Tag: Lavinia Urban

Book Reviews · Monday Musings

Pride (Lavinia Urban’s Seven Deadly Sins Series Book 2) by Lavinia Urban & Stacy McWilliams

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There were three things Hunter Sinclair cared about: his club, his Harley and his family.

Being the poster boy for the Atlanta Angels didn’t last long and soon Hunter was forced to flee to Florida with a shattered family and broken dreams.

On the outside Savannah Simmons has it all: good grades, the perfect family and amazing friends, but appearances can be deceptive. Beneath the surface, things are far from perfect.

She was everything he craved but he knew she could never be his for fear that his past would destroy her.

Could Hunter swallow his pride and admit how much he wanted her or would the repercussions from his past tear them apart?

This is the second of the books in the series completed in honour of Lavinia Urban, you can find the review for the first book, Lust, here. Again I approached this with mixed feelings, luckily I still do not have to worry about what will happen if I do not enjoy one of these books.

I had not read anything by Stacy previous to this, so I was not sure what to expect but I did feel that this was a book I could have imagined Lavinia writing. It certainly has more of a YA/New Adult feel than the first book, and is, in many ways a coming of age story, a trope frequently exhibited in Lavinia’s other series. The whole teenage forbidden love, and moving on despite feelings remaining, resonated with me and I can imagine this could be the start of something more.

The characters are well written and believable, likewise the situations that are covered in the book including the way that the parents ‘good boy’ is really the predator while the ‘bad influence’ is the hero.

I am so happy to be able to give this five out of 5 stars without any hesitation and recommend that if you have not already read these books them find them on KU, not only are you helping a family mourning the loss of their wonder woman but you will also get to read some new authors.

3d rendering of 5 gold stars
Book Reviews

Book Review: Lust: Lavinia Urban’s Seven Deadly Sins Series by Lavinia Urban (Goodreads Author), Rene Folsom

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Throughout December I am going to try to post a review each day to catch up on some of the books I have read this year!

Plentiful. Enjoyable. Disposable.

Women were like toys to me, and I wasn’t at all ashamed to say so. I worked hard and deserved to enjoy my possessions. Those who discredited me for my attitude didn’t know a thing about life or how to live it.

Money. Motorcycles. Women.

They were all possessions in my eyes, and I had no shame in taking what I wanted when I wanted it. Even though I wasn’t stupid, I usually spat caution in the wind when it came to sweeties. It wasn’t like anything would ever go beyond the first night.

Of course, leave it to Alexina to derail everything I thought I knew.

***

ATTENTION: Lavinia Urban had a vision to write this series, yet her life was taken from her all too soon after a heart-wrenching battle with Metastatic Breast Cancer. Aside from her family’s welfare, her last wish was for her friends to continue these stories about The Seven Deadly Sins. With her husband’s well wishes, seven authors banded together to bring Lavinia Urban’s Seven Deadly Sins Series to her fans and readers everywhere. All proceeds will go to Lavinia’s loving husband and adorable children. May she rest in peace with the knowledge we will never forget her.

I put my hands up before I start, reading these books was one of the hardest things I have ever done, Lavinia was a friend and an author I respected, I had to suppress any emotions I may have had regarding the fact she did not get to write these stories herself.

Rene Folsom was a new author to me but I thoroughly enjoyed this story and am looking forward to reading more from her. The characters are well written, and it is easy to identify with two people not looking for love but meeting a person who should be all wrong for them but ends up being so right. These books are more along the lines of short stories/novellas, so I consider it natural for the story to be a little faster paced than you might wish for but that is in part down to the amazing effort made by these amazing authors to honour Lavinia’s wishes and finish this series for her.

Most of the authors seem to have used characters from their own series, spun off into this collection, so not only does that make these stories worth reading in their own right, but also as an introduction to a whole new series of books if you enjoy the writer’s style.

I would have been absolutely devasted if I had not been about to give this full marks but I have no qualms hitting 5 out of five stars for this first book in the series.

3d rendering of 5 gold stars
1. Monday · Book Reviews

Book Review – My Journey: Living With Metastatic Breast Cancer. By Lavinia Urban

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*Disclaimer I have met this author and do consider her a friend however as always the review will be 100% honest.

5

The Goodreads blurb reads…

2017 was one of the hardest times of my life. It was the year I was diagnosed with Metastatic Breast Cancer.
In this book I lay everything bare and tell you what it is really like living with cancer.

I met Lavinia last year at Darker, by that point she was already fighting cancer. She was talking about it a little on social media however the things she relates in this book are in many cases far more personal yet show the amazing sense of humour and courage which has endeared her to so many people. When you get any serious illness there are so many little things that only other people who have suffered it can tell you, sometimes you are scared to ask in case it is just you or people will look at you differently. This is not a book about the drugs, given the conversations with doctors, or a deep philospophical discussion on the meaning of life. this is so much more. This is a no frills look at the realities of living with this terrible disease and the way this affects not only the person receiving the diagnosis but also those nearest and dearest to them.

It is a story of hope, love and laughter but there is a glimpse of the darkness threatening this remarkable family lurking in the background. I am biased not because I have met this author but because I admire her spirit and strength and believe she is truly inspirational. Almost every person I know has been touched by Cancer one way or another and thiere are parts of this book that will make you laugh, and cry. If you know someone just starting a fight against this disease buy them this book, let them know that they can fight it but also that they should never be afraid to ask anything. I can only give this book one score and that is 5 out of 5 gold stars.

You can learn more about Lavinia and her fiction here https://www.facebook.com/LaviniaUrbanAuthor/