Recently I hosted a book giveaway and 5 readers won a copy of Lucid Dreaming. So far, two winners from the giveaway have read the book and left me a 5-star review!

Both of these incredibly generous women are avid readers and I can’t even describe to you how amazing it feels to earn their praise! I’ve decided to share these accomplishments because I’ve been accused of not “tooting my own horn” enough in the past and it has cost me things like raises and promotions.

Being an indie author is slowly forcing me to feel “ok” about flaunting my successes. After all,  I’m doing this “author” thing on my own. If I don’t toot the horn, no one will and I’ll just spiral into the abyss. SO…

First up is a review by Melinda Daniel  

I love this book so much!!!! I won a physical copy from Twitter & it was an unexpected surprise!!!!!! Quinn is my new book boyfriend & there r manyyyyyyyy LOL. It’s absolutely adorable & the romance was SMOKING!!!!! This book will give u all the feelings & then some!! Please go out & get a copy for yourself will not regret it 1 bit!!!!🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉💑💑💑💑💏💏💏💏

Melinda (@Melindabooknerd on Twitter) actually called Quinn her book boyfriend!!! To me, that’s MAJOR #goals. To know there is another person on this planet who loves Quinn the way I do is beyond words to me. She also describes the romance as SMOKING with basically 35 exclamation points, and that right there had me rolling on the floor. Plus, look at that emoji action!? Damn girl!

Thanks, Mel, for giving an indie a shot and saying such wonderful things. If you don’t follow @melindabooknerd on Twitter or @melindabooknerd82 on Instagram, I encourage you to DO IT NOW!

Second up is a review by book reviewer and book blogger, Bree Howland:

I won this in a giveaway from the author. And oh my actual hell I am so glad I did.
Okay… so a few thoughts I had while reading this book:

1. Quinn reminds me of Spencer Reid from Criminal minds. Which is amazing.
2. I did not expect that twist that essentially turned it into a Criminal Minds/Law and Order SVU episode, which was also amazing.
3. The book was so amazingly written. And that bet. That bet was amazing.

So to summarize… this book is amazing.
…
Allie and Quinn were so amazing together. Allie didn’t try to fix him. She recognized and accepted that he had his own issues and she didn’t try to force anything on him. That is an unbelievably important message to get across. Sometimes a person just needs support and that is exactly what she provided for him. This was so sweet and romantic and heartbreaking and wonderful and infuriating and… yeah, let’s just say I have feelings. I absolutely cannot wait to read Heather’s next book. This was a fantastic debut and she is definitely someone you should keep your eye on!

I have never watched Criminal Minds before, so if Quinn and Spencer are twinsies, I swear that was unintentional, haha! Also, thank you for mentioning “the bet.” I can’t say what “the bet” is, but if you read Lucid Dreaming, you’ll know…

Bree pointed out that Alison doesn’t try to “fix” Quinn and I shit you not, I’d never really given it too much thought. I knew I wanted her to accept his quirks and I knew I didn’t want her to be bossy, but the actual trope of a woman trying to “fix” a guy never popped into my head! Now, the guy who wants the girl to “stay away because he’s damaged” trope is referenced a couple of times in the book, but Alison shuts that shit down faster than it can leave his lips. That I thought about and that was intentional. 

My favorite word Bree used to describe Lucid Dreaming was “infuriating”. It may not seem like a positive word, but in the case of this plot, I believe it totally is. There are things about this book that should infuriate you… things that, though they are fictional, do happen everyday in real life. I like the word and I thank you, Bree, for using it.

Please, PLEASE go visit and subscribe to Bree’s blog: Perpetual Fangirl. She is SO NICE, passionate about books and is even releasing a book of her own very soon! It’s a sweet, romantic little ditty called Bring Me Home, which I just finished reading and was totally enchanted by. It’s a perfect read for the winter months, but honestly, Kailey and Cole’s love story is for all year round!

Both Mel and Bree say the book gave them “feelings”. Personally, when I read books or watch TV/Movies, I am looking to be moved. Unless I’m in a carefree kind of mood, I want things to give me feelings. So that being said, I take this declaration from both women to be a HUGE compliment. 

I want to thank you ladies for participating in the giveaway, taking the time to read my book and for taking even more time to review it! It means THE WORLD to me. Christmas definitely came early and I am HASHTAG BLESSED. (Did I do that right? 😉)