Guest Reviews: Never Again by Theresa Paolo, While Beauty Slept by Elizabeth Blackwell and Where My Heart Breaks by Ivy Sinclair

Jessica is here again to help me put a dent in my TBR pile! Today, she's reviewing Never Again, While Beauty Slept and Where My Heart Breaks.

Goodreads Summary:

Just when she had finally moved on…
…He moved back.

When college freshman Liz Wagner hears her ex's voice for the first time since he moved clear across the freaking country, she does what any respectable girl would do: Dive into the girls' bathroom.

Zach Roberts—the Zach Roberts—is back. And he’s everywhere Liz looks—infiltrating her friend group, buddy-buddy with her brother. It’s enough to ruin college altogether. But what choice does she have but to put on a happy face and pretend he didn't leave her vulnerable and alone in a pile of emotional wreckage?

Pretending works, until tragedy strikes and the only person available for comfort is the one person she wants to stay away from. When Zach turns out not to be the jerk she convinced herself he was, but the boy she used to love, Liz needs to decide whether to open her heart again to the boy who tore it out.

Publication Date: October 15, 2013

Jessica's Thoughts:

3 stars. The writing was good, but Liz was annoying going back and forth with Zach and letting Joe walk all over her. I didn't see the part with Josh coming, that was a surprise, but the rest was pretty predictable.

Goodreads Summary:

A beautiful princess lies in a sleep so deep it is close to death. Was Sleeping Beauty revived by a prince's kiss? What really happened in that tower so long ago?

While Beauty Slept re-imagines the legend through the lens of historical fiction, telling the story as if it really happened. A Gothic tale of suspense and ambition, love and loss, it interweaves the story of a royal family and the servants who see behind the glamorous facade, following the journey of a young woman as she lives out a destiny that leads her to the brink of death.

Publication Date: February 20, 2014

Jessica's Thoughts:

5 stars. I loved this book and I would have read through it sooner without taking a break, but life got in the way. Lol. The characters and attention to detail was fantastic and the story was just so beautifully written. I can't wait to add this one to my collection.

Goodreads Summary:

If there were a course in screwing up your life, Kate Spivey would get an A+.

Trust is in short supply for Kate at the start of the summer before her senior year of college. Her parents sentenced her to spend it under the watchful eye of her aunt at the famous Willoughby Inn. It was further proof that she was a prisoner in, and not the decision maker of, her life. Nothing she does is good enough to prove that she learned from the mistakes of her past.

Almost immediately, Kate finds that her new summer home holds another person who understands the unfairness of her situation better than most. Reed Black has had his own share of tragedy and regrets, but instead of trying to fight his reputation, he embraced it.

Sparks fly between Kate and Reed, but his mixed signals remind Kate that she needs to watch her step. He is one temptation she can't afford to indulge in, no matter how strong her attraction to him. If she isn't careful, she'll lose more than her heart.

Publication Date: August 29, 2013

Jessica's Thoughts:

4 stars. The writing was great, the characters enjoyable, and the story was just plain sweet. I liked that there wasn't any unnecessary drama and it just showed you can have a sweet story in and of itself. I didn't give it 5 stars, but only because as sweet as it was, it's not a book I feel compelled to rush right out and buy for my shelves.

Thanks to the publishers for copies of these books for review!