Category Archives: Review
ARC Review: Too Hard To Handle by Julie Ann Walker
Too Hard To Handle
Julie Ann Walker
Black Knights INC. Series, Book 8
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Julie Ann Walker continues her red-hot Black Knights Inc. series in rough-and-tumble Peru
“The Man” is back
Dan “The Man” Currington is back in fighting form with a mission that takes him four thousand miles south of BKI headquarters, high in the Andes Mountains of Peru. He’s hot on the trail of a rogue CIA agent selling classified government secrets to the highest bidder, when Penni DePaul arrives on the scene. Suddenly the stakes are higher, and keeping Penni safe becomes Dan’s number one priority.
And this time she’s ready
A lot has changed since former Secret Service Agent Penni DePaul last saw Dan. Now a civilian, she’s excited about what the future might hold. But before she can grab onto that future with both hands, she has to tie up some loose ends-namely, Dan Currington, the man she just can’t forget. And a secret that’s going to change both their lives-if they can stay alive, that is.
5 Stars
Penni is one kickass woman. Smart, can take care of herself and will to do what it takes. The chemistry she felt with Dan has kept her wake more than a night or two. Flying around the world and standing side by side in gunfights show just how brave, loyal and a bit crazy this woman is.
Dan has seen the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. A complex character who can break your heart one moment and have you in a puddle the next. Being widowed took Dan “The Man” on a downward spiral to the bottom of a bottle. Through the help of his brothers, friends and some chemistry on an explosive mission, The Man begins see life again. All Alpha and sexy to the bone, a second chance at love awaken Dan from the darkness.
Intricate weaving of danger, romance and suspense to a level that has the reader hanging on every word. My introduction to Ms. Walker’s Black Knights Series, Too Hard Too Handle left a very lasting impression. Yes, I know I started this series way in, however I was able to understand in this ongoing story around Dan and Penni. Emotional and sexual tension keep the reader’s heart racing as much as the action and danger on the pages. Julie Ann Walker drew me into her world of Badass secret agent bikers with one book! Now it’s time to go back to the beginning of the Black Knight series and get lost in this dangers world.
A review copy of this title was provided by Netgalley for an honest review.
ARC Review: Obsidian Liquor by Scarlett Dawn
Scarlett Dawn
The Lion Security series fires off with Obsidian Liquor, where no one escapes the Russian mafia’s burning flame…While a brutal competition of America’s heroes is held in the United States, Elizabeth Forter is on a personal mission to destroy the Mayor of New York City. But when she’s caught red-handed by a man who kills for a living, her enmity rapidly turns to fear.
Daniil Kozar isn’t a man to trifle with, and Elizabeth is forced to strike a deal with the mafia king. Her every action is watched, and she needs to decide how to handle the gun-toting criminal–and his seductive charm.
Daniil may be the devil her father warned about. Or he may be the sensual awakening Elizabeth never knew she needed. Somewhere, Elizabeth’s dad is screaming a prayer…
*Originally published in The Obsidian Collection*
*This work contains sexual material intended for readers 18+*
I will start out by saying I never expected to like this book as much as I did.
Russian mafia, truth seeking media and fights!! Obsidian Liquor was way out of my comfort zone of reading . I am beyond ecstatic that I pick this one up. Great characters who make you laugh, challenge each other and keeps the reader on their toes. Or turning the pages.
A bit of danger, a very noisy reporter and some over the top steamy sex with the bad guy makes this read very hot. Scarlett Dawn makes the reader pay attention with the jaw dropping moments as the reader learns the cast to the story. And keeps them engaged with her consuming opening to her Lion Security Series.
I look forward to reading more of this series.
Audio Review: Lost Embrace by Kym Grosso
Lost Embrace
Kym Grosso
The Immortals of New Orleans Series, Book 6.5
Narrator: Ryan West
Release date: July 28, 2015
Dominant vampire leader, Kade Issacson, is devastated when his fiancée, Sydney Willows, is nearly killed by a demon and her transition into the supernatural tests the limits of their bond. Deep in the heart of New Orleans, they struggle to keep her alive while searching for an escaped killer who promises to end Sydney’s life once and for all.
4.5 Stars
Life Changes even for Immortals.
Once again Ms. Grosso gives her readers an intense, sexy and on the edge of your seat read. Lost Embrace has Kade and Sydney hitting a wall hard. Strength, trust and bonds are stretched and made deeper through love, friendship and passion. Fast paced and action packed this novella packs the punch of a novel. Action or passion will keep you turning the pages. Oh, the epilogue had my jaw on the floor and speeches.
Ryan West gives a excellent performance. Bringing a warmth and sensuality to Lost Embrace that intensifies the story.
Most people know I truly love the Immortals of New Orleans Series. Lost Embrace is a great addition to the series. Really leaving this reader wanting more.
ARC Review: Lukas by Carian Cole – Blog Tour
Book Title: Lukas (Ashes & Embers #3)
Author: Carian Cole
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: July 30, 2015
Hosted by: Book Fancy
Storm’s younger cousin.
Vandal’s little brother.
You’ve met him in the background.
The sweet one.
The nice one.
The one they can all rely on.
The good one.
He’s a tattoo artist. He plays metal and classical music – on the violin.
He’s got a body built for sin.
He’s 24.
In comes Ivy. She’s a 36 year old single mom who hasn’t dated in 18 years.
All she wanted was a tattoo.
She got a helluva lot more 🙂
Being good has never been so bad.
Storm (Ashes & Embers #1) Buy Links:
Vandal (Ashes & Embers #2) Buy Links:
I have a passion for the bad boys, those covered in tattoos, sexy smirks, ripped jeans, fast cars, motorcycles and of course, the sweet girls that try to tame them and win their hearts. My debut series, Ashes & Embers, follows the lives of rock band members as they find, and sometimes lose, the loves of their lives.
My first novel in the Ashes & Embers series, Storm, was published in September of 2014 and book 2, Vandal, was published in February 2015 with several more of this series planned throughout 2015.
Born and raised a Jersey girl, I now reside in beautiful New Hampshire with my husband and our multitude of furry pets and spend most of my time writing, reading, and vacuuming.
5 Stars
Lukas. That man has the soul of a saint after playing on a road paved to hell for too long. How is heart is so big and filled with compassion is the making of miracle. Smart, caring, and extremely talented. With scars that lay deep, Lukas is star shining is the blackness. He is the glue that helps hold his brother and cousins together, all while breaking apart inside. Not an Alpha, but a bit more than a Beta, if Lukas doesn’t warm his way into your heart, you just don’t know how to feel.
Ivy’s life changed in the blink of an eye. Leaving her a single mother and a bit lost. Left with fears and insecurities that any woman would be feeling, Ivy takes a leap of faith on herself and starts to live for her. Who knew that getting a tattoo would put into motion a chain of events that puts this average thirty something mother in a tail spin of pleasure, love and freedom.
Carian Cole set a very different tone with Lukas that had every hair on my body standing. Raw and real emotions fill every page of Lukas and Ivy’s story. Passion, lust, insecurity, feeling lost and being found. Written so well you can’t help to get sucked into this realistic story. Ms. Cole makes me feel and that is what I love. Whether it be happiness, sorrow or excitement woven into her words that make up her stories, I am able to feel that. That’s the making of a damn good writer.
Review: Gypsy Love by Jillian Neal
Gypsy Love
Jillian Neal
Gypsy Beach Series, Book 2
Arley life has taken a downfall in more ways than one. Career on hold, family pushing her go give up a part of who she is, throws caution to wind and finds herself driving hours to Gypsy Beach. A smart woman whom I had a instant liking for. Her life is hanging on a whim and she goes to the beach. So my kind of girl. Strong in ways that make Arley seem real. She may not see the light at the end of the tunnel, but she will laugh along the way.
John has only seen the the dark side of love. Being a good divorce lawyer, has only proven his theory on love. John is sexy beyond belief and has the perfect dominance to make just about girl melt. Love is not a part of his world. When work has become too much and what he does best has failed, John realizes with a push from friend, a relaxing break is what is need from the stress of life. Gypsy Beach opens John’s eyes to something he never we knew he wanted.
Jillian Neal has a wonderful gift of showing the magic of love. John and Arley are a fun couple. With chemistry and passion flowing, they make a beach fling into something neither of them want to let go of. For people who don’t care for love they have a funny way of showing it.
Jillian Neal has created this amazing little beach town that I have come to love.
ARC Review: Dare To Rock by Carly Phillips
Dare to Rock
Carly Phillips
Dare To Love Series, Book 7
Avery Dare lives a quiet life in Miami as an online fashion/makeup video blogger. She has good friends, a close, large family and if her love life is lacking, she likes it that way. But when she receives an invitation to one of her ex’s concerts along with an invitation to meet him back stage, she decides to take the risk… and comes face to face with the reality of his rock star lifestyle – the press, the crowds, and the half naked groupies.At eighteen, Grey Kingston left everything he knew and loved behind to seek fame and fortune as a rock star, and he found it as the lead guitarist and singer for the band, Tangled Royal. Fans adore him, women throw themselves at him, and he can afford everything he couldn’t growing up. Yet at the height of his career, he’s ready to walk away and return home to a simpler life… and the woman he left behind, if he can convince her to give him another chance.
Except moving on isn’t as easy as Grey would like. When Avery is threatened by a stalker, it becomes evident Grey’s fans not only don’t want him to retire, they don’t want Avery in his life either. And Avery isn’t sure she wants the pressures that are part of Grey’s life… but she doesn’t want to lose him again, either. Can their recently renewed love survive the fallout?
But Meg’s future is one Scott has accepted he’ll never have, even if his growing feelings say otherwise …
4 StarsAvery Dare is an introvert and stay at home video blogger for makeup and fashion. Enjoying living her quiet life in Miami.Grey Kingston is a rockstar who fulfill his dream and is ready to settle down. His talents for music are more than what’s on the stage.
Dare To Rock, the seventh installment of the Dare to Love series, gives Avery and Grey a second chance at something they started years ago. Sparks still fly, the want and need raise quickly as Grey and Avery get to know each other all over again. Their lives as changed in many ways making them both different people. Over the years they still kept each other close to the heart. With the temptation right in front of them, wading through the obstacles of the past and press, show love, passion and compassion are what worth fighting for.
Carly Phillip rocks her readers to the core!
Reconnection, chemistry, insane passion and a bit of mystery. Great characters with talent, personality, charisma, vulnerabilities and st charisma, vulnerabilities and strength. A great story that will make you laugh and feel. Dare To Rock is fully involved, hot read!
I love the continuing saga of the Dare family! Dare to Rock can be read alone, however this series in deep and emotional that I feeling the full series bring much more meaning to this book!
Review copy provided by netgalley.
ARC Review: Lone Rider by B.J. Daniels
Lone Rider
B.J. Daniels
The Montana Hamiltons Series, Book 2
When danger claims her, rescue comes from the one man she least expects…
A cowgirl at heart, Bo Hamilton does her best thinking in wide-open spaces. So when money goes missing from the family foundation she runs—meaning one of her trusted, ragtag employees is a thief—Bo rides into the Crazy Mountains to figure things out. But a killer hiding among the sawtooth ridges takes her captive…and isn’t planning on ever letting her go.
Bo’s disappearance gets folks thinking she’s the guilty one run off with the money, but Jace Calder would bet his ranch that she’s innocent. Not that he has any reason to trust the beautiful, spoiled senator’s daughter. But she also gave his troubled sister a job when no one else would. For his sibling’s sake, Jace is going after Bo and bringing her home to face the truth. But in the wild, rugged Crazy Mountains, he finds Bo at the mercy of a suspected murderer. As her only hope, Jace is about to find out what they’re both made of.
My first BJ Daniels read will not be my last.
Lone Rider is a reach and grab you, holy crap did that just happen and damn I didn’t see that flippin coming kind of book. BJ Daniels has taken every aspect of a great romance and puts it all into one book.
Lone Ride is thrilling adventure that will have you turning the pages to keep up. Perfectly written descriptions keeps the reader in tune with the surroundings and complex characters. The suspense will keep you on edge while plot twist add a whole new ride to the game. A must read for any Romantic Suspense lover.
BJ Daniels gave this reader a one sit read in a subject that is not a top pic. She made me a fan with one book!
ARC Review: Collision by Laramie Briscoe
Collision
Laramie Briscoe
Red Bird Trail Trilogy Book 2
Self Published
Published July 13th 2015
Collision—An instance of one person striking violently against another.
Secrets
Lies
Broken Hearts
When Cash and Harper are blindsided with custody papers for his brother, Remy, neither one of them know what to do other than what they’ve done in the past. Ask the Heaven Hill MC for help and hope for the best.
As they prepare for the fight of their lives against Remy’s parents, Harper wonders if the sins of her father will come back to bite her. A time in her life she thought she’d left behind rears its ugly head and threatens everything the two of them have been working towards.
When worlds crash, they are left looking at the wreckage and wondering if they’ve survived the collision.
4.5 Stars
The intensity never lets up!
Collision flawlessly pick up where Flagger slammed Cash and Harper into a brick wall. Quickly becoming a couple, moving in together and making a stable environment for Remy has put Cash and Harper in the fast lane trying to keep up. Where Flagger was all about the passion(in my opinion), Collision is cutting open all the raw, deep emotions.
Love is never easy. It’s a learning process, with a lot of trial and error. Whether you’re 20 years old or have been married for 50 years, love is something that has to be worked at and maintained. With her incredible characters, Ms. Briscoe perfectly gives the readers just that with the intense, emotional, ride that is Collision. A quick read that is over, leaving you wanting more before you know it. Passion still heats the pages, however expect to feel the so deep emotions right along with Cash and Harper.
With all the cards on the table, I very much look forward to what Laramie Briscoe has in store for the conclusion of the Red Bird Trail trilogy with In Tune!
An e-book was provided for an honest review.
Review: Proposing To Preston by Katy Regnery
Proposing To Preston
Katy Regnery
The Winslow Brothers Series, Book 2
Published July 7th 2015
Proposing to Preston is the second of four books about the Philadelphia-based, wildly-handsome Winslow brothers who are all on the look-out for love.
(Except Brooks… he’s probably sailing around the world with Skye by now. And Cameron, who’s having too much fun sparring with Margaret. And Christopher, who’s only on the look-out for a congressional seat and absolutely. nothing. else.)
Preston Winslow has a heart as open as the sky and room in his life for someone special. When he falls in love with Broadway actress, Elise Klassan, he holds nothing back.
Elise, who has made tremendous sacrifices to forward her career, is swept off her feet by handsome, charming Preston…but the stage has been her first love for so many years, she doesn’t know if there’s room for Preston in her life. When the day comes that she must choose between her ambition and her heart, she profoundly hurts the one man who could have made her happy.
Two years later, Elise has become a world-famous actress and Preston is a very successful lawyer. But fame has not equaled happiness for Elise, and Preston is much too bitter and cynical to ever consider falling in love again.
Is it possible that the only person who can mend Preston’s heart is the one who originally broke it? Only if Elise can figure out a way to make him believe in love all over again.
3 Stars
Preston is a man after my own heart. A true romantic. So kind, caring and giving, when his status in life could have made him a very different person.
Elise is still learning what the outside world is. Talented beyond the stars, yet naïve and unsure. Even in her selfishness, she longed for something she didn’t realize she had until she pushed it away and tried to gain it back.
I had a total love/hate/love relationship with Proposing to Preston. I loved Preston and Elise’s meeting. All the little romantic gestures. Holding hands, walking her home and flowers. That was just the beginning of what became a total upturn of emotions. Heartache, pain and what could be considered betrayal. Totally didn’t see that one coming. On the drop of a dime Preston and Elise were spiraling in two different directions. Throwing this reader for one hell of a loop. I believe I wanted to stop reading for a few. I didn’t. As I continued, it just prove I was so right about Preston.
An enjoyable read that will pull the heart strings in many, many ways.
A complementary of this title was provided for an honest review.
ARC Review: A Santini Takes the Fall by Melissa Schroeder
A Santini Takes the Fall
Melissa Schroeder
Santini Series, Book 9
Harmless Publishing
Release Date: July 14, 2015
A man avoiding his destiny.
Anthony Santini is happy with life. The former Marine is now working a dream job for NCIS in a dream location: Hawaii. He’s watched his cousins and now his siblings fall into the Santini Curse and that is not for him. Not yet. He’s happy to play the field and enjoy life. It still doesn’t stop his cousin’s wife from trying to fix him up.
A woman avoiding love.
Lalani Hawkins has had enough heartache to last a lifetime. The professional dancer isn’t looking for love and she definitely doesn’t need a man like Santini in her life. After the worst blind date in history, she thinks she’ll never see him again.
For two people who want to avoid each other, Lalani and Anthony can’t seem to achieve that. Each time they meet, Lalani falls a little more under the Santini spell, and for Anthony, he is drawn to the vivacious dancer. But when Anthony senses her hesitation to commit, he starts to formulate a plan. Because when a Santini man decides he’s found his mate, there is no stopping him.
4.5 Stars
Anthony is stubborn, somewhat pig headed and happy in his single life. He will tell you how it is without thinking twice about. Blunt is a light way of putting it. He is also a Santini. Good looking and being built is written into their military blood. As is a curse. Anthony swore that he wouldn’t fall into the Santini curse. Living the life with his dream job in paradise, Anthony finds the rock that makes him fall hard. Now the truly hard part is making her see what’s falling into their lives.
Lalani is beauty inside and out. Smart, caring and real. Being the daughter of a marine has make her a tough woman and past love has given her a guarded heart. Returning to Hawaii from the fast paced life of New York, for family and starting a dance school, Lalani life need a change for the good. Good changes become frustrating when an ex marine she wants nothing to do with gets under her skin.
Melissa Schroeder takes us to Hawaii for what is now my favorite Santini book. Anthony and Lalani make you laugh from the moment you meet them. Both wanting to stay as far from one another as they could, they couldn’t seem to stay away. No instance flames here. A steady building attraction that gives Anthony Santini the fall of his life. A Santini Takes the Fall is funny, sexy and passionate. Everything g I have come to love in a Melissa Schroeder book!
Coffee Books Life 