ARC REVIEW ~Searching for Perfect by Jennifer Probst~

Title: Searching for Perfect

Author: Jennifer Probst

Series: Searching For #2

Release Date: April 29, 2014

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

The up-and-coming matchmaking agency Kinnections is the hottest thing to hit Verily, New York—just like Kennedy Ashe, social director for the service she owns with her two best girlfriends. A coach, consultant, and cheerleader rolled into one super-sizzling package, Kennedy creates dream dates, encourages singles to shine, and never refuses a challenge—not even Nate Ellison Raymond Dunkle, rocket scientist, nerd extraordinaire, and Kennedy’s newest client.

Kennedy vows to work her magic and transform this hot mess in a lab coat with a disastrous relationship track record into the most wanted man on the Verily dating scene. If only she could turn the wand on herself . . .

Though she radiates confidence and sex appeal, Kennedy harbors deep-seated insecurities from a tormented past and lifelong struggle with weight issues. When she realizes she and Nate are cut from the same cloth and might be perfect together, can Kennedy learn to let her heart lead the way? Or will her fears sentence her to the sidelines as Nate finds love—with someone else?

I will be honest, this book started a little slow for me. However, once it got started, it got hot, hilarious, and touching. When Kennedy and Nate finally stopped fighting their instincts, their chemistry sparked off the page. With his social awkwardness, their collective intelligence and her battered heart, they made a perfect couple. Their commonalities helped them build more than just physical relationship. I was thoroughly surprised by Nate's 180 turnaround. He went from geek to filthy mouthed man in the span of a few chapters. Total turn-on. Kennedy was my window into the emotions of the book. She has had a rough go, that makes it hard for her to accept anyone's genuine interest and love in her. Her raw emotions and hurt bled off the pages and I truly felt for her. 

This was a fantastic book. Everything that I have come to expect from a Jennifer Probst novel and more. Ms. Probst can weave a tale of humor, love, and heat like no other. In her Searching world, that is loosely linked to her previous Marriage to a Billionaire series, we are introduced to three spunky, love woed women. Kate, Arilyn and Kennedy run Kinnections, a matchmaking service. Searching for Perfect follows Kennedy's story. She meets Nate Bunkle at a speed dating session. He is just too sad, and too socially awkward for her to not take on as a project. Kennedy delves into helping Nate remake himself and bring out the man beneath the geek. Soon enough the lines blur and Nate and Kennedy are treading a fine line between friends and lovers. They can't help but succumb to their passion. But when Kennedy runs scared, Nate may finally have to throw in the towel and make the decision to give up on a lost cause.

While the couple may have had a typical ending scenario, I was more thrilled for them to find their HEA than I am most couples. Kennedy and Nate dug into my heart, and I wanted to see it work out so much that I was waiting with bated breath for most of the book. The character development in this book is astounding. The couple both make huge strides in their relationship, as well as their personal lives. In true Jennifer Probst fashion this book will tug on your heart strings and get you hot and bothered. For me, this is a must-read! I cannot wait for Arilyn's story and I HAVE to know what's going on with Gen! I'm so excited for this series to continue :)

Happy Reading!

*ARC provided by the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review*

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REVIEW + GIVEAWAY ~Beyond Me by Jennifer Probst~

Title: Beyond Me
Author: Jennifer Probst
Series: Sex on the Beach
Release Date: March 4, 2014

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

CAN FUN IN THE SUN TURN INTO LASTING LOVE?

Spring break in Key West with my besties was supposed to be casual fun. But I never expected to meet James Hunt. Sex and frolic? Yes! A relationship? No. But his hot blue eyes and confident manner drew me in. And when he let me see the man behind the mask, I fell hard, foolishly believing there could be a future for us. Of course I never considered our relationship might be based on lies…or that his betrayal could rock my foundation and make me question everything I believed in…

OR WILL A LIFE BUILT ON LIES RUIN EVERYTHING?

The moment I saw Quinn I knew I had to have her. She hooked me with her cool eyes and don’t touch me attitude. I had it all, money, social status, and looks. I could get any girl I wanted…until her. When my friends challenged me with a bet to get her into bed by the end of the week, I couldn’t pass it up. But sex wasn’t supposed to turn into love. She wasn’t supposed to change me, push me, and make me want more for myself. She wasn’t supposed to wreck me in all ways. And now, if I can’t turn my lies into truth, I just might lose her forever…

*Sigh* I love this novella, and I can't wait to read the companion books. This new adult story has everything I wanted- angst, love, scorching sex, and a heartwarming story. This is a quick, and fun read that had me needing and wanting more. I couldn't wait to read Cassie and Mac's stories because I knew I would love them just as much as I loved Quinn's.

Beyond Me starts out with three best friends Quinn, Cassie and Mackenzie heading off to Key West for Spring Break. They're not there for the usual MO. Mackenzie has made them all promise to get laid this spring break, and let loose. Quinn is dragging her feet until she locks eyes with James across a room. A little corny? Yes, but hell there's no judgment here because the corniness is soon counteracted with the hottest of sex and the sweetest of stories. James and Quinn can't get enough of each other. They find it all too easy to share their thoughts, and fears. Yet, the end of the week is always looming above them. Through a series of very frustrating and misunderstood actions James and Quinn find themselves alone and wondering how it all went to hell so quickly.

James is quite simply, perfect. Or as perfect as a man can be. He has his flaws but, he is so undeniably sweet, yet with a filthy mind, which I happen to LOVE. Quinn, is a responsible, giver type. Always thinking of others. Until she meets James. He makes her let loose and teaches her it's okay to be selfish sometimes. I think these two learned so much from each other. The imprint they left on one another goes much deeper than chemistry and a few piping hot rounds in the bedroom. And the end *cue swooning*, ah the end is what I live and breath for as a romance reader. The quintessential perfect, for now, ending. Beyond Me is a perfect, quick, fun read. And I am desperate for more from Quinn and James in future and I hope Ms. Probst feels the same way. I feel like they have more story to be told! The best part is that you can start with any book in the Sex on the Beach series because the story lines all happen parallel to one another. Since I got glimpses of Cassie and Mac's stories you better believe I already one clicked those bad boys and they're next in my TBR pile!

Happy Reading!
*ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review*

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OTHER BOOKS IN THE SEX ON THE BEACH SERIES

Title: Between Us
Author: Jen McLaughlin
Series: Sex on the Beach
Release Date: March 4, 2014

I’m just a girl…

I’m a famous country star who’s spent her life cultivating a good girl persona to avoid bad press, but I’ve reached my limit. I’m going away for spring break with my two best friends from college, and we’ve vowed to spend the vacation seeking out fun in the sun—along with some hot, no-strings-attached sex. The only thing I needed was the perfect guy, and then I met Austin Murphy. He might be totally wrong for me, but the tattooed bad boy is hard to resist. When I’m in his arms, everything just feels right.

And I’m just a guy…

I’m just a bartender who lives in Key West, stuck in an endless cycle of boredom. But then Mackenzie Forbes, America’s Sweetheart herself, comes up to me and looks at me with those bright green eyes…and everything changes. She acts like she’s just a normal girl and I’m just a normal guy, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. My past isn’t pretty, you know. I did what I had to do to survive, and she’d run if she learned the truth about my darkness. But with her, I’m finally realizing what it’s like to be alive. To laugh, live, and be happy.

All good things must come to an end…

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Title: Before You
Author: Jenna Bennett
Series: Sex on the Beach
Release Date: March 4, 2014

It’s all fun and games

I had a simple plan for spring break.

Sun, sand, and a hot guy. Sex on the beach, with no strings attached.

A chance to get rid of this pesky virginity once and for all.

And when I met Tyler McKenna, I thought I had it made.

Until someone gets hurt

But then girls started turning up at Key West landmarks. Girls who looked like me, but with one crucial difference: They’d all been drugged and relieved of their virginity.

The virginity I still have. The virginity Ty refuses to take.

And now I’ve begun to wonder whether there isn’t more to him than meets the eye.

Suddenly, sex on the beach doesn’t sound so good anymore…

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ARC REVIEW ~Searching for Someday by Jennifer Probst~

Title: Searching for Someday
Author: Jennifer Probst
Series: Searching For #1
Release Date: November 26, 2013

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

Kate has given up on love—at least for herself. She is both blessed and cursed with the ability to sense a romantic connection between two people—a gift that her family passed down for generations. When Kate launches her own matchmaking company, Kinnection, with her two best friends in a cozy New York town, she has to put aside her own romantic disasters to make her business a success.

But when a furious man stalks into her office and accuses her business of being a scam, Kate is given the ultimate challenge to prove herself. Slade puts himself in her hands and asks Kate to find him love. Enraged at his arrogance but stubbornly eager to prove herself, Kate agrees, dedicating herself to the journey of finding him love...only to find herself falling for him along the way.

Searching for Someday was a great reminder of why I love Jennifer Probst's books so much. She can spin a mix of eclectic, hilarious and steamy aspects into a fabulous book. Searching for Someday is a loosely tied spin-off of Probst's Marriage to a Billionaire series. While this series introduces a new set of characters, that I cannot wait to read about, we also get a glimpse of our previous couples :) And the main link between them all is the book of love spells. A book that enables the current owner to make a list of characteristics she wants her perfect man to have and then chant a spell in hopes of finding said perfect man. Which is exactly what down in her love-luck, Kate, did as a last ditch effort to bring herself love and not just everyone around her. Kate and her two best friends own a dating service. And while they mostly operate on their brains and savvy business ideas, Kate also helps out with her witchy powers. She is able to feel the spark when two people are meant to be, and more than once she has found the fated other half of her current date/boyfriend. So, Kate has become exhausted finding everyone else love while she stays single. She makes a deal to just throw herself into her work and give up on ever finding herself a husband.

Enter Slade, in a rage, and throwing insults and accusations at Kate. He believes she's nothing but a con artist out to steal from his sister. So the two butt heads from minute one. Kate is dead set on proving Slade wrong by finding him his own true love- or at least a life companion, because this jaded divorce lawyer does not believe in love. Only one problem, despite his distaste for her profession, Slade can't help but feel a magnetic attraction to Kate. Through a series of up and down events these two will fight tooth and nail against their fate. But when a little bit of magic is involved there are always consequences. Will Kate and Slade suffer at the hand of those consequences or give in to a love they don't believe can exist?

Slade is my type of guy. He is hot, successful and once he falls, he falls hard. But then there's the flip side of him being so frustratingly stubborn, that I would have to curb my urge to smack him on an hourly basis. Kate, bless her heart, as some of the same tendencies. Once she finds what she's been looking for she throws up every excuse not to take it. But no matter the level of their stubbornness Kate and Slade can't keep their hands of one another. So much, to the point that they almost cause irreparable damage emotionally to one another. It was a lot of back and forth between the two. But, their weakness for one another was just too strong to overcome sometimes. Truthfully, this was Probst's best book yet. I could feel the raw emotion between the characters and still had times where I was laughing at their antics. And while I was completely enthralled in Kate and Slade's story, I absolutely cannot wait for Gen's story! The glimpses of the secondary stories kept my attention just as much as the main story. Overall, this is a fantastic read! Also, just a note here- I would not categorize these books as paranormal. They have very minor magic aspects but, are still mostly contemporary.

Happy Reading!
*ARC provided by the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review*

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