Title: As Good As New
Series: Something New #4
Author: Jennifer Dawson
Publisher: Kensington Publishing
Publishing: March 29th, 2016
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Kobo
Rating:


Goodreads blurb: 
He was the high school hottie. She was the teacher's pet. But in private, none of that mattered... 

At the tender age of six, Penelope Watkins fell for her best friend's brother, Evan Donovan, future hunk. By the time they were teenagers, they were having heart-to-hearts…and hot and heavy top secret make-out sessions. All that changed when Evan's father suddenly died. Abruptly, Penelope lost him to grief--and to his true love: football. But now an injury had ended Evan's NFL career. The notorious bad boy was in a depression no one could penetrate, except maybe the one woman who still knew him best--and still wanted him most…

Penelope is the last person Evan wants to witness the wreck he's become. So when she shows up at his door he's less than welcoming--even though the sight of her brings back the same old rush of desire. As a teenager, the emotions overwhelmed him. Now, when he wanted to be overwhelmed, Penelope wasn't playing. She was telling the golden boy it was time to man up. It may have taken a concussion for Evan to realize it, but that's exactly what he wants to do--starting with her…
As always, Jennifer Dawson deliver a romance contemporary that fills me with so many emotions and caring for the Something New cast.

I'm 1000% in love with this cast of characters. I have been since Maddie's book. I love the friendships and how close they are. We have the Donovans - Maddie and her three brothers, Shane, James and Evan. And AS GOOD AS NEW is Evan's turn to have his happy ending. And the only woman who has his heart is none other than Penelope, Maddie's best friend since kids.

It's one of those books that you just love from the start. Evan and Pen know each other since they were six years old and Penelope has loved Evan since then, she even declared she was going to marry him one day. Of course, things don't go as planned and many years later - adults already - they find themselves having a silent agreement: no talking to each other, no being alone together, no talking of the past. No ones knows they once were something more in their teenage years, so the secret died with them. But now Evan wants everything with Pen and Pen is more confused than ever to believe this boy who broken once her heart.

The story is magical and Dawson's writing makes you wish in stars and love at first sight and summer loves and friendships that last forever (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

"Penelope?" 

She met his gaze. "Yes?"

"It was always you. I've always wanted you, even at my most terrible."

 The chemistry (and the hot factor!) between these two lighted up my world. It was steam and flames and the sun shone brighter I bet. They could burn with only looking at each other and I'm still surprised no one found out these two wanted each other so BAD.

I'm happy about Gracie and Penelope's closeness in this book. Gracie is the cutest thing in the world and it made me happy she's the one who gets some of the screentime more than the other characters. And... James, it's always a thrill to see you again. These two lovelies make me into a gooey mess.

 I hope there are more Something New books because I'm always enjoying them and I have such a good time getting into these small town/big city romances! *whispers* I love that they're all rich and successful characters lol

Jennifer Dawson grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and graduated from DePaul University with a degree in psychology. She met her husband at the public library while they were studying. To this day she still maintains she was NOT checking him out. Now, over twenty years later they’re married living in a suburb right outside of Chicago with two awesome kids and a crazy dog.

Despite going through a light FM, poem writing phase in high school, Jennifer never grew up wanting to be a writer (she had more practical aspirations of being an international super spy). Then one day, suffering from boredom and disgruntled with a book she’d been reading, she decided to put pen to paper. The rest, as they say, is history.

These days Jennifer can be found sitting behind her computer writing her next novel, chasing after her kids, keeping an ever watchful eye on her ever growing to-do list, and NOT checking out her husband.

Title: Hotel Ruby by Suzanne Young
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Published: November 3rd, 2015
Link: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
Rating:

Goodreads Synopsis:
Stay Tonight. Stay Forever.

When Audrey Casella arrives for an unplanned stay at the grand Hotel Ruby, she’s grateful for the detour. Just months after their mother’s death, Audrey and her brother, Daniel, are on their way to live with their grandmother, dumped on the doorstep of a DNA-matched stranger because their father is drowning in his grief.

Audrey and her family only plan to stay the night, but life in the Ruby can be intoxicating, extending their stay as it provides endless distractions—including handsome guest Elias Lange, who sends Audrey’s pulse racing. However, the hotel proves to be as strange as it is beautiful. Nightly fancy affairs in the ballroom are invitation only, and Audrey seems to be the one guest who doesn't have an invite. Instead, she joins the hotel staff on the rooftop, catching whispers about the hotel’s dark past.

The more Audrey learns about the new people she's met, the more her curiosity grows. She’s torn in different directions—the pull of her past with its overwhelming loss, the promise of a future that holds little joy, and an in-between life in a place that is so much more than it seems…

Welcome to the Ruby.