Friday, August 29, 2014

THE BOOK OF LIFE ~ DEBORAH HARKNESS


Back from their time walking travels, Diana and Matthew are now going to settle down to a family life. Diana is pregnant and they are still looking for The Book of Life. The characters from A Discovery of Witches are back and it is a culmination of everyone working together towards a common goal.

Who is helpful and who is hurtful is what makes up the characters in this last book of the trilogy.

Matthew is seeking safety for his family and puts himself in the direct line of fire.

I absolutely adored all the ways the book was interwoven with the first book and having the cast of characters back and seeing where everyone was in life was a thrill.

I found myself routing for Diana and Matthew to make it through to the end and for their HEA.

5 Stars

HELLER'S DECISION ~ JD NIXON


All I have to say after reading just the first few pages of this book is............ROTFLMAO!!!

Okay, now on to the review.

I have to say that I did not enjoy this book as much as some of the others in the series, but that's not to say I didn't enjoy it. I found a ton of humorous antics in this book.

Heller and Tilly are at it again. They spend every night together and of course that involves lots of sex. Heller is definitely a piece of work.

Tilly is working for Trent and of course she is always in trouble and things never go right for her. You would think at some point she would wise up, but she still makes poor choices.

Heller is finally starting to become a one woman man, but.........not sure that was going to last, I wanted to smack Heller. Now he is doing some training for the government, this doesn't bode well and I hope things go well for him.

This book had a monkey, Sextravaganza, kidnappings and some sad things. There was a little bit of this book that was unresolved for me, but I still want to continue on with the series. It reminds me a lot of the Stephanie Plum books, only no cars being blown up but the slapstick humor is still there.

Heller does make a decision and I was very pleased with it.

4 stars

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

COVER REVEAL -- SHAME BY RACHEL VAN DYKEN







Everything done in darkness, will eventually be brought into the light.



I ran, but all it did was keep me one step ahead of my past. I tried to start over; new name, new identity. But you can't change your soul.

A fresh start at college was just what I needed. For a while, it worked. I was the party girl, the one that seemed confident, but it was a lie.

When guys kissed me--I felt only pain. 

When they touched me--Nothing but fear.



Deep inside, every girl wants to be the beauty in the story, to find someone that will see you as their world. 

But the truth? I was the beast. And as much as I wanted redemption, I wasn't fool enough to think I'd ever get it. 

Until he walked into my life.



I wasn't prepared to fall for someone. My scars were too deep, the wounds too raw. But he offered me peace, he offered me security. I should have known it was just another lie--I should have known that falling in love with my professor was a bad idea.

But I was powerless to stop myself from falling. 

And he was powerless to catch me.



Because the darkness finally caught up to me, and as fate would have it, a cruel twist almost bled me dry. But I'm stronger than I knew. I'm stronger than you think.

You think you know my story, but you don't....after all everyone has Shame in their lives-- and I'm no longer afraid to show you mine.











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EXCERPT





“Just hold still!”
I yelled, holding up my phone while Gabe gave me the finger. I grimaced and
dropped the camera away from my face. “Nice, thanks for that.”
“I’m a giver.” He
smirked.
Saylor, his wife,
smacked him on the arm and rolled her eyes.
“Ouch.”                  
I scrunched up my
face when he leaned in and took Saylor’s mouth with his, kissing her senseless
in the local Starbucks like they were doing a romance scene in a movie. I
coughed.
They didn’t pull
apart.
So I took a
picture.
I earned another
finger, but Gabe still didn’t dislodge from his wife.
“Whoa!” Wes’s voice
sounded from behind me. “They been at it long?”
“Are all newlyweds
disgusting?” I voiced aloud.
Wes moved around
the table with his wife, Kiersten, and gave me a goofy shrug. I wanted to roll
my eyes, but Wes was too nice and hot. Let’s not forget the hot part. Both he
and Gabe were like walking poster boys for GQ. Both blond, now that Gabe had
decided to dye his hair back to his original color. It was like staring at two
really bright superstars.
Hating them was
like hating the Easter bunny. Try all you want, but you’ll eat every piece of
chocolate in the basket, just you wait.
“So, classes?”
Kiersten leaned forward. “I heard you got stuck with that hot new psych prof.”
Wes growled low in
his throat.
“Down boy.” I
braced my hands on the table and laughed. “Besides he’s not that hot.”
“A girl passed
out.” Kiersten’s eyebrows shot up. “Like in class.”
“Dehydration?” I
shrugged, taking a sip of coffee.
“Or…” She leaned forward.
“…the rumors are true.”
“Rumors…” Gabe
backed away from Saylor, his lips swollen. “…are always based on truth.”
“So you really did
do a naked dance in your underwear last week after getting drunk downtown at
Pike Place Market?” I tilted my head and waited while Gabe rolled his eyes and
popped his knuckles. “Exactly.”
He opened his
mouth.
I took a picture.
With a grimace, he
snatched my phone away from me. “Never thought I’d have to tell you to lay off
the pictures, Miss Paparazzi.”
I slumped in my seat.
“It’s for an assignment with that hot professor.”
“Aha!” Kiersten
jabbed her finger at me. “I knew it.”
I pinned her with a
look. “Sarcasm, friend, sarcasm.”
“Boys get girls
pregnant,” Gabe offered, while Wes choked on the coffee he’d just stolen out of
my hand.
Serves him right!
“Don’t date them.”
“You’re going to be
a great dad.” I smiled sweetly. “What? You’re just going to lock your girls in
their rooms and go—” I mimicked his voice. “—uh, you see boy parts are bad,
they make girls have lots of babies, like rabbits, and you know how rabbits
make dad nervous and—”
“Hilarious,” Gabe’s
eyes narrowed. “And please don’t talk about kids yet…”
Saylor laughed
quietly next to him then squeezed his arm.
My heart dropped.
A very long time
ago, I’d wanted to be that for Gabe, then Taylor happened and well… I
shuddered, blocking out the painful memories, the things I’d done, the things
he’d done, the things we’d done.
“You okay?” Wes
asked, his voice soft. He was way too perceptive for my taste. If I’d wanted to
share, he’d be the guy I’d talk to, but I was a vault. Sharing meant admitting
my guilt, and admitting meant I’d probably go insane just like he had.
“Yeah…” I straightened
in my seat. “…I just don’t want to fail my class, and I need to write down
nonverbal cues and take at least one picture. And pretty sure I need to ace
this first assignment on account that I was late to my prof’s class, and I got
in trouble.”
“He spank you?”
Gabe’s eyes mocked across his coffee.
“Yes, Gabe,” I said
calmly. “Because that’s how they punish bad students here at UW — with a
yardstick and a smile.”
“I wish.” He
whistled. “What I wouldn’t give to have Saylor—”
I plugged my ears.
He threw his head
back and laughed while Saylor turned bright red and put her hand over his mouth
to shush him.
“So…” Wes ignored
Gabe as was his usual and leaned across the table. “…why don’t you take
pictures of people here in the coffee shop? I mean, ask permission, but most
people here are super interesting, right? Studying? Stressed out? Tired?” He
pointed to a guy in the corner. “He looks like he’s running on five cups of
coffee and one hour of sleep. Go ask, take the picture, make some notes,
project done.”
“You make it sound
so easy,” I grumbled.
He grinned. “I’m
Wes Michels.”
I hung my head
lower and grimaced.
“Phone.” He held
out his hand and stood.
Within minutes, not
only had he snapped two pictures for me but had taken notes on two pre-med
students who had stayed up all night cramming for what they’d assumed would be
a pop quiz, only to find out that they’d been in the wrong class on the wrong
day.
“And that’s why I'm
not pre-med.” Gabe shuddered.
“Really?” Kiersten
asked. “I thought it was because big words scared you?”
“Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.
What now?” He nodded. “Keep talking, Kiersten, or keep walking.”
“Spell it.” She
smirked.
“So this
professor…” Gabe changed the subject. “If he tries anything, use the Mace or
the rape whistle.”
“Right.” I nodded.
“I’ll be sure to do that. In class. With a hundred other students. When he
looks at me cross-eyed.”
“Good,” he huffed.
“I was kidding.”
Saylor patted
Gabe’s shoulder. “Gotta let the baby birds out of the nest someday, Gabe.”















Rachel Van Dyken is the New York Times, Wall Street
Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author of regency and contemporary romances.
When she's not writing you can find her drinking coffee at Starbucks and
plotting her next book while watching The Bachelor.

She keeps her home in Idaho with her Husband and their snoring Boxer, Sir
Winston Churchill. She loves to hear from readers! You can follow her writing
journey at
www.rachelvandykenauthor.com


Links:



Saturday, August 23, 2014

WHISKEY PRINCE ~ TONI ALEO


Another wonderful book by a new to me author. I will definitely be picking up more of her books.

This book focuses on the Whiskey Prince, who is not really a prince, but is revered by the town as royalty.

He finds love across the lake.

And a sweet young woman, Amberlyn, who has had to deal with death of family members at en early age.

This book is sweet and charming and has some bad situations, but overall it is a cat and mouse of I love you, I love you not (if that makes sense).

I loved the characters, Declan, Amberlyn, Fiona, Kane, etc. Although there were a few characters that gave slimy a run for it's money, they all fit together like a nice new puzzle.

I'm looking forward to 2015 when the next book in this series comes out.

4.5 Stars

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

ROCK CHICK ~ KRISTEN ASHLEY


I was thoroughly enjoying the Colorado Mountain series when I switched over to the Rock Chick books.

This book reminds me of the Stephanie Plum (Janet Evanovich) and Heller (JD Nixon) series. It is fun and funny, light and airy and there are lots of laughs.

India (Indy) Savage has known Liam (Lee) Nightingale all her life. She has been in love with him forever, trying to get him to notice her and throwing herself at him.

She had finally decided that fate would not play a role in her fantasy and romantic feelings, so she has sworn off Lee.

Now Lee is back and he is taking what he wants and what he wants is Indy.

Indy manages to get herself involved with some not so nice people and in steps Lee, trying to protect her with his he man belief that Indy should just fall at his feet.

There is action, adventure, kidnapping, murder, pot plants, love, hate, treachery, etc. In the mix is also Indy's best friend, Allie, who is also Lee's sister.

Absolutely laugh out loud fun books to read.

4 stars

HELLER'S PUNISHMENT ~ JD NIXON


Tilly Chalmers is now a security officer for Heller.

In her three new assignments she has to chaperone scary drug addict at a rehab clinic, she is sent to live at a religious cult (because Heller is pissed at her), where she runs into one of her ex-boyfriend and she is tasked with protecting Trent, a TV host while he attends a trial in court.

This book started off and I was thinking it was getting repetitive, but then Tilly donned a costume and the hilarity began.

I am sick and tired of the up and down relationship issues that Tilly and Heller have. Heller has a really dark side and half the time he doesn't realize what comes out of his mouth is truly cruel. Then there are times that Heller can be so sweet and sensitive.

The Cult Farm totally freaked me out. I know Heller sent her there as punishment. I can't believe he didn't vet out the members that spirited Tilly away.

I found this book a bit more disturbing in what happened in some situations and found myself wondering why a lot of the time.

I love the funny LOL stuff in the book and regret that Tilly was silly enough to fall for Will's ploy, but the dark was very dark in this book.

I found I didn't enjoy it as much as the previous books, but definitely enough to continue, and am hoping they get back on track.

4 stars

MEANT FOR HER ~ RAINE THOMAS


Since I feel in love with Raine Thomas's writing in For Everly, this book was a "must read" for me. It did not disappoint.

I love the baseball theme that has run through the two books, it is actually a very refreshing book to read. There is a fabulous story line, wonderful characters, romance, mystery, trust, cruelty and love.

Evan Dorsey has put up walls around himself. He has lost his mother and has major trust issues. He does not like to stay in one place for too long, nor does he do commitments.

While at his friend, Cole's wedding, a woman approaches him (Sierra) and knows that he is lost and sad. She has an uncanny knack for knowing what people want/need. He looks for Sierra, but does not come back into contact with her until he signs with an Atlanta baseball team (his mother's dream).

Sierra is determined to get closer to Evan and puts herself in his path. She has a few different jobs and each of them help to facilitate what happens between them. Evan ends up renting an apartment on the same floor as Sierra's and Sierra fills his fridge with food and beer, helps to take care of his two dogs and wiggles her way into Evan's heart.

There is a sinister dog walker involved and tons of doggie antics.

I really enjoyed this book and the author has such as fluid writing style that the book flowed so easily and was over before I realized it.

4.5 stars

REDEEMING JUSTICE ~ SUZANNE HALLIDAY


I am such a huge fan of this series. I feel in love in book 1 and my love just continued to grow. I was upset thinking that the series would end here, but when I got to the end and saw that there is another book, Family Justice, I was doing the happy dance.

This was Alex's book. From the time he opened the door to the fiery Irish Megan O'Brien, you knew he fell and fell fast.

When Meghan's fiancé was killed under Alex's command, he wrote letters to each family member expressing his sorrow. He has carried the guilt of what happened like a lead weight, thinking he would never find happiness under all the sadness.

In walks Meghan O'Brien. They seemed to have a whirlwind romance with lots of hot sex and Alex being the dominate. Meghan, we was usually bright and vivacious, became very submissive for Alex and fell quickly in love with him.

As in each of the three books, one of the Justice Men was going to royally mess it up. It was Alex's turn to make that mistake. He pushes Meghan away. Now he wants her back and will it be too late? Was he too brutal with his words? Will she take him back?

What I loved, in addition to the Justice Men, was the woman. Tori and Lacey are so much fun and the took Meghan in and made her feel like a part of the family. I'm so excited to catch up with all the Justice Family. Squee!!!!

5 stars

Saturday, August 16, 2014

RELEASE DAY ~ THE LAST THING BY BRIANA GAITAN


Happy Release Day!



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The Last Thing by Briana Gaitan
Release Date: August 15th
Designer: Cover it designs

Add to Goodreads


Synopsis

Plagued by past mistakes in both love and life, Quinn Bardot is in a bad place. With nowhere else to turn, she escapes to LA clinging to the promise of a fresh start. 



Chase Crowley is known for being selfish and unbelievably persistent. All he's ever wanted is to become a successful actor. But now that he is about to have it all, he finds that something is still missing. Money and fame isn't what he expected.



After a fervent encounter, the two of them are thrown into a situation that neither is prepared for. Can Quinn extinguish her fears and let Chase in? Can Chase learn to put someone else's needs before his own?



The Last Thing is a novel all about love, Hollywood, and accepting what life throws at you even if it is the last thing you want. 


(This is a New Adult Romance novel & contains language & adult situations. Not recommended for readers younger than 17)
***The Last Thing is a stand alone book with NO cliff hanger ending. It is book one in the Hollywood Timelines series.***




My Reviview:

Lights, camera, action!

This book is filled with it all. It is a roller coaster of emotion.

Quinn Bardot moves from Tennessee to LA to escape the people in her life who have put her through a bigger nightmare than she can imagine in her mind.

She moves across the country to live with her cousin, Ginger Tiegue, an aspiring actress. Ginger and Quinn grew up together and were best friends. After the death of Quinn's boyfriend, Quinn moves across country to try to start a new life. Ginger talks her into going to a party where she meets Chase Crowley. One single action changes the course of Quinn's quest.

Chase, and up and coming movie start does not do relationships and does not date. Can one night with Quinn make Chase a new man.

Chase can't get Quinn out of his mind and calls her, only to be met by the first woman who doesn't fall at his feet.

Quinn realizes that she has a problem and feels the best way to deal is to ignore Chase.

After a chance encounter, Chase talks Quinn into letting him take her on a "date".

Can Quinn get past her demons and let Chase into her life? Can Chase settle down and be the man he wants to be or will fame get in the way?

With lots of likeable characters and and emotional journey, can Quinn and Chase find their way to one another or will circumstances push them apart. As Quinn says, everyone leaves her.

This was my first book by Briana Gaitin, but I definitely have become a fan.

I was lucky enough to receive a ARC of this book from the Author.


4.5 stars


RSVP to the Facebook Online Release Party


About the Author


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Briana Gaitan grew up in the South, but calls herself a geek at heart. She is a blogger,author,and fangirl who loves Star Wars, Star Trek, and Jewelry (bet you never thought you'd hear those three things in a sentence together) For fun, she loves watching any show on the SyFy channel, relaxing with her family, reading, and listening to indie music (sometimes all at the same time). Briana loves to write stories where there are no limits to the imagination. She is also the co-author of the fantasy Ethereal Underground series.








Amazon Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MPXP56Y/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00MPXP56Y&linkCode=as2&tag=bookswithbree-20&linkId=UCGT7SHQI77YUQR2

Thursday, August 7, 2014

S.E.C.R.E.T Revealed (Secret #3) ~ L. Marie Adeline


This last book in the Trilogy definitely completed the series. The author did a great job of tying up any loose ends.

This book focuses on Solange Faraday, a 40 year old woman who is divorced with a young child. She shares custody with her ex. Solange has been so busy building her career that she doesn't make the time for herself. When approached by S.E.C.R.E.T. she initially plans to say no and then changes her mind. The women behind the scenes once again deliver some great fantasies, in which Solange fulfills desires and becomes more empowered.

The second part of the story revolves around Cassie, who has lost Will once he found out about her being a recruit for S.E.C.R.E.T.

I feel this book is the most erotic of the three books, but there is also some humbling parts and some sad events, such as bullying.

The drama builds and I was shocked at some of the surprises and some of the love interests and quite happy with the way the book was wrapped up.

5 stars

FOR ALL TIME (NANTUCKET BRIDES #2) ~ JUDE DEVEREAUX



Picking up where True Love (Nantucket Brides #1) left off, we are in the midst of the wedding of Alix Madsen to Jared Montgomery. All the friends and family are there and a few newcomers have arrived.

Toby has been tasked with the unofficial title of "wedding planner" and she is ensuring that everything is perfect to Alix and Jared.

Graydon, a Montgomery cousin and his twin brother Rory, have flown in for the wedding. Graydon can't keep his eyes off Toby. Graydon, who is nothing if not honorable, is a Prince (as is his brother), but Graydon is slated to take over the Lanconia Kingdom and duty bound to wed Danna.

At a loss over what to do about his feeling for Toby, Graydon decides to take a vacation on Nantucket and switch places with his twin brother, giving him time to explore his feelings for the woman who can, "as legend has it" tell the twins apart and that person would be their True Love.

During Graydon's time on Nantucket, he shares Toby's house (but not her bed) with her. They are pulled by the vacant home next door and travel back in time. The right wrongs that they encounter, but in the end Graydon goes home to Lanconia.

I love the new mix of characters and the established characters of Lexie, Jilly, Ken, Victoria, Dr. Huntley, etc. and really am enjoying this series.

4.5 stars

Monday, August 4, 2014

THE DARE ~ RACHEL VAN DYKEN


As the prior book, The Wager was ending, The Dare was beginning.

Now that Grandma has managed to get her 2 grandsons married off, she has set her sights on her DIL's sister. After enlisting some help, she spirits Beth and Jace away to a tropical resort on Hawaii. There Beth and Jace begin the process of falling in love. Beth has no intentions of letting her heart control her and Jace states that he will walk away as soon as the vacation is over.

Can Jace and Beth make it work and will Grandma and her assistants be able to pull off another wedding.

I laughed out loud many times, although I thought the beginning of the book to be a tiny bit slow, it ended on a high not for me.

Rachel Van Dyken is a fairly new author to me, but I plan to read anything she writes as I am "smitten" with her writing.

4.5 stars

HELLER'S GIRLFRIEND ~ J.D. NIXON


Okay, the title of this book says it all. Heller now has a girlfriend and it's not Tilly.

I just don't understand how these two can do what they do and still be employee and boss and at the same time be together with other people.

I didn't care for Heller's girlfriend from the start and not only because I want to see him with Tilly, but her defensiveness just turned me off.

I have not been a Will fan from the start. I had a bad feeling about him and he managed to proved me right in this book. I still have a feeling we have not heard the last from him, but hopefully Tilly is strong enough to just say NO.

The capers that Tilly gets into are reminiscent of Stephanie Plum and Indy Savage. I love that she is trying really hard to be her own person.

I was freaking out about the Swinger's Party, but it was much mellower than I anticipated.

4 stars and I can't wait to read the next book.

COP TOWN ~ KARIN SLAUGHTER


Set in Atlanta in 1974 when woman and anyone that was not white was considered a minority and not worth the trouble, we head right into a Cop Killing.

Maggie, who was born into a family of cops and Kate who was brought up on the right side of the tracks are thrown together in the adventure of finding the cop killer, without letting the brass know because women shouldn't be on the force to begin with. One of the intended targets was Maggie's brother, making her more determined than ever to solve this puzzle.

This crime takes us down a winding path and along the way, we see things that only 40 years ago were common place and nowadays as I was reading, I was shocked to remember the things that people went through.

I read that (so far) this is not going to be a series and she is working on another stand alone book (not about cops) before going back to the Will Trent books. I really feel like there could definitely be more to this story and some things seemed to be left unsaid.

As always, it is a fast-paced read. I am a huge Karin Slaughter fan and love her other series.

4 stars

PROS AND CONS ~ JANET EVANOVICH


This is the prequel to Evanovich's new Fox and O'Hare series.

We are introduced to the two main characters, FBI special agent Kate O’Hare and international con artist Nicolas Fox.

Kate is chasing Nicholas on one of his escapades, but there is a hint that Kate thinks Nicholas is sexy. I have a feeling this series is going to be a high speed chase of cat and mouse.

This novella was enough to wet your whistle, but not enough to form judgment on yet.

3.5 stars

ALLEGIANT ~ VERONICA ROTH


This third installment in the Divergent Trilogy made a huge buzz with readers. I actually put off reading it because of how unhappy everyone seemed to be with it.

I have to say that I absolutely loved the first book in the trilogy and it went a bit downhill for me. That is not to say that I would not have read the books, I absolutely would have.

I'll make this short and sweet without too many spoilers.

In this third book we learn so much more than the Factions. We learn there is life outside the walls and that it is not a peaceful place. A lot of things that were quirky in the first two books make more sense and at times I found it eye opening that things such as planes were introduced. I see why the author angered many readers, but sometimes a shake up is needed (as I bit my tongue not to say anything).

My favorite part of this was discovering the "secret" and the back story to how and why the Faction System was implemented.

My only remaining issue is what to rate this book.

I'm going with 4 stars but it is somewhere between 3.5 to 4