ARC Review: Shatter by Erin McCarthy

Shatter by Erin McCarthy
Series: True Believers #4 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: September 2nd 2014
Purchase: Ebook • Paperback
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher (InterMix) in exchange for an honest review

From the USA Today bestselling author of True, Sweet, and Believe comes a tantalizing New Adult novel about finding love in the most unexpected ways…

Kylie Warner prides herself on being optimistic, but after finding her best friend in bed with her boyfriend and flunking chemistry, her upbeat attitude has taken a dive. Even an impromptu hook-up with her sexy new chemistry tutor only brightens her mood slightly. After all, it’s not like she’ll ever see the tattooed scholar again…

While he’s a whiz at complex equations, Jonathon Kadisch has trouble when it comes to figuring out women. So when Kylie tells him that she’s pregnant after their night of passion, he’s at a complete loss. He’s prepared to be a good father—unlike his own deadbeat dad—but he’s less prepared to fall for the genuine and alluring blonde bearing his child.

With emotions running high, Kylie wonders if Jonathon’s devotion is out of growing love or looming obligation. And when heartbreak threatens to tear them apart, Jonathon will have to fight for the only girl who’s ever made him feel whole…

I’m a really, really big fan of this series (even though I–ugh!–still haven’t read the first book). I’ve become invested in the characters, in the Mann brothers, their girlfriends, and their whole group of friends, so of course I jumped at the chance to read this latest book in the series! Shatter is the fourth book in the True Believers series (which I highly recommend) and while I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite, I still had such a fun time reading it. Shatter was cute, quirky, and had me smiling and giggling so much!

We know from Believe that Kylie’s boyfriend cheated on her… with her best friend. She’s normally a cheerful, glass-half-full kind of girl, but she’s heartbroken at the beginning of the book. Thankfully, Kylie has a distraction in the form of a hot chemistry tutor named Darwin, aka Jonathon. The two are a bit awkward but adorable together, and they just click. And there’s definitely some ‘chemistry’ going on between them too.

“You think I’m attractive?”
It was an embarrassing thing to ask. I wanted to choke myself for letting it slip out.
Darwin nodded though. “I find you very attractive. So attractive that I have to admit to being distracted the whole time I was tutoring you.”

Neither of them intended to fall into bed together, but they did, and their actions are not without consequences… because Kylie gets pregnant. Naturally, Kylie freaks the eff out–she doesn’t know how she can take care of a baby or how Jonathon will react. But Jonathon, the hot, dorky nerd that he is, is actually a really nice guy. He stands by Kylie’s side, but the two of them mutually agree that they won’t be falling in love with each other any time soon.

Shatter is told through both Kylie and Jonathon’s POVs, and I was really glad to get both of their perspectives. I liked reading Jonathon’s reactions–he’s a good guy through and through, though he does have his idiot moments. As he and Kylie spend more time together getting ready to have this baby, Jonathon can’t help but fall for the mother of his upcoming child. He’s clearly a very analytical, scientific guy, so seeing him fall in love is just the sweetest.

“I want a life partner, not a lab partner, do you understand? The day I met you was the best day of my life.”

I loved the contrast between Kylie and Jonathon, and how they complemented each other so well. Jonathon is smart and scientific, but he’s never fallen in love until he meets Kylie. Kylie doesn’t think too highly of herself, but being with Jonathon helps her realize that she’s smart in her own ways. These two make the most adorable couple ever!

But Jonathon and Kylie don’t have it easy. They go through some very rough, heartbreaking times, and sometimes it seemed as if a happily ever after wasn’t possible. But they eventually try to fight for each other, because even though they never expected the pregnancy, and expected to fall in love even less, they found something beautiful with each other.

Kylie and Jonathon are the most adorable thing ever, but I just didn’t love their story. The writing was a bit stilted and off, so I didn’t click with this book as much as I wanted to. I liked the story, and I really liked the characters, but I just didn’t love the book. Still, Shatter is an endearing, adorable love story that fans of the series shouldn’t miss.

Quotes are taken from the arc and are subject to change in the final version.

Reading Order: True Believers series

 

#1 ~ True: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#2 ~ Sweet: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#3 ~ Believe: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#4 ~ Shatter: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads

Release Day Review: Believe by Erin McCarthy

Believe by Erin McCarthy
Series: True Believers #3 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: January 21st 2014
Purchase: Ebook • Paperback
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher (InterMix) in exchange for an honest review

Robin used to be a party girl… until she got black out drunk and woke up in bed with her best friend’s boyfriend. Now she’s faced with being THAT girl, and couldn’t be more disgusted with herself. She can’t even tell her friends the reason for her sudden sobriety and she avoids everyone until she meets Phoenix—quiet, tattooed, and different in every way that’s good and oh, so bad…

Phoenix is two days out of jail when he meets Robin at his cousin’s house, and he knows that he has no business talking to her, but he’s drawn to her quiet demeanor, sweet smile, and artistic talent. She doesn’t care that he’s done time, or that he only has five bucks to his name, and she supports his goal to be a tattoo artist.

But Phoenix knows Robin has a secret, and that it’s a naïve dream to believe that his record won’t catch up with them at some point. Though neither is prepared for the explosive result when the past collides with the present…

I’m so happy to say that I adored this book! Believe was a great addition to the fabulous True Believers series–it’s got a sweet, sexy romance and relatable, likable characters I couldn’t help but cheer for and care for. I was so stoked to read Believe after reading a little snippet at the end of Sweet, and it didn’t disappoint! Believe was everything I expected it to be and more. I might even like it better than Sweet, but just by a hair.

If you’re looking to read a New Adult contemporary romance, I’d have to tell you to read Believe. It’s nothing exactly new, but the characters bring something refreshing to the story, and I’m a huge fan of Erin McCarthy’s writing. The story and romance in Believe is just so sweet and heartwarming, and the main characters have great depths to them. I had such a warm, fuzzy feeling the whole time reading. Robin and Phoenix are just the most adorable couple ever!

Robin is just a normal girl who parties hard, until one day she takes it too far, gets drunk and sleeps with her best friend’s boyfriend. I’ll admit, after reading this, I wasn’t sure I’d like Robin very much, but she grew on me. She holds such immense guilt over her betrayal towards her best friend, that I mainly felt sorry for her. Robin quits partying, drinking, everything, because of her guilt. She even wants to move out of the place she lives in with her best friends because she can’t look one of them in the eyes, until she meets Phoenix. The thing I liked most about Robin is how relatable she is (besides the whole sleeping with her best friend thing). She’s a lost college girl who doesn’t know what she wants to do in life, but throughout the story, she gets a better grip on who she is, and she’s able to shine through her love for art, and especially for Phoenix.

But what I knew was that he made me feel like I could look people in the eye again. He made me feel like I wasn’t going to break into a thousand pieces at any given moment. He made my hands stop shaking and helped my breathing slow down.
He made me feel like a crumbling wall that has suddenly gotten new mortar between each brick and feels stable again.
And if he could make me feel that way, maybe I could make myself feel that way.

Oh my goodness, PHOENIX!! I’m completely head over heels in love with this boy. He’s just so different from other heroes that I read. Yeah, he’s moody, he’s got tats, and he’s got some intense anger issues that he has (mostly) under control, but he’s just so honest and blunt. He’s got no time for bullshit. And he’s not afraid to show his love for his girl. I swooned madly over him. I was intrigued with him from the very beginning, because he was just released from jail. Why was he in jail? You’ll have to read to find out! But I can honestly say that Phoenix doesn’t have a bad bone in his body. This boy is good through and through, and when he shows his sweet side to Robin, I was smiling so much!

“Robin.”
“Yes?”
“I’m no good for you. And you’re probably no good for me. But we’re going to do this anyway, aren’t we?”
I nodded, because looking into his dark eyes there wasn’t any other answer. I couldn’t walk away from him, and I couldn’t let him walk away from me. “Yes. We are.”

Robin and Phoenix both agree to give a relationship a try, even though both of them believe they’re not good enough for the other. Their romance builds up slowly–Phoenix and Robin get to know each other as friends, and eventually it’s just so easy for them to fall in love with each other. I loved reading their story, their romance. They change each other for the better, they love and support each other unconditionally, and it was just heartwarming and romantic to read.

We all wonder when we will fall in love, wonder how we’ll know that our feelings are real, if someone is the right one for us.
Then it happens, and those questions seem laughable.
Because when it’s real, you feel it in every inch of you, every cell, every vein, every nook and cranny. It moves, it rises with each breath, it’s alive, and the world around you becomes sharper, crisper, in focus.
There is no question, only the answer.

I was delighted to see the characters from the previous books in the series appear and have strong roles. Phoenix is, after all, the Mann brothers’ cousin. There are some intense scenes in the book that had me at the edge of my seat, but overall, this was a slow, beautiful romance between two people who grow and learn more about themselves through each other.

Quotes are taken from the arc and are subject to change in the final version.

Reading Order: True Believers series

 

#1 ~ True: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#2 ~ Sweet: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#3 ~ Believe: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#4 ~ Shatter: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads

Early Review: Sweet by Erin McCarthy

Sweet by Erin McCarthy
Series: True Believers #2 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: October 15th 2013
Purchase: Ebook • Paperback
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher (InterMix) in exchange for an honest review

Jessica Sweet thought going away to college would finally make her free of her parents’ constant judgments and insistence she play chastity club role model for their church events, but if anything, the freedom has made her realize she can’t go home and be a hypocrite anymore. Tired of dodging their questions, she stays at school over the summer and lands in an unexpected crash pad: Riley Mann’s house.

Sarcastic, cocky, and full of opinions, Riley is also sexy personified with tattoos and biceps earned from working as a roofer all day. Not the right guy for her even if Jessica was looking for a relationship, which she is definitely not. But Jessica knows that Riley hides the burden of having to raise his younger brothers behind that grin and as she helps him get his house in order for a custody hearing, they begin to fall hard for each other, and she is forced to question what she’s hiding herself.

Jessica has never had a problem getting naked with a guy, but when it comes to showing Riley how she truly feels inside, her fear of rejection may just ruin the best thing—the best guy—to ever happen to her…

I’ve never read a book that made me change my mind so drastically about how I felt about the characters! I honestly hated the characters at the beginning, but later on, as I kept reading… they grew on me, and I started to care for them, and even love them. I haven’t read the first book in this series yet, but now I’m definitely going to, and I’m so looking forward to the next book!

I didn’t click with the beginning of the book. At all. Jessica and Riley were both huge jerks to one another, and I was wondering how on earth either of them would fall in love with each other. But… as I kept reading, they became less harsh and mean, and more snarky and sarcastic and funny. The more I read, the more I fell in love with them and became invested in their story and their HEA.

Jessica is a party girl whose parents are very religious. They push her to be someone she’s not, and she wants to get away from them. In comes Riley, the older brother of Jessica’s best friend’s brother. He offers her a place to stay at his house he shares with his younger brothers, despite the fact that the two of them hate each other. And sparks fly! The tension between the two of them is high, but what I loved was the constant humor and camaraderie between them, all the while pretending to still hate each other. They didn’t jump each other’s bones or give in to their lust. They slowly became friends, got the chance to know each other better, without the complication of sex.

I totally fell for Riley. He was hard to like at first (I just do not like jerk-y boys!), but as we get to know more about him… *swoon*. He’s the oldest of the four Mann brothers, and he’s had to take care of them all since their parents died a while ago. He took on the burden of three younger brothers without complaint, giving up everything for them. And if that doesn’t make you love him, I don’t know what does. He’ll do anything to make sure his brothers live the good life he never had, working nonstop to provide for them. He may not be a perfect adult model figure, but he loves his brothers with all his heart.

Jessica is hilarious! I found myself laughing hard at random parts of the book because of her, and laughing even harder at Jessica and Riley and their antics. The things they do are so adorable and I loved them together. They complemented each other perfectly, balancing each other’s traits and faults. And for a major part of the book, they still haven’t gotten together yet! Even though them getting together would be the cutest thing in the world, I was glad they took it slow. But once they realize how much they care for each other, and how much they want a relationship to happen, it’s perfection. I honestly loved every part of their relationship. Jessica’s not afraid to admit that Riley is different from the tons of other guys she’s hooked up with, and Riley is the sweetest boyfriend ever. There are a few misunderstandings, of course, that strain their relationship, but I had no worries.

I highly, highly recommend this for contemporary romance lovers. The name of the book absolutely does justice to the story. Although you probably should start with the first book in the series, unlike me. 😉

Reading Order: True Believers series

 

#1 ~ True: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#2 ~ Sweet: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#3 ~ Believe: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#4 ~ Shatter: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads