Category: Book Reviews

Posted on

Book Review: Flame (Men of Inked – Heatwave #1) by Chelle Bliss

 

Flame

(Men of Inked: Heatwave #1) 

 

by USA Today bestselling author

Chelle Bliss.

 

Flame is book one in the Men of Inked: Heatwave series. 

Men of Inked: Heatwave features steamy romance, hot alphas, and strong heroines    
 

(**City & Suzy’s Daughter**)
Genre: Contemporary Romance /Romantic Suspense
 

TBR: menofinked.com/flame-tbr
 

AVAILABLE NOW!
ebook

Could you love a man surrounded by danger?
Gigi Gallo’s childhood was filled with the roar of a motorcycle and the hum of a tattoo gun. Fresh out of college, she’s about to start working at her family’s tattoo studio — Inked. But when she shows up the first day, she never expects to run into someone tall, dark, and totally sexy from her not-so-innocent past.
Pike Moore is a bossy biker with a cocky attitude and an even bigger ego. He came to Inked to start over. New town. New job. New roots. None of that included coming face-to-face with the hot chick who spent a week in his bed before she vanished without a trace.
But when Pike’s dark family history catches up with him, can he stop Gigi from being caught in the crossfire?
Flame is book one in the Men of Inked: Heatwave series by USA Today bestselling author Chelle Bliss. The Men of Inked: Heatwave series features steamy romance, hot heroes, and strong women.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

The guy isn’t just hot, he’s Freaking Fine with capital Fs…

 

You’re a good kid. If I had a son, I’d want him to be just like you, Pike. Instead, I got a daughter because I’ve done bad shit in my life and the big guy found a way to pay me back.

 

I’ve also been around enough wrong women to know when I’ve found the right one.

 

“You out for a stroll?” he asks, confirming I am, in fact, moving too slow. But I have one speed, and it’s sloth.

 

“Auntie Fran, go easy on him,” Gigi says as the woman plasters her body against me, resting her head on my chest. “Shh. Don’t ruin this for me, girl. When you’re my age, there’re very few thrills left in life… Don’t ruin this for me,” Fran says again, her fingers digging into my pecs. “God, to be young again.”

 

My Review:

 

I can never get enough of these loving, loud, luminous, and living large Gallos. Chelle Bliss kicks off her new series with a bang – featuring the next generation of sassy and brassy troublemakers with a first installment that left me tapping my little foot and eager for the next one. The storylines were heaving with irreverent humor, family drama, and breath-stealing sensual steam as well as generous lashings of danger and suspense.   I inhaled this engaging tale with a steady smirk and a few gasps for good measure. Please, hurry with part two Ms. Bliss, before the little pea in my brain forgets all the deliciously juicy details.


 Meet The Author

USA Today bestselling author Chelle Bliss currently lives in a small town near the Gulf of Mexico. She’s a full-time writer, time-waster extraordinaire, social media addict, and coffee fiend. She’s written over ten books and has two series available. She loves spending her free time with her boyfriend, 2 cats, and her hamster.

Before becoming a writer, Chelle taught high school history for over ten years. She holds a master’s degree in Instructional Technology and a bachelor’s in History. Although history is her first love, writing has become her dream job and she can’t imagine doing anything else.
WEBSITE – FACEBOOK – NEWSLETTER – TWITTER – INSTAGRAM

 

 

Posted on

Book Review, Giveaway: Hit&Run (PASS Series Book 1) by Freya Barker

 

Title: Hit&Run (Pass Series #1)
Author: Freya Barker
Genre: Contemporary Romance/ Romantic Suspense
Release Date: September 16, 2019
Hosted by: Buoni Amici Press, LLC.

Returning home to Grand Junction would not have been Rosie Perkins’ first choice, but with her mother no longer able to take care of herself, it’s the only one she has. As is working the night shift at a local hotel to bring in a much-needed income.
Rosie juggles to keep all the pieces of her life together and has no room to add anything more. One morning after a long shift, when she witnesses a hotel guest crash into a dumpster, her careful control starts to unravel.
Security specialist, Jake Hutchinson, has his hands full protecting the arrogant lead actor of a movie being filmed in town. Since the production company and crew arrived at the hotel, the entitled star has been nothing but trouble.
The only thing that can improve his mood is the occasional nightly glimpse of the redheaded housekeeper.
Until he finds himself trapped between desire and duty.

AMAZON | APPLE BOOKS | NOOK | KOBO |

Tweet: Hit & Run (PASS Series, #1) by @freya_barker It’s a brand new series and you can #BuyItNow Here ➜ http://bit.ly/2YjqQoM #ContemporaryRomance #ContemporaryRomanceReads #RomanticSuspense #Romanticsuspensereaders #BAPpr @buoniamicipress

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Grant in a tent—I would give good money to see that. “Sweetheart,” he starts in complete diva mode, waving his hand up and down the front of his body. “See this six foot six frame of carefully honed muscle, coated in a rich coat of cocoa, polished and waxed to a perfect shine? This here body will not stuff itself in any sleeping bag, it does not fit in any tent, it is not intended for rough terrain, and it does not find the idea of peeing in a bush at all romantic.” He takes a deep drink of his beer, slams his empty bottle on the counter, and belches loudly, only adding to our hilarity, before he finishes. “This is a body designed for feather beds and the soft slide of twelve hundred thread-count, Egyptian cotton sheets. I’ll sleep in the wild when I’m dead.”

 

“With that scruff, he’s like catnip for soccer moms.” “Are you calling me a soccer mom?” she protests. “No. I’m calling him catnip.”

 

“I tried calling: no answer. I left a message: nothing. Finally, I called your office—” He points a scathing look at Jake. “And threatened whoever was unfortunate enough to answer the phone, that I would sit on them, hold them down, and roll rubber bands through their chest hair until they’re as smooth as a baby’s butt— to get this damn address.”

 

For years I’d harbored the dream of a family, but eventually simply gave up even hoping. My fortieth birthday had been a come -to-Jesus moment when I felt I passed that invisible barrier between; it could still happen, and your ovaries now grow dust bunnies.

 

My Review:

 

With every new book she writes, I adore Freya Barker just a little more. She gives us everyday hard-working and well-seasoned heroes and heroines who have or are struggling with real-life issues and doing their best at jobs they may not enjoy but need to hold on to. Most of us have been there. And quite often doing those thankless jobs conflict with doing the right thing, which causes additional stress and dissatisfaction, lots of us have been there too.

 

Hit&Run broke ground for an action-packed new series with several busy, realistic, and compelling storylines and a full slate of uniquely interesting, likable, and relatable characters who labor away at relatively common jobs and are doing so with healthy servings of dignity as well as a side order of irreverent humor.   And of course, I must not forget to mention the supportive and sensual romance that blossoms amid of all this intriguing peril and chaos.

 

All of Ms. Barker’s thoughtfully written books that I have read have been remarkably self-contained standalone stories that seamlessly interconnect with the others in their series. I am already eager for the next installment.

 

Freya Barker loves writing about ordinary people with extraordinary stories.
Driven to make her books about ‘real’ people; with characters who are perhaps less than perfect, but just as deserving of romance, thrills and chills, and their own slice of happy.
A recipient of the RomCon “Reader’s Choice” Award for best first book, “Slim To None”, and Finalist for the Kindle Book Award with “From Dust”, Freya has not slowed down.
She continues to add to her rapidly growing collection of published novels as she spins story after story with an endless supply of bruised and dented characters, vying for attention!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Posted on

Book Review: Silver Brewer (The Silver Foxes of Blue Ridge) by L.B. Dunbar 

Title: Silver Brewer: The Silver Foxes of Blue Ridge
Author: L.B. Dunbar 
Genre: Over 40 Romance Standalone

Release Date: September 12, 2019

Olivet Pierson needs his land. 

 

Name your price, Mr. Harrington. 

 

She has her reasons, and this muscular mountain of masculinity isn’t going to get in her way. However, her heart has a different plan after she accepts his crazy conditions: three nights up on the ridge.
George Harrington is a quiet, giant of a man.
No sale, Cricket.
He’s a war hero, a widower, and COO for the family brewing company, but his life lacks spontaneity. Then, she arrives, chirping away at him, roaming his body with those sky-blue eyes, and negotiating for something he won’t put a price on. Too bad his heart is immediately sold.
With the challenge accepted, this silver fox can no longer deny his desires for something a little different.
+++
Welcome to Blue Ridge where sexy silver foxes meet their match of feisty vixens.
The Harrington brothers are a spin-off from Second Chance, but don’t you worry, this over 40 romance can be enjoyed as a stand-alone.

 

 
.

 

PP’s Bookshelf – “Sexy. Emotional. Angsty. Real. Honest. Heartbreaking. Swoonworthy. Heartwarming.”

 

Bibliophile Chloe – “Ms. Dunbar doesn’t fail to amaze me with her writing of mature characters, still full of life, still wanting to find love and the holy hotness of the chemistry and smexy times!”

 

Cee Cee Houston – “L.B. Dunbar has found her niche. The over 40’s is definitely a trope she does extremely well.”

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

“Micro-penis? Poor guy.” “Wrong again. Poor me.”

 I’m content to have him kiss me like he is, like I’m the air he needs to breathe and the color in his wind.

 Hope is a dangerous emotion.

 I don’t think there needs to be a time limit on love or grief. Grief ends when you’re done. And love begins when you’re ready.

 

My Review:

 

She was his Cricket and forever chirping.

He was her Giant ax throwing, he-man, sex god, and part-time shampoo boy.

I always enjoy Ms. Dunbar’s clever and uniquely appealing character development as well as her use of witty banter and toe-curling sensual romance. This couple was a study of opposites and contradictions; which can be a good thing, although I found myself growing increasingly annoyed with the repetitive inner musings of angsty doubt and obtuse miscommunications.

I liked this book, but I didn’t love it, there was far too much contrived conflict just for drama’s sake for my taste, but that’s just me, angst and flighty flip-flopping characters are never going to reside on my list of favorite things. But, in the plus column – he washed her hair, there were freezer fairies, and did I mention the breath-stealing and volcanically hot and erotic sex scenes? I thought I might have 😉

.
.
“Before you try to steal my land, perhaps you should learn a thing or two about it.”

 

I stare up at him as his expression turns virile. 

 

“I know this piece of property could earn you millions.” I look beyond him, taking in the small bit of landscape I can see around his broad hips and crossed arms.
“I told you, I don’t want the money.” He scoffs. “I’m talking about dirt under your toes. Wind in your face. Stars in your eyes.” His eyes nearly dance as though he has undisclosed information he’s waiting to share with me, and strangely, I want to know his secret. And though dirt under my toes doesn’t sound pleasant, it doesn’t sound terrible either.
Still.

 

Tell me. Tell me all your wisdom and woes. I swallow with the intensity of his glare and rub a hand down the thigh of my jeans.

 

“Okay, so I’m not Pocahontas. How would I learn?” My voice cracks, sounding meek. Teach me, Yoda.
“From the land.” He pauses. His crossed arms bulge before me and lift with the heave of his frustrated inhale. What would those arms feel like around me?
“And your land will just teach me?” Oh God. Did my voice just drop? Did I exaggerate your land, implying something other than the greenery around us? Damn Marcus and his damnable innuendos, but if this man means I can hike his landscape, I volunteer as tribute. “How?”
“Camping.”
“What?” I stammer. My mouth falls open.
“Camping. Three nights of roughing it and then I’ll think about your proposition. You break before that and no deal.”

 

 
My proposition? Did I proposition him? Can he see the images racing through my mind? I want to do all kinds of things to him, starting with the body part closest to me. My heart races, and my sweaty palms…sweat more. My breath catches.

 

 

 

Anything whispers through my mind along with the song “Colors of the Wind.”

 

My eyes narrow. My heart thuds to a screeching halt.

 

This is crazy.

 

But I slowly rise, pressing up on my thigh as I stand. I come to my full height, which doesn’t quite match his, but with the help of the two step difference, I’m close. My gaze meets his fiery eyes. There’s one thing this man needs to learn about me. I like nothing more than to prove others wrong.
“Challenge accepted.”

 

.
.
L.B. Dunbar loves the sweeter things in life: cookies, Coca-Cola, and romance. Her reading journey began with a deep love of fairy tales and alpha males. She loves a deep belly laugh and a strong hug. Occasionally, she has the energy of a Jack Russell terrier. Accused—yes, that’s the correct word—of having an overactive imagination, to her benefit, such an imagination works well. Author of over two dozen novels, she’s created sexy rom-coms for the over 40; intrigue on an island; MMA chaos; rock star mayhem, and sweet small-town romance. In addition, she earned a title as the “myth and legend lady” for her modernizations of mythology as elda lore. Her other duties in life include mother to four children and wife to the one and only.

 

 

 


HOSTED BY:

Posted on

Book Review: The Lost Daughter by Gill Paul

The Lost Daughter

by Gill Paul

Amazon US / UK / CA / AU  

B&N / HarperCollins

Paperback: 496 pages
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (August 27, 2019)

If you loved I Am Anastasia by Ariel Lawhon you won’t want to miss this novel about her sister, Grand Duchess Maria. What really happened to this lost Romanov daughter? A new novel perfect for anyone curious about Anastasia, Maria, and the other lost Romanov daughters, by the author of The Secret Wife.

1918: Pretty, vivacious Grand Duchess Maria Romanov, the nineteen-year-old daughter of the fallen Tsar Nicholas II, lives with her family in suffocating isolation, a far cry from their once-glittering royal household. Her days are a combination of endless boredom and paralyzing fear; her only respite are clandestine flirtations with a few of the guards imprisoning the family—never realizing her innocent actions could mean the difference between life and death

1973: When Val Doyle hears her father’s end-of-life confession, “I didn’t want to kill her,” she’s stunned. So, she begins a search for the truth—about his words and her past. The clues she discovers are baffling—a jewel-encrusted box that won’t open and a camera with its film intact. What she finds out pulls Val into one of the world’s greatest mysteries—what truly happened to the Grand Duchess Maria?

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

The minutes crawled interminably, so slow she suspected the clock had been tampered with in order to torture them.

That evening, she explained to Nicole that a judge had decided she did not have to visit her daddy anymore. “OK.” Nicole nodded, quite happy with this. “Will I get a new daddy now? What do we have to do? Should we apply somewhere?”

If you can help someone without harming anyone else, then why on earth wouldn’t you do it?

My Review:

 

This was my first experience of being immersed in Gill Paul’s epic storytelling and I am beyond impressed. The Lost Daughter was beautifully written, lushly descriptive, and heartbreakingly realistic.   Her emotive writing was taut with tension and pulled me right inside her characters’ various storylines. I felt my chest tighten as if I were fleeing with them and racing for escape while in danger of capture. The book spanned 90 years with an intriguing and enthralling fusion of fact and fiction. The story hit all the feels and I was enthralled, educated, and horrified yet highly entertained by Ms. Paul’s absorbing and well-crafted tale.

I was provided with a review copy of this sweeping tale by TLC Book Tours and HarperCollins. 

About the Author

Gill Paul is an author of historical fiction, specializing in relatively recent history. She has written two novels about the last Russian royal family: The Secret Wife, published in 2016, which tells the story of cavalry officer Dmitri Malama and Grand Duchess Tatiana, the second daughter of Russia’s last tsar; and The Lost Daughter, published in October 2018, that tells of the attachment Grand Duchess Maria formed with a guard in the house in Ekaterinburg where the family was held from April to July 1918.

Gill’s other novels include Another Woman’s Husband, about links you may not have been aware of between Wallis Simpson, later Duchess of Windsor, and Diana, Princess of Wales; Women and Children First, about a young steward who works on the Titanic; The Affair, set in Rome in 1961–62 as Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton fall in love while making Cleopatra; and No Place for a Lady, about two Victorian sisters who travel out to the Crimean War of 1854–56 and face challenges beyond anything they could have imagined.

Find out more about Gill at her website, and connect with her on Twitter and Instagram.

Posted on

Book Review: Always the One (A Beloved Duet #2) by Kelly Collins

 Always the One 

(A Beloved Duet #2)

by Kelly Collins

 

Amazon  US / UK / AU / CA 

She watched him walk away. Now he’s back. Will he stay to fulfill her dreams?

Physical therapist and karaoke queen Aidy Smith would love to be in a relationship, but in the small town of Beloved, Colorado, it seems all the best ones are taken. The truth is, even if there were single men to choose from, the only one Aidy wants is the one who left years ago. When Jace Johnson comes back to town, Aidy’s heart comes to life again. But how long will he stay?

Jace Johnson had a tough life. He lost his parents when he was thirteen, but with the love of his devoted aunt and a talent for football he thrived. As a fullback for the New Jersey Knights, he has just about everything he could want until a car accident injures his daughter Maddie. Now he finds himself back in Beloved seeking the help of Aunt Sharon’s physical therapist who to his surprise, turns out to be Aidy Smith, his high school tutor. Without her help, he would have never graduated. Can she be the answer to his prayers again?

Football is all Jace knows. Beloved is where Aidy belongs. Will he give it all up for a second chance at love?

Find out in Always the One…

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I’m going to be a cat lady for the rest of my life… It’s going to be me and Clawsome until I’m old and gray.

 

He was my client’s pool guy. I mean hello, he used pool metaphors for foreplay talk… I don’t have it in me to go into the dirty details but just think. He talked nonstop about his hose and how he liked certain strokes better than others, and if I wanted to jump into the deep end with him, he knew rescue breathing.

 

And the word fetish is a special word and shouldn’t be used more than once in a lifetime. You’ve used your quota.

 

I named our son Jack Russell. Who names their son after a breed of dog known to be stubborn?

 

My Review:

 

This was a sweet and fun small-town second chance romance with a lively bit of sizzle and snap. I always enjoy Kelly Collin’s uniquely appealing characters and amusing and witty observations and insights. Aidy fantasized taking a run at her oblivious high school crush ten years later – but was startled out of her secret stalking efforts when he returned to his hometown of Beloved to visit his aunt and carried in a small child from his car ~ needle scratch. Aidy was a quirky karaoke queen/physical therapist/town gossip.   Jace had been her first crush and the man she seemed to measure men against.

 

Jace was stunned to notice that Aidy was no longer the nerdy nondescript classmate who used to tutor him after school. Not only was she gorgeous, but she was also kind and patient with his family, and kind of perfect, so perfect he developed a yellow tinge and made me want to smack him with my kindle – repeatedly. Luckily for Jace, Aidy was more forgiving and less vindictive than I am. 😉

ABOUT KELLY COLLINS  

 

  Goodreads  / Website  / Amazon /

International bestselling author of over 30 novels, Kelly Collins writes with the intention of keeping the love alive. Always a romantic, she blends real-life events with her vivid imagination to create characters and stories that lovers of contemporary romance, new adult, and romantic suspense will return to again and again.

Posted on

Book Review: The Last Widow by Karin Slaughter

The Last Widow

by Karin Slaughter

 

Amazon  US / UK / CA / AU / 

B&N / HarperCollins

 Hardcover: 464 pages
Publisher: William Morrow (August 20, 2019)

New York Times bestselling author Karin Slaughter brings back Will Trent and Sara Lintonin this superb and timely thriller full of devious twists, disturbing secrets, and shocking surprises you won’t see coming

A mysterious kidnapping on a hot summer night, a scientist from the Centers for Disease Control is grabbed by unknown assailants in a shopping center parking lot. The authorities are desperate to save the doctor who’s been vanished into thin air.

A devastating explosion

One month later, the serenity of a sunny Sunday afternoon is shattered by the boom of a ground-shaking blast—followed by another, seconds later.  One of Atlanta’s busiest and most important neighborhoods has been bombed—the location of Emory University, two major hospitals, the FBI headquarters, and the CDC.

A diabolical enemy

Medical examiner Sara Linton and her partner Will Trent, an investigator with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, rush to the scene—and into the heart of a deadly conspiracy that threatens to destroy thousands of innocent lives. When the assailants abduct Sara, Will goes undercover to save her and prevent a massacre—putting his own life on the line for the woman and the country he loves.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Money. That was the real obstacle… She would never forget the look on Jeffrey’s face the first time he’d seen the balance in her trading account. Sara had actually heard the squeaking groan of his testicles retracting into his body. It had taken a hell of a lot of suction to get them back out again.

 

Sara had explained the science behind these mood changes. During the stages of pregnancy and breastfeeding and childhood, a woman’s brain was flooded with hormones that altered the gray matter in the regions involved in social processes, heightening the mother’s empathy and bonding them closely to their child. Which was a damn good thing, because if another human being treated you the way a toddler did—threw food in your face, questioned your every move, unraveled all of the aluminum foil off the roll, yelled at the silverware, made you clean shit off their ass, peed in your bed, peed in your car, peed on you while you were cleaning up their pee, demanded that you repeat everything at least sixteen times and then screeched at you for talking too much—then you would probably kill them.

 

Tinder was a no-go. The guys who didn’t look married looked like they should be chained to a bench outside of a courtroom. She’d tried Match.com but not one of the losers that she was even remotely attracted to could pass a background check. Which said more about the type of men Faith was attracted to than internet dating sites.

 

Her parenting skills fell somewhere between Charlotte’s Web and Lord of the Flies. Jeremy still teased her about the note she’d once left in his lunch box: The bread is stale. This is what happens when you don’t close the bag.

 

Don’t mess with the US Government. They won two wars and can print their own money.

 

Dash was a stupid man’s idea of how a smart man sounded.

My Review:

 

This book was gripping and all-consuming yet it took me twice as long to read, as I had to put it down, take deep breaths, and walk away from it now and then. Not because it was bad, but because it was diabolically brilliant and absorbing, I was sucked right into this complex and fiendish vortex and helplessly engrossed in the chaos. The plot was complex and skillfully crafted while the writing was ingeniously textured and scorched my brain matter while it squeezed my heart and lungs.

This contemptible and monstrous scenario could very well happen, which was intensely disturbing to me as it was heinously realistic.   The ever-escalating and highly disturbing climate of arrogance, hate, manipulation, and perversion of information being generated from our current national embarrassments at the top does seem to be empowering the most twisted of the vile and disenfranchised. Karin Slaughter is devilishly clever and a masterful wordsmith. She scared me silly.

I was provided with a review copy of this enthralling thriller by HarperCollins and TLC Book Tours.

About Karin Slaughter

Karin Slaughter is one of the world’s most popular and acclaimed storytellers. Published in 120 countries with more than 35 million copies sold across the globe, her eighteen novels include the Grant County and Will Trent books, as well as the Edgar-nominated Cop Town and the instant New York Times bestselling novels Pretty Girls and The Good Daughter. Slaughter is the founder of the Save the Libraries project—a nonprofit organization established to support libraries and library programming. A native of Georgia, Karin Slaughter lives in Atlanta. Her standalone novels The Good Daughter and Cop Town are in development for film and television.

Find out more about Karin at her website and connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

 

Posted on

Book Review: Handle With Care by Helena Hunting

HWC - BT banner

“Lincoln and Wren had me flipping through the pages frantically, begging for more. Their chemistry was explosive, their love story both hilarious and tender.”- L.J. Shen, USA Today bestselling author

Handle With Care, an all-new romantic comedy from New York Times bestselling author Helena Hunting is available now!

 

12_13_Handle With Care (1) 6.00.05 PM

Handle With Care

by Helena Hunting 

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2VGJ83p

AppleBooks: https://apple.co/2VXTyvK

Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/HandleWithCare

Nook: http://bit.ly/2FmIv9x

Kobo: http://bit.ly/2M09aKC

Google Play: http://bit.ly/2RRkyh8

Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/2C9AeCB

Add to GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2FgCXxX

HE WANTS TO LOSE CONTROL.

Between his parents’ messed up marriage and his narcissistic younger brother, Lincoln Moorehead has spent the majority of his life avoiding his family. After the death of his father, Lincoln finds himself in the middle of the drama. To top it all off, he’s been named CEO of Moorehead Media, much to his brother’s chagrin. But Lincoln’s bad attitude softens when he meets the no-nonsense, gorgeous woman who has been given the task of transforming him from the gruff, wilderness guy to a suave businessman

SHE’S TRYING TO HOLD IT TOGETHER.

Wren Sterling has been working double-time to keep the indiscretions at Moorehead Media at bay, so when she’s presented with a new contract, with new responsibilities and additional incentives, she agrees. Working with the reclusive oldest son of a ridiculously entitled family is worth the hassle if it means she’s that much closer to pursuing her own dreams. What Wren doesn’t expect is to find herself attracted to him, or for it to be mutual. And she certainly doesn’t expect to fall for Lincoln. But when a shocking new Moorehead scandal comes to light, she’s forced to choose between her own family and the broody, cynical CEO.

HWC - AN

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Do not sass me, Lincoln Alexander Moorehead. And do not call me G-mom in front of the goddamn staff. How am I going to keep my battle-ax reputation with you shouting nicknames that make me sound like a second-rate rap star?

 

I don’t know what kind of karmic bomb your parents managed to set off when they created your brother.

 

I’m startled out of my thoughts when my brother jumps up and shouts a bunch of profane nonsense, hands flailing like he’s trying to swim on land, or approximate the chicken dance while on an LSD trip… He keeps jabbing his finger at me, as if he’s engaged in a finger sword fight.

 

Gwendolyn’s expression is slightly pinched— which is saying something because most of her face usually doesn’t move.

 

Dear sweet baby Jesus riding a unicorn.

 

He wasn’t faithful to my mother, and maybe I can understand that, since she has the warmth of a corpse…

 

My Review:

 

I am stunned and truthfully mortified to report that this was my first Helena Hunting experience… where have I been? The woman is a prolific and clever wordsmith and has a backlist a mile long – I am so ashamed of myself ~ hangs head… But now that I am in the know I plan to make amends for my slothful and inattentive ways and greedily latch on to as many of her skillful arrangements of words as possible. I am totally enamored with her wit, observantly descriptive writing style, and irreverent humor.

 

Handle With Care was written in my favorite dual POV with sparkling levity, titillating family scandals, smoldering sensual scenes, vile yet quirky villains that I loved to despise, and a plethora of enticing and intriguing primary and secondary characters. I adored every well-placed word and smirked my way through this absorbing and refreshingly entertaining tale. Sigh, I enjoyed these characters so much I am more than a bit reluctant to let them go, but at least I now have a new favorite author to fangirl.

HWC - Teaser 3 AN

Excerpt:

“You have a suit fitting tomorrow morning.”

“Tomorrow morning? I have lots of suits; I’ll make one of those work.”

“Are they like the ones you wore to the funeral?” I ask.

“Yeah, why?”

“Well, they may have fit you five years ago, but they certainly don’t fit you now. I’ll text you the details and add them to your personal calendar.”

“You can’t do that without my cell number.” His smugness would be grating if I wasn’t two steps ahead of him.

I flash a fake smile. “I already have all of your personal details, Lincoln. Right down to your shoe size. And you can’t be late like you were this morning, so it might be a good idea to avoid the scotch tonight so you’re less bear and more human. You’ll need to use these things called manners. I can email you a refresher on what those are, should you need it.”

“Sarcasm is a weapon of the weak.”

My ears are on fire as he heads for the door. Jerk. I was being witty, not sarcastic. “Thanks so much for offering to help clean up the mess you made.” I turn to address the crinkled papers scattered on the floor.

It’s common courtesy to offer assistance if you’re the one who made the damn mess. Even Armstrong, who is the most epic of douches, has some manners. Usually he’ll try to look up a skirt or down a shirt while he’s being polite, but it’s better than this.

I turn to retrieve the papers when two things happen, a power surge ramps up the box fans—it happens at least twice a day, and at the same time Lincoln pulls the door open again. The simultaneous actions create a vortex of air inside my office, and my skirt flutters into the air. Like I’m Marilyn Monroe and I’ve stepped onto one of those subway grates. The fabric rises quickly, and a breeze hits me right between the legs, which is the exact moment I remember that I’m not wearing panties. Because they were covered in the coffee Armstrong spilled in my lap.

I drop the papers and battle the fabric back down. It’s fruitless, though, the wind tunnel whirls through the room like Dorothy’s freaking tornado, and the back of my dress goes up. I meet Lincoln’s gaze from across the small room. All it takes is a second of eye contact before those ridiculously blue eyes pull me in, and weird, inappropriate things start happening to my body. It’s irritating as hell. I don’t even like this guy, but my body seems as if it hasn’t gotten the same memo as the rest of me. Even more aggravating is the realization that based on his expression, he totally caught an eyeful of cooch.

Lincoln stands frozen at the door, eyes wide and fixed on my crotch, mouth hanging open.

“Close the damn door!” My voice is siren high. And loud.

“Right. Yes. I’m going. Now.” He steps out of my office, pulling the door closed behind him.

My dress settles around my knees. “Dammit.” I drop into my chair, which is probably what I should’ve done as soon as the wind tunnel started, but clearly I’d been too panicked to think straight.

On the upside, I went to see my waxer last week, so he’s seen my girl bits when they’re looking their finest.

On the downside, my project for the next six months has seen my naked girl bits.

 

About the Author:

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of PUCKED, Helena Hunting lives on the outskirts of Toronto with her incredibly tolerant family and two moderately intolerant cats. She writes contemporary romance ranging from new adult angst to romantic sports comedy.

 

Connect with Helena:
Instagram: http://instagram.com/helenahunting Twitter: https://twitter.com/HelenaHunting
Facebook: http://on.fb.me/Zt1xm5
Facebook Fan group: http://bit.ly/340v5tQ
Website: http://www.helenahunting.com/
Never miss an update! Subscribe to Helena’s mailing list:
http://bit.ly/2MlRKq6

Posted on

Book Reviews: Let Your Hair Down (Almost Royal Book 3) by Rachel Lacey

Let Your Hair Down 

(Almost Royal Book 3)

by Rachel Lacey

Amazon  US / UK / AU / CA 

 BN ~ iBooks ~ Kobo ~ GP

THE ADVENTURE OF A LIFETIME

Ruby Keller is going rogue, or at least that’s the hashtag she’s using to document her vacation: #RubyGoesRogue. Illness kept her confined to her bedroom for much of her childhood, and as a result, she’s always played it safe, hiding behind her laptop and overanalyzing every decision. When a friend’s wedding takes her to London, she decides to push herself out of her comfort zone and take an uncharted adventure on her own…no laptop, no itinerary, and no one to get in her way. A chance run-in with a handsome British stranger was definitely not on the agenda…

Flynn Bowen travels the globe for his family’s chain of upscale hotels and resorts. He’s struggled to find his place within the business, so when his parents allow him to oversee the construction of a new location in Dubai, he’s determined not to let them down. When he meets Ruby, he’s enchanted by her passion and bravery, not to mention the chemistry between them. If circumstances were different, he could fall for this vivacious American beauty, but fate has only given them one magical day together. Can they find a way to grab their chance at love, or will geography—and their own inhibitions—tear them apart?

 

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I think you look like a woman who waited around for her letter from Hogwarts once upon a time, but I would hate to make a snap judgment.

 

Ruby was a gem in every sense of the word.

 

I’ve learned is that life can be short and fragile, and when you find something great, you should grab ahold of it, even if it’s not what you were expecting. And I definitely wasn’t expecting you, but here we are.

 

She was stabbing at her salad like it had personally offended her. Her expression betrayed nothing, but she was uncharacteristically quiet, which seemed somehow harder to take than if she’d just started yelling at him.

 

 My Review:

 

I have enjoyed this pleasurable series of supportive, animal-loving, and spunky friends and am sad to see it end. This installment featured a major turn-about for Ruby. The cautious and highly organized Ruby left her spreadsheets and laptop at home and set off for her friend’s wedding in London with a mission to go off on her own and experience an unplanned, unscheduled, no reservations made, grand adventure. She was off to a good start with a sexy new acquaintance she met at the wedding acting as her London tour guide then he became a good slice more before they wistfully parted with no hope of seeing each other again.

 

But of course, that couldn’t be as then there would be no story. Ruby and Flynn’s tale was a sweet and gentle low-conflict tale with a bit of sightseeing, illness, and a bit of steamy goodness, then a devastating disappointment for Ruby until Flynn finally pulled his cranium from his colon and gave us our HEA. As we all know, I must have my HEA or I will be stamping my little foot in pique and turning the air blue with invectives. Thank ALL our lucky stars that I didn’t need to pull my boots on. 😉

 

 

About the Author

Rachel Lacey is a contemporary romance author and semi-reformed travel junkie. She’s been climbed by a monkey on a mountain in Japan, gone scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef, and camped out overnight in New York City for a chance to be an extra in a movie. These days, the majority of her adventures take place on the pages of the books she writes. She lives in warm and sunny North Carolina with her husband, son, and a variety of rescue pets.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads 

Posted on

Book Review: Balls Up (Ball Games #8) by Andie M. Long

Balls Up

(Ball Games #8)

by Andie M. Long

Amazon US / UK / CA / AU  

 

Will this double wedding go without a hitch?

It’s the final visit to the Turner family and time for Camille and Dylan, plus Miranda and Vic to tie the knot.

But no one anticipated grandma’s interference. She did give birth to Dora after all…

Plans are changed, and a surprise appearance from three bridesmaids looks like being a complete ‘cat-astophe’.

Will the family get their happy-ever-afters, or is it going to be a complete balls up?

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Now anyone who knew my other half, knew that at the best of times she lived up to her surname of Cross; but post-birth, whoa! It was like being in a live performance of The Exorcist.

 

She began pulling her top down a little showing some crinkly cleavage, “is it getting hot in here? I think we need a fireman, and oh look,” she waved a guy over. “I think this one wants us to look at his pole.” She’d organised a bloody stripper. My seventy-year-old gran.

 

My Review:

 

Andie M. Long closes out her irreverently humorous Balls series with one final misadventure with those crazy Turners. This time the entire clan was beyond stressed with pregnancies and a double wedding in the works. Oddly enough, Cam’s flamboyant and meddlesome grandmother was causing the most trouble with her bizarre add-ons and upstaging of the brides’ plans, while an exhausted Dora kept the fire department busy with her inattentive attempts at cooking.   I hope we haven’t seen the last of the Turners, they are a ridiculously outrageous family, one I wouldn’t want to live anywhere near, but I’ve enjoyed watching them from afar.

 

I picked up two new slang words for my Brit word list with whip-round – a collection of money made by a group of people that is then given to a particular person or used to buy a present for them, and narky – being cranky or irritable. I’d get narky if no one bothered to do a whip-round for my birthday – hint, hint.

 

About The Author

After twenty+ years of thinking about it, at the age of forty, I decided it was time to finally WRITE THE BOOK or forget about it. I studied two Open University Courses in Creative Writing and finally wrote my first novel. I’ve now written a ton of novels and have the ideas for so many more!

I live in Sheffield with my son and long-suffering partner. We now have a beautiful fur-baby called Bella. When not being a partner, mother, employee (I also work for the NHS) or writer I can usually be found on Facebook or Pinterest.
I’ll be signing in Newcastle 2017 and York 2018.

Stalk Andie Here:

 

Posted on

Book Review: Happy-Go-Lucky by L.H. Cosway

Happy-Go-Lucky

by L.H. Cosway

Amazon US / UK / CA / AU 

 

Every workplace has that one person you don’t want to mess with. 

At James & Peterson Investigations, that would be Cameron Grant: sullen, grouchy, intimidating, oh yeah, and sexy as hell. He can make your soul wither with a single disapproving glare. And he never, ever socializes with his co-workers.

This is why Maisie Wilkins, happy-go-lucky ray of sunshine, can’t fathom why Cameron finally decided to show up at their annual office Christmas party. Every year he received an invite, and every year he failed to attend. But not this year.

Curious as to why he’s there, Maisie can’t resist sitting next to Cameron. Before she knows it, she’s had one too many drinks and is drunkenly hailing a cab back to his place. Office party flings are not something she normally does, but despite his intimidating character, Cameron has a charm she can’t resist. Or maybe it was just those five gin and tonics blurring her judgment.

Whatever the reason, Maisie now has to navigate the awkward, tension-filled waters of sharing an office with someone she’s slept with.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I found it weird to think of him having parents, siblings. I was used to imagining him as some sort of perfect-looking vampire who slept in a coffin and consumed only blood. Then again, it was hard to explain the whole daylight thing.

 

Any mention of a man and she got a very specific look in her eye, like a mother in a period drama with a spinster daughter she was eager to marry off.

 

“You know, you might be right. I probably should stop bringing donuts to the office. They say sugar can have an adverse effect on testosterone levels. Oh,” I smacked my hand to mouth like I’d just come to some dramatic realisation. “That might be why you’re all standing around here gossiping and bitching about me like a bunch of old ladies.”

 

I was falling for this man, drowning in the sea of him and there was no swimming back to the surface… With Cameron, it was like there were more feelings inside of me than my body was capable of holding.

 

And when he asked me what my favourite spice was, I said Sporty. I think that’s where the date started to go downhill…

 

He smiled at me, the sort of rare smile that made you believe you were hearing angels sing.

 

My Review:

 

This was a fun and wryly amusing read featuring an office romance where opposites attract and create a beautiful result where the whole is greater than the parts. Cameron was exacting in his work while tetchy and uncaring of how other people regarded him, while Maisie was an optimist who bent over backward in her constant efforts and concern in pleasing others.   I adored their storylines, blossoming romance, and quirky office dynamics.

 

Ms. Cosway’s engaging writing was entertaining, well balanced, insightfully observant, and loaded with clever wit and stealthy levity as well as a few delectable scenes of sizzling sensuality. She also had me Googling ASMR, something I’d never taken note of before, which led to falling into a YouTube wormhole while experimenting with various video mavens until I shook myself loose. Funny how that happens…

About the author:

L.H. Cosway lives in Dublin, Ireland. Her inspiration to write comes from music. Her favorite things in life include writing stories, vintage clothing, dark cabaret music, food, musical comedy, and of course, books. She thinks that imperfect people are the most interesting kind. They tell the best stories. L.H. is represented by Louise Fury at The Bent Agency.

Social Media Links:FB: www.facebook.com/LHCosway

Twitter: www.twitter.com/LHCosway

Instagram: www.instagram.com/l.h.cosway

Website: www.lhcoswayauthor.com

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/lhcosway13/