Finding Me in Indie Chicks Rockin' Reader Group

Feb 22, 2016 Stephanie Rose rated it it was amazing · (Review from the author)

Finding Me is FREE on Amazon until December 9!

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May 18, 2016 Michelle rated it really liked it

Shelves: arcs

4-4.5 stars. Bella was first introduced in Always You. She's grown up now and about to start her first semester in college. She chose a school further away from home because her senior year holds a lot of bad memories from a horrible experience and Bella wants to start over, surrounded by people who don't know her. No sooner than Bella sets foot on campus that she meets Owen Thompson, aka OT, one of the players on the school hockey team. Owen represents everything that Bella is trying to avoid i ...more

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Feb 23, 2016 B.L. Berry rated it it was amazing

Stephanie Rose has done it again! Every time I pick up one of her books I find myself falling in love with her beautiful words and amazing characters all over again! She just keeps getting better!

Finding Me is a stunning new adult novel featuring the lovable Bella from Always You as she sets off on a journey to come to terms with/discover who she truly is. We follow Bella as she heads off to college where we meet OWEN!!! And let me tell you, Owen is one of my favorite book boyfriends now. South Stephanie Rose has done it again! Every time I pick up one of her books I find myself falling in love with her beautiful words and amazing characters all over again! She just keeps getting better!

Finding Me is a stunning new adult novel featuring the lovable Bella from Always You as she sets off on a journey to come to terms with/discover who she truly is. We follow Bella as she heads off to college where we meet OWEN!!! And let me tell you, Owen is one of my favorite book boyfriends now. Southern Charm meetings Hockey Hottie -- I'm not sure it gets much better than that!

Don't believe me? He says things like this ... "I better get you back. If I keep kissing you, I'll never want to stop." AND THIS ... "You're my sky full of stars."

Seriously!?!? Sigh. And swoon.

But love isn't love without some kind of tension. And Stephanie TOTALLY DELIVERS! And somehow she left me loving Owen even more in spite of it all. With the way she crafts these characters, this story flows so organically it doesn't even feel like fiction. It's all so very real.

And those of you who love Lucas from Always You, fear not ... our favorite, handsome leading man is back and better than ever! We learn a lot about how Bella's relationship with Lucas has blossomed over the past decade, and he's just as loving and overprotective of her now as he was then. "That's what I wish for you, Bella - to be able to let someone love you and not question it."

I'm not even going to go into the main conflict because I don't want to give any spoilers, just know that you won't see it coming at all!!!

While this book can be read as a standalone, you will certainly recognize some of the characters from Only You as well! I absolutely recommend you pick this one up! Finding Me is refreshing and honest and pure. It'll make you remember those butterflies of falling in love for the first time and all the confusing, but beautiful emotions that come with it.

Bravo, Stephanie!!!!! I can't wait to read what you come up with next! ...more

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May 25, 2016 Julie rated it it was amazing

Finding Me is about Bella, who we met in Always You. I must admit that when I started this story I didn’t realize that Bella is Samantha’s daughter from the first book. So when I remembered Lucas and Samantha, I knew I would enjoy this book! Lucas is still swoon worthy as usual and add Owen into the mix and oh wow I love this book.

Bella had an awful senior year and is ready to start fresh in college. She wants to make her way on her own and forget about her past and her ex who humiliated her. Sh Finding Me is about Bella, who we met in Always You. I must admit that when I started this story I didn’t realize that Bella is Samantha’s daughter from the first book. So when I remembered Lucas and Samantha, I knew I would enjoy this book! Lucas is still swoon worthy as usual and add Owen into the mix and oh wow I love this book.

Bella had an awful senior year and is ready to start fresh in college. She wants to make her way on her own and forget about her past and her ex who humiliated her. She wasn’t looking for a relationship but when hot and hunky Owen takes notice of her, who could turn him down? Owen is a sweet, southern boy who left me smiling in so many ways. When he asks her to tutor him, he seems to have a crush of his own on her. He really likes her and that shocks her because he is the popular jock that everyone loves. She doesn’t want to be in the public eye, but she can’t resist Owen any longer. He is so persistent.

“You’re my stars, my sun, and my sky. You’re my whole damn universe.” - Owen

Along with trying to have a relationship with Owen, she gets a blast from her past from her father, or sperm donor, as I would say. Lucas became her father the moment they met each other. But, her ‘dad’ Marc is relentless. Even though he treated Samantha horribly and ignored Bella, he wants to meet her after all these years. So, of course, Bella is curious and agrees to meet him and what a drama he causes! I was really hoping that this guy would have grown up to be a man who wanted to get to know his daughter but unfortunately, he has ulterior motives which are not good considering he’s pretty much insane.

In comes Owen and Lucas to protect her and I’m in awe of these men! Owen shows he is the man Bella needs in her future and I think I fell in love with him even more for how he stands up and wants to keep her safe. Plus, we all know Lucas is one man not to mess with when it comes to Samantha and Bella. He loves fiercely, with everything he has.

“I have loved you from…probably the first moment we met. You made me want to be better at everything so I could be the man you deserved.” - Owen

I loved seeing Bella find love with Owen and how much she grew in this book. She just matured so much throughout the story. Even Owen standing up to her ex blew me away because he truly loves her. So many times, I was smiling during this book. No matter how frustrated I was with Marc and wanted to slap him myself, I love how well it all worked out. Bella and Owen are the perfect couple and I applaud Stephanie for having such a great romance between Owen and Bella, plus getting some more from Samantha and Lucas. Everything blended in so beautifully and I couldn’t have asked for a better 5 star book.
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Oct 11, 2017 Shannon rated it it was amazing

Shelves: all-the-feels, a-few-tears-were-shed, favorite, for-review, contemporary, family, athlete, crossover, series-stand-alone, part-of-series

I'm sitting here, trying to come up with words that will do this book justice. I had the absolute pleasure to beta this story, and then to read an arc. I finished it a couple of weeks ago and I still am not sure where to start. That may in part be due to that fact that any time I think about it I start to tear up. Lucas and Bella tend to do that to me. And then throw in sweet, sweet, Owen...and well, a girl can only handle so much.

If you've read Always You then you know Bella. She was the timid, ...more

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Apr 30, 2016 Tabitha Willbanks rated it it was amazing

Shelves: top-reads-of-2016, arcs, top-pics-of-all-time

5 Swoony Stars!!
*ARC gifted for a fair and honest review*

Stephanie Rose has done it again!! That woman can write a hero that will make a girl swoon like no other!! :)
In this book we find our sweet little Bella from Always You all grown up and headed off to college. She's nursing a broken heart and decides to go as far away from home she can get without leaving the state. She's going there to study, and has no interest in boys or love at all. While she's getting coffee one day on the way to class ...more

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Nov 25, 2015 Amanuk rated it it was amazing

Finding Me... I was beyond excited to read Bella's story. She stole hearts in Always You as Lucas's Butterfly and now she's all grown up stealing the heart of a swoon worthy hockey player, Owen.

Gah Owen, such a southern gentleman. Sweet and genuine and persistent in his pursuit of Bella. Owen knows what he wants and goes after it, letting Bella catch up when she's ready. He loves her deeply and takes protecting her seriously. You can't help but fall in love with this man, I know I did. That sai ...more

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Dec 01, 2015 Elizabeth rated it it was amazing

Shelves: arc, eram

4.5 stars - One of the best books I've read
Every now and then, you come across a book or author (or both) that you connect with. For me that is Stephanie Rose. In each of her books, she has created characters and situations that I connect and relate to as more than just interesting people on the page (or e-reader in this case).
In Finding Me, we reconnect with Bella (the little girl from Always You) and she is all grown up and headed to college. She's had her heart broken by her high school boyf 4.5 stars - One of the best books I've read
Every now and then, you come across a book or author (or both) that you connect with. For me that is Stephanie Rose. In each of her books, she has created characters and situations that I connect and relate to as more than just interesting people on the page (or e-reader in this case).
In Finding Me, we reconnect with Bella (the little girl from Always You) and she is all grown up and headed to college. She's had her heart broken by her high school boyfriend and is leery when meeting campus heart throb/hockey star, Owen.
I appreciated the tone of this book - I know that's an odd thing to say, but let me explain. Bella and Owen are significantly younger than the other couples Ms. Rose has written (they are a college Freshman and Junior) and while they are definitely grown up and deal with grown up situations, the heat factor has been adjusted to reflect the maturity of the people involved. I would be comfortable with a teenage girl reading this :)
The romance in Finding Me is sweet! Owen is a mature 20/21 year old and I loved that he recognized something in Bella right away and his approach was just perfect. The way he pursued her without pursuing her made me like him and made it so easy to root for them as a couple.
While Finding Me is a romance between Owen and Bella, it's also the story about Bella's relationship with her family and how she identifies herself. We get to see Lucas and Sam (the couple from Always You) and Lucas has several swoon worthy moments as he reminds Bella that biology doesn't matter when it comes to family. When Bella's sperm donor rears his head, I was so grateful that Owen and Lucas were there for her.
If you have read Always You, you will love getting to catch up with Bella and her story. But, don't worry if you are new to Ms. Rose's work. Finding Me is a well crafted, well written story that stands on it's own. I know we all typically swoon over the heros in books, but for this one, the character I am a little in love with is Bella. She's smart, sassy, and does an excellent job of dealing with situations that would be challenging for someone older, much less someone who is 18 and away from home for the first time.
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Nov 24, 2015 Jackie rated it really liked it

Finding Me was my first book by this author and I really liked it. My heart ached for Bella as she struggled with her father leaving her as a small child. No one should ever have to go through that. I'm so proud of the strong young woman that she became. Major kudos to Lucas for raising and loving Bella as his own <3. Owen was such a swoon-worthy guy and the perfect one for Bella. I loved how he always made sure to let Bella know how much he cared about her and let her know he'd never leave her. ...more

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Jan 06, 2016 Ruthie Henrick rated it it was amazing

Shelves: arcs, indie-chicks-rock, 2016

Bella Christensen is all grown up and has gone off to college. She finds herself a hot southern hockey player who is determined to sweep her off her feet. I was thoroughly charmed. This story brings all the feels, from a delightful, well-rounded cast of characters. We meet Bella's new friends, and enemies, from school as well as become reacquainted with those we loved to love—and hate—from earlier. I highly recommend! ...more

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Nov 25, 2015 Cassie rated it it was amazing

4.5 Super Stars!!

I loved this one and could gush all day on all the great moments with Bella & Owen, Lucas, Sam and Joe…I could say how much I hated Marc and that Christian was an major @$$. But the BEST thing I can say is pick up this book and start reading!!! If you haven’t read **** and ****……what are you waiting for?!?!

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