Review: Forgotten Yesterday by Renee Ericson

Forgotten Yesterday by Renee Ericson

(Book #1.5 in the These Days series)

Forgotten Yesterday is a continuation of After Tuesday, so if you have not read that yet, please do so before reading this novella.  (Book 2, Deciding Tomorrow is due to be out in the summer of 2014. )

About the Book:

Ruby Miller's future was on track when she entered her freshman year of college at the University of Chicago. Everything seemed easy, possible, and full of hope, especially with Brent by her side. 

However, life didn't go as planned and obstacles arose setting her on a very different path from the one she had envisioned. 

Now, five years later, Ruby is piecing her life back together and moving on from everything that once tore her apart. 

What happens though, when the one person who carries every memory of Ruby's happiest and darkest moments appears unexpectedly before her? Will she carry on or dive deep into her forgotten yesterday? 

My Notes, Rating and Review

✶✶✶✶✶

I received a copy of Forgotten Yesterday in exchange for an honest review. 

I had read After Tuesday (the first book in the These Days series) a few months ago so when offered the chance to read Forgotten Yesterday and continue on with Ruby and Brent's saga, I jumped on it. 

This is a short book, only 126 pages, so it read very quickly for me but there's so much packed into those 126 pages. 

When the book opens, we find Ruby living on her own in Chicago working in a restaurant. She's decided that it's time to start moving forward again and is accepting of the flirtation coming from one of her co-workers. Little did she know that mid-shift she'd come face to face with a piece of her past and it would shake her to the core and make her question if she should continue on moving forward or if she's even moved on at all and should she go back and try to recoup what she's lost.

The book was set up in an interesting format in that it went from present time to flashbacks in the past, but it absolutely worked for me. We were presented with enough information piece by piece to have the story make complete sense as it goes along. It definitely kept things interesting for me because I had just enough information to know a little about what had gone down 5 years ago, but didn't have quite enough to know the whole story so it kept me wanting to read chapter after chapter. 

After reading Forgotten Yesterday, I love Ruby even more than I did in After Tuesday. She had such a great strength in dealing with the memories of her past while also trying to come to terms on what to do with the piece of her past. Should she stay away or should she open her heart again knowing that there was a super huge chance of it getting shattered again? 

Book 3, Deciding Tomorrow, will be out this summer and I will be anxiously awaiting for it so I can see what happens next with Ruby. 

Stacking The Shelves #3

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews, in which bloggers share the books they've received in the past week!  

Besides 2 books to review that I featured in my What's Next Thursday post, here's 12 other books that were added to my stacks since last Saturday.   I finished only 2 books this week so if this pace continues, my TBR pile is never going to go down.   Not sure I see that as a problem though!

Connected by the Sea by E.L. Todd

Forgotten Yesterday by Renee Ericson

Kiss Me Dancer, by Alicia Street

Pretty Little Lies by Jennifer Miller

A Little Bit of Hot by Elle Kennedy

Forgiveness That Brought Me Love by Melissa J. Mallory

Fry by Lorna Dounaeva

Mangled Hearts by Felicia Tatum

The Memory Game by Sharon Sant

The Supermodel's Best Friend by Gretchen Galway

A Charmed Crime by Tanya Kappes  and

The Way You Look Tonight by Bella Andre

I've read books by Renee Ericson and Bella Andre before but not by any of the others!  Love trying out new authors! 

Have you read any of these yet?  Let me know! 

Review: Matchplay by Dakota Madison

Matchplay by Dakota Madison

My Summary, Rating and Review:✶✶✶✶

Rainy Dey heads off to college as a freshman. Her mom had recently passed away after a battle with cancer and during that time, Rainy hadn't done much dating  or going to parties or all that her friends had been doing so she's pretty inexperienced but she's ready to start living life like a typical 18 year girl does when she's out on her own. 

Shortly after arriving on campus, she encounters and is strangely attracted to Aaron, a gorgeous boy who turns out to be a senior and president of The Clubhouse, a social club full of well-privileged boys on campus. The Clubhouse has a yearly competition to see who can rack up the most points by sleeping with as many girls as possible and bonus points anytime a V-card is taken by one of the guys. Turns out that Aaron is drawn to Rainy as well, particularly after they are paired to work on a semester long project in an art history class.

Rainy's roommate and new friends warn her to steer clear of Aaron. They know he's a player and that it's be only a matter of time before he'll use her and break her heart. But Rainy can't deny her growing feelings for him. Is Aaron using her to secure a win in The Clubhouse's game or is it possible that Rainy just might be the girl that makes him change his ways?

I enjoyed Matchplay and the story flowed smoothly so it was a quick read for me. I loved Rainy and although she's not broken like most female characters that I've been reading lately, she does come with a little bit of baggage with her inexperience in dating matters but she's savvy enough to be cautious and hold back a bit when it comes to getting to know Aaron. 

Aaron was an absolute sweetheart, despite his player reputation, so it was easy to understand how Rainy could start to fall for him even knowing his background. I loved how he called her Sunshine and all the kind things that he did for her throughout their relationship. And I so hoped that they'd be able to work through all the issues that came along with everything related to the Tournament and trust issues. 

Dakota Madison continues the MatchPlay series with book 2, Fairplay, featuring another couple.  I look forward to reading that one soon!

 

Friday 56 (#3) - Moving Forward (Timing is Everything #1)

This is a fun meme to do hosted by Freda's Voice.  All you have to do is grab a book (any book will do)!  Turn to either page 56 or 56% in your ereader.  Find a sentence or two that grab your attention and then post it and link it  here.

From Moving Forward (Timing is Everything #1) by Erika Ashby 

About the Book: 

Jesika Reynolds’ heart was left broken one year ago when her husband died, leaving her and her son alone in this world. Slowly, she started putting the pieces back together of her life. Knowing that she may never open herself up to love again. That was until the day Derek came into the picture.

Why does this gorgeous stranger seem to care so much, so suddenly?

Derek Jordan's charm drew her in with an instant connection, and familiarity that helps her feel at ease. Her heart is falling at his feet, but as their relationship grows, so does a secret from both of their pasts that neither saw coming. One by one, the threads slowly start to unravel.

Can their newly sought love stand up against the secrets that life is unlocking to their pasts? Or can they decide together that moving forward and forgetting the past is the only option for them to find true happiness?

Review - Fall Into My Heart by Rebecca Elise

About the Book:
Three months after finding her fiancé in bed with another woman, Chloe Carver decides she needs a change and relocates from New York to London.

Her hope is that she will become more daring and impulsive. What she doesn’t expect is Jack, her hot rocker neighbor, who manages to turn her from a confident young woman into a bumbling fool at the sight of his crooked smile and gorgeous blue eyes. She makes the decision to avoid him at all costs, which seems like it could possibly work until she realizes that she is the new publicist for his band.

Sparks quickly fly between Chloe and Jack and they jump head first into a relationship. Add in the never ending antics of Jack’s band mates, a high maintenance actress and a playboy surfer and Chloe’s life becomes more exciting than she ever thought it could be. Just when things seem to being going so well, a surprise visit from Chloe’s ex will bring everything to a screeching halt.

Will Jack and Chloe’s relationship be strong enough to survive or will other factors be enough to tear them apart?


My Rating & Review
✶✶✶✶

I loved this book.Chloe was such a realistic heroine. She was trying to move on from a bad situation but she was not the epitome of calm cool and collected. She is clumsy, in an endearing way. She often blurts things out and often embarrasses herself but every misstep and misspoke word keeps Jack coming back for more. 


The only thing I would change in this book would be for the author to provide alternating perspectives so we could get inside Jack's head and know how he feels about everything as it happens. With that being said, the author does offer a short companion novella, designed to follow Fall Into My Heart called Surrender My Love, which does give Jack's side of the story.

there is also a 2nd book in the Subzero series that focuses on Chloe's sister and a fellow bandmate of Jake's and I look forward to reading it.

What's Next Thursday - The Break-up Psychic, Finding Home or Anonymous

Hosted by: IceyBooks

Description: Can’t decide what to read next? Make a post with 3 books you want to (or have to!) read soon and link up every Thursday at IceyBooks, so your readers can help you decide by casting votes!

Here's 3 more books that are high up on my To Be Read list.  Which of these do you think I should read first?   If you've read any of them yet, please comment below and give me your impression of the book! 

The Break-up Psychic by Emily Hemmer

Ellie has a bad habit of picking the wrong man; a cheating ex-boyfriend, a mild-mannered foot fetishist, and let’s not forget about the hillbilly with the impolite hard-on. But when Sam James, the oh-so-hot bad boy Ellie has sworn to stay away from, keeps turning up like a bad penny, she’s going to need more than her psychic senses to see what’s coming her way.

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Finding Home by Aine Kelley

Can two broken people help each other learn to love again and find their way home?

For Samantha Cole, love and relationships have never come easy. Pain and heartbreak have forced her to build a wall around herself. Hoping to start over, Sam leaves Boston behind and moves to Napa with her best friend. Trying to make better choices in love, Sam establishes rules to keep her heart safe. Little did she know that one man would challenge her and change her mind. He had the potential to break down her walls and bring her heart back home. 

Ben Foster has been dealing with heartache and guilt for the past two years, believing he lost his only chance at love. Pounding guys on the Rugby field and running the family winery get him through the pain. When Sam arrives he slowly lets out the breath he's been holding and the fog lifts. He wonders if she is the one that can help his heart find a new way home.

Letting go of the past and moving forward is not always easy. Their connection is strong, but their pasts keep getting in the way. Will Sam and Ben's journey tear them apart or help them find their way to becoming each other's home?

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Anonymous by Holly Hood

Elle Saunders is a train wreck. Everyone makes mistakes but she made one of the worst. She doesn't want her life back on track she wants to forget. But those plans come to an end when she meets someone else failing at life.

Hart Allen, he's handsome and smooth and knows just the right things to say to keep people at a distance. He wants to save everyone but himself. He spends most his time locked in rehab, and the other half finding ways to go right back when he's not. But when he meets Elle things change, he is determined to help her.

He has no way of knowing that for once he might not be able to talk himself out of his latest mistakes. He has to face them

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Which one do you think I should read first?    Please leave me a comment with your choice for me!

"Waiting on Wednesday" - Perfectly Damaged by E.L. Montes

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My can't wait til it's out choice for this week is:

Perfectly Damaged by E.L.Montes

About the Book: 

Schizoaffective disorder: a mental illness in which a person experiences a combination of mood disorder and schizophrenia symptoms.
I know about this illness—very well—because I suffer from it. It’s been four years since my diagnosis, and ever since, I’ve been living in a dark hole. Voices constantly invading my thoughts. Hallucinations. All of which force me to question if what I’m experiencing is even reality.

But here I am, still hanging on, still breathing and living through it.

That is, until he stumbled into my life. Logan Reed. I don’t want any part of him. I’ve pushed him away, but he isn’t easily deterred. I’ve told him I’m different, but he doesn’t care. He’s trying to slowly break me down. I’m trying just as hard not to let him. He doesn’t know how truly damaged I am; what will happen when he does?

I know the truth—he’ll never be able to look at me the same way again. Just like everybody else.

My Notes: 

Very happy that this is a standalone, so I know I won't have to worry about a cliffhanger!    I've been told that E.L. Montes weaves a great tale, so I've got her other books on my wishlist but this one sounds like it's going to take me on an emotional roller coaster ride and make me fall for Logan.  Can't wait to see how things play out! 

Expected Publication: January 20, 2014

Classified as New Adult Romance