, but there’s a problem…Jack has a girlfriend!

When the cat’s finally out of the bag, Lexi is outraged. She, rightfully, walks out on Jack and tells him exactly what a scumbag he is. Yay, Lexi! At this point, I’m totally with her. I was feeling all indignant and high on my “girl-power” mojo. (Picture me walking around my kitchen with my headphones on, drinking a glass of wine and cursing Jack while making dinner.)

Unfortunately for Lexi, that isn’t the last time she will cross paths with Jack. Through mutual friends, their lives are intertwined. Lexi eventually begins to date one of Jack’s friends, which leads to more “chance” encounters between Jack and Lexi.

This is where I started wanting to shake some sense into Lexi. You know that saying, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice…”? Never has it been more applicable to a situation than it was to Lexi’s. No matter what this guy did, she caved and fell for his charms again and again. It was incredibly frustrating. At the same time, I couldn’t help but want Lexi and Jack to end up together. I guess I kind of fell for his charms too.

Jack is definitely a character that I loved to hate. He was irresistible, even though your brain tells you that he’s bad news. There were so many times that I wanted to scream as he repeatedly broke Lexi’s heart. At the same time, I was incredibly conflicted because she did her fair share of harm to others in her pursuit of Jack.

Part of me questioned whether or not Jack ever truly cared about Lexi at all. After all, his actions sure didn’t show it. Maybe I’ve deluded myself as much as Lexi did, but I just can’t believe that he didn’t really love Lexi.

Regardless of what my heart says, my brain says that Lexi should have some self-respect. Honestly, the things that Jack did were inexcusable. Not that he spent much time groveling, but I’m not sure that there would be enough groveling – ever – to make up for the way he treated Lexi. Lexi’s best move would be to pack up and move somewhere far, far away.

The ending of this book really threw me for a loop. I could not believe it! I wanted to throw a temper tantrum.

That being said, I could not pull myself away from this story. I immediately jumped into the next book in the series and have marathon read the entire series in a couple of days. It was like watching a bad wreck unfold in front of my eyes. I couldn’t stop watching as their sordid lives played out for me.

I don’t think I’ve read a cheating book that was this angsty and had me tied in knots like this since reading S. C. Stephen’s ‘Thoughtless’. Holy hell! It’s painful, but I’m hooked.

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