THE BOY AND HIS RIBBON
Genre: Coming of Age, Romance, Contemporary
Series: The Ribbon Duet #1
Author: Pepper Winters
Release Date: April 1, 2018![]()

“What do you do when you meet your soul mate? No wait…that’s too easy. What do you do when you meet your soul mate and have to spend a lifetime loving him in secret?
I’ll tell you what you do.
You lie.”REN
Ren was eight when he learned that love doesn’t exist—that the one person who was supposed to adore him only cared how much he was worth.
His mother sold him and for two years, he lived in terror.
But then…he ran.
He thought he’d run on his own. Turned out, he took something of theirs by accident and it became the one thing he never wanted and the only thing he ever needed.DELLA
I was young when I fell in love with him, when he switched from my world to my everything.
My parents bought him for cheap labour, just like they had with many other kids, and he had the scars to prove it.
At the start, he hated me, and I could understand why.
For years he was my worst enemy, fiercest protector, and dearest friend.
But by the end…he loved me.
The only problem was, he loved me in an entirely different way to the way I loved him.
And slowly, my secret drove us apart.
He touched you deeper than any hand could reach. He affected you harder than any spoken word ever could.
He cared with his entire soul and committed with entire being.
Before I get into all the fantastic things about this book, I want to address the one negative piece. I’d like to get it out of the way with, because if I’m being perfectly honest, something that I thought could ruin the story for me actually ended up being nothing but a minor annoyance in the grand scheme of things. So confession time. I actually DNFd this book originally. Twice. Now, now, stow away those pitch forks and tomatoes and allow me to explain. See originally, I stopped reading at 20%. I felt compelled to push myself and ended up getting to 37%, only to stop again. As beautifully lyrical as the writing was and as unique as the story itself was, the amount of detail and the somewhat verbose nature of the first half of this book was difficult for this picky reader to get past. The story follows the main characters over the span of 18 years. And the reader is privy to every minute detail of their life. While it sets the stage and truly allows you to get to the heart of who these characters are, for this reader that has a penchant for instant gratification, it was a struggle. So what I’m telling you is, it’s definitely a me thing. If this level of detail and description doesn’t bother you, you won’t bat an eyelash at this. But for me, I felt like a good 20% of the overall book could have been trimmed and not lost anything in the process. But again, that’s a ME thing.
So getting to the good. For the first time in all of my reading history, I felt compelled to finish. There was just something so unique and gripping about this story, that I simply couldn’t bear not knowing how it all comes together. And I have never been more grateful for pushing myself through. Because that final 60%? It turned everything around. It made me fall in love with this captivating, emotional, and unforgettable story. It made me connect with this wonderfully unique, multi-layered characters. It had me eager to reveal layer after layer of detail that the story offered. And it had me riveted to the pages from that point on.
I was never lacking for love. I never felt unwanted or hurt or scared. He was my entire universe, and he treated me like I was his in return.
The author warned that this is completely different from her usual dark romance. And it totally was. Though I will say, it did have that touch of the signature dark undercurrent that Winters carries in her writing style.
You get introduced to the main characters as just children. With the heroine being just a baby at one years old, and the hero being a mere boy of ten. It takes them on an unforgettable journey of struggle and nightmares, wrapped in a unique sort of bond that ultimately shifts into a love unlike any other. Over the course of the next eighteen years, you get a peek inside adult Della’s head through a letter that she pens for her school. You get glimpses of how she saw their truth and the life they led. And you see a child’s bond that slowly, naturally, and surely begins to morph into a woman’s adoration and love.
I will always love you, Della Ribbon. Until the day I die and even past that.
This is not a romance, though it carries undercurrents of one. This is the set up of what’s truly looking to be one epic romance in the second part of the duet. But what this book does is set that stage. It builds the blocks of the foundation that their feelings are based one. It takes you into the dark underbelly of the horrors that these characters survived and came out stronger from. It spares no detail. It leaves no stone unturned. And it’s not afraid to give the gritty, emotional, and painful detail of the mistakes that both Della and Ren make along the way.
If you’re looking for something different, unique and compelling, this book is certainly that. Will I be reading the next one? Absolutely! And if you’re anything like me, don’t judge it but the somewhat slower pace of the beginning. Because the hook of this unique story is so unsuspecting, you’ll never see it coming. And before you know it, you’re glued to your kindle, incapable of setting it down until the very last page.



He touched you deeper than any hand could reach. He affected you harder than any spoken word ever could.
LOVE AND OTHER WORDS


I don’t typically read women’s fiction, unless of course it’s penned by the talented duo that is Christina Lauren. Then I don’t even think twice about jumping into the story. Though truth be told, while the story encompasses friendship, life and loss, the romantic element is very much at the heart of everything. So even though it wasn’t the steamy romance that I’m used to from theses authors, the emotional connection that I developed to these characters and their story was more than enough to make up for it.


























THE SECRET THIEF






What a perfectly swoony and incredibly written treat this book was. Having never read a Nina Lane book before, I had no idea what to expect. And now I’m seriously kicking myself for waiting so long to experience this talented author. The Secret Thief was a beautifully crafted tale that kept me riveted to the pages, desperate for more, and incapable of setting it down for even a second.
New York Times & USA Today bestselling author Nina Lane writes hot, sexy romances about professors, bad boys, candy makers, and protective alpha males who find themselves consumed with love for one woman alone. Originally from California, Nina holds a PhD in Art History and an MA in Library and Information Studies, which means she loves both research and organization. She also enjoys traveling and thinks St. Petersburg, Russia is a city everyone should visit at least once. Although Nina would go back to college for another degree because she’s that much of a bookworm and a perpetual student, she now lives the happy life of a full-time writer.
THE BEST MAN


THE END ZONE



Sage is a Grade-A Douchebag-Man-Whore. He is the college quarterback, soon to be drafted, and can get anything he wants, including women. After a recent incident, he is lusting after his roommate, Jolie. He has never felt anything for her before now. Sage and Jolie have been best friends since they were kids. Jolie has been in lurrrrve with Sage since then as well, but OF COURSE he doesn’t know it, and OF COURSE he is a Douchebag-Man-Whore. There is no way she is going to put herself out there only to get hurt and lose her best friend in the process.
L.J. Shen is an International #1 best-selling author of Contemporary Romance and New Adult novels. She lives in Northern California with her husband, young son and chubby cat.
THE PAPER SWAN

This weekend I didn’t just read a book, I experienced one. I fell head over heels for an all encompassing, gritty and emotional romance that kept me glued to the pages from start to finish. I’m embarrassed to say I’ve had this phenomenal story on my kindle for over 2 years and only now just read it. I’m kicking myself for it fully for only now discovering the raw talent that is Leylah Attar writing. Because this book? This book was everything. EVERYTHING. It was devastating, passionate, beautiful and dark. It was flawlessly written and entirely unforgettable.
Damian. Oh man. Damian. This was such an intense and complex anti-hero. You want to hate him for what he does, and then he gives you glimpses of something more vulnerable behind the mask he wears, and you can’t help but yearn for more of it. This is a character with so many layers, that even if you peeled them all back, you’d still not get to the center of it.


































SAVAGE PRINCE



Meghan March does it yet again. She delivers an erotically charged story full of twists and turns that will leave readers riveted to the pages and begging for more. And this reader? I’m currently rocking myself in a corner as I wait (im)patiently for the next installment.
A New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of over twenty novels, Meghan March has been known to wear camo face paint and tromp around in woods wearing mud-covered boots, all while sporting a perfect manicure. She’s also impulsive, easily entertained, and absolutely unapologetic about the fact that she loves to read and write smut. Her past lives include slinging auto parts, selling lingerie, making custom jewelry, and practicing corporate law. Writing books about dirty talking alpha males and the strong, sassy women who bring them to their knees is by far the most fabulous job she’s ever had.
HURTS TO LOVE YOU


I immediately fell hard for Alisha Rai’s writing when I first read 
















