Heat

*ARC Given to Blog for Honest Review*

4.5 “synonyms” “Parker” “Sandeke” “Are you always like this?” Kisses

GAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!! I feel like that’s all I can say because words fail me…emotions fail me…my heart and brain totally fail me because all that I can come up with right now is GAHHHH! I love it when Penny Reid does this to me…renders me absolutely useless because of her amazing words and her unforgettable characters. She does it quite often and you would think I’d be used to it by now…but nope. It’s still amazing. So…the reason I’m losing my cotton flippin’ mind is because of this lovely little book called Heat – it’s the second book in the Elements of Chemistry Trilogy, a series that M-U-S-T be read in order…so if you haven’t read Attraction stop everything and read it immediately. I’m so in love with this series…my entire brain has been overrun with these characters. Don’t get me wrong, I happily accept them taking full and complete control – just stating a fact.

Kaitlyn Parker…this girl never ceases to amaze me. Regardless of if it’s the things that come out of her mouth…the ideas that come from her brilliant brain…how she processes different situations she is in…her many secret talents…Kaitlyn is always full of surprises and I thoroughly enjoy every single one of them. I said it in my review of Attraction and I’ll say it again, this series is just as much about Kaitlin’s growth as it is about her relationship with Martin and seeing how much she has changed and developed as a character is just as important to me as her being in love.

“If you help me soften my calluses, I’ll help you soften yours.”
I swallowed, feeling dazed. “How?”
“Be passionate.”
I shook my head, a dizzy denial spilling from my lips. “I’m just not built that way.”
“From where I’m sitting, you are.” Martin growled this then leaned forward to steal a quick kiss, his mouth leaving a trail from my jaw to my neck, whispering after biting my ear, “You are. You’ve just…turned it off, buried it for some reason.”
“Why do you even care?”
“Because Kaitlyn, and I don’t know how many times you’re going to make me say this, I care about you, I want you.”
“But why—”
“Why do people care about each other? What is attraction? I can’t give you a list of reasons why I react to you like I do. This isn’t an equation to balance. You’re the one I’m always thinking about. It’s you. It just is.”

Martin Sandeke….I will say it a million times if I have to, I am dyinggggg to get in this guys head!!! The more I learn about him the more I want to know and at this point I’m ready to build a fort and hunker down for the winter until I get some answers. Martin is complex…he isn’t always the easiest character to love but for me that only makes me love him more. He needs the love…he’s never had someone who has cared for him like Kaitlyn does. He’s never been able to put his faith and trust in someone and that breaks my heart.

‘I hated them for being too blind or evil to recognize how sacred his heart was, how he needed tenderness, care, and love. My heart broke a little as I wondered whether he’d ever experienced genuine affection from another person.
Given what I knew so far, I thought the chances were slim.
Yet, there was something about him that made me think he knew what normal was; he seemed to want normal for himself. He knew that mutual respect, honesty, and affection were essential, even though those closest to him had never demonstrated any of those character traits.
His enemies were now my enemies. I hoped he knew that, no matter what happened between us in the long run, whether we ended as friends after all this was over, he had a safe place with me.’

Ooooooooooooh boy…wow. Just wow – Kaitlyn and Martin go from level 5 to level 89,482,395 and I was so on board for every second of their journey. It’s interesting because a lot is packed in to a short amount of time and I kept having to remind myself of that fact. Sam and Kaitlyn call it dating boot camp and that’s 100% what it feels like. But I loved it…I loved all of it, even when they were fighting because everything that Martin and Kaitlyn do is with passion. They have intense feelings and strong personalities and when those two clash it can be the best and worst thing ever. Seeing them grow with each other…open up to each other…it’s fascinating and amazing and just sheer bliss.

‘“So you like me because I can empathize with you?”
“No…yes, that’s definitely part of it, but…” His frustration was a tangible thing, curling around his strong body and filling the air with tension. “I like you because you are Kaitlyn—genuine, beautiful, brilliant, amazing Kaitlyn—not because you’re Kaitlyn Parker. And I’m in love with you because I can’t help myself.”
Oh well…barnacles.
That struck me right in the feels.’

Penny Reid…you evil genius! When I think of Penny writing the Elements of Chemistry Series I picture her wearing a dashing black cape, with a sinister look on her face, typing away furiously as she concocts wicked ways to smash my heart into bits. And she’s exceedingly amazing at it. I cannot get over what she has done with this series…the way the first two books have worked together, the flow and the timing, what she has been able to pack into a novella, the way that she created Martin and Kaitlyn’s characters…all of it is so well orchestrated and I’m just so in love with every second of it.

“I know trusting can’t be easy for you.”
“You make it easy.” His eyes lit as he caught my wrists, and used his body to press me against the door. Martin’s voice dropped an octave as he added, “Being with you, listening to you play music, calling you on your bullshit…”
I lifted an eyebrow at this, feeling acutely peeved and opening my mouth to protest. He grinned and spoke faster to keep me from interrupting. “…touching you, kissing you, watching you come, making love to you…you make everything right.”

The ending for Heat….is just as brutal as Attraction. In a different way, it’s still cliffhanger-y, it’s not as dramatic but I’m ready to curl up in a ball, hide in a closet and cry until things are better. That might be a bit over dramatic but that’s how I roll. I’m desperate…I need answers, I need more Martin and Kaitlyn, I need better things and I need to go back to that little boat in the middle of the Caribbean waters and just pretend the ending didn’t happen. Basically the second I’m done typing this review I’m diving head first into Capture and I absolutely cannot wait. #ILoveChemistry

This is book two of the Elements of Chemistry series and the continued story of Kaitlyn and Martin. Book one ended with Martin acting weird just before the party. He had one of his friends escort her and then left her in the crowd and then she catches him kissing someone else. So much for him being her date and him wanting them to be a couple.

Kaitlyn is having a hard time concentrating when Martin touches her so in order for them to get to know each other better she has enacted No-Touch Tuesday. Something Martin is not at all happy with, but she is determined that if they are going to make them work they need to get to know each other better….not just physically.

This book gave me all the feels even hate. Martin’s father and stepfather are pure evil. I loved how Kaitlyn and Martin broke down each other’s barriers and opened their self up to love.

I hated it coming down to the decision of her saving her mother’s dreams and his determination to destroy his father. Looking forward to seeing hoe the writer gets Martin back into Kaitlin’s good graces.

You have to read this as a series. It is not a standalone book, but you won’t be disappointed. Amazing story.

So this book I didn’t like quite as much as the first one. About halfway through I came really close to giving up and moving on to something else. I actually did stop for about a week and try listening to something else. Which I think then I did DNF that one, and will post about it later. But I came back to this and ended up being interested enough to go on to the final book. For example: the thought about how being desired, feeling desirable is something so hard to let go really resonates with me. And I totally get it, it’s very addictive. And I said a big amen to the part about violence and bad language ok, but the human body being so horrible in America. So frustrating!! Something Kaitlyn did or said was that if no one can see you because you’re hiding, then they can’t ignore you is probably something I do myself. The part that made me almost give up was another bit about “the marrying kind” of girl, and how she shouldn’t be giving him a blow job if she was that kind of girl. I mean WTF! So judgemental I was really irritated. I get some men may think that way, but I didn’t expect it from the guy we are supposed to be falling in love with along with the heroine.

4.5 “Thank God I don’t have to wait to read on” Stars

Oh, the angst!! Thank God the third and final part of this story is already out, or I’d have been having a ginormous meltdown right this second.

One of my favorite parts of Heat was how instrumental Martin was for Kaitlyn’s “awakening”. She had been more or less living life behind a curtain and she was now beginning to actually experience it. I loved how she was with Martin and how in return he was with her.

Once more a perfectly chosen title, the hotness level of their chemistry was out of this world and their sexy interactions left me breathless.

With very different but very strong personalities, Martin and Kaitlyn’s forage into relationship land was bound to be eventful. Add to this the outside forces that seemed set on throwing sticks into their wheels, and man! I was devastated and crying, snot and all, into my pillow late last night.

Gah! I was so completely engaged and into the characters that I got all the feels. Even right now, as I type this while thinking of the story I’m sporting one sad-looking pout. I just can’t help myself, Ms. Reid’s writing has the power to suck me into her stories and take me along her characters for their ride. I will admit, though, that I was disappointed that we didn’t get even a little bit of Martin’s PoV in this one either. I’m holding the hope that he’ll get to share his mind in the next one though.

Again, these two don’t feel like barely adultish people, but again I do not give a flying fig. I’m loving Kaitlyn and Martin’s story and I’m hopeful I will get to see them end up happily ever after together in a little while when I finish the last part of the story. What? You thought I would have been able to wait a little bit to start it? Ha! I challenge anyone out there to finish Heat and not immediately start the following book. I’ll send you cookies that you obviously won’t eat because you have an iron will. Kudos for that.

At the risk of repeating myself, holy crap! I just feel like Penny’s books inexplicably just keep getting better and better. Part 2 in the Elements of Chemistry series had me grimacing and steaming and swooning and happy and sad. I think it’s a sign of a magical writer when they write characters that make you want to jump through the pages and hug them and throttle them at the same time. I felt this way about both of the main characters at some point during my read. I’m not saying much about the plot, I know, but you need to read part 1, and then this one, and then part 3. That’s where I’m heading now. 5 stars for Heat, obviously!

I just finished the second book and absolutely loved it, this one had such a good story line and I felt that it moved on seamlessly from the first one as the first one finished on a little cliffhanger I was glad I could get into this book straight away and I did which I don’t do often.

I still loved all the scientific talk in this one and just made this novel different for me and I loved that, this one was a bit more drama filled and I really liked the high intensity from Martin and the shyness from Kaitlyn.

Again I loved both characters and how the evolved. Martin really brought Kaitlin out of her shell and showed her that she wasn’t really loving life, throughout the novel I really grew to love Martin even more until the end where I just needed him to be less selfish but once again Penny Reid keeps us hanging on and leaves us with wanting to start the next book straight away again.

If you have read the first book you will not be disappointed in this next installment, I felt there was more angst especially at the end and just had me craving for more.

Another big 5 stars for this one

5 “That struck me right in the feels” stars! I really, really,really loved this book. The writing, the characters, the funny, the feels. Love. It. All. I can not wait for the conclusion, my heart is hurting for both Martin and Kaitlyn.

Sidenote- This part really spoke to me personally. When I read it, it made my eyes leak a little. I feel that this is so true and it really had a tremendous impact on me.I know it’s only 2 sentences, but in my world right now, I really needed to “hear” this. Thank you for your words.

“We can’t change the past. But we can change how much importance we allow it to have over our future.”

second book of a 3 book series. well-developed characters. need to read the third book “Capture” to know ending