Book Review - Leaving Amarillo by Caisey Quinn

Title: Leaving Amarillo (Neon Dreams #1)

Author: Caisey Quinn 

Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Release Date: March 17, 2015
Format: e-book

Genre: NA, Contemporary, Romance 

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis:

Nashville meets New Adult in Neon Dreams, a dramatic, sexy series from bestselling author Caisey Quinn, about a country band’s rocky road to fame—and the ambition, dreams, and love of the people who make the music.

Dixie Lark hasn’t had it easy. She lost her parents in an accident when she was young and grew up in a ramshackle house on a dirt road in Amarillo with her ailing grandparents and overprotective older brother. Thanks to her grandfather, Dixie learned to play a mean fiddle, inspired by the sounds of the greats—Johnny and June, Waylon, and Hank. Her grandfather’s fiddle changed Dixie’s life forever, giving her an outlet for the turmoil of her broken heart and inspiring a daring dream.

Ten years later, Dixie and her brother, Dallas, are creating the music they love and chasing fame with their hot band, Leaving Amarillo. But Dixie isn’t enjoying the ride. All she can think about is Gavin, the band’s tattooed, tortured drummer who she’s loved since they were kids. She knows he feels the connection between them, but he refuses see her as more than his best friend’s little sister.

Convinced that one night with Gavin will get him out of her system, Dixie devises a plan. She doesn’t know that her brother has forbidden Gavin from making a move on her-a promise he swore he’d always keep . . . a promise that once broken will unexpectedly change the future for Dixie, Gavin and the band. 

Thoughts: 

For those of you who read a post I had a while ago about my love for NA, this hasn't changed one bit, as it is I thought it would be fitting for me review this one for y'all because I LOVED IT. I mean country music AND a contemporary romance rolled into one!? What's not to love!? Breaking this down into categories now. 

Characters: Dixie Leigh Lark - This girl is a real hellfire and I loved that about her, she knows what she wants and isn't afraid to go for it even if it is Gavin. She's also not dumb enough to allow her personal feelings to stand in the way of what's right for the band. Plus this girl can play a mean fiddle and if her inspiration came from the Greats, then I really have no problems!

                  Gavin - Not wanting to do anything he isn't supposed to that would cause drama, made him a well liked character with me. Yeah I wish he would have man'd up a bit in the beginning and just said it like it was but it was nice to see him come to terms on his own time. His backstory was one that I felt along with it. 

                 Dallas - This man right here! He wants what's best for him and the band and will make sure that they become the very best, even if it does mean pinching money for the longest time. He's the big brother that most people would love to have. 

The plot itself was well written and is honestly one of the best representations of the music industry that I've read, its not all glamour and easy. Its a hard, tough world to catch your break into and Caisey managed to capture that with this band. In reality this novel reminded me a lot of the show Nashville. Yes I am a Nashville addict! The romance was hot and wonderfully written and I don't think I can look at ice cream the same way again. Honestly this has taken a place on my favorites shelf from now on and I will be getting a physical copy because I love it so much.

The ups and downs and the feels all around especially with the ending left me wanting more and thankfully more is what I got with Loving Dallas. Caisey Quinn you have sung one hell of a tune with Leaving Amarillo! I'm going to be starting Loving Dallas shortly because I really do need to know what is going to happen! 

Overall rating is a 5/5 stars!

Random Ramblings #3 - Thanks

So I haven't rambled in a while but that's because my laptop was all wonky and then my back up on was all wonky and well I'm back for the time being! So I have this post I wanted to do and I have a few people that I'm dedicating this rambly thing to. And like all my Random Ramblings, I write like I talk, so bear with me! 

A year of blogging is approaching me soon (11 months today!) and I want to take this time to thank so really awesome bloggers and non-bloggers who have helped me along the way with the Guy's Side. I know I should really save this post for my blogiversay but I'm just way to excited and with a working laptop now is the time to do this! So without further ado! 

There are two non-bloggers who deserve my biggest thanks and they are the ones responsible for me starting my blog last year under the name Tales of a Book Nerd. One of them is one of my best friends, former "roommate" and craziest enablers of things that I get into, Samantha! She encouraged me to actually start blogging and I have to thank her immensely for it and for everything in the last 5 years of our lives that we've gotten into throughout college and our post graduate lives. She's actually working at a library these days which means I'm going to have more of a reason to harass her on Twitter these days.  

My other big thanks for her encouragement was one of my former supervisors at my college library, Deb! Deb has always given me book recs and asked if I thought a book would be good! She's actually responsible for me falling in love with Something Strange and Deadly! Even now after I've graduated me and Deb still talk books and whats new and she's a great friend as well. So thanks Deb for encouraging the blog and me and everything over the years!

Now there are lots of bloggers I have met on Twitter and there are some that have been super helpful and amazing! 2 of them I mentioned during the #BCLove event on Twitter last night and were confused as to what they've done for me. Well you two, you're going to find out! Most people know who they are, so they would be Nori and Kelly! 

Nori better known as @ReadWriteLove28, has been one of the biggest helps and friendliest people I've had the pleasure to meet since I started. Her blog is also fantastic! http://readwritelove28.com/ From her excel sheets (which have been a godsend!) to just being a great person to chat with and even encouraging me to do posts and looking over posts for me and other little things. She also has #RQWN, which is always a blast and has been a way for me to meet even more new bloggers! So Nori, I just wanted to thank you for all the help you've been to me and my blog over the last few months! It was actually because of Nori, that I met one of the other most amazing ladies ever; Kelly. 

Kelly or @YAFantasyFan, is another fantastic blogger and friendly face around Twitter. The two of us had a conversation about getting co-bloggers one day a couple months ago and we both have them now. Kelly and her tweets with all the advice in them and pictures have actually kept me going with the blog when I've felt like throwing in the towel at times. She also reminds me of another friend who goes by the name of Kelly as well. It's a small world in the blogosphere. So make sure to check her blog out  https://livelovereadya.wordpress.com

I've met very few other guy bloggers and all the guys I've met are amazing in their own ways! There's one though who's been a major help and become a good friend! Ethan Gregory from One Guys Guide To Goodreads! I actually met Ethan during his blogiversay celebration back in March. Let me say this for Ethan, he's a great guy and I am so glad I met him. He introduced me to a whole new realm of books and some other fantastic people. We've discovered that our nerdy interests run pretty much the same, along with our reading habits and he's become my scape goat when I buy new books. He's always put up with a chat with me for whatever reason, even if its about my job and calling the horses; cows and sheep. Hey Ethan if you see this, I've taken to calling Bajaia a mule!

I'm going to take this last little bit of this post to thank the others that I've met and have been thankful for. I would list everyone but that's another post in itself.  There are many more pretty much all of those I follow on Twitter and those who follow me. All of the guys and gals of #OTSPSecretSister project. All of you have been a huge help and lots of fun to talk to all of you. So I guess I have to say thank you to everyone for everything these last 11 months. Next month is my one year anniversary of blogging and I hope y'all are around to see what I have to say then, because it will be an even LONGER post than what I'm used to writing. So I guess until my next R.R. post!

Y'all come back now! Ya hear! 

-Brian

Announcement: AKA Co-Blogger Welcome!

So I would finally like to welcome my co-blogger Scott!I've known Scott for 5 years after spending 4 years together on a tiny little college campus in PA, I had him as a co-reviewer but decided to move him up to co-blogger. I'm super excited to have him here, mainly because I could use the help. So now I'll turn it over to Scott so y'all can get to  meet him.




Howdy all of you wonderful book fanatics! Nice to meet ya'll!! My name is Scott Straubinger and I am one of The Guy's Side's lovely fabulous reviewers! What all is there to know about me?! Why I'm glad you asked!  

Well let's see. I'm an avid reader of anything ranging from Hatchet, to Star Wars Expanded Universe, to Lord of the Rings, to the Inheritance Cycle. My interests range from video games like Mass Effect, to movies, to superheroes! 

Truthfully, I'm just a fun-loving, perky, guy who loves to meet new people (especially wonderful characters from books! The best friends you could ask for!) and loves to talk fantastic things like described above! If you have any book suggestions for review or just general conversation, send me a message on one of these links! Have a great day all my learned new friends!

Twitter: @figgy4prez

email: straubingersc@gmail.com

Facebook: Scott Straubinger

The A - Z Survey is thanks to Jamie over at The Perpetual Page Turner! She's an awesome blogger and y'all need to go check her out!

Author you’ve read the most books from: 

Troy Denning, Timothy Zahn, James Patterson, Cassandra Claire

Best Sequel Ever: 

Clockwork Princess

Currently Reading: 

Nothing right now! :(

Drink of Choice While Reading: 

Green Tea

E–reader or Physical Book?

Physical Book

Fictional Character You Probably Would Have Actually Dated In High School: 

Alec Lightwood tbh, though college would have been Magnus Bane!

Glad you gave this book a chance:
Maximum Ride

Hidden Gem Book:

Hero

Important Moment in your Reading Life:
Star Wars: New Jedi Order Vector Prime

Just Finished:

Maximum Ride Forever

Kinds of Books You Won’t Read: 

Horror

Longest Book You’ve Read:
Eragon

Major book hangover because of: 

Lord of the Rings

Number of Bookcases You Own:

2

One Book You Have Read Multiple Times: 

Star Wars New Jedi Order Star by Star

Preferred Place To Read:

anywhere quiet

Quote that inspires you/gives you all the feels from a book you’ve read: 

"Once a king or queen of Narnia, always a king or queen of Narnia"

Reading Regret:

Dangerous Days of Daniel X

Series You Started And Need To Finish (all books are out in series):
the Ranger's Apprentice

Three of your All-Time Favorite Books: 

Lord of the Rings The Return of the King, Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other
Extreme Sports, Star Wars New Jedi Order: Star by Star

Unapologetic Fangirl For: 

Magnus Bane of the Shadowhunters Chronicles

Very Excited For This Release More Than All The Others:

"was" excited for the Bane Chronicles

Worst Bookish Habit:

rage over people writing in books of any kind

X Marks The Spot: Start at the top left of your shelf and pick the 27th book:

 Star Wars Boba Fett #2: Crossfire

Your latest book purchase: 
Dark Space by Lisa Henry 

ZZZ-snatcher book (last book that kept you up WAY late):
Confessions

I'M BACK!

Hey y'all!

So LONG TIME NO BLOG! If you're wondering what happened to me back in July my laptop quit working and my loving parents fixed up my old laptops that also had quit working over the years and I'm back in business with my first laptop. This means I have a lot I need to catch up on. Blogging, life in general, everything. No more attempting to do everything from my phone or a table that wouldn't connect to my wifi to save it's life. So short post for today but just wanted everyone to be caught up to speed on what had been happening. I also have a horse show this weekend so the blogging will be back in full swing after the weekend when I can sit down and blog without any interruptions! Let me just end this by saying I'm happy to be back!

Until a few more days!

Brian

Cover Reveal The Darkest Flame by Christina Lee

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25800383-the-darkest-flame

From the author of There You Stand, a new male/male romance about an errant motorcycle recruit and the captivating bartender who sends his wheels spinning down an all too tempting road.

Vaughn O’Keefe has been part owner of the Hog’s Den for years. Privy to plenty of Disciples of the Road business, he’s never been more ruffled as when a new recruit named “Smoke” walks through the door. Something about the man gets his blood pumping, but he knows to keep his preferences under wraps around the club.

“Smoke” Callahan has done a couple of rehab stints and is finally clean, thanks to help from the Disciples. He’s on the right path and isn’t about to get sidetracked, no matter how much the guy who manages the bar gets beneath his skin. Besides, his last relationship with a man left him scared, alone, and with a nightmare of an addiction.

When the Hog’s Den becomes shorthanded, and Smoke is ordered to help out the one man he can’t have, his longing for the bartender reaches blistering proportions. Vaughn figures a night together should be enough to satisfy their mutual attraction. But neither banks on just how scorching hot it might be.

As Smoke’s past unravels and the one person he hopes never to lay eyes on again messes with all he holds sacred, it’s time to involve the Disciples. Problem is, he’ll have to risk his membership, his heart, and his own hide to keep everyone he cares about safe

​

Top Ten Tuesday #8 - 10 Most Recent Books

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke & The Bookish and well it's sort of self explanatory. Top 10 of a certain bookish subject. 

 Top 10 Books Recently Come Into My Possession:

Everbound - Brodi Ashton (purchased)

Etherworld - (Trade)

Elusion - (Trade)

The Unfortunate Decisions of Dahlia Moss (ARC - Thank you Book Loft!)

Shadow and Bone - Leigh Bardugo (purchased)

The Burning Sky - Sherry Thomas (purchased)

Strange and Ever After (Paperback) - Susan Dennard (purchased)

Jesse's Girl - Miranda Kenneally (purchased)

Breathe, Annie, Breathe - Miranda Kenneally (purchased)

The Orphan Queen  - Jodi Meadows (library)

SST - Erica Cameron

Goodreads Link:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21427665-deadly-sweet-lies

Synopsis (GR):

Nadette Lawson knows when you’re lying.

Every night for the past two years, the Balasura have visited her dreams, enticing her to enter their world. And every night she’s seen through their lies. Now, they’re tired of playing in the shadows and they begin to stalk her in the waking world. It’s no longer just an invitation; if Nadette doesn’t join them, they’ll take her family. Forever. She needs help, and the haven she’s seeking may be just out of reach.

Julian Teagan is a master of deception.

To survive, he has to convince the world his mother isn’t useless, that everything’s fine, otherwise he’ll lose what little he has left in this life. He knows the lying won’t be enough to keep him and his mother in the shadows, but it’s all he knows. The only light of truth is Orane, a Balasura who sees past Julian’s facade and challenges him to face the darkness.

Then Orane is killed, and Julian learns his mentor was far from innocent. The Balasura have hunted children like him for centuries, and their next target, Nadette is his one chance at finally being a part of something real. If Julian can just convince her to trust him…

About the Author:

After a lifelong obsession with books, Erica Cameron spent her college years getting credit for reading and learning how to make stories of her own. Erica graduated with a double major in psychology and creative writing from Florida State University and began pursuing a career as an author.

Erica is many things but most notably the following: writer, reader, editor, dance fan, choreographer, singer, lover of musical theater, movie obsessed, sucker for romance, ex-Florida resident, and quasi-recluse. She loves the beach but hates the heat, has equal passion for the art of Salvador Dali and Venetian Carnival masks, has a penchant for unique jewelry and sun/moon décor pieces, and a desire to travel the entire world on a cruise ship. Or a private yacht. You know, whatever works.

Her debut novel, Sing Sweet Nightingale, released March 2014 and it was the first volume of The Dream War Saga. In May 2015, Erica and her co-author Lani Woodland launched the Laguna Tides series with Taken by Chance.

What made you want to become an author?

One piece of advice that has been shoved down the throat of my generation is to find something you love and find a way to make money doing it, that way you won’t ever “work” a day in your life.

That’s why I became an author.

Who are some of your biggest influences?

Writerly influences? Honestly too many to name. I am not a very analytical reader, but I tend to absorb my favorite quirks and tricks from all of the books I read. Through something like osmosis, I guess, since it’s not something I consciously think about. The first author I ever obsessed over was Tamora Pierce. She is definitely my longest standing favorite author and, after finally getting to meet her at RT this year, she is also one of my favorite people. My first (very horrible) attempt at a full length novel was essentially Tamora Pierce fanfiction before I knew that fanfiction was a thing people did.

What are you currently reading?

I’m in the middle of beta reading for a couple of friends, actually! Tristina Wright has an amazing and wonderfully diverse sci-fi and Lori Gallagher has written a book of advice for fast-drafting! I adore Tris’s world so much (this is probably the eighth time I’ve read it) and I’m hoping to pick up some of Lori’s mojo from her advice book, honestly! I could use a new burst of speed with all the projects I have to finish before the end of the year! Next up on my TBR that you can actually read now are None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio and Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton.

Do you have plans for your next book already?

More than I know what to do with, honestly. There is a high fantasy trilogy that I would love to finish shaping (and I’m crossing my fingers that I get the chance soon), a two-book sci-fi concept that I kind of adore, an I-don’t-know-how-many-book thriller world, and a lot of different contemporary novels--most of them co-authored with Lani Woodland. As a reader my tastes are all over the genre spectrum, so my writing tends to follow the same scope.

The world you created is fantastic, how did you come up with the idea for the Dream War saga?

Thank you so much! The dreamworld evolved slowly, but it began with a single line from “Creation Lake” by Silversun Pickups: There are twenty-four parts of the day that divide me from you. My first question was, “Well, what about the twenty-fifth part of the day? What happens then?” In that instant, I had a world in which two characters could only meet once a day for a limited amount of time. The mechanics of the dreamworld--which I named Abivapna--and the personalities of the creatures who live there--the Balasura--were shaped by the needs of the story, by the movie What Dreams May Come, and by some concepts and assumptions I used in my first ever completed original novel. The rest of the Dream War universe is a twist on the Earth we know. Swallow’s Grove is based on the small upstate New York town my father grew up in (although it’s not located in the same spot) and the locations in Deadly Sweet Lies are places I’ve either lived or visited. For example, I put Nadette in the Fort Lauderdale neighborhood I grew up in and plopped Julian right off the center of Las Vegas.

For me, worldbuilding is half the fun of writing. Getting to either start with a blank canvas and play god or look at the world around me and tweak the bits I wish were different is wonderful. Luckily I got to do a lot of that for this series!

Will the conclusion to the Dream War Saga be released next year?

I don’t yet have a release date for the third book (which is not quite the conclusion of the series), but the first draft is written and was turned in earlier this year. Hopefully I’ll know soon and I promise I’ll update you all as soon as I have the information confirmed! I can tell you that book 3 will have one returning narrator and one new narrator--a character we’ve already met but haven’t had a firsthand account from yet.


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