Two years ago, Jason and Kate Ryker were brought together by grief and bound to one another by love. Now married, they’re confronting their fears together.
But heartbreak finds them again, and the ties that bind Kate and Ryke are tested as she struggles against fear and sadness. As a grief counselor, Kate understands all too well the pain of her clients. And while her husband’s career as an NHL forward is at an all-time high, he’s coping with the frustration of feeling powerless as his wife’s hopes slip away.

Kate’s unexpected journey sheds light on the fear that imprisons her, and reveals that she is the only one who can set herself free

Lisa’s Review

I loved this follow up into to the lives of NHL star, Jason Ryke and the beautiful, Kate Camden. Honestly written, emotional and heartwarming Brenda Rothert has delivered a more than worthy second look into this couple’s life. Normally for my reading tastes I can struggle with a continuing series written about the same characters, but this author gave me fresh, engaging writing and pulled me into a storyline that held my rapt attention. This won’t be the last time I grab this authors work, I’m well and truly sold, here are my ‘Captive’ book thoughts …

What’s it all about?
Kate and Ryke fell hard and fast in love, after months of being inseparable they decided to make things official and Ryke made the love of his life his forever. Ryke would do anything to keep his sweetheart happy but sometimes life is cruel and after just a few months of wedding bliss they have to start fighting to survive the storms of life. But will they be fighting through the difficulties together or will they be torn apart by the heartache and darkness. ‘Captive’ is the follow on story to book one ‘Bound’ in Brenda Rothert’s touching story of Ryke and Kate’s journey of love.

What did I love?
Often times a follow up novel centred around the same couple can often seem like an authors attempt to drag out a series and I have to confess that with some series I can get bored and distracted. But I can gladly say that nothing about this series is unnecessary in fact I felt impressed with the authors planning out of each book and it’s content. I loved the fact that Kate is still irresistible to Ryke his love could never be questioned but like most true-to-life couples they find that their true love path takes some knocks. Kate finds herself broken once again and we are taken in on a sensitively written journey of pain, healing and self discovery as this couple navigate even more heart shattering circumstances. As I’ve said many a time before I can’t resist a sports themed romance so I really appreciated the added ice hockey related scenes that were included in book two. Ryke is what romance hero dreams are made of, equal parts gorgeous, alpha and sportsman made him an irresistible combination. I loved his unending love and adoration for Kate and I was glad to see more involvement of his friendship with Luke in the story. Kate was completely relatable, her difficulties never become annoying or over the top instead the author delivered a heart breaking tale with plenty of romance and love. As for a happily ever after, well you’ll have to read the series to find that out, but I’ll say this I’m in love with the characters and I’m more than happy to give away four huge stars.

Why not five?
As much as I applauded this well put together novel, it had times of feeling a little heavy with the topics it was dealing with, some would say this is not a negative aspect but for for me it took away some of the overall enjoyment factor of my reading experience. But I haven’t got any major complaints this book is lovingly written, with relatable characters and true to life relationship difficulties.

Final thoughts …
Brenda Rothert was a ‘new to me’ author before starting this series, and if these books are anything to go by then I’ve been missing out. Rothert writes her stories with an emotional twist that tugged at my heart strings and I’m so glad that the series is continuing with Luke’s story. I can’t wait to find out more about this gorgeous NHL star. Nothing is more appealing to my reading tastes than a sports themed romance and I’m already waiting in anticipation of what this author will do next. If you like your romance to be well thought out with a little heart ache then I’d urge you to pick up this series. I’m a firm fan of what this author has achieved so far with this series, and I don’t regret meeting these characters one bit. What you waiting for? Go grab this series, readers. Enjoy … Kisses.

About the Author

Brenda Rothert started her writing career as a print journalist. She now writes Romances, some Contemporary and others with a twist of dystopian society and adventure. Rothert lives in Central Illinois with her husband and three boys.

Bound

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Ana Belle never wanted anything more than to hang up her apron, jump on her Vespa and ride off into the sunset, leaving Sugartown in the dust. 

Elijah Cade never wanted anything more than a hot meal, a side of hot arse and a soft place to lay his head at night where he could forget about his past. 

But you know what they say about wanting: you always want what you can’t have. 

Nineteen year-old virgin Ana is about to discover that’s not quite true because a six foot three, hotter than hell, tattooed, Aussie sex god just rode into town. He’s had a taste of her pie and he wants more–no really, Ana bakes pies for a living, get your mind out of the gutter. 

She’d be willing to hand over everything tied up in a big red bow, there’s just one problem; Elijah has secrets dirtier than last week’s underwear. Secrets that won’t just break Ana’s heart, but put her life at risk, too. When those secrets come to light, their relationship is pushed to breaking point. 

Add to that a psychotic nympho best friend, an overbearing father, a cuter than humanly possible kid brother, a wanton womanizing cousin, the ex from hell, and more pies than you could poke a … err … stick … at. 

And you thought small towns were boring. 

Welcome to Sugartown. 

*Content Warning. Intended for a mature 18+ audience. Contains explicit sex, oodles of profanity and a crap-tonne of AWKWARD.

Holy mother of fuckballs what in fuckity fuck?! No really? I want to know! How on earth did I not realize that second half was coming? And why did it take me this long to read this book? I’d spank myself for this, but I’d much rather Elijah do it.

I wanna put you over my knee and spank you til your arse is raw. And then I wanna flip you over and eat you out until that beautiful pussy can’t come anymore. Then I wanna fuck your mouth until you drain every last drop from me.

Gosh I’m such a sucker for the sweet talk, but I digress…

This book was not what I expected at all. It started out all hunky dory

I liked Ana right off the bat. She’s funny, sassy, and her relationship with her BFF and raging nyphomaniac Holly had me cracking up for most of the book.

Okay, okay, okay. Knickers?”
“The white G-string you helped me pick out.”
“White? That’s good. Virginal. He’ll be reminded this is a first for you and hopefully won’t just impale you on his pork sword.

Then in comes all that is the tatted deliciousness of Elijah. And I was pretty much done for. The man was pretty much sex on a stick. Add into that his mysterious and dark past and you couldn’t get me to put the book down. I couldn’t get enough.

And then somewhere around the 47% mark all of a sudden my sexy, swoony, rainbow and sexual tension filled ride took a dramatic turn into dark and twisty angstville.

Holy shit. And I mean HOLY SHIT, I didn’t see that coming at all. When Elijah’s past begins to catch up with him all hell breaks loose. And things just get darker and darker. I was perfectly fine with this. As a matter of fact, I devoured every single page in anticipation of finding out what’s next.

But then Elijahhad to go and burst my happy bubble. Why oh why would he do this?

Highlight to view spoiler:
This would not be technically considered cheating, but the woman that he does sleep with…oh to say that I was unhappy would be a GROSS understatement.
I.Was.Pissed.

If you’re looking for a light and slightly angsty NA book, this is not it my friends. What it was, was a dark, angsty, slightly intense at times ride…and I loved it.

My only real complaint? The ending. There is a lot of buildup about Elijah’s past and all the repercussions from it. Yet there is no clear resolution at the end. Now I don’t expect a perfectly happy, wrapped in a bow HEA, but SOMETHING would have been nice. I’m hoping that perhaps this may be continued in book 2 since this is a series. But it would have been nice to get at least a crumb or something about it in this one. Ah well.

Now I am a trembling and anxious mess of pervy anticipation for book 2. I need Jackson and Holly’s book like yesterday!

I didn’t plan to become a stripper who performs live sex shows. 
But that’s what happened. It’s what I do, and I’m good at it. 


I was going to go on and do something with my life. I was going to be something more than just a piece of ass.
But that’s not how it worked it out. 


Men don’t control me. Not anymore. Not until my best friend left and hecame into my life.


I don’t want lose myself and drown in another man. But I’m afraid it’s already too late.


**This book is intended for mature audiences only due to graphic depictions of sex and bad language.
Buy it on Amazon

First, let’s have a moment of silence for my poor ovaries, please. They put up a good fight, but somewhere around the 16% they spontaneously cumbusted.

Needless to say this book was HOT. But I think you already got that, so let’s move on.

That poor vibrating and over-caffeinated pussy in the gif? That would be me, because I stayed up until the butt crack of dawn to finish this book. So let me warn you now, this is one of those books you will want to finish in one sitting. Which is exactly what I did…only to have it end with a cliffy. Now I’m not going to lie, there was bitching, cussing, and maybe even some crying involved when I realized that I will have to wait until Fall of 2014 to get the second book. Was the cliffhanger bad? Not as bad as some of the others I’ve read, but still I feel it fair to warn you.

Julia/Jewel is not your typical heroine. She’s no blushing, virginal ingenue. She’s a stripper that performs life sex shows for money, swears like a sailor, has fake boobs, and is the type to revenge fuck her ex-boyfriend’s best friend. She doesn’t really have much qualms in admitting she’s only good at two things; shaking her ass and fucking.

But when her best friend and partner in the live shows leaves for New York for a new job, Jewel is left to dance by herself. Until her manager partners her up with him…the man only knows as The Ripper.

I don’t want to give anything away, so I won’t give you much more detail than that. You really need to read it to experience it for yourself. What I can tell you is that the sexual chemistry between Jewel and The Ripper was utterly explosive. Their first performance together

I was sucked in. The mystery behind who Cole “The Ripper” was, why he acted the way he did, and knew the things that he did kept me turning the pages well into the night. I just had to know. Of course the smoking hot sex scenes didn’t hurt.

But here is where I am a whole lot conflicted in my rating. When we finally find out the truth about Cole…

I had a hard time connecting with it. Now I may be completely on my own here, but it came off almost creepy and stalkerish to me. Not sexy. Then for him to (view spoiler)[throw out the I Love You card (hide spoiler)] when he did…I don’t even know how I felt about that. It was like he went from one extreme to the other, and it threw me off.

That being said, as conflicted as I was with the ending, it didn’t manage to take away from my enjoyment of the book. I still enjoyed it thoroughly.

My only BIG problem? THE WAIT UNTIL BOOK 2! Fall? Really?!

***ARC courtesy of author in exchange for an honest review***

In this New Adult debut by Robin York, a college student is attacked online and must restore her name—and stay clear of a guy who’s wrong for her, but feels so right.
 
When Caroline Piasecki’s ex-boyfriend posts their sex pictures on the Internet, it destroys her reputation as a nice college girl. Suddenly her once-promising future doesn’t look so bright. Caroline tries to make the pictures disappear, hoping time will bury her shame. Then a guy she barely knows rises to her defense and punches her ex to the ground.
 
West Leavitt is the last person Caroline needs in her life. Everyone knows he’s shady. Still, Caroline is drawn to his confidence and swagger—even after promising her dad she’ll keep her distance. On late, sleepless nights, Caroline starts wandering into the bakery where West works.
 
They hang out, they talk, they listen. Though Caroline and West tell each other they’re “just friends,” their feelings intensify until it becomes impossible to pretend. The more complicated her relationship with West gets, the harder Caroline has to struggle to discover what she wants for herself—and the easier it becomes to find the courage she needs to fight back against the people who would judge her.
 
When all seems lost, sometimes the only place to go is deeper.

Advance praise for DEEPER:
 
“The perfect new adult story . . . West will make you swoon!”—New York Times bestselling author Monica Murphy
 
“Beautifully written and full of swoony tender moments, toe-curling chemistry, and delicious, twisty angst . . . Stop whatever you’re doing and read this book.”—Christina Lauren, author of the Beautiful Bastard series

Review

I have been on a long and well deserved hiatus from the NA genre. While there’s been a handful of NA books that I had absolutely loved, recently most NA books I’ve read had been filled with overdone drama, unnecessary angst, and a giant headache at the end of it for me. But when I saw that Ruthie Knox plans on releasing a NA novel under the pen name of Robin York, I didn’t even bother reading the synopsis. I jumped on the chance to read this. And you know what?

Caroline Piasecki is a good girl. She has her life organized, planned…ordinary. Until the day that everything changes, when her plain and ordinary life gets shattered all with one click on the internet. She knew she shouldn’t have let her boyfriend take those intimate pictures, but she loved him, she trusted him. The last thing she expects when she breaks up with him is for those very pictures to appear on the internet.

How does a young woman in college with her entire life ahead of her deal with this incredible breach of trust and intimacy? She becomes a shell of herself. How can you even sleep when all you hear when you close your eyes are the vulgar words of all the strange men that have seen you at your most vulnerable?

West Leavitt is a bad boy. He’s not afraid to throw a punch, he deals weed, and his past and family are not exactly picture card perfect. But yet something draws these two broken people together. Although they each have every reason to stay away from each other, they find that they’re the only ones that bring comfort to one another. But what happens when something you want is not something you need or can have?

This book is slow paced, and it might be off putting to some. I for one devoured every word. I absolutely adored the writing style and the fact that it was written in dual POVs

You know when you pick up a book and start reading, and all of a sudden the words blur on the page and simply become a film that is continuously streaming through your mind? Well Deeper was that book for me.
I was sitting in pervy anticipation waiting, just waiting until that moment when West and Caroline will finally give into the sexual tension current that ran between them.

Robin York wrote a poignant, emotional, and incredible story about 2 broken characters. In 400 pages she took them through an emotional, yet entirely relatable journey. I loved watching Caroline grow stronger and stronger and finally come into her own at the very end. You can’t help but cheer for her. She’s just one of those characters that is perfectly imperfect.

West. Now what can I tell you about West? I fell head over heels in love with him in a manner of one chapter. my heart broke for him with every new details of his past being revealed. He was this perfect combination of vulnerable and strong.

As for the ending…
I’m not a fan of unnecessarily drawn out series. As a matter of fact I hate them. And at first I thought to myself 400 pages and no HEA? Yea

But then the more I read, the more I could tell that I simply couldn’t evision it ending any other way for now. It’s not a cliffy cliffy, per say. Let’s say that even for a cliffy avoider like me, I am not going crazy after reading it. What I am, is anticipating the next book like crazy. I can’t wait to see the conclusion for West and Caroline’s story (And dare I hope for Krishna and Bridget next?)

About the Author

Robin York grew up at a college, went to college, signed on for some more college, and then married a university professor. She still isn’t sure why it didn’t occur to her to write New Adult sooner. Writing as Ruthie Knox, she is a USA TODAY bestselling author of contemporary romance, including RITA-finalists About Last Night and Room at the Inn. She moonlights as a mother, makes killer salted caramels, and sorts out thorny plot problems while running, hiking, or riding her bike.

Author’s Social Links

Website I Twitter  I Facebook I Goodreads IAmazon Author Page

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