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LOVE AND OTHER SECRETS

THE FIRST KISS HYPOTHESIS #2

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aboutbook Publication Date: September 3, 2018

Publisher: Entangled Teen Crush

Genre(s): Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Pages: Ebook 150

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Star lacrosse player Alex “Kov” Koviak has it all. Or so everyone thinks. He’s real good at pretending his life is perfect…until he meets Bailey. The girl challenges him and pushes him and makes him laugh like he’s never laughed before. Their friendship is their little secret, and he’s happy to keep her to himself.

Between school, two jobs, and trying to get into NYU film school, Bailey Banfield has zero time for a social life. But then she meets Alex in her express lane at the grocery store, and their secret friendship becomes the only place she can breathe. She refuses to complicate that with more. No matter how charming Alex can be.

When Bailey decides to film outrageous promposals for her NYU application, she enlists Alex’s help to plan an over-the-top, epic promposal to someone else. Too bad the only prom date Alex wants anywhere near Bailey is him.

For a guy who seems to have it all, he’s about to lose the only thing he’s ever wanted.

Disclaimer: This Entangled Crush contains a cocky lacrosse player in over his head with his secret best friend, unexpected midnight kisses, swoon-worthy slow dancing, and movie-night cuddling that’ll make you ache. You’re going to want an Alex of your own!

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An Entertainingly Cute and Adorable Best Friends to Lovers YA Romance

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I love reading light and fluffy teen romances and Entangled Teen Crush books never fail to win me over. They’re delightfully adorable, swoony, and just really fun to read. Love and Other Secrets was no exception and certainly had me feeling the FEELS.

I enjoyed Christina Mandelski’s “The First Kiss Hypothesis,” so I was really excited when I read the blurb for Love and Other Secrets. With promposals, stolen kisses, slow dancing, and cuddling with your secret best friend, I couldn’t wait for the swoons, butterflies, and heart melting moments. There were definitely many of those, but what I liked the most about this book was the nostalgic feeling I got while reading — going through all the emotions, heartbreaks, and confusion as a teenager dealing with falling in love for the first time was bittersweet and relatable.

Let me back track for a second. I actually requested for this book (because of the synopsis) and was also invited to review it. I also joined a blog tour, but unfortunately had to back out cause of something personal that happened. I don’t want to get into details about why I took a hiatus, but Love and Other Secrets was a lovely pick-me-upper. I wasn’t in the mood for anything too heavy or serious so this book was exactly what I needed to get back into reading. I just wanted a nice little fun escape to make me feel happy… and this book did that. It was a wonderfully cute and entertaining friends to lovers story that made me smile, laugh and aww. And when a book does that, well, that book’s pretty much a big YASSS for me.

Now let me get into what else I liked about this book. The writing style was easy to read so I breezed through this fairly quick. Both the POVs were really great too, but I definitely had more fun getting into Alex’s head… even though I did want to slap him a few times. The storyline was enjoyable with plenty of sweet surprises. I thought Alex and Bailey were likable, charming, and just so adorable together. I loved their frustrating, but undeniably cute chemistry. Yes, I got annoyed a few times with all the drama and miscommunication between them, but that never stopped me from rooting for Alex and Bailey to have their HEA. I thought the promposals were outrageous, but so hilarious to read about. LOVED LOVED LOVED the ending! It was satisfyingly heartwarming I couldn’t stop smiling. So, yes… I absolutely had an awesome time reading this story and cannot wait for the next installment. (Crossing my fingers for it to be about Caleb).

Love and Other Secrets by Christina Mandelski was a quick, funny, and somewhat cheesy read, but overall a fantastically cute story from start to finish. If you’re looking for a best friends to lovers YA romance that involves some crazy promposals and plenty of swoons, or just want to read something entertainingly adorable, then I think this is the perfect book date for you.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts, swoons, and opinions are my own.

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THE FIRST KISS HYPOTHESIS

firstkiss Nora Reid believes scientific laws control everything, even love. With her grandparents’ epic first kiss story cemented in her brain, Nora develops a hypothesis she’s determined to prove: for each person in the world, there is exactly one other person, and at first kiss, they’ll experience an immediate and intense reaction.

But after four years of zero-reaction kisses, she comes up with a new theory: maybe that pesky crush on her stunningly hot best friend Eli Costas is skewing her results.

She needs to get rid of him, and fast.

Eli Costas is an injury-prone lacrosse star with a problem—the one chance he had at winning over the girl next door resulted in the most epically sucktastic first kiss ever. And now she’s…trying to get rid of him? Hell no. It’s time to disprove her theory and show her exactly what she’s missing. Game. On.

The First Kiss Hypothesis is satisfyingly sweet, deliciously adorable, and irresistibly swoony! The plot was entertaining, hilarious, and had plenty of sweet moments that made me smile like a dork. Nora’s theory about finding true love, while quite silly and something I would never do, was a unique concept that had me intrigued the entire time. I don’t want to give too much away, but Nora and Eli’s love story is positively charming. Not to mention, it involves a lot of pies… lots and lots of yummy pies!

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abouttheauthor

christina_mandelski Christina Mandelski was born in South Florida, where her love of reading was cultivated in a house full of books. Stories like The Little House series, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, Island of the Blue Dolphins and The Secret Garden, filled her imagination and fueled her dreams to be a writer. That dream came true when her first young adult novel, THE SWEETEST THING, was published in 2011, and she’s beyond thrilled about her upcoming series for Entangled Crush. Chris lives in Houston with one handsome husband, two beautiful daughters, and two freakshow cats. She has a fondness for the beach, her family and friends, and she still loves to read (especially curled up with a good cup of coffee!) She also enjoys shopping, traveling and eating, especially cake. Always cake. When she’s not doing these things, you can find her holed in a cozy spot with her laptop, writing. Visit her at www.christinamandelski.com.

authorlinks

Website • Twitter • Instragram • Goodreads

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Do you like reading friends to lovers romances? If not, what are some of your favorite YA contemporary books that made you swoon?

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful weekend lovelies!

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Broken Arrow
Azaria M.J. Durant
(Darkened Destiny Saga #1)
Publication date: July 29th 2018
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

An ancient power long kept dormant stirs in the shadows once more as one boy embarks on a quest to earn his freedom and the freedom of his world!

Magic has turned to myth, the Vaelhyreans of old to legend, and the power wielded by the ancients has long been forgotten. However, with Ealdred, a mere half-breed slave boy, myth becomes real, the forgotten remembered, and the power of legend is reborn within him.

Ealdred is merged into a world of mystery, brimming with deceit, where the remaining Vaelhyreans are in a desperate fight for their very survival. When Ealdred is kidnapped by the power-mongering dark lord Zeldek himself, he must make a choice; to commit his newfound magic to Zeldek’s service or die. But when he meets Bellator, clever yet treacherous servant of Zeldek, an alternative is presented to him: to escape from Zeldek’s stronghold and embark on a quest to find a cursed arrow and free the Vaelhyreans from the spell that keeps their powers at bay.

Yet how can he survive in a world where magic is illegal, half-breeds are hated, and the four countries are on the brink of war?

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“That time is already upon us,” the Master stated, rising to his feet. “Many nights now, my gaze has been turned to the stars. The constellations Heroi and Retsu are aligning for the first time in two and a half millennia. Prophecies connote these coming years as the last of mankind. This is the opportunity I have been waiting for. I must not fail!”

His eyes glowed with the passion his words expressed, and murmurs of agreement echoed through the room.

“Our toils have been rewarding and our preparation has been long,” the Master went on. “Yet we must not deceive ourselves into thinking that our position is secure.”

The murmurs fell to silence. The Master had never spoken so freely of such things before. The most this council had ever discussed were the brief updates concerning the progress of each respective country and its assets. There was the occasional new order from The Master, but such a thing was rare, and was always followed by a long, tedious discussion concerning the politics of the task, and thus was never interesting.

“It has been predicted that there is one who has the potential to stand in my way; one who may have the power to end my supreme rule before it has begun.”

“My lord, who could possess the power to rival you?” Valamette asked, bewildered.

The Master lifted his gaze to glare at Valamette from beneath the shadow of his hood. “You of all people should know.”

Understanding dawned on Valamette. He nodded slowly. Bellator glimpsed the other figures, looking to find a shred of understanding among them. But they too turned to look at Valamette, hoping to glean what they could from his bearing.

“The boy, my lord?” he asked.

“Yes,” the Master replied. “The boy.”

Bellator was intrigued. When had a boy ever entered their conversation?

“But my lord, how could he be a problem? Didn’t we do away with him as an infant? How is it possible that he still draws breath?”

“Does it matter how?” the Master snapped. “What matters is that he lives and that he will pose a threat if we aren’t careful to hone his abilities to our favour.”

“I can do it.” Valamette took a breath. “I can kill him, if you wish it. I will not fail you.”

“No!” The Master’s fist slammed on the altar. “If I wanted him dead, I would have let him die! I wouldn’t have kept him safe all this time.”

authorbio2

Azaria M. J. Durant is a young, passionate writer of fantasy with plans to branch out into sci-fi and dystopian. She enjoys writing stories with action, adventure, unexpected plot twists, and fleshed out characters that challenge gender roles and expectations.

Azaria lives in Atlantic Canada with her family, cats, and dogs, and her big dreams to travel the world. In the moments when she isn’t writing, she is sketching concept art for her stories, participating in community theatre, or curled up with a good book and a bag of mint chocolates.

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