on Cam Girl by Elliot Wake (FKA Leah Reader).

Oh Elliot Wake. Check out my previous review of Unteachable  if you’ve never read anything by him. And then read Black Iris that left me so speechless I couldn’t even review. Enjoy!

Synopsis: 

 

Vada Bergen is broke, the black sheep of her family, and moving a thousand miles away from home for grad school, but she’s got the two things she loves most: her art and her best friend—and sometimes more—Ellis Carraway. Ellis and Vada have a friendship so consuming it’s hard to tell where one girl ends and the other begins. It’s intense. It’s a little codependent. And nothing can tear them apart.

Until an accident on an icy winter road changes everything.

Vada is left deeply scarred, both emotionally and physically. Her once-promising art career is cut short. And Ellis pulls away, unwilling to talk about that night. Everything Vada loved is gone.

She’s got nothing left to lose.

So when she meets some smooth-talking entrepreneurs who offer to set her up as a cam girl, she can’t say no. All Vada has to do is spend a couple hours each night stripping on webcam, and the “tips” come pouring in.

It’s just a kinky escape from reality until a client gets serious. “Blue” is mysterious, alluring, and more interested in Vada’s life than her body. Online, they chat intimately. Blue helps her heal. And he pays well, but he wants her all to himself. No more cam shows. It’s an easy decision: she’s starting to fall for him. But the steamier it gets, the more she craves the real man behind the keyboard. So Vada pops the question:

Can we meet IRL?

Blue agrees, on one condition. A condition that brings back a ghost from her past. Now Vada must confront the devastating secrets she’s been running from—those of others, and those she’s been keeping from herself…

Review:

How can I POSSIBLY review Cam Girl? If it was up to me, I would create extra stars on GR because this book deserves them all. You need to read this book whoever you are. This book is a MUST.

Recently, I’ve just went through a rough patch of bad books (the last good one was Black Iris also by Elliot Wake LOL) and Cam Girl was just perfect. It had the amazingly colourful writing, gritty storyline and flawed characters. OMG and even disabled representation and people of colour!!!!! Thank you Elliot Wake. So what’s not to love?

Cam Girl had the ultimate mysteries that kept you wondering throughout this book (just check my status updates!). The most important parts of the mysteries however wasn’t who or what but how and why. The book uncovered piece by piece and at the it came together in a most beautiful way. Not gonna lie – I shed some tears. Everything just made sense.

So why do I think you should read this book? It deals with internalised homophobia. This book brought up some questions that I didn’t even know I had – that’s why it’s going on close-to-my-heart-shelf. Beside that Cam Girl dealt with stuff like non-binary. Fluidity. Masculinity. Femininity. It makes you think. But don’t think it’s like an encyclopedia of queerness. Vada, the main character, brings you on journey of self-discovery (in the non-cheesiest way possible) and while she is flawed and you want to shake her sometimes, you can’t help but root and sympathise with her. Cam Girl is full of kickass, interesting characters like Ellis (Vada’s BFF and maybe more?) and Frankie (Vada’s badass cam boss). However the most exciting thing for me was seeing characters from Black Iris and finding out how they are connected to Cam Girl characters!

Basically, read this book. It’s much better than my review because how can you review something so uniquely beautiful? So many beautiful quotes. Truly.

P.S. It pisses me off when something like this can get 1* on GR. Tbh, some reasons I could understands – this book might not be for everyone. But seriously though, I saw a review that said Cam Girl was over the top with portraying homophobia and it was not a thing because gay people at their high school were popular. Uhm…………. Well what do you have to say about Orlando shooting?

P.P.S. Follow Elliot Wake on social media so we can fangirl together over his coolness and hotness.

Rating: 5 out of 5 (AND MORE) 

know-it-all

cover reveal: Hideaway by Penelope Douglas

OMG, Kai’s book. If you haven’t read Corrupt go read it right now!!!!

 

Title: Hideaway 

Series: Devil’s Night Series 

Genre: Erotic Suspense 

Author: Penelope Douglas 

Release Date: TBD – 2017 

 

Synopsis:
COMING in 2017, HIDEAWAY is the second installment in the Devil’s Night Series! If you’ve read CORRUPT, this is Kai’s story.

Banks

You don’t even see me, do you, Kai Mori? No one does.

I’m the kid in the back, the one everyone dismisses, the no-life street punk with dirty finger nails and ripped jeans.

But I’m quiet, and I do my job. I can hang tough and no one does me any favors. I’ve always been on my own.

But then I see you…

Your perfect black suits. Your clean hands. The way you charge into the room, not afraid of the man I work for, and all of a sudden, I feel different.

Like maybe I want to know what you’re like with a woman.

As quickly as the urge comes, though, it disappears. You see, my boss has an agenda. He’s decided to put me in your path, but what he doesn’t realize is, I have plans of my own. A score to settle.

And you won’t know who I really am until it’s too late.

So sit tight. I’m coming to you.

Kai

You’re wrong. I’ve seen you before.

You’re the girl who looks like a fourteen year old boy and pretends everyone around her is public enemy #1. Yeah, I remember you.

Thunder Bay. Devil’s Night. Four years ago.

But the thing was…when your hat fell off that night, you looked nothing like a boy. And when I put my hands on you, you didn’t feel like one, either.

Now, after all this time, you’re in Meridian City, and while I don’t know who you are or want you want, I can’t wait to find out.

So come on. Door’s unlocked.

Just be warned, though…Devil’s Night is coming again, and I’m not alone this time.

My friends like to play, too.

Note from the Author: HIDEAWAY still has no definite release date. Erotic suspense takes longer for me to write, and while I hate to keep anyone waiting, I know you’d rather have a good book than a quick one. Bear with me. Getting this book to you is a priority. xoxo.

 

Buy Corrupt, Book 1

Amazon / Amazon UK / Amazon CA / Amazon AU / Kobo / Barnes and Noble / IBooks

 

 

About The Author:
Penelope Douglas is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. She dresses for autumn year round, loves anything lemon flavored, and shops at Target almost daily.

Her books include the Fall Away Series (Bully, Until You, Rival, Falling Away, and Aflame), as well as, Corrupt and Misconduct. Please look for Punk 57, coming September 2016 and Next to Never (A Fall Away Novella), coming January 2017.

She lives in Las Vegas with her husband and their daughter.

Follow Her Here:  

Website,
Facebook,
Twitter,
Goodreads,
Instagram,
Pinterest

a Rafflecopter giveaway

cover reveal: Punk 57 by Penelope Douglas.

 

 

Title: Punk 57 

Genre: New Adult 

Author: Penelope Douglas 

Release Date: September 20, 2016 

 

Synopsis:
“We were perfect together. Until we met.”

Misha

I can’t help but smile at the words in her letter. She misses me.

In fifth grade, my teacher set us up with pen pals from a different school. Thinking I was a girl, with a name like Misha, the other teacher paired me up with her student, Ryen. My teacher, believing Ryen was a boy like me, agreed.

It didn’t take long for us to figure out the mistake. And in no time at all, we were arguing about everything. The best take-out pizza. Android vs. iPhone. Whether or not Eminem is the greatest rapper ever…

And that was the start. For the next seven years, it was us.

Her letters are always on black paper with silver writing. Sometimes there’s one a week or three in a day, but I need them. She’s the only one who keeps me on track, talks me down, and accepts everything I am.

We only had three rules. No social media, no phone numbers, no pictures. We had a good thing going. Why ruin it?

Until I run across a photo of a girl online. Name’s Ryen, loves Gallo’s pizza, and worships her iPhone. What are the chances?

F*ck it. I need to meet her.

I just don’t expect to hate what I find.

Ryen

He hasn’t written in three months. Something’s wrong. Did he die? Get arrested? Knowing Misha, neither would be a stretch.

Without him around, I’m going crazy. I need to know someone is listening. It’s my own fault. I should’ve gotten his number or picture or something.

He could be gone forever.

Or right under my nose, and I wouldn’t even know it.

 

About The Author:
Penelope Douglas is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. She dresses for autumn year round, loves anything lemon flavored, and shops at Target almost daily.

Her books include the Fall Away Series (Bully, Until You, Rival, Falling Away, and Aflame), as well as, Corrupt and Misconduct. Please look for Punk 57, coming September 2016 and Next to Never (A Fall Away Novella), coming January 2017.

She lives in Las Vegas with her husband and their daughter.

Follow Her Here:  

Website,
Facebook,
Twitter,
Goodreads,
Instagram,
Pinteresta Rafflecopter giveaway

on Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld.

Oops… I did it again. Oh well. I’m back.

Synopsis:

A Modern Retelling of Pride and Prejudice

This version of the Bennet family—and Mr. Darcy—is one that you have and haven’t met before: Liz is a magazine writer in her late thirties who, like her yoga instructor older sister, Jane, lives in New York City. When their father has a health scare, they return to their childhood home in Cincinnati to help—and discover that the sprawling Tudor they grew up in is crumbling and the family is in disarray.

Youngest sisters Kitty and Lydia are too busy with their CrossFit workouts and Paleo diets to get jobs. Mary, the middle sister, is earning her third online master’s degree and barely leaves her room, except for those mysterious Tuesday-night outings she won’t discuss. And Mrs. Bennet has one thing on her mind: how to marry off her daughters, especially as Jane’s fortieth birthday fast approaches.

Enter Chip Bingley, a handsome new-in-town doctor who recently appeared on the juggernaut reality TV dating show Eligible. At a Fourth of July barbecue, Chip takes an immediate interest in Jane, but Chip’s friend neurosurgeon Fitzwilliam Darcy reveals himself to Liz to be much less charming. . . .

And yet, first impressions can be deceiving.

Review:

*spoilers if you have not read Pride and Prejudice*

So this one is hard. I’m a massive P&P fan and I’ve been waiting to read this book for ages. The reviews got me all hyped up…….
….. and I was slightly let down.

While the author definitely stayed true to the original characters and accurately adapted them to the contemporary world, it just didn’t work. What I found endearing about the Bennets in the original was lacking in Eligible. Lizzy, the independent, smart-mouth woman from P&P was replaced with a naive woman, who judges her family way too much and occasionally says problematic stuff herself.

“It was immediately obvious to Liz that Georgie was anorexic.”

LIKE HOW DO YOU KNOW?

“Does he have a fake penis?” (She was asking about a transgender character.)

HOW IS THIS ANY OF YOUR BUSINESS AGAIN?!

But not to trash Liz entirely, sometimes she stepped it up and was a badass – especially when it came to Darcy. The only thing that was interesting about Darcy though, was his romance with Liz. That’s it. Nothing else. Nada. And by the end, he said shit like, “Even when you’re judging them, you do it with such care and attention.” (about Liz). HJDJHSGDFHWEGHGBJHY, SERIOUSLY?

Speaking of boring – Jane, Kitty, Mr Bennet and Chip Bingley were almost unbearable at times and their presence did not give much to the storyline. Mostly, they just dragged the book. Lydia on the other hand was intriguing and she was probably my favourite character in Eligible. If you are considering reading this book, do it for Lydia.

Unfortunately, the book itself was a bit too long and lots of the parts could have been cut. It was not a bad read, I was quite enjoying it up until the last 20% when Liz started saying problematic things and everything just got real cheesy way too quick. Instead of blabbering on about Jane and Bingley, the book would have been much better with less rushed ending of Liz and Darcy.

The verdict? Read it if you like P&P. Otherwise, it’s a waste of time.

Rating: 2.5

Know-it-all