Firsts by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn

Seventeen-year-old Mercedes Ayres has an open-door policy when it comes to her bedroom, but only if the guy fulfills a specific criteria: he has to be a virgin. Mercedes lets the boys get their awkward, fumbling first times over with, and all she asks in return is that they give their girlfriends the perfect first time- the kind Mercedes never had herself.

Keeping what goes on in her bedroom a secret has been easy- so far. Her absentee mother isn’t home nearly enough to know about Mercedes’ extracurricular activities, and her uber-religious best friend, Angela, won’t even say the word “sex” until she gets married. But Mercedes doesn’t bank on Angela’s boyfriend finding out about her services and wanting a turn- or on Zach, who likes her for who she is instead of what she can do in bed.

When Mercedes’ perfect system falls apart, she has to find a way to salvage her reputation and figure out where her heart really belongs in the process. Funny, smart, and true-to-life, FIRSTS is a one-of-a-kind young adult novel about growing up. 

I was attracted to this because of the openness of the sexual element. Mercy teaches virgins how to have sex properly so they don't disappoint their girlfriends, to avoid anyone else having such a crappy first time like hers. Yet I instantly had issues with how Mercy conducted herself - while she had somewhat noble intentions, the boys she were teaching were cheating on their girlfriends, she might not have actively sought them out but that's still cheating in my book!

The main point of this book was that Mercy had a very open and modern approach to sex - it was refreshing to have that bluntness criticising society's double standards. Because of course when the truth comes out, all people can see is a slut who slept with too many guys, not a girl who was trying to help guys learn.

I didn't really like Mercy. Not sure what it was - it definitely wasn't her attitude to sex, that was awesome, but she was so closed off and private. Yet I totally felt for her; she had an abysmal first relationship and doesn't want any other girl to go through the same thing. She also has an absentee mother who cares more about her appearance than her feelings and a dad who disappeared years ago - I mean really, it's not much wonder she has a wall around her heart!

To start with, she definitely had an unhealthy approach to sex but Mercy's issues are addressed; she comes to an understanding with her parents, forced to come to terms with her past and be honest with herself concerning her sexual partners. As Mercy learns to use sex as part of a healthy relationship, instead of its only part, the author uses the entire story trying to prove the point that it's ok for girls and guys to be honest about sex, and I liked and appreciated that. 

Published 5th January 2016 by St Martin's Griffin. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

Breaking The Rules by Katie McGarry

“I wish life could be like this forever,” I say. “We’d be okay then. We’d forever be okay.”

For Echo Emerson, a road trip with her boyfriend is the perfect way to spend the last summer between school and college. It’s a chance forget all the things that make her so different at home. But most of all, it means almost three months alone with gorgeous Noah Hutchins, the only boy who’s never judged her.

Echo and Noah share everything. But as their pasts come crashing back into their lives, its harder to hide that they come from two very different worlds. And as the summer fades, Echo faces her toughest decision – struggle to face the future together or let her first love go…

This takes place right after Pushing The Limits, we go back to see the rest of Echo and Noah's journey over the summer. I loved Echo and Noah's story so I couldn't wait to hear more from them, even knowing what happens afterward. We see them as they make their way across the country, selling Echo's art and trying to make a name for herself. Unfortunately, her mother's reputation precedes her and many curators don't want anything to do with her. 

Along with a dwindling self-esteem, Echo is also dealing with the growing intimacy between her and Noah. She is understandably terrified of letting Noah too close and of getting hurt; after all, Aries left her, her parents left her, why would Noah, a guy with a bad reputation be any different? Lucky for her, Noah - despite his communication problems - really does love her and would do anything to make her happy, even ignore his own hormones. When things finally did happen, I loved how realistically it was portrayed: awkward yet loving. And, the one big thing I really loved was that it didn't change their relationship. Sure, Noah screwed up but it came back around and it wasn't just all sex, all the time. It was about the intimacy and the closeness between them, no more lies and all that. 

There were plenty of other things to be dealt with too; like Echo's mother, Noah's family, his bad-boy reputation catching up with him, to name but a few. All of these things came between them, some pretty close to breaking them, and even though both of them really need to work on their "talking things through" means of communication, in the end, their relationship got stronger. And that's what I really love about McGarry's stories; there's no happily-ever-after, there is always work to be done as well as sacrifices to be made, but the relationships are always real and worth it. Echo and Noah came through some really tough stuff with a better understanding of each other and themselves.

Published 1st January 2015 by Mira Ink. Thank you to the publisher for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L Armentrout

Seventeen-year-old Layla just wants to be normal. But with a kiss that kills anything with a soul, she's anything but normal. Half demon, half gargoyle, Layla has abilities no one else possesses.
Raised among the Wardens—a race of gargoyles tasked with hunting demons and keeping humanity safe—Layla tries to fit in, but that means hiding her own dark side from those she loves the most. Especially Zayne, the swoon-worthy, incredibly gorgeous and completely off-limits Warden she’s crushed on since forever.
Then she meets Roth—a tattooed, sinfully hot demon who claims to know all her secrets. Layla knows she should stay away, but she’s not sure she wants to—especially when that whole no-kissing thing isn’t an issue, considering Roth has no soul.
But when Layla discovers she’s the reason for the violent demon uprising, trusting Roth could not only ruin her chances with Zayne…it could brand her a traitor to her family. Worse yet, it could become a one-way ticket to the end of the world.

I don't know what it says about me but the possibles flaws in this book, from it stereotypical slutty best friend to world-revolves-around-me heroine, from the (again) typical almost-love triangle to the more-sexual tension-than-plot, I don't care, this book was hilarious and adorable and so dramatic it verges on soap opera. I'm a sucker for dark romance and this, with it's demon powers and gargoyles being the guardians between good and evil, I just loved it.

Layla was sort of-almost spoiled and her "I must make up for having demon blood even though that's not my fault" thing was admirable if naive and a little stupid. However, she was quite easy to like, despite having nothing that makes her stand out. Apart from the demon blood of course, but let's not go into that. She was having sort of a rough time of it at the moment, with more and more demons coming topside and apparently having a thing for her. Then she meets Roth, an Upper Level demon with amazing strength and incredibly good looks, who should be a bad guy but saves her from another demon trying to nom her face.

Roth was your typical bad guy with a good heart: hot, a tough guy, always around to save the day. He was incredibly sarcastic and would have been annoying if he wasn't so funny. I adored their relationship, as basic as it was. Although Layla had no actual skills of her own, she wasn't about to let Roth, a guy she had the hots for but shouldn't trust, swoop in and save her every time. 

As for the plot, it was your typical good girl and bad guy team up to save the world. The mythology behind the gargoyles/Wardens and their eternal battle with Hell was very cool; I always appreciate how it was slipped into the plot when and where it was necessary so it wasn't an overload of information. The demon blood in Layla becomes a major plot point - of course it does - one that I sort of saw coming but really liked the detail and complexity behind it. 

Armentrout's novels are something of a guilty pleasure of mine; the flowing plot, the hot romances, the dark and sometimes gritty twist on mythology, I loved it all. The ending was especially surprising and gripping and I can't wait to see what happens next in this series.

Published 4th March 2014 by MiraInk. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

While It Lasts by Abbi Glines

Publisher: Simon Pulse
Published: 6th October 2012
Pages: 304
Format: ebook
Synopsis:
Cage brings his playboy prowess to the countryside as the Sea Breeze hookups continue, from self-published phenomenon Abbi Glines. Low broke Cage’s heart by getting with Marcus in Because of Low. Cage went into a tailspin that ended in a DUI. In order to salvage his baseball scholarship—the one thing he truly valued besides Low—Cage must take a summer job. At a farm. Away from Sea Breeze. With lots of cows, but no hot girls. Maybe that’s what Cage needs to get back on track.
But wait—there’s that hostile daughter of the farm boss. She’s pretty and occasionally sweet, and there seems to be a lot of sadness and mystery behind her anger. Cage is dying to strip her down—physically and mentally—in the back of the barn. But is he prepared for what will happen afterward?

Review:
This is my first Abbi Glines book, even though this is the third in this series, and I loved it! Eva has lost her fiancée in the war a year and a half ago and is having trouble moving on with her life. Enter Cage, a bad boy who got caught, a player who doesn't know any better and a gorgeous guy who definitely knows it! Both Eva and Cage were incredible characters, but Cage really impressed me in how he had layers; too often the bad boy image is never lost but Cage developed in himself and in his respect for women. Eva was equally fantastic, just in how touching her story was and even though she was broken, she refused to let it affect her family and her friendship with Cage.

Initially was not sure about the whole romance of the story, after all, her fiancée has died! But Glines grew the relationship slowly, giving both Eva and the reader to warm up to the idea of a new man in her life. The way Cage and Eva grew closer was sweet and touching but at the same time, funny and sexy. It was a really good build up of relationship, because after the lose of Josh, Eva isn't ready to open her heart to anyone new and Cage is the most unlikely of candidates anyway!

I loved this love story, with all its anger and hurt and funny one-liners, Cage and Eva growing into proper adults and Glines dealing with a rather sensitive issue of moving on after death. Very well done, especially adding in some rather well-written sex scenes!

This counted towards my genre variety and ebook challenges.