"It Ends With Us" by Colleen Hoover

Oh. My. Hoover.
I am still suffering somewhat of a bookhangover from November 9, which is why I haven't managed to post my review for that one yet (I swear, that book is my spirit animal!), but this... It Ends With Us... it's...

...heart-wrenching...
...gut-wrenching...
...the most beautiful kind of bad...
...the worst kind of beautiful...
...goosebump-invoking and tear-stirring...
...anything but black and white...

It's a book that tugs at your heartstrings, and that makes you want to cuddle up and say goodbye to the world for the rest of the day. Colleen Hoover has a beautiful mind, and a great talent for not only making you sympathize and empathize with her characters, but also for making you think about the issues that are addressed - the issues faced by her characters. It Ends With Us, especially, is a book that you won't just finish reading - it will stay with you long after the last page has been turned.

It's the kind of book that you will start to read, and that you won't want to put back down. At the same time though, it's a story you at times won't want to finish, because you may not want to know how it ends, or because - if you are like me - you just don't want to hit the last page and be done with it.
But you will do just that. You will read it til the end, and I am sure you will be loving it.

I am purposely keeping this review short - not because I don't have a million feels and a billion things to say, but because I really want each and every one of you to read this novel. Spoiler-free.
To read it, to feel it, to think about it.

Which is also why I am giving away a signed copy - just keep on reading to find out how you can enter! Open internationally! 

SOMETIMES THE ONE WHO LOVES YOU IS THE ONE WHO HURTS YOU THE MOST

Lily hasn't always had it easy, but that's never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She's come a long way from the small town in Maine where she grew up - she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily's life suddenly seems almost too good to be true.

Ryle is assertive, stubborn, and maybe even a little arrogant. He's also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily, but Ryle's complete aversion to relationships is disturbing.

As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan - her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.

With this bold and deeply personal novel, Colleen Hoover delivers a heart-wrenching story that breaks exciting new ground for her as a writer. It Ends With Us is an unforgettable tale of love that comes at the ultimate price.

This book contains graphic scenes and very sensitive subject matter.

Colleen Hoover is the New York Times bestselling author of nine novels, including the #1 bestseller, Hopeless. She lives in Texas with her husband and three children. She is the founder of The Bookworm Box, a book subscription service which donates 100% of its profit to charity. She also owns The Bookworm Box, a specialty bookstore located in Sulphur Springs, Tx. 

Her novel, Ugly Love (2014), has been optioned for film by Hackybox Pictures and is slated to begin filming in 2016, starring Nick Bateman. 

For tour dates or more information, please visit colleenhoover.com.

[source: amazon]

Visit Colleen Hoover on her website || goodreads || facebook || twitter || instagram
Visit The Bookworm Box's website || facebook || instagram

It Ends With Us on goodreads || amazon US || amazon DE || amazon UK

My Review of Maybe Not || Confess || Finding Cinderella || Never Never: Part One || Never Never: Part Two 

In September, I had the great pleasure of finally meeting Colleen Hoover!
After having had plans to attend several signings in the past, which all ended up being cancelled, I travelled to Frankfurt after a day of finals at university, taking forever on the road and getting lost several times, annoying my sister - whom I was dragging along - with my excitement!

My sister has never read a novel by Colleen... I, however, wasn't sure how many books we'd be allowed to get signed each, if there would be a limit, so I made my sister come along, bringing thirteen books and hoping I could get an extra one signed yet to give away, giving her a "priority list" in case we'd both only be allowed to get two or three signed... and promising I'd buy her dinner in exchange for coming along, ha!

Colleen was the sweetest, ever. Her interview was super funny, and she took time for everyone in attendance, signing books like a champ and taking pictures with people.
Without a single complaint, she signed the thirteen books I had brought along, plus an extra copy of It Ends With Us that I purchased at the store the signing was being held at, plus a couple of autograph cards to give away as well, and took pictures with me on top of that! The evening was so much more than I had expected hopping into my car... and I am definitely looking forward to hopefully meeting her again someday!

Visit me on instagram (@ink.eaters) for the giveaway!
I am giving away a signed (not personalized) paperback copy of It Ends With Us, as well as two autograph cards from the signing!

A big thank you to Colleen Hoover for having signed everything - and for just being her - as well as a big thank you to Hugendubel Frankfurt-Steinweg for having held the event!

"Thoughtless" by S.C. Stephens

As many before me, I absolutely could not resist the amazingness that is Kellan Kyle. S.C. Stephens's Thoughtless made falling for him Effortless - he's a charming, womanizing, bad boy rockstar that will serenade you out of your pants, yet he also has a sweet and tender, soft, honest, loving and caring side to him that will make your knees buckle.

Then there is Denny; sweet, sweet Denny with the Aussie accent that will be melting you like butter. He is charming in the boy-next-door kind of way, the imperfectly perfect first boyfriend... who will, however, unfortunately, soon bore you - annoy you, even, as you discover his not-so-sweet sides and come to your senses about him... or rather, about your feelings for him.

And then we have Kiera. Kiera, who finds herself in the middle, wanting to hold on to what she is starting to have with Kellan, but also not wanting to let go of her first, Denny. While Stephens has created a very real and honest image of what a love-triangle could truly be like, with all its butterflies and dark sides - and a rockstar, well, whole band actually, to die for - I have to admit that I honestly could not warm up to Kiera. Just like real life, this book had me meeting people that I liked, and people that I'd never ever want to be friends with. Kiera, unfortunately, belongs to the latter. To me, she seemed whiney, clingy and naïve. Annoying even, at times, making me think Kellan deserved so much better - but who am I to judge what the heart wants?! Clearly, the scenes between them aren't bad. At all. I thoroughly enjoyed the novel, but... I cannot say that I was truly rooting for Kiera and Kellan to happen. I was, personally, picking Kellan over Denny, no question, but Kiera's indecisiveness was bugging me to no end - so much that I was, more than once, actually hoping for a different female character to fly in and to save the day... or Kellan. But love falls where love falls... a lesson the story conveys all too well.
Despite my apathy towards Kiera, this was a great read, which despite the romance didn't turn the love-triangle into an all beer and skittles situation, and I cannot wait to get started on part two in the series to see where the journey of Kellan and Kiera will be taking us!

4/5!

For almost two years no, Kiera's boyfriend, Denny, has been everything she's ever wanted: loving, tender and endlessly devoted to her. When they head off to a new city to start their lives together, Denny at his dream job and Kiera at a top-notch university, everything seems perfect. Then an unforeseen obligation forces the happy couple apart.

Feeling lonely, confused, and in need of comfort, Kiera turns to an unexpected source - a local rock star named Kellan Kyle. At first, he's purely a friend that she can lean on, but as her loneliness grows, so does their relationship. And then one night everything changes... and none of them will ever be the same.

S.C. Stephens is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who enjoys spending every free moment she has creating stories that are packed with emotion and heavy on romance. 

Her debut novel, Thoughtless, an angst-filled love triangle charged with insurmountable passion and the unforgettable Kellan Kyle, took the literary world by storm. Amazed and surprised by the response to the release of Thoughtless in 2009, more stories were quick to follow. Stephens has been writing nonstop ever since. 

In addition to writing, Stephens enjoys spending lazy afternoons in the sun reading fabulous novels, loading up her iPod with writer's block reducing music, heading out to the movies, and spending quality time with her friends and family. She currently resides in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her two equally beautiful children.

Visit S.C. Stephens on her website || goodreads || facebook || twitter

Find Thoughtless on goodreads || amazon US || amazon UK || amazon DE

"My Soul to Keep" by Kennedy Ryan

Oh my... I can't even; this book is so damn beautiful, inside and out, I can't wait to get my hands onto one of those paperbacks!

This wasn't my first read by Kennedy Ryan, and what I had previously read by her was great, but this... this is amazing! It's one of those books that you can't put down because you want to know what'll happen next, but at the same time you don't want to finish reading it, because you don't want it to end.

Like, ever.

And just when you think you know what'll happen next, or how the book will end, Kennedy Ryan throws a twist your way that will be catching you off guard. Unfortunately I feel like this will be one of my shortest reviews, because... all I can say is... go get a copy and get reading, because you're missing out if you won't! Honestly, if I could, I'd love to make this a 6-star review!

(You have no idea how hard it is to keep this review spoiler-free!)

My Soul to Keep is a story of loss, love, struggle and intrigues, friendship and family. It shows you how much you can achieve if you just believe in yourself, if you don't let your past drag you down and define you, and if you surround yourself with people that support you – people that matter.

It's a book that had me in tears with its first chapter, but that had me giggle and laugh just as much as it made my heart feel heavy. It contains the perfect balance to make the story seem possible and real, despite being a rockstar romance; and, most importantly, neither Rhyson nor Kai are perfect – both of them are deep, raw, vulnerable and human – My Soul to Keep doesn't deliver a damsel in distress and an uber-hero, but two people that are – despite, or maybe because of their respective baggage – finding themselves in each other.

It is no secret that I fell in love with the book's cover when it was revealed, and the blurb easily caught my interest. Knowing Kennedy's writing I knew I'd be in for a treat, but I honestly hadn't expected to love the book quite as much as I did, do, and will once I am re-reading it as soon as I have a paperback. My Soul to Keep is amazingly well written, introduces characters that you can't help but fall in love with, and will definitely keep you craving more... bring on part two!

6/5 ;-)

amazon || signed paperbacks || goodreads

 [as previously mentioned, my internet access if very limited at the moment... blurb, author info, more links as well as graphics to follow once I am back to being better connected <3]

*** I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review ***