Come Back To Me Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway (It's INT!)

Welcome, welcome to the next stop in the Come Back To Me Blog Tour. I'm your host Lena, and I will be walking you through my journey with this fantastic novel. First up, a little background information.

Come Back to Me by Mila Gray
(Come Back to Me, #1)
Published by: Simon Pulse
Publication date: December 8th 2015
Genres: New Adult, Romance
Source: eARC courtesy of the author in exchange for an honest review
Goodreads

"In this heart-wrenching tale of love and loss, a young Marine and his best friend’s sister plunge into a forbidden love affair while he’s home on leave.

When a Marine Chaplain knocks on her door, Jessa’s heart breaks—someone she loves is dead. Killed in action, but is it Riley or Kit? Her brother or her boyfriend…

Three months earlier, Marine Kit Ryan finds himself back home on leave and dangerously drawn to his best friend Riley’s sister, Jessa—the one girl he can’t have. Exhausted from fighting his feelings, Kit finally gives in, and Jessa isn’t strong enough to resist diving headfirst into a passionate relationship.

But what was just supposed to be a summer romance develops into something far greater than either of them expected. Jessa’s finally found the man of her dreams and Kit’s finally discovered there’s someone he’d sacrifice everything for.

When it’s time for Kit to redeploy, neither one is ready to say goodbye. Jessa vows to wait for him and Kit promises to come home to her. No matter what.

But as Jessa stands waiting for the Marine Chaplain to break her heart, she can’t help but feel that Kit has broken his promise…

Riley or Kit? Kit or Riley? Her brother or her boyfriend? Who’s coming home to her?"

Thoughts: You guys, I cannot tell you enough how much I absolutely adored this novel. It has everything I look for in a New Adult novel- raw emotions, romance, realism, and yes, the undeniable heartache that comes with any kind of Marine-PTSD novel. I swooned, I cried, I got angry, I cried some more. All in all, it was an incredibly emotional journey, one I'd highly recommend taking.

Jessa and Kit have known each other for practically their whole lives. Kit is actually Riley (Jessa's older brother)'s best friend, and the three spent a great deal of time together. It's only natural that Kit started developing feelings for Jessa, but how is that suppose to work out? She's his best friend's little sister, and on top of that, their father pretty much hates him. Even alienates him at times. Yikes.

Kit and Riley eventually decide to join the Marines. What Jessa wasn't expecting is how much she ends up missing Kit. It's only until he's home on leave that things start to become something more. The only catch is, like with everyone that serves our country, his time home is limited. It has an expiration date, and what are the two suppose to do once he leaves again?

I absolutely loved watching Jessa and Kit's relationship grow into something I can only describe as beautiful yet real. The novel is told through both of their points of views, so you get to see their affections and feelings at every angle. Really, when it comes to NA books, I truly think this is usually the best path to take. Of the two, I have to admit I probably liked Jessa's POV more. She's just the type of girl you'd want to know, the kind that would have your back. She's also the kind of girl who has a totally swoon-worthy brother, one that's both protective yet still has a lightness to him. Can you tell that I adored these three characters? Probably because I did. I fell in love with each of them and kept praying that please, please let all of this end well.

What I found interesting in this novel is how different the fathers were. I really liked Kit's father. He's the type of guy anyone would be honored to call dad. Then you have Jessa and Riley's dad who, let's just say has a lot of issues and doesn't deal with them well. Towards the end, I found myself understanding why he is the way he is and why he treats people, especially his own children, the way he does, but I honestly didn't think it justified his actions.

Overall, I recommend this novel to fans of IN HONOR and SOMETHING LIKE NORMAL. I've had my eye on this book for a while and am glad it was finally released in the states. Definitely worth the wait!


Rating:

5 Stars

About The Author:

Mila Gray is the pen name for Sarah Alderson, author of Hunting Lila, Losing Lila, The Sound, Fated and Out of Control. Originally from London she has lived in Bali for the last four years with her husband and daughter. As well as writing young adult fiction under the name Sarah Alderson and adult fiction under the name Mila Gray, she also writes screenplays. You can find out more at www.milagray.com and on facebook: www.facebook.com/sarahjalderson
Author links:

https://www.facebook.com/MilaGrayBooks
https://twitter.com/MilaGrayBooks
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7910288.Mila_Gray


Giveaway: 3 winners for an exclusive copy of the UK edition of the second Mila Gray book, THIS IS ONE MOMENT. This giveaway is INTERNATIONAL so enter! You've got nothing to lose (but loads of chances to win).

Be sure to follow the rest of the tour for more chances to win!



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Review: How To Lose a Bachelor

Title: How To Lose A Bachelor
Author: Anna Banks
Published: November 9th 2015 by Entangled Publishing, LLC (Bliss)
Source: eARC courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Goodreads / Amazon

"When Rochelle Ransom auditioned for the dating show Luring Love, she had big plans for winning the prize money to help her favorite charity–and if she won the hot bachelor's heart, even better. But at the last minute she finds out the hot bachelor is her ex-boyfriend, Grant Drake. Desperate to keep her distance from him, she'll do anything–and everything–to get voted off.

Years ago, Rochelle broke Grant’s heart, and he's out for revenge. There's no way he'll vote her off.

After all, vengeance is a dish best served red-hot...and on live television.

When her hilarious antics to get kicked off the show escalate, Grant’s reminded why he fell in love with her the first time. Now he isn't sure which might be more fun... Seeing how far Rochelle is willing to go to get away or how far he will to keep her forever."

Thoughts: If you're looking for a boring, blah read, this is definitely NOT the book for you. Now, if you're looking for a fun, clever, and addicting novel, HOW TO LOSE A BACHELOR is the one. I can't say it took me by surprise, since I adore the author and her previous books. What I can say is, if you follow Anna on Twitter then you know how funny and witty she is, and HOW TO LOSE A BACHELOR further proves this.

After reading the summary, this novel sounded like a funny version of UnReal (GREAT show!). Guess what? That's exactly what it is! Rochelle (Don't call her Chelle) is a prestigious lawyer who decided to be a contestant on Luring Love (which is basically The Bachelor) in the hopes of winning the prize money for her charity, Helping Hands. What she wasn't expect was her ex, the guy who completely shattered her heart into a million pieces, to be the bachelor on the show. Though she wants to just quit and call it a loss, she can't help but think of all the good that prize money will do.

Then you have Grant. He is equally as crushed to see Rochelle there. After all, it wasn't just her heart that was broken all those years ago. Also, he can't help but question why she's on this show to begin with, Is there a chance for them to get back together? I guess we shall see!

The novel is told from both of their point of views. I swear, I'm not sure which is more comical: Rochelle living these humiliating moments or Grant recapping them and vice versa. Their chemistry is off the charts, but Rochelle is still so mad at Grant. They both playout these little revenge situations that end up blowing up in both of their faces. I almost cried from laughing so hard and picturing all of this in my head! It's clear they're meant to be together, but you still wonder if they're both willing to let go of the past in order to start a new future together.

There's also some interesting characters outside the main two. You have Maya, one of the other contestants on the show, who is just so easy to love. Had Rochelle and Grant not have been a match made for each other, I would've rooted for Maya. The other girls, with the exception of Ellie, are just off the charts, and not in a good way. They're so outrageous, and you can't help but love to hate them. Then you have Chris, the host and Grant's kind of friend friend from college. What are his real motives? Does he care about these two or is he mainly in it for the ratings? If you watched UnReal, Chris is kind of like a Rachel and Ricki (the producer) is very much like Julia. There's fun, there's adventure, there's TONS of drama, and of course, there's romance.

I know I've gone on and on about this novel, but it's only because I truly loved it and had such a blast reading it. More? Please?



Rating:

5 Stars