{Guest Post/GIVEAWAY!!!} Allie Everhart Dishes Out Her Top 5 Favorite Romances

Allie Everhart writes about dating, love, and romance. She’s also a freelance writer for magazines and websites. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, running, or binge-watching TV shows on DVD. Some of her favorites are Gilmore Girls, Mad Men, Veronica Mars, and Gossip Girl. When writing her novels, Allie likes to drink dark-roast coffee when writing suspense scenes and red wine when writing love scenes. And eating chocolate is good when writing any kind of scene.

Top 5 Favorite Romances

You've Got Mail. I liked that the romance between the couple (Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks) took time to build and that she didn't make it easy for him.

Wait for You. (by J. Lynn). Avery had issues to get over and I liked that Cam helped her get past them. I also liked that the romance developed slowly, no insta-love.

Gilmore Girls. Luke and Lorelai drove me crazy with their on-again, off-again romance but it finally worked out in the end. I like how Luke always cared about Lorelai even when they weren’t dating, helping her out whenever she or Rory needed something.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I liked how Angel was protective of Buffy and kept watch on her from afar. I loved it when the two of them finally got together. But as soon as they did, they had to break apart! (sigh) I longed for them to get back together in the Angel/Buffy crossover episodes but it never happened. And for the record, I did not like Buffy with Spike. 

Shrek and Fiona. At first they seemed so different, but they were actually a perfect match. I loved how Fiona brought out the sweet side of Shrek. You know you’re a good couple when you bring out the best in each other. 

When Jade is given a scholarship to an elite private college in Connecticut, she sees it as a chance to finally escape her painful past and get a fresh start. She’s determined to succeed and that means keeping her focus on school and not guys. But her plan falls apart her first day on campus when Garret, a rich prep school boy with swimmer abs and a perfect smile, offers to help her move in.

Jade tries to push him away, but she can’t deny her attraction to him and Garret won’t let her. Things quickly heat up between them, but then come to a sudden halt when reality hits and Jade realizes that a relationship with Garret may never be possible. He comes from a world of wealth where there are rules, including rules about who he can date. And not following those rules has consequences.

As the two of them try to overcome the obstacles working to keep them apart, Jade is confronted with another challenge. On her 19th birthday, she receives a letter that her now deceased mother wrote years ago. In it are revelations that explain her traumatic childhood but also make her question the past she’s been running from.

Jade and Garret’s Relationship

Jade and Garret come from opposite worlds and yet they understand each other in a way nobody else can. Jade has a lot of issues to deal with, but Garret is always patient with her, which just shows how much he cares for her. That’s what’s so great about Garret. He doesn’t just tell Jade he loves her, he shows her through his actions. And by doing that, he teaches Jade how to love, which is something she never learned growing up. Their relationship takes time to develop and by the end of book 4, you really feel how much Jade and Garret love each other and you find yourself rooting for their love to last.

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I Am A World Book Night 2014 Book Giver!

As some of you may be aware, April 23rd (today!) is World Book Night, a night in which millions of "book givers" around the world will be handing out free books to those who are light- or even non-readers. As a book giver, I was given a list of pre-selected books to choose from, with my selection being the book that I would be handing out tonight. I chose Wild by Cheryl Strayed, a memoir about a woman suffering from depression who decides to hike the Pacific Crest Trail (eleven-hundred miles) solo without any training or experience, in an effort to heal herself.

I chose this book because I felt that it would appeal to a wide audience, and I thought that people would be more likely to read it if they knew it was a true story by an author that they would be able to connect with. I will be giving out 20 copies of this book today to some random El Pasoans at my local public bus station, which I felt was a good choice, because it would give people something to read during their bus ride(s)!

And for those of you who may be curious as to what this year's book choices were, here they are:

I'm actually slightly terrified that I may freak people out from offering them free books, so hopefully this goes well! I contemplated choosing a Spanish-language book option to hand out, since most people where I live are Spanish-speakers, but I myself don't know any Spanish, so I wouldn't be able to explain to them why I was giving out free books. Hopefully I made the right choice....wish me luck!

Are any of you signed up as World Book Night givers? If so, what book did you choose and why?

I'm Still Here: A Brief Explanation Of My Unexpected Hiatus

Hi guys! You may have noticed that I haven't updated my blog in a little over a month. Sorry about that, by the way! I'd like you to know that I've hit a major milestone in my life over this hiatus - I finally have a car! I know, I know, I'm almost 25, but this is my first car ever! No more riding the bus, or bumming rides to work from my co-workers - I have wheels! For me, the idea of having a car had always seemed so unattainable; I always felt that only people who had money could have cars, and that having one was a sign that you've "made it."

Don't get me wrong, I still don't think I'm anywhere near "making it," but at least I'm getting there. More than half of my income still goes toward my student loans, but it seems that I have enough left over each month to cover the cost of my car payments. And for those of you who are curious, the car I'm purchasing is a white 2006 Hyundai Elantra (sedan). Nothing fancy, but it runs well and gets me from point A to point B much faster than a bus ever could. Here's a pic (not my image, it's from the dealer):

Another reason for my absence is that work really takes a lot out of me. When I get home, I just want to relax, and this usually involves catching up on television rather than reading, which is not the best habit, I admit. I've also been working on my New Year's resolution to go out more, since I rarely do anything fun (I was never a party-person, and not having a car really limited what I could do for fun, since I had to time things to fit the bus schedule). 

So far this year, I have been to three concerts (Kris Roe from The Ataris, Dokken, and Blue October!), I purchased a ticket for the upcoming Neon Desert music festival, I've started bowling with friends, and I've even joined meetup groups (on meetup.com); this past Friday I went to my first meetup, which involved playing board games, and this weekend I'll be going to my second meetup, which is a lunch slash meet-and-greet. I even go to lunch every now-and-then with my coworkers. Trust me when I say that this is a big deal for me - I am insanely introverted, so already I've done more social activities this year than I've done in a long time.

At any rate, I am so sorry that I've been neglecting both my blog and my reading (I only read one book last month!) I will try my best to keep up with both my blogging life and my social life from this point forward - wish me luck!