Title: Becoming Rain
Author: K.A. Tucker
Age Group: ADULT
Genre Type: New Adult, Contemporary Women
Publication Date: March 3rd 2015
Publisher: Atria 

SUMMARY

Luke Boone doesn’t know exactly what his uncle Rust is involved in but he wants in on it-the cars, the money, the women. And it looks like he’s finally getting his wish. When Rust hands him the managerial keys to the garage, they come with a second set-one that opens up the door to tons of cash and opportunity. Though it’s not exactly legal, Luke’s never been one to worry about that sort of thing. Especially when it puts him behind the wheel of a Porsche 911 and onto the radar of gorgeous socialite named Rain.

Clara Bertelli is at the top of her game-at only twenty-six years old, she’s one of the most successful undercover officers in the Washington D.C. major crime unit, and she’s just been handed a case that could catapult her career and expose one of the west coast’s most notorious car theft rings. But, in order to do it, she’ll need to go deep undercover as Rain Martines. Her target? The twenty-four-year old nephew of a key player who appears ready to follow in his uncle’s footsteps.

As Clara drifts deeper into the luxurious lifestyle of Rain, and further into the arms of her very attractive and charming target, the lines between right and wrong start to blur, making her wonder if she’ll be able to leave it all behind. Or if she’ll even want to.

REVIEW

It is difficult for me to believe that it was only a few short months that I discovered K.A. Tucker. Burying Water was one of my favorite books of 2014, so naturally I was looking forward to picking up the next book in the series, Becoming Rain. Tucker certainly did not disappoint with a solid story filled with the perfect balance of suspense and romance. It had a different feel than Burying Water for me, yet it still had that unique and captivating quality that I love so much about Tucker’s writing. It was clear that she put a great deal of time and effort into her research for this book, and it definitely showed in the fascinating level of detail in the story.

Luke Boone is in line to be the owner of his Uncle Rust’s car garage. He knows that his uncle is involved in some shady business practices, but the pull of the lifestyle is difficult to resist. With hot cars, a wealth of attractive women, and a plenty of money at his disposal, Luke is living the high life. Clara Bertelli is a successful undercover police officer charged with bringing down a notorious car theft ring. As rich socialite Rain Martines, Clara has to set her sights on Luke in order to crack the case. Unfortunately for Clara, she discovers that not everything is black and white when it comes to her feelings for her target.

Clara was a strong and likeable heroine. While she was at the top of her game career-wise, she struggled with not knowing if she would be able to find a man who would understand and support her job. Rain’s life was completely different from Clara’s real one, and she soon began to understand how people could be attracted to the world Luke and Rust inhabited. It was clear that she truly cared about Luke, and eventually her affection for him caused her to start blurring the lines between right and wrong. I definitely felt for her being in a situation where she had to find a way to do her job and also protect the man she loved.

I have to say that Luke was different than I had expected after reading Burying Water. On the surface he seemed selfish, but as I was able to get to know him better it became apparent that he was lost and needed some direction in his life. I completely understood that Luke felt a deep loyalty to Rust for everything he had done for him and his family. However, as the story progressed I saw glimpses of a kind and compassionate Luke who had the potential to do something more with his life. I ached for him knowing that the Rain he knew was not real, and that he was on the road to heartbreak.

Clara and Luke’s story was well crafted and perfectly paced. It had the romance I love intertwined with an intriguing and suspenseful plot that made me eager to see what would happen next. I appreciated that neither character was perfect. They both made mistakes, but I was still able to relate to and root for them. I loved the symbolism of Rain’s name and what it meant to Clara and Luke’s journey in this book. Tucker did a fantastic job of creating an engrossing story that kept me on my toes and also evoked genuine emotion within me. Becoming Rain was exactly what I have come to love and expect from this talented author.

via The Book Enthusiast 

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• ten tiny breaths

Title: Walking on Trampolines
Author: Frances Whiting
Age Group: ADULT
Genre Type: Contemporary Women
Publication Date: February 10th 2015
Publisher: Gallery

SUMMARY

“Tallulah de Longland,” she said slowly, letting all the Ls in my name loll about lazily in her mouth before passing judgement. “That,” she announced, “is a seriously glamorgeous name.”

From the day Annabelle Andrews sashays into her classroom, Tallulah ‘Lulu’ de Longland is bewitched by Annabelle, by her family, and their sprawling, crumbling house tumbling down to the river. Their unlikely friendship intensifies through a secret language where they share confidences about their unusual mothers, first loves, and growing up in the small, coastal town of Juniper Bay. Their lives become as entwined as Annabelle’s initials engraved beneath the de Longland kitchen table. But the euphoria of youth rarely lasts, and the implosion that destroys their friendship leaves lasting scars and a legacy of self-doubt that haunts Lulu into adulthood. Years later, Lulu is presented with a choice: remain the perpetual good girl who misses out, or finally step out from the shadows and do something extraordinary. And possibly unforgivable. 

It’s not how far you fall, but how high you bounce. 

REVIEW

You know when you start reading a book, and before you even finish the prologue you know you’re going to love it? That’s exactly how I felt about Walking on Trampolines, by Australian author Frances Whiting. This was a book that made me want to curl up in one of those beautiful, pinterest-y type reading nooks with a cup of hot chocolate and a cozy knit blanket and do nothing but read and read and read. It felt indulgent and decadent to read a book like this, eating up the characters and the story and trying to decide who’s side I was on, if there were indeed sides to be taken. 

Walking on Trampolines is a story of the intense kind of friendship only two young girls that were destined to find each other could have, and it’s a story of young first love that is so passionate it hurts right down in your gut. This book has family issues, friend issues, betrayal, hurt, and the desperate need to move on from it all while trying to figure out if that’s even possible. This is a book about love, and loyalty, and family, and friends, and everything that holds all of that together and I couldn’t get enough. 

Walking on Trampolines is beautifully written, with Whiting painting all of her characters in such a way that you love them all, even when you’re so angry at them for being young and foolish and destructive and self-pitying. She creates real people, not just caricatures, and it’s their realness that makes them so appealing. 

This was the first book of 2015 that I’ve read, and I’m not sure I’ll find another that I enjoyed quite so much. Walking on Trampolines is available on February 3rd and is definitely worth picking up and enjoying. 

I give Walking on Trampolines 5 stars. 

via KelliDaisy

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