"All of Me" by Gina Sorelle

All of Me - Gina Sorelle 

Stella Ciaramitaro spent the last year battling a disease that tried to take her life…and take her away from her four crazy, pain-in-the-butt sisters, occasionally suicidal father, and career as an Emergency Room nurse. Stella’s disease wreaked a lot of havoc, leaving her with visible and invisible scars, but she’s hanging in there. Doing just fine, actually. 
Or she was until HE showed up. 

Nathan Drazek is a mess and he knows it. A childhood full of mental and physical abuse, four tours in Afghanistan, and ten years policing one of the toughest beats in East Cleveland have left him aloof and nearly incapable of interpersonal relationships. But that’s okay, because Nathan isn’t interested in anything more than just getting by. 
Or he wasn’t until SHE showed up. 

From the moment Nathan nearly arrests Stella, sparks fly, limits are tested, and boundaries are shattered. A tenuous, tender friendship quickly evolves into something powerfully passionate they cannot wish away or control. As they grow closer, new issues arise and old hurts resurface, threatening to destroy their fragile new beginning. 

With everything at stake, Nathan and Stella must ultimately decide which runs deeper: their scars or their love.

"2B or Not 2B?" by Stephanie Witter

      So I just finished the New Adult Contemporary Romance novel, 2B or Not 2B? by Stephanie Witter, and for the most part loved it! I really liked how London wasn't afraid to be herself, and that she had a good relationship with her (not so) little sister. London reminds me of myself and her relationships remind me of my own. 

Synopsis: 

London Reed is on the hunt for a place to live before the start of her second year in college. Either she is successful and can enjoy her student life without the pressure of her parents breathing down her neck, or she goes back home and clashes with her parents.

Because London doesn't have a filter.

''You’re a weird one, aren't you?''

She basically tells it as she sees it. So when she meets the hunky and scarred guy who lives in apartment 2B, the last apartment on her exhausting list, she’s sure to bring some crazy in his life.

But he’s determined to not take a girl for a roommate.

"I have nothing against you, but I don't see this working for me."

London doesn’t give up that easily and makes a deal with him. If she makes it for two months, she’s in for the whole year. If not, then she leaves to never contact him again.

Easy, right? Not so much.

"You should have told me that you wanted me to be all over you."

When a guy and a girl live under the same roof, it’s bound to complicate things. Between banters, heady games of seduction, innuendos and insecurities revealed, the life in apartment 2B isn't simple, and a few slips in their relationship doesn't help the matter.

"You're driving me completely nuts. That's my fucking problem."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

      London and Byron's relationship was awkward, funny, and most of all, realistic! Byron has a lot of baggage, but it doesn't stop him from opening up and becoming more human, more vulnerable. There were times I laughed out loud while reading this (of course, I was at the allergist's office, and people looked at me like I was crazy haha) and times my heart just broke for the characters. London really grew up over the course of the two months documented, and opened herself up to love. She was burned by her high school boyfriend and became slightly bitter towards love, and didn't see herself in the way others saw her. 

      I didn't like how she (London) talked about her weight and looks as much as she did, I felt like we got the point that she wasn't a toothpick, but that she was a realistic woman, who wasn't completely comfortable with her body. Her best friend, Logan, was amazing, and knew her in that way only those close to one do. My pet peeve with him is that he almost never called London by her name, or some variation of it, but rather called her "Baby." If you've been friends as long as those two have, there is usually at least one nickname that one person has for the other. 

     I would have loved to have this be a dual POV, so we could see what (Lord) Byron was thinking, but there were allusions at the end of 2B or Not 2B? that there was possibly a book coming out in the series that was from his POV. I felt like the author could have extended the book a little bit by showing what exactly happened with London and her ex - we never find out their history, which is a little frustrating. I felt like if I knew the backstory, I could hate him more, haha. 

     Overall, I really liked this book! It is on my favorites on my Kindle, and while there were some grammatical issues and the fact that it was set in California at UCLA (correct me if I'm wrong, please), they used verbage that Americans, especially American college students don't use. For example, talking about "snogging" instead of kissing; the spelling of roomy - to me this means there is a lot of room as opposed to a roommate (roomie); saying "fancied" to show they liked something, and other small things that aren't necessarily incorrect, but just don't fit with the setting and jarred  me out of the flow. 

 I've decided to give 2B or Not 2B? 4/5 Stars. I really enjoyed this and other books by Stephanie Witter, and with some cleaning up, this could easily be a 5 star book. 

Purchase Links: 

amzn.to/ViMBoJ 

http://bit.ly/Nook2Bornot2B