Beautiful by Christina Lauren | Book Review

Beautiful by Christina Lauren 

Reading Group: M for Mature

Personal Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Given Summary: A FREE-SPIRITED GIRL IN NEED OF A BREAK.
A MAN WEIGHED DOWN BY RESPONSIBILITY.
A ROAD TRIP VACATION WHERE ALL BETS ARE OFF.
OH, AND A LOT OF WINE.

After walking in on her boyfriend shagging another girl in their place, Pippa Bay Cox ditches London for the States to go on a drunken road trip with Ruby Miller and some of her Beautiful friends.

Scaling the career ladder is the default way to deal with heartbreak—and to just deal—for Jensen Bergstrom. Absolutely buried by his drive and workload, he rarely takes time for himself. But when his sister Hanna convinces him to join the gang on a two-week wine tour, he has a rare moment of cutting loose. Of course, it’s only once he’s committed that he realizes the strange girl he met briefly on the plane is coming along, too. She might be too much for him…or he might realize his life has become too small and needs her to make it bigger, crazier.

With this circle of friends there’s always something going on: from Chloe and Sara’s unexpected personality swaps to Will’s new domestic side to Bennett’s text message barrage and George’s own happily-ever-after. In short, their adventures in love, friendship, and hilarity are nothing short of Beautiful.

Cover: The cover of this book is your typical Beautiful Series cover with the man who's image gets cut off at the face.  However, the binding of this book is orange, not black which always reminds me of the Wild Seasons books. 

My Review: You guys all know how much I love Christina Lauren books and this one was no exception.  Jensen and Pippa seem to be polar opposites, but somehow they're able to make it work.  In essence, this is your typical Christen Lauren book: hook up, admit real feelings, break up over something stupid, get back together, live happily ever after.  However, this book does that while incorporating all of the other Beautiful Series cast more than any of the previous books.  Jensen and Pippa are on vacation with some of them, Bennett is at home freaking out because Chloe's being too nice, and Max and Sara are aren't in it too much, but they're talked about and make a few appearances.  This story also takes place in new England and Jensen lives in Boston, which is where I'm from and I always love when books take place in Boston.  The one thing that made me a little sad was that Jensen didn't have a nickname for Pippa.  In all of the other books the boys came up with nicknames for the girls: Chloe was Mills, Sara was Petal, Hannah was Plum, Ruby was Darling/Dove (which I know isn't a specific nickname but it's something), and then in the Wild Seasons Mia was Cherise, Harlow was (Ginger)Snap, Lola was Lola Love/Pet, and London was Logan.  It came to be something I looked forward too, so I was a little disappointed there was no nickname for Pippa, but it doesn't change my opinion of the book.  This story was great with its meddling family, exes, and vacation vs. real life elements that I think a lot of people can relate to.  I loved the epilogues!  I think it was such a nice way to end everyone's stories and I loved that a lot of them were in the point of view of the boys because for some reason that I can't describe I always like reading the male POV better.  I'm sad to see that both the Wild Season and Beautiful Series are over now, but I am very excited to see what Christina Lauren comes up with next!

Click to stay connected:

Main Twitter: @juliann_guerra

Second Twitter: @writerjewels

Instagram: juliann_guerra

Second Instagram: writerjewels

Tumblr: juliann-guerra

Goodreads: Juliann Guerra

Wattpad: @writerjewels

Pinterest: Juliann Guerra

Spotify: juliann.guerra

Bloglovin: Juliann Guerra

Beautiful Funeral by Jamie McGuire Predictions

For those who don't know, I love Jamie McGuire's books.  My favorites of her's are definitely the ones in the Beautiful Series and the Maddox Brothers Series, and she has a new one coming out tomorrow called Beautiful Funeral.

I am really excited about this book because I know it's going to be amazing, but I'm also nervous because I don't know who's going to die.  I know whoever it is I'm going to be upset, and I've been trying to figure it out.  I decided to jot down my thought process to who I think it's going to be.

Travis & Abby ~ Neither of these two can die.  Plain and simple.  They started the whole series and people (Me) would have a field day if either of them died.  However, it would definitely have the biggest reaction from the readers.  They also have three kids at this point and it would just be mean to kill one of them off, Jamie.

Trenton & Cami ~  I will be so sad if either of these two die because I loved them so much.  They were so cute and my favorite out of the Brothers Series.  However, they didn't have an epilogue in Beautiful Oblivion so that makes me nervous.  But I do know that there is going to be a sequel to this book which makes me think that it won't be one of them.  Of course, that book could start before one of them dies and end after, but I just don't think it's going to.

Thomas & Liis ~  Honestly, I wouldn't be completely brokenhearted if one of these two died.  It would be sad because they do have a kid, but neither of these two were my favorite.

Taylor & Falyn ~ Tyler and Fayln were adorable and they have two kids and I just don't want either of them to be killed.

Tyler & Ellie ~ Taylor makes me nervous because there isn't an epilogue at the end of Beautiful Burn and this happened:

"Wow.  That was intense.  I don't know what I would have done if something happened to Taylor.  That makes us three-and-oh the past couple of years."
"What do you mean?"
"Taylor, Trent, and Travis have all and close calls."
[Ellie] buried [her] face into Tyler's neck.  "It's not your turn."
"Well it damn sure ain't Tommy's turn..."

Is that some type of foreshadowing????  Also, he's wrong.  Thomas and Liis got shot and both of them ended up in the hospital.  And Shepley and America got caught in a tornado.  Everyone but Tyler has had close calls.

Shepley & America ~ Although they are part of the Maddox family, Shepley is the cousin so I don't think it's going to be either of them.

I have a gut feeling that it's one of the boys and not one of the girls.  And if it is one of the girls, it's going to be Abby, but I just don't think McGuire is going to kill her off.

Also, the whole reason this is happening is because Travis killed Benny.  So for the mob to get back at the family they plan on killing one of them.  It doesn't really make sense for the mob to target Taylor, Tyler, Trenton, or Shepley because they have nothing to do with it.  It makes sense for Travis or Thomas to be killed because they're the reason that Benny is dead and because they're federal agents.  If you want to send a message, you kill a fed.

However, I think they're going to kill Jim Maddox.  He's the patriarch of the entire family and his death would hurt the entire family.  Also, everyone would be said to read that Jim dies, but it wouldn't be the same as if one of the boys were killed.  No one is emotionally attached to Jim the way they are to the other's because he didn't have a story about him and his wife.

I think that in this story all of the secrets come out and maybe Tyler gets hurt, but ultimately Jim is the one who ends up dead.  Or McGuire could totally throw us for a loop and maybe the death is faked or it's someone I didn't want it to be.

Beautiful Funeral comes out tomorrow and I've had mine on preorder since the beginning of June so hopefully it comes tomorrow, but it's saying the 18th.  My review will be up next Tuesday most likely so we can all cry together and figure out if I was right or wrong.

Who do you think it will be?  Are you as excited/nervous as I am to find out?

You can click below to read the reviews I wrote for some of the Maddox Brother's Series.  Beautiful Disaster, Walking Disaster, Beautiful Wedding, and Beautiful Oblivion I read before I started blogging, but they're amazing as well and if you haven't read them you definitely should!

Smile!  I'll talk to you soon!xxx

Beautiful Boss by Christina Lauren | Book Review

Beautiful Boss by Christina Lauren 

Reading Group: M for Mature

Personal Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Given Summary: The ninth work in the New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling series that started with Beautiful Bastard. In this novella, Will Sumner and Hanna Bergstrom (from Beautiful Player) find that a wedding and everlasting love were just the beginning.

One Player tamed. One nerd girl satisfied. And one more major life decision to make. When Will fell for Hanna, her quirky sense of humor and fierce dedication to her career were part of the attraction. (Not to mention her coy newbie attitude toward sex and her willingness to let him teach her everything.) But when the job offers start rolling in for her—and oh, they do—Hanna has trouble deciding what she wants, where they should live, and how much she should burden Will with the decision. Magic between the sheets is only one part of a relationship...getting on the same page is quite another altogether.

Cover: This cover is a classic Christina Lauren novella cover with a girl drawn on it, but the eyes not shown. 

My Review: I don't know if any of you truly understand how excited I have been for this novella since it was announced.  I went to Barnes & Noble the day it was released and sat and read the entire thing.  And I was not disappointed.  Will and Hannah are my favorite couple from the Beautiful Series so reading another story about them living the newlywed life.  Hannah is a super smart girl who can have a job anywhere she wants it, but deciding where to live is a challenging task.  She tries to do it all on herself, which probably wasn't the best idea.  Sure Will can do his job from anywhere in the country, but he still doesn't want to move anywhere in the country.  However, it's a fight neither of them want to have so they ignore it until it almost tears them apart.  And a world without Will and Hannah living happily ever after is not one that should exist, even if it is fictional.  They decide to move to Boston (A fantastic choice, but I am a little biased) and continue their life together in The City Upon A Hill, happily ever after.

My Review:

Stay Connected:

Main Twitter: juliann_guerra

Second Twitter: writerjewels

Main Instagram: juliann_guerra

Second Instagram: writerjewels

Tumblr: juliann-guerra

Goodreads: Juliann Guerra

Wattpad: writerjewels

Pinterest: Juliann Guerra

Spotify: juliann.guerra

Bloglovin: Juliann Guerra

Blogger: Juliann Guerra 

Christina Lauren | Author Appreciation

Okay, so I'm not going to lie to you guys, I didn't have/make time to read a book this week.  It just went by too fast and all of a sudden it's Tuesday.  I thought about writing a review about a book I've already read, but then I thought that that would be cheating and if I start doing that I might continue to do that and I would never reach my GoodReads Reading Challenge (I'm trying to read 50 books in 2015).  So I have decided to write an Author Appreciation post instead.  Today I appreciate Christina Lauren.

The Bio from their website:

Yes, there are two of us! Lauren (on the left) and Christina (on the right).

Christina Lauren is the combined pen name of long-time writing partners/besties/soulmates/brain-twins Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings. The coauthor duo writes both Young Adult and Adult Fiction, and together has produced ten New York Times bestselling novels. Their books have been translated into 28 languages.

So basically these two women met over the internet, wrote a Twilight fanfic-turned-novel together, and now continue to write fantastic novels together.  They have two series between all ten adult books; The Beautiful Series and the Wild Seasons.  However, in their last novel, Beautiful Secret, the two series crossed courses.  

Once you read a few of their novels you do notice a pattern in their writing: Boy and girl meet, boy and girl have sex numerous times, boy and girl finally admit they love each other, boy and girl get into a fight, boy and girl break up, boy and girl make up, boy and girl live happily ever after.  However, at the same time each story is very different.  I actually love that they are able to take a similar storyline and create multiple different stories.  It reminds us that no two people go through the same situation.

I also love that all of the characters are friends.  It makes it fun when you're reading a novel about Sara and Max and you wonder what's going on with Will and Hanna since you left off in their novel.  And yes, you get a little bit of information from Sara and Max's point of view, but you also know there is stuff they don't know and can't share.  It's also interesting because if there is someone single in the novel you wonder when that person is going to get a novel and what that story is going to be.

I shared these books with a friend from school and we would be up texting each other about them really late at night.  Talking about our favorite characters, our favorite cute scenes, and our favorite funny scenes.  Christina Lauren has a very impressive gift of being able to have these romantic novels that contain a lot of sex, but still has moments where the characters are just normal people, joking around with friends or being supper cute with their partners without having sex (Sometimes that overlaps, though)

They also have a Young Adult novel Sublime that is published and The House which comes out in October.  Sublime is unlike any other book I've read.  It is a romantic novel, but in a way that it can be for young adults.

Even their website is fun.  It contains extra writings and sneak peeks.  A bunch of little things to hold you over when you're going through withdrawals and not so patiently waiting for the next book to be published.  I do wish there was a "Coming Soon" section, but I'll take what I can get!

And they're on Wattpad!  These girls do it all!  They have one story on the website and it's not super long, but it is super good.

Christina Lauren is such a talented author (it's confusing because it's two people, but because they have one pen-name it's singular pronouns and stuff) that can make every story make you wish it was your story.  I can read a Christina Lauren book in a day, no matter what size.  They just captivate me and I have to keep reading.  Then, when I finish, I wish I wasn't.

Thank you Christina Lauren and keep doing what you do!

Smile!  I'll talk to you soon!xxx

Stay Connected:

Main Twitter: juliann_guerra

Second Twitter: writerjewels

Instagram: juliann_guerra

Tumblr: juliann-guerra

Goodreads: Juliann Guerra

Wattpad: writerjewels

Pinterest: Juliann Guerra

Spotify: juliann.guerra

Bloglovin: Juliann Guerra

Blogger: Juliann Guerra 

Beautiful Sacrifice by Jamie McGuire | Book Review

Beautiful Sacrifice by Jamie McGuire

Reading Group Rating: Slightly Mature, it's under New Adult.  However, this is the third novel in this Maddox Brother's Series and the 6th book of the beautiful books so you've probably already read those and now what to expect here.

Personal Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Given Summary: Falyn Fairchild can walk away from anything. Already leaving behind her car, her education, and even her parents, the daughter of the next governor of Colorado is back in her hometown, broke and waiting tables for the Bucksaw Café. After every shift, Falyn adds to her shoebox of cash, hoping to one day save enough to buy her a plane ticket to the only place she can find forgiveness: Eakins, Illinois. 

The moment Taylor Maddox is seated in Falyn’s section at the Bucksaw, she knows he’s trouble. Taylor is charming, breaks promises, and gorgeous even when covered in filth—making him everything Falyn believes a hotshot firefighter to be. Falyn isn’t interested in becoming another statistic, and for a Maddox boy, a disinterested girl is the ultimate challenge. 

Once Falyn learns where Taylor calls home, everything changes. In the end, Maddox persistence is met with Falyn’s talent for leaving, and for the first time, Taylor may be the one to get burned.

Cover: This cover certainly matches all of McGuire's other covers because it has the feather theme going through it.  However this one is different because it's burning.  I think the flames have something to do with the fact that the book talks about the sacrifices people make in the book, especially Falyn.  However I think it could also be because Taylor fights wildfires so that's just part of who he is.  It will be interesting to see what Tyler's book cover is as he and Taylor are twins and work together.

My Review: I loved this novel.  I loved getting to know another brother and seeing how he messes up with the girl.  I loved the plot twists and how so much of this book is dependent on fate.  I love that!  And how everything works out in the end.  I'm such a sucker for those types of books because I believe that their is some truth to it.  Where you end up is where you're supposed to be.  I also loved that even though Olive's biological father is never mentioned in great detail, he is in the book.  He comes into the restaurant with his family and as he leaves he says to Falyn that he's sorry for everything.

The only thing that I wish McGuire elaborated on was the fact that at the beginning of the novel Falyn uses her cell phone to listen to music as she cleans, but then she says later that she doesn't have one.  Does she have a physical phone but only uses it for music?  My guess is that that part was written and then somewhat forgotten about as McGuire continued so she didn't think to explain it.  

My favorite thing of all of the Beautiful Books is how they intersect.  There was a comment in Thomas' book about how excited Taylor was when Falyn got to the hotel on St. Thomas, but as a reader you weren't 100% sure why he was so excited.  I just assumed he was excited to see her.  I would of never guessed he was afraid she wasn't coming.  And there is so much romantic irony when it comes to what the brother's know about each other versus what the reader knows.  The only brother who hasn't broken his promise to stay out of a dangerous line of work is Trenton.  However, none of them know that yet.  It's also interesting that it's Trent because he was the one who lived with his dad the longest and seemed to have the closest relationship.   There are secrets within all of the books.  Who would have thought Olive would be such an important character?  

My dream for these books is that all of them (Beautiful Disaster, walking Disaster, Beautiful wedding, Beautiful Oblivion, Beautiful Redemption, Beautiful Sacrifice and the rest to come if they apply) are turned into movies and filmed simultaneously.  That would be awesome wouldn't it?  Because they all overlap so it would be dumb to film one at a time.  Just film them all at once and release them one at a time!  How do we make that happen?

Smile!  I'll talk to you soon!xxx

Stay Connected:

Main Twitter: juliann_guerra

Second Twitter: writerjewels

Instagram: juliann_guerra

Tumblr: juliann-guerra

Goodreads: Juliann Guerra

Wattpad: writerjewels

Pinterest: Juliann Guerra

Spotify: juliann.guerra

Bloglovin: Juliann Guerra

Blogger: Juliann Guerra 

Beautiful Secret | Book Review

Beautiful Secret by Christina Lauren

Reading Group Rating: M for Mature

Personal Rating: 5 out of 5

Given Summary: When Ruby Miller’s boss announces he’s sending her on an extended business trip to New York City, she’s shocked. As one of the best and brightest young engineers in London, she knows she’s professionally up to the task. The part that’s throwing her is where she’ll be spending a month up close and personal working alongside—and staying in a hotel with—Niall Stella, her firm’s top urban planning executive and The Hottest Man Alive. Despite her ongoing crush, Ruby is certain Niall barely knows she’s alive…until their flirty overnight flight makes him sit up and take notice.

Not one for letting loose and breaking rules, recently divorced Niall would describe himself as hopeless when it comes to women. But even he knows outgoing California-girl Ruby is a breath of fresh air. Once she makes it her mission to help the sexy Brit loosen his tie, there’s no turning back. Thousands of miles from London, it’s easy for the lovers to play pretend. But when the trip is over, will the relationship they’ve built up fall down?

Cover: This cover is actually different from the other novels in The Beautiful Series.  Usually the whole cover is black and white and only the title is in color.  This cover looks more like the novellas in the series and The Wild Seasons covers.  Other than that though it's a typical Christina Lauren cover with a body and no face.  I actually like the French cover of this novel a little bit better because the british flag is on his suit and not over his mouth. 

My Review:  Christina Lauren are back with a new novel to add to their brag worthy collection.  And this one is the first novel to bring together both The Beautiful Series and The Wild Seasons.  It also introduces London as a more major character than she was in Dirty Rowdy Thing so it will be interesting to see who her character becomes!  (P.S. There is a London and Luke (if his name sounds familiar it's because he is Mia's ex) book on it's way, but first Lola and Oliver!!!  I'm so excited!)  In a way this novel was just like Christina Lauren's others:  Boy and girl hook up, boy and girl say they love each other, boy and girl get in fight, boy and girl break up, boy and girl get back together.  However, like always, the authors are able to put a spin on Ruby and Niall's story and it's fabulous!  Ruby is so funny and Niall is so serious, together they make quite the pair.  They had so many funny moments together.  However, my favorite part of the entire novel is at the end when Ruby goes to Niall's apartment.  She has a huge speech to say that she wants to get back together, but she ends up saying "I just really really love you."  I DIED!!  It was the cutest thing ever!  This story was fantastic and I think it was the perfect way to intertwine the two series and introduce London as a future character.

Have any of you read this novel?  What did you think?

Smile!  I'll talk to you soon!xxx

Stay Connected:

Main Twitter: juliann_guerra

Second Twitter: writerjewels

Instagram: juliann_guerra

Tumblr: juliann-guerra

Goodreads: Juliann Guerra

Wattpad: writerjewels

Pinterest: Juliann Guerra

Spotify: juliann.guerra

Bloglovin: Juliann Guerra

Blogger: Juliann Guerra 

Beautiful Redemption by Jamie McGuire | Book Review

Beautiful Redemption by Jamie McGuire

Click Cover to Purchase

Reading Group Rating: M for Mature

Personal Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Given Summary: No-nonsense Liis Lindy is an agent of the FBI. Deciding she is married only to her job, she breaks off her engagement and transfers from Chicago to the field office in San Diego. She loves her desk. She is committed to her laptop. She dreams of promotions and shaking hands with the director after cracking an impossible case. 

Special Agent in Charge Thomas Maddox is arrogant, unforgiving, and ruthless. He is tasked with putting away some of the world’s toughest criminals, and he is one of the best the Bureau has to offer. Though, as many lives as he’s saved, there is one that is beyond his reach. Younger brother Travis is faced with prison time for his involvement in a basement fire that killed dozens of college students, and the media want a conviction. Travis’s only savior is his unusual tie to the mob. In a deal that will spare his brother, Thomas has agreed to recruit Travis into the FBI.

Liis is stubborn, defiant, and yet somehow softens Thomas’s rough edges, making her the perfect agent to accompany him to the ceremony. Posing as a couple, they must travel to Travis & Abby’s beach vow renewal and give him the news, but when the pretending ends, she finds herself wondering if they were pretending at all. 

In the second installment of the Maddox Brothers books, experience firsthand the mysterious world of the elusive Thomas Maddox, and how good love can be when you’re not the first, but the last.

Cover: For all of the Beautiful Series covers, they involve some animal.  A butterfly for Travis, a peacock for Trent, and an eagle for Thomas.  I think the eagle was chosen here because it's such a powerful bird, but it also has a sense of freedom to it, both of these traits can describe Thomas and Liis.

Summary: Liis Lindy goes to the bar across from her apartment the night before her new job and brings a very attractive man home with her.  However, the next morning she discovers that that man is her new boss, Thomas Maddox.  She was brought on as a translator because Maddox needs her to double check the work of the guy they already have.  He is purposefully messing up the translations.  Thomas and Liis have a weird connection-they slept together, they work together, he lives directly above her, he drives her to work-that causes them to grow close.  However, they have bigger problems.  Travis Maddox is at risk of going to jail for 20 years because of his involvement in an on campus fire that killed hundreds.  The alibi his wife, Abby, tried to come up with didn't work.  It's been a year and Thomas has to go to their vow renewal to try and get Travis to work undercover as a double agent with the FBI and Benny instead of him going to jail.  Thomas promised his mother that he would take care of his little brothers, but Travis promised to never lie to Abby.  But Trent also has plans for this weekend away.  He's going to propose to Cami, whom Thomas still loves.  But he also loves Liis.  A Maddox boy never falls out of love, he loves forever, but that's kind of difficult to explain to your girlfriend when you still love your ex-girlfriend.  When Thomas calls Liis "Cami" that's when she realizes that Thomas needs to be fully over Cami before he can love her.  At the end of the book Liis and Thomas are outside and the original translator comes and tries to shoot them.  He shoots Thomas through the back and the bullet exits him and goes into Liis' abdomen.  She wakes up in the hospital room next to Thomas.  Travis agreed to work with them.  The epilogue includes Thomas and Liis moving to DC, they are still dating and Liis is pregnant.        

My Review: Another great one!  Who couldn't love the Maddox brothers?  I like that it goes with the idea that when you break up with someone, but they're still apart of your life (and, ya know, marry your younger brother) it's hard to forget how much you cared about that person.  Especially the way things ended with Cami and Thomas.  He has to work extra hard to prove himself to Liis because he also has to prove himself to himself.  I also liked that Liis is a tough girl.  Now no girl in Jamie McGuire's novels are ever damsels in distress, but neither Cami nor Abby were trained to fire a gun by the FBI.    
The only thing that I didn't really like was the timing of the epilogue.  It's 11 years after Abby and Travis got married in Vegas, so 10 years after the vow renewal that Thomas and Liis went to.  They have been dating for 10 years and still aren't married?  Also, Thomas is the oldest brother and Travis is the youngest.  Even if all the boys are close in age, there would still be at least 4 years between them, but I think there is more than that (I can't remember if it says his age in the book.  Does anyone remember?).  No matter, he's in his late twenties, early thirties when the book starts, so he's in his late thirties early forties at its end.  I just wish it was a little sooner.  It's still a fantastic book.
I love how every Beautiful Series book is so different, but still the same.  Especially with the boys.  It's such a realistic example of a big family and I love it.

Smile!  I'll talk to you soon!xxx

Stay Connected:

Main Twitter: @juliann_guerra

Second Twitter: @writerjewels

Instagram: juliann_guerra

Tumblr: juliann-guerra

Goodreads: Juliann Guerra

Wattpad: @writerjewels

Pinterest: Juliann Guerra

Spotify: juliann.guerra

Bloglovin: Juliann Guerra

Beautiful Beloved by Christina Lauren | Book Review

Beautiful Beloved by Christina Lauren 

Click Cover to Purchase

Reading Group Rating: M for Mature

Personal Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Given Summary: The seventh work in the New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling series that started with the Beautiful Bastard, Beautiful Stranger, and Beautiful Player novels. Featuring all the Beautiful characters…plus one tiny new addition to the group.

In Beautiful Stranger, finance whiz Sara Dillon met the irresistibly sexy Brit, Max Stella, at a New York City club. Through the series we’ve watched them learn to balance commitment with their less than private brand of playfulness. In Beautiful Beloved, Max and Sara take it to the next step. But the question is: Will they be able to find a balance between the wild sexcapades they aren’t ready to retire, and the demands of parenthood that come along with their new Beautiful bundle of joy? Parenthood: it’s not for the weak of heart.

Cover: Keeping in tradition of their signature simple covers for their adult books, Christina and Lauren chose to capture a very pregnant Sara as their cover-girl.

Summary: Max and Sara are parents!!  And all they want is one night alone.  They try to have George babysit, but that date was a disaster.  Food was dropped, milk was produced and shown through Sara's dress, and the valet hit a pole.  So then they try Will, but Will is a bit nervous around small babies and keeps texting updates.  It's not until Niall gets there that Max and Sara get to go out and have some alone time.

My Review: I will never get over how funny Christina Lauren novella's are.  I feel like they take their main novels (Bastard, Stranger, Player) to introduce the characters and have a serious situation occurring through each, but they use their novellas (Bitch, Bombshell, Beginning, Beloved) to show just how funny this group of friends can be and I cannot get enough of it!
Sara and Max just want to go on a date!  But life as parents is so different and they just can't catch a brake!  This novella is super short, but definitely worth the read.  I love how this is how Niall Stella is introduced to the storyline as he is the main character of the upcoming novel Beautiful Secret.  This story does bypass Sara's pregnancy, Sara and Max's 'wedding,' and Annabel's birth which is kind of disheartening, but that's not what this story is about so that stuff would take too much time away from the fact that Max and Sara need a night out.   

Smile!  I'll talk to you soon!xxx

Stay Connected:

Main Twitter: @juliann_guerra

Second Twitter: @writerjewels

Instagram: juliann_guerra

Tumblr: juliann-guerra

Goodreads: Juliann Guerra

Wattpad: @writerjewels

Pinterest: Juliann Guerra

Spotify: juliann.guerra

Bloglovin: Juliann Guerra

Beautiful Beginning by Christina Lauren | Book Review

Beautiful Beginning by Christina Lauren 

Click cover to purchase

Reading Group Rating: M for Mature

Personal Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Given Summary: One beautiful bastard of a groom. The most beautiful bitch of a bride. A panty-ripping office hook-up turned true love everlasting. 

Wedding bells can’t chime soon enough for Chloe Mills and Bennett Ryan. Chloe, exasperated and stressed by all the last-minute to-dos, is on the verge of saying “I do” to eloping. For his part, Bennett’s so worried about being distracted by Chloe’s body that he makes a no-sex-until-the-wedding-night rule that only seems to be making things worse by continually backfiring on him. As their crazy families descend for the big day- only a few of them actually trying to be helpful- the fiery lovers are about to test whether the couple that argues together can keep it together long enough to exchange rings, and not just heated words.


Cover: Chloe in her wedding dress.  It's the only cover where you see the entire face of the person or at least from hairline to chin.

Summary: Here comes the bride... Chloe and Bennett are finally getting married and Chloe is going crazy.  She wants to elope, there's too much stress that comes with a wedding and family is coming out of the woodwork for this thing.  However, Bennett decides that he doesn't want to have sex until their wedding night to make it more special.  Chloe takes it as a challenge, doing whatever she can to break him.  Bennett also tells two of Chloe's aunts that Will would have sex with them and they follow him around the entire trip.  At the wedding rehearsal, Chloe gets mad when the officiant says man and wife instead of husband and wife, but because both of them are so worked up they start making out in front of everyone, and then again in the car ride to the rehearsal dinner.  At the dinner Chloe's aunts are hanging off of Will so he grabs the DJ's microphone, calls out Hanna's name, and then proposes.  That night Bennett is ready to break and have sex with Chloe, but the wedding party comes in and takes her away because the groom can't see the bride on the wedding day.  On the day of the wedding the original set up is flooded; Bennett picks up the dresses from the dry cleaners, but doesn't close the back of the van so they end up all over the highway (Sara's bridesmaid dress ending up with tire marks across the front of it); and his wedding band gets scratched.  But they do get married!  After the reception Bennett blind folds Chloe and brings her to the hotel they stayed at for the conference, the exact same room!

My Review: I legitimately laughed out loud reading this.  The parts where they would be fighting with each other just because they knew it would lead to kissing.  I also liked that it was Bennett who said they had to wait until marriage to have sex again, I feel like it's usually the opposite.  And then just as he's about to break, the wedding party takes Chloe out of the room for the night!  I also love how Will has to try to fight off the aunts and he ends up proposing to Hanna partly because of it.  It made me appreciate the epilogue of Beautiful Player more because if he had just proposed I would have been slightly confused and thought it was just an attempt to get the aunts away, but because he already hinted at it and Hanna already said she'd say yes it made the moment cuter.  (Speaking of: I am so excited to see how Hanna's family reacts to that.  I hope that comes up in a new book.)  Also, it was so cute that they had their wedding at the same place they finally came out and said they cared about each other.  I am such a sucker for things that incorporate things that have multiple meanings or special memories like that into another special moment!

Smile!  I'll talk to you soon!xxx

Stay Connected:

Main Twitter: @juliann_guerra

Second Twitter: @writerjewels

Instagram: juliann_guerra

Tumblr: juliann-guerra

Goodreads: Juliann Guerra

Wattpad: @writerjewels

Pinterest: Juliann Guerra

Spotify: juliann.guerra

Bloglovin: Juliann Guerra

Beautiful Player by Christina Lauren | Book Review

Beautiful Player by Christina Lauren 

Click cover to purchase

Reading Group Rating: M for Mature

Personal Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Given Summary: A bombshell bookworm. A chronic Casanova. And a lesson in chemistry too scandalous for school.

When Hanna Bergstrom receives a lecture from her overprotective brother about neglecting her social life and burying herself in grad school, she’s determined to tackle his implied assignment: get out, make friends, start dating. And who better to turn her into the sultry siren every man wants than her brother’s gorgeous best friend, Will Sumner, venture capitalist and unapologetic playboy?

Will takes risks for a living, but he’s skeptical about this challenge of Hanna’s…until the wild night his innocently seductive pupil tempts him into bed- and teaches him a thing or two about being with a woman he can’t forget. Now that Hanna’s discovered the power of her own sex appeal, it’s up to Will to prove he’s the only man she’ll ever need.

Cover: The cover depicts Will, wearing a pinstripe top rolled up to his elbows and a vest.  Like their other covers, you can't see the entirety of his face, which I personally love.

Summary: When Hanna's older brother tells her to contact his friend Will Sumner to get her out of the house and lab he accidentally sets the scene for Will Sumner and his sister to finally find love.  Hanna gets in contact with Will and they start going running every morning.  Will is no stranger to training for marathons and triathlons, but Hanna is no runner.  They talk as they run and Hanna is a girl with absolutely no filter.  She says whatever's on her mind and at first it really throws Will off, but he gets used to her eventually.  The two constantly call each other out in innuendos, their conversations are very much "That's What She Said" worthy.  Hanna asks Will to help her get laid, essentially.  However, when she brings him to a party, they decide showing is better than telling and that's the first they start getting to know each others bodies, let's say.  It doesn't take long for Will to fall for Hanna, but he has such a history with her family that he doesn't think he should have feelings for her.  Hanna goes on three dates with a boy named Dylan before deciding she wants Will, but he has a a schedule for the two girls he sleeps with.  Hanna quickly becomes close to Chloe, Bennett, Sara, and Max.  They all know that Will is head-over-heels for her and they all like her, but Hanna and Will never say they're dating.  Will comes home with Hanna for Easter, but on the way home Hanna sees a text one of Will's not girlfriends, Kitty, and realizes that this relationship means different things to them.  She starts to avoid him until the day of the half marathon that they do together.  Kitty is there and tells Hanna that she hasn't been with Will since February (pre bachelor party, which is right before he meets up with Hanna) and that he officially ended it with her.  After the race Hanna goes back to Will's place and apologizes for avoiding him.  They make up.  In the epilogue they're on the plane to Chloe and Bennett's wedding and Will tells Hanna he wants to propose to her.

My Review: Will and Hanna are my favorite couple out of the Beautiful Series!  I love that they don't break up, actually I love that Will doesn't let them break up.  Not that they were ever officially dating, but come on, they were dating.  He knows that Hanna must have interpreted something wrong and he gives her space, but never does he say they're broken up.  Hanna is so hilariously blunt and Will gets adorably jealous.  He never get annoyingly jealous like other characters in other books do sometimes, he doesn't try to talk Hanna out of anything she's doing, he just hates that she's doing it without him.  It's one of those classic 'I've known you forever, but I haven't seen you in a while and now I'm falling in love with you' stories, but Christina Lauren is able to put their own spin on it that hooks you in and makes you reread your favorite part (the epilogue when he hints at proposing to her on the plane even though they've only been dating for two/four months...swoon) over and over again.

Smile!  I'll talk to you soon!xxx

Stay Connected:

Main Twitter: @juliann_guerra

Second Twitter: @writerjewels

Instagram: juliann_guerra

Tumblr: juliann-guerra

Goodreads: Juliann Guerra

Wattpad: @writerjewels

Pinterest: Juliann Guerra

Spotify: juliann.guerra

Bloglovin: Juliann Guerra

Beautiful Bombshell by Christina Lauren | Book Review

Beautiful Bombshell by Christina Lauren

Reading Group Rating: M for Mature

Personal Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Given Summary: A beautiful bastard of a groom-to-be. A bachelor-party-crashing bride. And one unforgettable night on the Vegas strip.

When Bennett’s friends steal him away from Chloe for a weekend of shenanigans and strippers in Vegas, their first stop doesn’t exactly go as planned. Their scheme for a guys’ weekend completely derailed, Bennett and Max take every chance they get to rendezvous secretly with the women they love. But when the persistently single Will Sumner catches on, the pair realizes they need to team up with him instead of butting heads if they’re to escape for more sexy Vegas hookups. 

Beautiful Bastard’s Chloe Mills and Bennett Ryan are back for one last blazing prewedding hurrah- but if what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, they might not ever want to leave!


Cover: I'm assuming this cover is of Chloe, but it could be Sara.  My guess is Chloe because the book is about Bennett's bachelor party and he's marrying Chloe so it makes sense that she would be on the cover.

Summary: It's Valentine's Day! But Bennett is in Vegas for his Bachelor Party... oh... Bennet, Max, Henry, and Will are all very busy men and the only weekend they could all get away was Valentine's day weekend, which kinda stinks for Bennett and Max.  The novella starts with all of the boys in a club, one of Johnny's Clubs.  Remember him?  He's a friend of Max and Sara.  Anyway, Max arranges for Bennett to get a lap dance in one of the rooms.  Bennett complains and repeatedly sys he doesn't want to, but eventually gets peer pressured into going into the room.  He puts on a blindfold and gets a very uncomfortable lap dance.  THAT IS until he realizes that the dancer is actually Chloe. She and Sara came to Vega to crash the Bachelor Party and spend Valentine's Day with their boys.  Sara and Max also get it on in the club...A little bit different than Bennett and Chloe and with some viewers.  After that the night goes on with the boys doing whatever they can to ditch their two friends and meet up with the girls.  Bennett fakes a medical problem to have sex with Chloe in a casino bathroom.  Max steals a limo to meet Sara at a theater and have sex while the showgirls practiced a peep show.  Henry hardly notices because he spends his time gambling, but Will is a little sad that his friends are abandoning him to have sex with their fiancé/girlfriend.  Max decides that he and Bennett need to hire Will a prostitute to cheer him up, but a transvestite escort comes instead and Will is not exactly pleased.  The boys meet up with the girls at a casino and they all play the tables together.  Chloe even wins a few grand.  However, Will is still not over the whole being kissed by a transvestite thing so he hires some goons to make Bennett and Max feel like they're getting arrested, only coming clean when the boys are really sweating.  The book ends with Bennett coming back to his hotel room to find Chloe asleep.  They have sex, but they have a really cute conversation about how much they love each other and how excited they are to get married.

My Review:  Max and Bennett!!!  I love that it is only from their perspectives and neither of the girls.  This novella is so cute and simply funny.  These boys are the friends you want to have, always playing pranks on each other and having a good time.  I love that it takes place on Valentine's Day and that it's only on Valentine's Day.  The girls didn't crash the entire weekend, just one night.  I really liked that.  It would have been kind of annoying of them if they crashed the entire Bachelor Party.  The realisticness of Christina Lauren's characters is something I can't get over.  They're all normal people in love and they're all best friends.  I love it!


Smile!  I'll talk to you soon!xxx

Stay Connected:

Main Twitter: @juliann_guerra

Second Twitter: @writerjewels

Instagram: juliann_guerra

Tumblr: juliann-guerra

Goodreads: Juliann Guerra

Wattpad: @writerjewels

Pinterest: Juliann Guerra

Spotify: juliann.guerra

Bloglovin: Juliann Guerra

Beautiful Stranger by Christina Lauren | Book Review

Beautiful Stranger by Christina Lauren

Click cover to purchase

Reading Group Rating: M for Mature

Personal Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Given Summary: A charming British Playboy. A girl determined to finally live. And a secret liaison revealed in all too vivid color. Book two in the NYT Bestselling series. 

Escaping a cheating ex, finance whiz Sara Dillon's moved to New York City and is looking for excitement without a lot of strings attached. So meeting the irresistible, sexy Brit at a dance club should have meant nothing more than a night's fun. But the manner--and speed--with which he melts her inhibitions turns him from a one-time hookup and into her Beautiful Stranger.

The whole city knows Max Stella loves women, not that he's ever found one he particularly wants to keep around. Despite pulling in plenty with his Wall Street bad boy charm, it's not until Sara--and the wild photos she lets him take of her--that he starts wondering if there's someone for him outside of the bedroom.

Hooking up in places where anybody could catch them, the only thing scarier for Sara than getting caught in public is having Max get too close in private.

Cover:  This cover depicts Max Stella drinking his personal favorite, scotch.  He's dressed nice, but his jacket is slung over his shoulder.  I think this shows that he's more laid back than Bennett Ryan.

Summary:  Sara Dillon comes from a good family that owns Dillon's Department stores.  She was engaged to a Congressman Andrew Morton until that she discovered he had been cheating on her for their entire relationship.  She worked for Bennett Ryan in Chicago and is best friends with Chloe Mills.  After breaking up with Andy she decides to move to New York and work with them in the new building.  Once she is in New York Chloe and Julia decide to take her out.  They go to a club and Sara ends up having sex with a very attractive British stranger.  She soon discovers that this stranger is Max.  (Remember Max?  The Max whose estate Bennett used to propose to Chloe?  This is the same Max!!)  So they kind of pull a Bennett and Chloe and start having sex.  Surprised? No.  Except Sara likes to be watched when she's having sex...okay so not watched watched, but she likes having sex in places where they could be caught.  She also doesn't mind being photographed, as long as there are no faces.  So she makes a plan with Max that they can have sex every Friday anywhere Max wants to.  They have sex in a warehouse, a nightclub designed for people who enjoy being watched, lots of places except in a bed.  Max is a notorious playboy, but he falls in love with Sara.  When they have their arrangement, they're not dating, but they both have feelings for each other.  They have sex in Max's bed one night and declare that they love each other.  But then Max has to go on a business trip and his carryon is stole, containing his phone, computer, and SD card with photos of their naked body parts.  A photo is released to the press of Max and Sara having sex, but their faces aren't shown, and a photo of a different girl that was on Max's phone.  Sara, who just got out of a relationship where she was cheated on for seven years, doesn't really want to hear whatever excuse Max comes up with and she stops talking to him.  Bennett comes to Sara and tells her to hear Max out, remembering hat she was the one to not give up with Chloe when they were broken up and that just because Andy cheated on her doesn't mean that Max did.  The next week they go to a party at Max's and he and Sara talk.  The photo was a picture of Will's former lover.  Will is Max's business partner.  Will was making fun of Max because taking photos of lovers is apparently old news.  Sara apologizes, but Max dismisses her from his room, which is covered with the pictures he's taken.  She goes back to the party and wants to leave.  She feels awful for not letting Max explain earlier and thinks that she's ruined any relationship they could have had.  Max emerges from his bedroom and pushes Sara up against the wall to kiss her.  He then apologizes to the perry goers and says he hasn't seen his girlfriend in a while.  It's the first time they've introduced themselves as a couple.

My Review:  This novel is similar to Beautiful Bastard.  They meet, they have sex secretly, they fall in love, they decide to make it real, they get in a stupid fight, they breakup, they makeup, they get make together.  But they're not the exact same and I think it's because that is simply the storyline these authors like.  Plenty of other authors have tons of books with the same type of story.  I thought it was cute that Bennett was the one to tell Sara to go talk to max because Sara was the one who told him to get Chloe back.  I also like that they're only separated for a week, because Sara was overreacting a little so I'm glad she didn't shut him out for too long.  The storyline is cute and, if you're like me, you won't be able to put it down until you've read the last page.


Smile!  I'll talk to you soon!xx 

Stay Connected:

Main Twitter: @juliann_guerra

Second Twitter: @writerjewels

Instagram: juliann_guerra

Tumblr: juliann-guerra

Goodreads: Juliann Guerra

Wattpad: @writerjewels

Pinterest: Juliann Guerra

Spotify: juliann.guerra

Bloglovin: Juliann Guerra

Beautiful B*itch by Christina Lauren | Book Review

Beautiful Bitch by Christina Lauren

Click cover to purchase

Reading Group Rating: M for Mature

Personal Rating: 5 out 5 Stars

Given Summary: A combative relationship. A red-hot attraction. And no time to be alone together. 

Just when Chloe’s career starts to take off, Bennett wishes it would all slow down long enough to spend a wild night alone with his intern-cum-girlfriend. Preferably one in which he can show her he’s still the boss. 

After her continued refusals to take time off with him, Bennett can finally no longer take no for an answer. And so the couple find themselves with two plane tickets, one French villa, and a surprising conversation that, predictably, leaves them wrestling under the covers.

Picking up where Beautiful Bastard left off, Chloe Mills and Bennett Ryan continue their fiery love-hate relationship . . . and take it to the next level.


Cover:  This cover features Chloe wearing a suit jacket and tie, but also it appears to me that she's wearing shorts.  I think this shows that Chloe is able to work her butt off and be taken just as seriously as any man, but she can still be sexy.  And due to the fact that her and Bennett often get themselves into steamy situations, I think she does this combo pretty perfectly.

Summary:  Bennett and Chloe are back!  It's been a year since Bennett showed up at Chloe's proposal and they got back together.  Now, they hardly ever see each other and Bennett doesn't like it.  He decides to take Chloe away to stay at a friend of his, Max's, estate in France.  However because of work and moving from Chicago to New York, Chloe decides to go a day later.  Well, a day turns into a few days when her flight gets delayed and they are forced to be away from each other.  They've spent days without each other before because they both travel for work, but this time feels different.  They discover that they don't like being away from each other.  They never want to be away from each other again.  Bennett had gone to his mother's house before he left so he could pick up his grandmothers engagement ring.  When Chloe finally figures out what plane she's on she decides not to tell Bennett and surprise him instead.  She goes to the jewelry store in the airport to buy him an engagement ring.  When she gets to the house Bennett isn't there.  The cook sent him down to the florist to get his mopey self out of the house for a while.  While he's at the florist he realizes the cook actually sent him to meet the female florist, not realizing Chloe was on her way.  He gets back to the house and sees Chloe's suitcases and finds that she is in the shower.  When she gets out of the bathroom, they reunite and the entire speech Bennett has planned to propose goes out the window and he just says he wants to be married to her.  Chloe shows him that she was going to propose to him and makes a comment about him taking her moment.  In the end, she says yes.
This novel also has many flashbacks about the year that has passed between this book and Beautiful Bastard, including a steamy scene where they get caught having sex in Chloe's childhood room by her father and when they go to Bennett's family home as a couple for the first time and his mom says she's been waiting for them to get together.

My Review:  I loved this book.  I liked how it went back and forth between past and present, filling in the year since they got back together.  The story is about them going on vacation to get away from all the chaos, but they are only in France for the last chapter of the novel.  It's more about their journey than their actual trip.  I liked that, it was very "it's about the journey not the destination."  Plus, it was so Chloe and Bennett.  Having to work extra hard to relax.  


Smile!  I'll talk to you soon!xxx

Stay Connected:

Main Twitter: @juliann_guerra

Second Twitter: @writerjewels

Instagram: juliann_guerra

Tumblr: juliann-guerra

Goodreads: Juliann Guerra

Wattpad: @writerjewels

Pinterest: Juliann Guerra

Spotify: juliann.guerra

Bloglovin: Juliann Guerra

Beautiful B*stard by Christina Lauren | Book Review

Beautiful Bastard by Christina Lauren

Click cover to purchase

Book Rating: Definitely M for mature 

Personal Star Rating: 5 out of 5 stars 

Given Summary: An ambitious intern. A perfectionist executive. And a whole lot of name calling. 

Whip-smart, hardworking, and on her way to an MBA, Chloe Mills has only one problem: her boss, Bennett Ryan. He's exacting, blunt, inconsiderate—and completely irresistible. A Beautiful Bastard.

Bennett has returned to Chicago from France to take a vital role in his family's massive media business. He never expected that the assistant who'd been helping him from abroad was the gorgeous, innocently provocative—completely infuriating—creature he now has to see every day. Despite the rumors, he's never been one for a workplace hookup. But Chloe's so tempting he's willing to bend the rules—or outright smash them—if it means he can have her. All over the office. 

As their appetites for one another increase to a breaking point, Bennett and Chloe must decide exactly what they're willing to lose in order to win.

Originally only available online as The Office by tby789—and garnering over 2 million reads on fanfiction sites—Beautiful Bastard has been extensively updated for re-release.

te ne regrette rien...

Cover: This cover is much simpler than the Sublime cover that was essentially an entire summary of the book.  This cover has a drawing of Bennett Ryan, dressed to the nines of course.  I really like this cover.  It's classy.  I love when covers have people on them, but don't show their faces, I don't know why I just do.  I like coming up with my own vision of the character.

Summary: Chloe is interning for Bennett Ryan until she can get her Masters.  She has been his intern for a few months at the start of this novel.  The first chapter is where they have sex for the first time and it just continues from there; conference room, stairwell, changing room of a lingerie store, back of a car, cafe bathroom, Bennett's parent's bathroom.  However that's all their relationship is.  Chloe has been working for the Ryan's for years and Mrs. Ryan eventually tries to set her up with Joel, someone Bennett and his brother grew up with.  They never end up going out.  The relationship between Bennett and Chloe is a weird one, they are both somewhat possessive over each other, but they don't want to be in a relationship.  They both know that if they do and Chloe ends up rising in her career people will think it's because she slept with her boss.  They have to go to a conference together, where nobody knows about their strange relationship.  They end up spending a lot of time together in Chloe's hotel room.  They decide that they can make a real relationship work.  On the last day of the conference Bennett gets sick and can't go to a meeting.  Chloe goes for him and is really proud of herself.  Before they leave for the airport Chloe overhears Bennett talking to the man Chloe had the meeting with.  Bennett basically says that Chloe's meeting was just practice for her and he'll talk to the man professionally.  Chloe is humiliated, when they get back to Seattle, she quits her intern job and breaks up with Bennett.  Bennett finally comes clean to his father and brother about what was going on between them and is a wreck for the time they're broken up.  The day Chloe has to present her presentation to the board for her Masters degree, Bennett comes to the new company she works for and gives her the slides to the account she had when he was his intern.  They make up, Chloe gets her Masters, and then she is given a job by Bennett's father.       

Review: I read this book from cover to cover in 6 hours on a Thursday night.  I didn't even have time to put it on my BWTBR list.  I loved it.  The storyline was nice and the characters were hard not to fall in love with.  I liked how it started quickly, there wasn't a few chapters of them and explaining all the ways they didn't like each other, it was right iff the bat into their crazy relationship.  I love how it goes back and forth between Chloe and Bennett's point of view too, I love getting into the heads of both characters.  You definitely need to be mature to read this book, but if you are I think you will really like it.  It's a great story and it has a happy ending, I am the biggest sucker for happy endings!

Smile!  I'll talk to you soon!xxx
Stay Connected:
Main Twitter: @juliann_guerra

Second Twitter: @writerjewels

Instagram: juliann_guerra

Tumblr: juliann-guerra

Goodreads: Juliann Guerra

Wattpad: @writerjewels

Pinterest: Juliann Guerra

Spotify: juliann.guerra

Bloglovin: Juliann Guerra