Showing posts with label Annie Kelly. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Annie Kelly. Show all posts

Wednesday, 16 March 2016

Review - Until Tomorrow by Annie Kelly


Title: Until Tomorrow
Series: Flirting With Trouble #2
Author: Annie Kelly
Release Date: March 15, 2016


She’s trying the straight and narrow... 

Carson Tucker only has one thing on her mind: getting her life back on track and pursuing her teaching career. She can’t afford to be distracted, yet no amount of good sense can compel her keep her mind—or eyes—off the brooding and mysterious Wyatt Sands. She agreed to be his tutor and help him finish his degree, but now she’s wishing she could inspire him in more ways than one...

He makes her want to break all the rules... 

Still reeling from the tragic accident that took his best friend’s life and left him wheelchair-bound, all Wyatt Sands wants to do is forge ahead without any attachments. His solitary lifestyle works well until the after-hours sessions between him and his tutor turn hot and steamy. As the chemistry between them fuels a passion that is too electrifying to be denied, will Carson be able to break down the barriers that Wyatt has erected around himself—or will their fiery passion burn them both?





I fell a little bit in love with Wyatt Sands in After Tonight, and Until Tomorrow just finished the job. If you’ve read my past reviews, you’ll know that I have a thing (a huge thing) for flawed heroes. Wheelchair-bound and bearing the emotional and physical scars from the tragic accident that killed his best friend, Wyatt is the definition of flawed hero. He’s beautifully broken, sweet, sensitive, and stronger than he could ever know. He’s basically impossible not to love, and so I loved him dearly.

Carson Tucker is equally damaged—she’s picking up the pieces of the life she’s been hell-bent on derailing, and she’s doing a damn fine job of it. Tutoring Wyatt is a way to keep her on track with her teaching career, and it helps give her a purpose and keep her grounded. Her attraction to him is…inconvenient. But also irresistible. There’s a whole mountain of baggage between them and all the growing and healing the two of them have to do will either pull them together or push them apart.

This really was a lovely story—the chemistry between Carson and Wyatt is intense, steamy, and as irresistible to read as it was for them to experience. I was completely sucked into this book; both of these characters were fascinating to me, and the struggles that they faced felt authentic and heartbreaking. I loved the support they offered each other—theirs wasn’t just a physical chemistry (though there was plenty of that), there’s a foundation of friendship underneath all of their interactions and it’s sweet and heartwarming and fun to read. 

I felt like things wrapped up a little quickly and maybe a little too neatly in the end. The major conflict probably deserved a little more of a detailed resolution. However, I walked away with a giant smile on my face. I loved the time I got to spend with Carson and Wyatt, and my heart was happy for them. This was a quick, easy read filled with a wonderful balance of humor, angst, and steam. I didn’t want to put it down, and I was a little sad to see it end. I’m loving this series so far and I loved the little tease we got for Rainey’s story. YES! More, please! 
~ Review by Shelly



Annie Kelly is the pen name for writer Kelly Fiore Stultz, who is the author of the Flirting with Trouble novels and the Love You Left Behind series. 

After graduating from Salisbury University with a degree in English, Kelly went on to get her MFA in Poetry from West Virginia University. When she's not writing romance or young adult novels, Kelly loves cooking, rocking out to 80s hair metal, and spending time with her husband, three kids, and five (yes, five) pets. She lives in West Virginia and teaches writing and composition at Shepherd University.



Thursday, 19 November 2015

Review - After Tonight by Annie Kelly


Title: After Tonight
Series: Flirting With Trouble #1
Author: Annie Kelly
Release Date: November 17, 2015


The first edgy, sexy novel in the Flirting With Trouble contemporary romance series.

She may be the teacher...

All Hyacinth "Cyn" Hendricks ever wanted to do was make a difference in the world. But when she joins the faculty of a Baltimore reform school, she discovers that she’s bitten off more than she can chew. Because the last thing she expects when she meets her newest student is to see the guy she met—and made out with—at a bar last week.

But he’s the one giving her a lesson...

To Cyn, Smith Asher is an enigma. The 20-year old doesn’t look like a high schooler and he certainly didn’t act like one the other night. Despite the smoldering chemistry between them, she knows she has to squash this dangerous infatuation before it gets them both in serious trouble. But her desire for Smith—and his lust for her—quickly grows too hot to ignore. And Cyn soon learns that there is one thing worse than teaching someone you’ve seen nearly naked...

Teaching someone you want to see nearly naked again.






Hyacinth "Cyn" Hendricks is completely mortified when the guy she made out with at the bar last weekend shows up as a student in her classroom Monday morning. Cyn is a student teacher at an alternative high school and Smith Asher is an alternative student. The two have a potent, powerful chemistry that makes staying away from each other nearly impossible and so, determined to make it through the time they have to spend together—Cyn to successfully complete her student teaching, and Smith to earn his diploma—they constantly push each other’s boundaries and restraint. The effect is sometimes frustrating, but mostly mesmerizing and sexy.

This was an incredibly easy, nearly addictive read. There were several laugh-out-loud moments filled with smart dialogue and witty banter—all of which are basically my favorite things to read. I was also won over by the super sweet secondary stories that sandwiched the scandalously sexy romance between Cyn and Smith. The writing is smart and engaging. 

I felt like sometimes Cyn came off a little harshly, and hovered dangerously close to an unlikeable line for me for a while. I struggled with how she handled her situation—both during the emotional turmoil of her student teaching gig and, again, once the conflict came to a head. However, I loved how she was with her family and friends and, as things sorted themselves out in the end, I found myself rooting for her to get her happy ending (that is not a euphemism, although…that too).

Smith is a delight. An absolute dream man—all dreamy eyed, chiseled hunk with the perfect witty banter and irresistibly dirty mouth. He's sexy as hell, smart, and funny—the perfect trifecta of book boyfriend qualities. I loved his confidence and tenderness, even though he was frustrating in his own right sometimes. As the story unfolded it was hard to get a good read on Smith (which I think is a testament to how well Annie Kelly pulled his story off because I thought I knew where the story was heading, but I was never 100% sure) but every time the story centered on him, I was a drooly, smitten, completely captivated mess.

When a forbidden teacher/student romance is done right, it is a deliciously naughty pleasure to read, and After Tonight was done just right. It's not a book without flaws, but I spent way more time with a smile on my face than without. It was fun and sexy read and, in the end, I was completely sucked in, my heart and panties enjoying the ride in equal measure. 
~ Review by Shelly



Annie Kelly writes loves stories that will teach you a thing or two. 

The FLIRTING WITH DISASTER series (forthcoming from Penguin) is based around a group of young women who are dedicated to education - student teaching, tutoring, and running an after school program are just three of their passions. Of course, their passions certainly extend beyond the school day -- and where the school day ends, their love lives begin.

Annie Kelly is a pen name for a YA author who writes everything from contemporary romance to gritty modern character studies.