ARC Review: Blue Lines by Toni Aleo

Opposites do more than just attract in Toni Aleo’s latest Nashville Assassins novel about a very bad boy and the good girl he can’t resist.

The instant Piper Allen sees Erik Titov, she wants him—wants his rock-hard body, sure, but the strength and mystery that lies behind that superstar hockey jock demeanor, too. So when he sidles up to her at a bar and slinks his arm around her waist, she’s lost. What follows is the wildest night of her life . . . followed by inevitable heartbreak the next morning. And then, a few weeks later, a very big surprise: two blue lines on a pregnancy test.

Only a check to the head could make Erik fall for a nice girl like Piper. But since their crazy-sexy night together, he’s been trying to forget about her alluring body by falling into bed with every woman in Nashville, and it’s not working. So when Piper shows up at his house with a baby-bomb to drop, it doesn’t take much for Erik to suggest the nuclear option: marriage. While it’s supposed to be all for show, the second they say “I do,” the ice between them starts to melt into sizzling steam.

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Review
4.5 stars
“You need someone to love you and you need to know that you deserve that love, and I want you to let me be that someone.”
I love a good sports romance, add into this mix a sexy, tatted, very man-whorish hockey player and I’m on pervy cloud 9. But this was no smooth ride for me. As much as I wanted to love Erik, I’m pretty sure I wanted to kick him in the nuts more often than not. He had so many things going for him, and then he’d open his mouth and the things he’d say to Piper just had me going

But all that aside, I spent the end of this book in tears. The last part of this book made me cry silly, crocodile tears of joy. I loved it so much.

Piper has been in love with the sexy Erik Titov for months. So when the opportunity to give into their mutual passion shows itself, she doesn’t even think twice. The last thing that she expects is for Erik to leave, and to leave her with a plus sign surprise after their night together.

Erik hasn’t been able to put the alluring Piper out of his mind since that night. But he knows that he’s not the right man for her. So he moves on the only way he knows how, between the legs of many, many, many different women.

So when Piper shows up on his door step with the shocking news that he’s to be a daddy, suffice it to say he doesn’t take it very well. I swear, the things that this man would say to Piper had me screaming

Because I wanted to kick his man-whoring ass. To say that he was a dick to her for the majority of the book would be a gross understatement. Particularly when he proposed that they get married for the sake of image. Really Erik! Way to take the romance out of things!

Piper on the other hand was an amazing heroine. I loved her from the very beginning. Her strength and the way she cared for Erik through thick and thin really got to me. She was such a likable and endearing heroine.

Now as much as I wanted to hate Erik, there were moments where his vulnerability would shine through and we got to see the real man behind the facade. And little by little I began to warm up to him. When the truth behind his childhood all came to light, I can definitely say I understood exactly why he was so hesitant to fall for Piper.

Their story was filled with many bumps, but it was also filled with sweet and steamy moments. I lived for the times where Erik’s sweet side would shine through. And then that ending; perfection!

So as frustrating as some parts of this book were, and as much as I wanted to throttle Erik, I still really enjoyed it and looking forward to the next installment of the Assasins series.

ARC Review: Knight & Day by Kitty French

Kara Brookes hates liars.

Dylan Day hasn’t told the truth from the moment his plane touched down in Ibiza.

It’s a recipe for disaster.

Romantic, emotional and intensely erotic, Knight & Day is the thrilling final installment of the USA Today bestselling Knight Series from Kitty French.

Lucien and Sophie are back, and have set up camp on the sun-drenched isle of Ibiza for the opening of the latest of Lucien’s strictly adult clubs.
They’re joined for the summer by Sophie’s best friend Kara, and Dylan Day, Lucien’s newly appointed club manager.
The laid back, smokin’ hot surf guy from California seems almost too good to be true… but there’s no smoke without fire.

It’s going to be a long hot summer of love, lust, lies and wedding bells. But who will get their happy ever after?

Knight & Day is the thrilling conclusion to the USA Today best-selling Knight erotic trilogy. Whilst it can be read as a stand alone story, it’s best enjoyed as the finale of the set.

4 Erotic Stars

I’d rather have ugly truths than pretty lies

That gif? That’s basically how I feel every time I pick up a Kitty French book. I just know that I am in for some major hotness and pantie melting steam. And let me just tell you, this book definitely delivered that…and then some. A gorgeous setting, a feisty heroine, and a swoon worthy hero, what more could a girl ask for?

After being left at the alter by her cheating fiance, Kara Brookes is done with liars. A woman that keeps a feisty and tough exterior, she keeps an endearingly emotional part of her hidden inside.


Kara was the toughest person in the world, until she wasn’t, and then she fell to pieces. But she did it in a scary, private way that allowed her to stay looking perfect on the outside while on the inside she was broken glass.


Dylan Day is a man trying to escape his past. The isle of Ibiza offers the perfect escape for anonymity. But when he gets a job as Lucien Knight’s club manager, he finds himself inexplicably attracted to the feisty and refreshingly direct Kara.

The attraction between them is palpable, but Kara is determined to resistthe sexual pull of Dylan


You like things that are bad for you, English.”
“It’s my downfall. I like sugar. I like fast cars. I like sexy men.
I let myself have the sugar. And the cars.”
“Two out of three ain’t bad.”


But soon enough the attraction proves to be too much for both of them and the sexual sparks begin to fly.


You like dirty talk, English?”
“You want me to tell you how good it feels to spread your legs wide open and fuck you with my fingers?” He crooked his fingers inside her, finding her g-spot and massaging it.
“You want me to tell you how much I love watching your mouth when you’re excited, and feeling your clit swell when I touch it? How much I want to lick it right now? To taste you, to feel you come in my mouth?” “Or maybe you want me to tell you how hard my cock is for you, and how it’s actually fucking hurting me because I want to screw you so badly? Is that it, Kara?”

I ask you, what woman in her right mind can resist that. Not this one, that’s for damn sure. And Kara was no exception.

Dylan was one delicious walking orgasm. Everything that came out of the man’s mouth got me hot.

But can their whirlwind affair survive the secrets and lies?

I really enjoyed this last installment of the Knight series. It was erotic and scorchingly hot. Exactly how I like my books. I loved Kara and her no filter mouth. She was feisty, flirty, and extremely endearing; my favorite type of heroine. Dylan, don’t even get me started on him. I fell for him right away. He was just all kinds of delicious.

So why not 5 stars? Well, the mixing POVs did not really work for me. I understand that this was a continuation of Sophie and Lucien’s story, but it felt like it was too much in this book. It was almost like they were squeezed in just to make an appearance, if that even makes sense. Don’t get me wrong, the continuation of their story was romantic and sweet, and the end brought tears to my eyes. But the jumping POVs that went from Dylan to Kara to Sophie to Lucien with no clear transitions got to be confusing. I think I would have like to have more Dylan and Kara in this book, since the primary focus seemed to be their story.

If you like sexy and erotic romances with super hot dirty talk, don’t pass this book up. I for one can’t wait to see what Kitty French has up her sleeve next.

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

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Review: The Dumont Diaries by Alessandra Torre

Lust is a dangerous thing. It can make you believe things that are not real. It can seduce your mind and lead it blindfolded to the cliff that will be its demise.

What would you do if you could leave your life? Wake up one day and be someone else?

I signed the contract. I left Candace Tapers and her slutty, strip club life behind, abandoned every part of that life with one hesitant swipe of my pen.

The agreement was clear:
1. Sex
2. Photo ops
3. No romance

“I need a wife. I am not signing up for romance, or affection, or a full time job. I will not love you. I will have no use for you other than sex and photo ops.”

Sex with Nathan was easy. More than easy. Panty-melting, can-never-get-enough HOT. I had begun to think that I could live this new life, showered in luxuries, orgasms, and diamonds.

Then I started tripping over secrets.

Disclaimer: The Dumont Diaries contains a strong alpha male, super hot explicit sex, and twists and turns that might cause unnatural heart palpitations. This book does not contain BDSM elements.

*The Dumont Diaries was originally released, and is still available as a four-part miniseries. This book combines the four pieces of the miniseries into one, full-length novel.

4 Stars

He is a drug that I have no way of resisting, bad for my soul, but so heartbreakingly perfect in its deliverance.

After reading Sex. Love. Repeat., I knew I had to go back and read every other book written by this author. After hearing so many great things about this series, I knew this would be my next read. Plus, my friend Jahy was kind enough to gift me this book (Thanks, Jahy <3 data-blogger-escaped-br=””>
So what did I think? There’s one thing I know for sure, I am captivated by this author’s writing style. It’s almost poetic, the way the words flow and weave into a story that captures you from the first few pages.

Having said that, I do have a few mixed feelings after finishing this one that made rating it a bit difficult for me. Let me try to explain why.

Candace is not the good girl she once was. Desperate to make ends meet, she turns to a life that she never imagined for herself.


I am reckless on a pole, trusting my legs and arms in a way certain to cause damage. It is a lover I hate and I ride it relentlessly, caressing it in a sensual way that leaves nothing to the imagination. The beat moved through me and I got lost in its strength, pulsating against steel, spinning away only to return to it, my heels a blur of clear sparkle, my thoughts lost in the movement.

Then the answer to her financial problems appears in the form of a mysterious, blue-eyed stranger

His offer is clear, an agreement of convenience for both sides


I need a wife. I am not signing up for romance, or affection, or a full time job. The papers will discuss your duties. I want nothing more from you then what is stated there. And as far as you – you should never expect that from me. I will not love you. I will have no use for you other than sex and photo ops. That is something you might want to consider when making your decision.


But while things may appear cut and dry, Candace struggles with keeping her feelings out of the arrangement

I’ll be honest, my feelings for Nathan were all over the place. I went from

to

Plainly said, he was an asshole. The things that he said and did did not always sit well with me. But here’s the biggie

*Highlight to see spoiler*
I found myself forming a bigger connection with Drew. I know it wasn’t meant to come off that way, but I felt more of an emotional connection from him than I did with Nathan for most of the book.
But I gotta say, Nathan did have his positive side


Do. You. Need. My. Cock?” He grunts out the words, every other dip of his cock deep, then shallow, then deeper. “Yes!” The word explodes from me, a plea for help in a deep hole of pleasure. I speak, the words quick and breathless. “I need you so badly. So fucking badly, Nathan. Please. Please give me what I need.”

I do believe my disconnect came from a lack of character development for Nathan. While there are bits and pieces that we get about him, I didn’t have enough to make me fully fall for him.

All that aside, I did enjoy this book immensely. I read the second half in one sitting. I couldn’t put it down. Allessandra has now become an auto-buy author for me. I’m pretty sure I would read anything this woman writes. She has a true gift with words.

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Review: Sweet Revenge by Rebecca Zanetti

The One Man She Can’t Have

Matt Dean was born to fight…and kill. A member of a secret black-ops military unit, he and his brothers were genetically engineered by the government to be the perfect soldiers with an expiration date. Now, with time running out, he’s gone rogue in a relentless quest for the one person who can save them. His mission leads him to Charmed, Idaho…and to a beautiful woman with eyes like emeralds and a body made for pleasure.

The One Woman He Can’t Resist

Laney Jacobs knows the mysterious, handsome stranger is trouble from the moment he walks into her bar, looking for a job. She’s spent years running from her own past—the last thing she needs is a romantic entanglement. But Matt’s strong arms offer her protection, and his gentle touch promises passion unlike anything she’s ever known. As lethal forces surround them, revealing explosive secrets about Matt’s past and putting everything—and everyone—he holds dear in danger, can he save them all before time runs out?

Review-DGR5 stars

The man was as wounded as a man could be and as temporary as a storm. He wasn’t a guy that stuck around.

Well hot damn! How am I only discovering the awesome that is this author now? What a thrill ride. I’m a huge fan of a good romantic suspense, and this book had it all; action, suspense, and enough steam to set your ovaries on fire. Not to mention a captivating and enthralling story. I may have done things a bit backwards and read this without reading book 1 first, but it did not diminish my enjoyment of it even a little bit. But I do now plan to go back and read the first book and I’m sitting on pins and needles in anticipation of the 3rd book.

Matt Dean is a man on the run, he’s also a man on a mission. After escaping the facility where he and his brothers were genetically engineered and raised to be the perfect soldiers and killers, his mission brings him to Charmed, Idaho. Knowing that his time is running out with a deadly chip that was surgically implanted in his spine, he’s determined to find the doctor responsible and save himself and his brothers.

Arriving in Charmed he lands a job at a local bar. But the one thing he doesn’t expect is his fiery attraction to the bar’s owner, Laney Jacobs. Laney is running from her own past demons and the last thing she needs is the distraction of her attraction to the sexy soldier. As secrets become unraveled, can Laney and Matt survive long enough to save each other?

If you like super sexy commando alpha men, you need to read this book. Lord but Matt made me swoon. From the very first I knew he would be a hero that I’d be lusting after, and boy but he did not disappoint.


You don’t want to hit me.”
“Why not?”
For the first time, he let his mask slip so she could see the predator the government created. “The second you make contact, I’ll have you on that bar, held tight, my cock pressed between your legs, my lips on yours until you beg for more. Even fully clothed, I may make you come- and I won’t care who’s watching.

I ask you, what woman in her right mind can resist sweet talk like that? Not this one, that’s for damn sure. And Laney was no exception.
I loved Laney’s character. She was strong, yet in a somewhat understated way. She fought for what she thought was right, and I really enjoyed the way she cared for Matt.

This book was such a thrill ride, filled with twists and turns that I never saw coming. Throw in a crazy serial killer into the mix, and you have the recipe for one amazing action filled ride.

The romance between Laney and Matt went from a slow burn to an inferno in no time flat.

The one thing I really enjoyed was the the romance never overshadowed the story, but yet it was the perfect icing on the cake. And let me tell you IT.WAS.HOT. Steaming. Scorching. Wowza! Rebecca Zanetti can write one hell of a love scene. This girl was certainly not left disappointed, but begging for more of the Dean brothers.

Matt was protective, sexy, broody, everything I love in a hero. Laney was a fantastic heroine as well. There was not one part I didn’t like. My only complaint is that it was over and I wanted more. And that teaser into Nathan’s book, I CANNOT WAIT! It looks to be the best one yet.

If you love action packed and super steamy romantic suspense, do not pass this book up. This is definitely going on my auto-buy series list.

Blog Tour: Sempre: Redemption by J.M. Darhower

In this thrilling and sexy follow-up to Sempre, two young lovers struggle to keep their relationship intact after they become deeply enmeshed in the dangerous mafia-run crime ring they once tried to overthrow.

Haven Antonelli and Carmine DeMarco have been through a lot. Haven was taken in by Carmine’s father, and with his family’s help, she escaped a gruesome fate. However, saving Haven from the dark intentions of a mafia family cost Carmine a steep price: he was forced to swear loyalty to them.

Now, still passionately in love, Carmine and Haven must face the fall-out of Carmine’s forced service, as Haven discovers terrifying secrets about the family that enslaved both her and her mother—and why she matters so much in this intricate web of lies.

Excerpt

Carmine sat in his usual chair in the library, casually strumming his guitar. A sliver of light filtered in from the large window, illuminating his somber expression in the darkness. She called his name but he remained still, continuing to pluck at the strings almost as if he hadn’t heard her. She took a step toward him and was about to say his name again when he let out a long, deep sigh. “I had a dream.”

“Another nightmare?” she asked, walking over to him. He glanced up at her as his fingers stilled, the music stopping, but Haven barely noticed. She couldn’t focus on anything but the green eyes boring into her. Once so alive with passion, she saw nothing but deep sadness marring the bright color.

Carmine set the guitar aside and moved his legs to make room, motioning for her to join him. She climbed into his lap and he wrapped his arms around her.

“Not a nightmare this time,” he said. “It was a good dream.”

“What was it about?”

“You,” he said quietly. “You made a painting—some abstract shit, I don’t know—but it was so good they hung it in a museum and raved about how talented you were. It was like you were the next fucking Picasso, tesoro.”

She laughed. “I don’t even know how to paint, Carmine.”

“You could learn,” he said. “Would you want to?”

“Maybe, but I don’t know how good I’d be.”

“Oh, you’d be good,” he said confidently. “You shouldn’t doubt yourself. You can do anything you set your mind to.”

“Except for play the piano,” she said playfully. “Or the guitar.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, for the sake of everyone’s ears, we ought to leave music to me, but the rest is all you. You can probably do all of that, you know. Draw, paint, sculpt shit into weird shapes and tell people it’s something it doesn’t look anything like. That takes talent.”

She smiled. “And you think I have that kind of talent?”

“Of course,” he said. “There’s gonna be no stopping you once you get started.”

“Thank you,” she whispered, a swell of emotion surging through her at his words. “It means a lot that you believe in me.”

“I’d be an idiot not to,” he said, kissing the top of her head.

Buy Links

S&S.com I Amazon  I iBookstore I Nook

About The Author

JM Darhower is the author of countless stories and poems,
most of which only she has ever read. She lives in a tiny town in rural North
Carolina, where she churns out more words than will ever see the light of day.
She has a deep passion for politics and speaking out against human trafficking,
and when she isn’t writing (or fangirling about books) she’s usually ranting
about those things.
Chronic crimper with a vulgar mouth, she admits to having a
Twitter addiction. You can usually always find her there.
Author’s Social Links

Blog Tour & Giveaway: Otherwise Unharmed by Shay Savage

Title: Otherwise Unharmed (Evan Arden Trilogy #3)
Author: Shay Savage
Genre: Romance/ Crime
Expected Release Date: 12/5/13

Book Synopsis

After Evan Arden was imprisoned by the enemy for a year and a half, he returned from the desert as a military hero. He’d suffered some minor injuries during his captivity, was discharged from the Marines with a touch of shellshock, but was considered otherwise unharmed. Now he wonders how he ended up where he is—incarcerated in Chicago’s Metropolitan Correctional Center for using his sharpshooting expertise to take out the neighborhood park with a high-powered sniper rifle and multiple rounds of ammunition.

Lia Antonio, the woman he rescued from the desert heat the previous year, is the only person who can bring him out of his sleep-deprived psychosis and mounting PTSD. When she does, Evan knows he can’t just let her go again. He’s never considered leaving the business before—who retires from the mafia?—but he’s determined to get both Lia and himself out of harm’s way.

Evan faces overwhelming forces from multiple directions as a deal to get him out of jail turns more dangerous than he imagined. With a mob war on the horizon and the feds holding evidence over his head, Evan has no choice but to throw himself into the middle of another warzone.

In his efforts to make things right, Evan crosses the wrong man and finds himself on the business end of the crosshairs. With his acute perception and intelligence, he tries to stay a step ahead of his former co-workers, but this time, it isn’t just his own life on the line—he’s got to protect Lia from the man who once called him son.

Otherwise Occupied Trailer

Review

5 Mind Blowing Stars
She would keep me sane, and I would keep her safe

One thing that’s running through my mind right now

After I finished this book. I’m ruined. Seriously ruined and feeling a hell of a book hangover coming on. Shay Savage is an incredible story teller, able to write a broken and damaged anti-hero that you can’t help but fall completely in love with. It’s not every day you find an author that is able to write a book entirely in the male POV and do such an amazing job of it. After the way book 2 ended, I couldn’t wait to dive into this one. I devoured it. After the 60% mark, I read it in one sitting.

Otherwise Unharmed was a suspenseful and erotic thriller that will keep you at the edge of your seat with a major case of blue ovary syndrome thrown into the mix. Wow. Just wow.

This book picks up right where Otherwise Occupied left off, with Evan in prison after a manic episode.

How did I get here? I wasn’t stupid. I also wasn’t so far gone to not remember the basics of what happened. After serving my tour of duty as a Marine sniper in the Middle East coupled with eighteen months as a prisoner of war, being exiled to Arizona for screwing up a hit for my mob-boss, spending too much time thinking about the girl I met there, and killing my favorite hooker for betraying me, I’d finally lost it and started shooting up the neighborhood.

Still suffering from nightmares and flashbacks to his time as a POW, his insomnia is at an all time worst. But this time he has something he didn’t before, Lia, the woman that he’s been unable to put out of his thoughts since his short time in Arizona.

Evan knows that he will not be able to walk away from her this time, and will do anything to keep her safe. But what happens when you put a shell-shocked hitman between a rock and a hard place, putting his loyalty to the test?

Miss Savage definitely saved the best for last with this book.
I fell in lust/love with Evan in book 1. This one just solidified exactly why he’s one of my favorite anti-heroes I’ve read to date.

Fucking you just makes me want more though. I’m trying to see if I can make it to round six before I pass out.”
“I’m going to be sore,” she said.
“Does that mean you’ll feel it all day tomorrow—feel it constantly, no matter what you’re doing, and think about my cock inside you every minute you’re awake?”
Lia’s breath quickened, and she stared up at me for a moment before she swallowed hard and nodded her head. “Probably.”
“Good.” I wrapped my hand around my shaft and drilled into her.

Evan had two sides with Lia. There was the erotic ass-man side. Then there was also the incredibly sweet side.

We also got to see the side that he hides beneath the deadly hit man.

There’s so much shit in my head—shit I can’t unsee or undo. Sometimes it feels like there’s something inside of me just…tearing me up inside and waiting to bust its way out. I think maybe…maybe if I could get that out, then maybe the person I was is still underneath.”


I went from having my heart break for him, to feeling like it was going to beat out of my chest with all the twists and turns that took place.

Lia was a great heroine as well. She was the perfect light to Evan’s dark. She had just the right amount of backbone to stand up to him, but also just enough vulnerability to endear you to her.

This book was one amazing and erotic thrill ride. Every time I thought I wrapped my mind around what was going, something else would happen that left me completely speechless. Well, speechless in between bousts of screaming “no no no” at my kindle and wanting to cry. Then there was an event at the end that left me devastated.

As for the ending? It was the perfect way to end the trilogy. It was so fitting, that it just made me love this book even more. I couldn’t see it being written any other way.

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

About the Author

Shay Savage lives in Cincinnati, Ohio with her husband, two children, and a variety of household pets. She is an accomplished public speaker, and holds the rank of Distinguished Toastmaster from Toastmasters International. When not writing, she enjoys science fiction movies, and loves soccer in any and all forms. During the fall, she coaches her daughter’s soccer team. Though she currently works in the technology field, her school background is in psychology, and she brings a lot of that knowledge into the characters within her stories.

Author’s Social Links
Website I Facebook I Goodreads I Twitter

Giveaway

Prize: 3 Ebook Sets of the Evan Arden series (4books) 
1 paperback of Otherwise Unharmed 
2 Ebook copies of Surviving Raine

a Rafflecopter giveaway

MaE Book Tours

Review: Isn’t She Lovely by Lauren Layne

The rules are clear—until they’re broken. Lauren Layne puts a New Adult spin on Pygmalion, also the inspiration for Pretty Woman, and gives the classic love story its edgiest twist yet.

“Who knew that pretending you’re not falling for someone would be so much more difficult than pretending that you are?”

Stephanie Kendrick gave up her whole summer to ace her NYU film school screenwriting course, so she’s pissed to be stuck with a preppy, spoiled frat boy as her writing partner. Then again, with her piercings, black-rimmed eyes, and Goth wardrobe, Stephanie isn’t exactly Ethan Price’s type, either. He’s probably got his eye on some leggy blonde with a trust fund… or does he?

As the summer scene kicks off in the Hamptons, Ethan is desperate to make his snobbish mother forget the pedigreed girl who broke his heart. While Stephanie’s a stretch as a decoy, the right makeover and a pastel cardigan just might do the trick. She may not love the idea of playing Ethan’s brainless Barbie girlfriend, but the free rent and luxurious digs make a tempting offer. So does the promise of a ready-made screenplay idea inspired by their charade.

But when Stephanie steps into Ethan’s privileged world, the “acting” begins to feel all too real. The kissing and touching that were intended to fool the Hamptons crowd wind up manipulating “them.” And Stephanie faces a question she’s too afraid to ask: Is Ethan falling for the real her or for the dolled-up princess he wants to see?

5 I found myself a new auto-buy author stars
Who knew that pretending you’re not falling for someone would be so much more difficult than pretending that you are?

That ridiculously happy person in the gif with the permanently goofy smile stuck on her face…that would be me the entire time I was reading this book. You’re probably sitting there thinking, it couldn’t have been that good, right? Well ye of little faith, it was.

Ok, well maybe not quite make me almost pee good. But it was adorable, funny, entertaining, and heart warming.
(See what I did with the gifs there? No?)

This was a fresh new take on Pygmalion, and I adored this book. I was hooked from the first few lines…


In real life? The meet-cute isn’t the least bit cute. It’s more like a meet-awkward. Sometimes even a meet-shoot-me-now.”

In this book you meet Stephanie; a withdrawn, snarky, goth clothes and dark makeup wearing twenty one year old college film student. Stephanie’s main goal right now is to ace her screenwriting class, and she doesn’t need any distractions. But then she literary bumps paths with the ridiculously good looking and preppy rich boy, Ethan. The sparks started flying right away. Nothing I love more than 2 characters that have hate at first sight with an underlying current of sexual tension.


“It’s just that I think you forgot to change out of your country club uniform.”
“Does the surly mood come with the goth outfit? Or do you have to buy it separately?”
“Could you please watch where you’re pointing your teeth? The glare from your caps is hurting my eyes.”


I was in snarky sarcasm heaven with these two.

Stuck working together for a class, can these two really tolerate each other long enough to survive their assignment?

When an opportunity presents itself that can help both Ethan and Stephanie, an ideal screenplay idea forms. Ethan is desperate to make his snobbish mother forget the pedigreed girl who broke his heart. Stephanie needs a place to stay. So why not pretend to be together for the sake of a mutually beneficial set up? And the icing on the cake? The fake relationship is the perfect idea for their screenplay.

But what happens when pretend slowly begins to develop into real feelings?

I loved the depth the author managed to give these characters considering the somewhat fluffy story they were in. Stephanie and Ethan both captured my heart and I couldn’t help myself but completely fall for both them.

This book was like all my favorite movies got together. It made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me swoon. It was, and forgive the cheesiness factor here, lovely.

If you enjoy the NA genre, you really cannot go wrong with this book. It will put a smile on your face and keep it there the entire time you’re reading it. You will fall in love with both of these characters and the story. I know I did.

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

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Review: Otherwise Alone (Evan Arden Trilogy #1) by Shay Savage

Lieutenant Evan Arden sits in a shack in the middle of nowhere, waiting for orders that will send him back home – if he ever gets them. Other than his loyal Great Pyrenees, there’s no one around to break up the monotony. The tedium is excruciating, but it is suddenly interrupted when a young woman stumbles up his path.
He has two choices – pick her off from a distance with his trusty sniper-rifle, or dare let her approach his cabin and enter his life.

Why not? It’s been ages, and he is otherwise alone…

4.5 Stars
The days are long and the nights are longer, until a young woman suddenly appears on my doorstep. I’m all for getting a little – it’s been ages – but she makes me long for more.

Can you get enough story in 56 pages to capture your interest and leave you begging for more? In the case of this book, abso-fucking-lutely. I was hooked line and sinker.

Evan is not a good guy. Currently in exile after a job gone bad, he’s just waiting until his boss gives him the order to go home…if that ever happens. With no one but the desert heat and his dog to keep him company, he waits. Until she suddenly stumbles unto his path.

Otherwise alone, with a stranded and beautiful woman, what’s a man to do?

The steam level in the short page count number was incredible. Shay Savage knows how to write one sexy ass hero


Go on,” I say with my eyes locked on hers. “You want to.”
“I do?”
“Yes.”
“And how do you know that?”  
“I’m a very good judge of character,” I inform her.


Seriously Evan

Then there were the steamy as hell sex scenes.


What the hell are you doing?” she cries.
“I’m going to tear your clothes off and fuck you so hard you won’t walk right for a week,” I respond. “You want me to stop?”


Stop?! Are you crazy?!!!

Did I happen to mention this is entirely in Evan’s POV? Loved that.

As for the ending?

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Review: Otherwise Occupied (Evan Arden Trilogy #2) by Shay Savage

Evan Arden is a hit man for a Chicago mob boss. He lives his life day to day with the company of his dog, Odin. He has to work hard to get back into his boss’s good graces, but the target proves to be difficult. As demons of his past begin to haunt him, he seeks the comfort of sleep from an unlikely candidate, but will confiding in her be his undoing?​

​He’s struggling to forget his past, and keep himself Otherwise Occupied.


4.5 Holy Shit Stars

Roses are red, Violets are blue. I’m just a fucked up hit man, and nothing rhymes with that.

This book gets a star just for having one of the best depictions of my home town I’ve read to date.

It gets another star for being entirely in Evan’s POV and being written in such a way that allows you inside his mind in such a flawless way, the story completely enthralls you. The rest of the stars? For an incredibly told story. Period.

The second book in the Evan Arden Trilogy gives us a deeper look at the man behind the job.

This is not a love story or a romance, so don’t be hoping to get that here. You won’t find it.

Months after leaving the desert of Arizona and a woman that captured his interest in a way that no other ever has, Evan is now back in Chicago and trying to get his way back into his boss’s good graces. But being the hit man for one of Chicago’s biggest mob bosses is no easy task, especially when the demons from his past begin to surface

Add into the mix recurring nightmares and lack of sleep, and you have yourself one volatile hit man. He may be good at what he does, but that doesn’t mean it’s not taking a toll on him


Tired of playing this role, tired of just moving through the city like I was some kind of god or demon here to bring Rinaldo Moretti’s version of justice to those who crossed my path.  None of it even mattered to me – all I got out of it was a wad of cash and a twisted idea of loyalty to someone who told me I did a good job and occasionally called me “son.”


Every day finds Evan with an even smaller grasp on his sanity.

So does he finally crack? Guess you’ll have to read to find out because I refuse to ruin this book for you by giving away any spoilers.
What I can tell you, is that it was a whole lot of

Followed by

With an ending that will leave you feeling a little like

I devoured this book. Shay Savage did such a fantastic job in her portrayal of Evan I kept forgetting I was reading a book by a female author. Flawlessly written, with a captivating and suspenseful plot, this story will grab hold of you and leave you at the edge of your seat to see what comes next. It’s no light and fluffy read. The author does not gloss over or sugar coat the dark details. But that just adds to the experience.

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Author Interview and Review: Winning the Boss’s Heart by Hayson Manning

Winning the Boss’s Heart by Hayson Manning

Mason Christian has twelve weeks to flip something old into something new for his Japanese client, and then he’s getting the hell out of Footsteps Bay, New Zealand. Not even his temporary cook and secretary—the feisty, luscious Billie McLeod—will deter him. There’s no denying she makes him feel alive. More alive than he’s felt in three years…

Billie has one dream: save enough money to go to college. That’s why she’s agreed to work for hard ass, all-business-no-pleasure Mason Christian—a man who has every intention of destroying through “modernization” the town’s most cherished historical home. But before she can say see ya, she realizes she’s signed the dotted line and is contractually bound for eighty-four days.  Working with male perfection every day is awesome with a capital A—as long as they can stick to a hands-off policy that gets harder every day…

Author Interview

It’s no secret that I absolutely adored this book. It was such a heartwarming love story with a quirky and sassy heroine and a broken hero that you can’t help but fall in love with. So I am so thrilled to have the fabulous author of the book here with us today!

Hi Hayson, thank you so much for stopping by Dirty Girl Romance Blog. I’m so excited to have you here! 

Hi, Lana. I am super excited to be here. Thanks so much for having me here today. I’ve brought margaritas, mojitos and Maltesers. (I’m thinking today is an M day.)

So after reading and absolutely LOVING Winning the Boss’s Heart I just have to know, what sparked your idea for this book?


I really love sassy women. A woman who knows what she wants and who isn’t afraid of going after it. I always had the idea of Billie in the back of my mind. I love small town settings with a Wuthering Heights broody male like Mason and it all just came together. I have to say this book was draft seven thousand four hundred and twelve. 

One of my many favorite parts of this book was your inclusion of one of my favorite movies, The Princess Bride. Tell me some of your favorite movies?

Hear this now, I will come for you. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve seen The Princess Bride. We used to make Clueless Wonder 1 and Clueless Wonder 2 watch it. They’d groan and stomp out the room like we’d asked them to clean their rooms. Now they think it’s kind of cool. It is cool!

I’m a bit in love with Fast and Furious. All that man candy on the screen? Yum.
An oldie but a goodie I mentioned in Winning the Boss’s Heart and that was Truly, Madly, Deeply. I think I cried so much I dehydrated.
A little Irish movie called Once. Just crept up on me.
I sob through The Color Purple. I just love that film.
All the Harry Potter films.

I loved reading about the beautiful setting of Footsteps Bay, New Zealand and the amazing people that live there. What inspired you to use that particular location? 


Growing up, my parents loved a camper. Dad would hitch the camper to the car, stuff the family in, and we’d drive six torturous hours on gravel roads to this huge beach in New Zealand with a population of around one hundred. There were wild horses that roamed the sands. We’d dine out every night on precooked sausages that would survive into the next century. It was filled with small town New Zealanders. I had the chance to revisit not long ago and to my delight, the town is pretty much the same. Bless old New Zealand, I think we’ve just made four million. Party!

I adored Billie’s quirky personality; she is going on my list of favorite heroines. Was there an inspiration behind her character?


Hayson blushes and wipes a tear. Your words are lovely.
I read a lot. Every day. The Clueless Wonders know not to interrupt unless they have a bone sticking out, a severed artery or a strange man is asking them to come and look for his lost puppy. I’ve been reading a lot of angsty women. I’m not a fan of anyone filled with angst, possibly due to my ancientness. I grew up with a strong mother who told me to stop whining, find a way to get what I want, legally, and get it.

I don’t think I could write a woman who is a doormat either. I wanted to write a feisty, woman who has vulnerabilities but knows what she wants out of life and isn’t afraid to go for it. I try and write characters I could sit down and have a coffee and a laugh with. I hope I got that right with Billie.

What is your favorite part of this book?


I loved watching Mason crack when Billie became ill. He tried so hard to deny he had deep feelings for her, but when she became ill, he put his life on hold to care for her. I loved seeing his vulnerabilities rise to the surface and how much he did care for her. I’m a bit of a sucker for the ending and epilogue and any scene with Stanley the dog I was gone.

So what got you into writing in the first place?

I never really loved to read. Turns out because I was faking it. When I was young and came across a word I couldn’t pronounce – sapphire, vertical and don’t get me started on Europe, I substituted a word I could pronounce. Luckily I had a teacher who figured out what I was doing when I was young and I had some fairly intensive remedial reading sessions for about a year. I’m so glad I did. I love to read which turned into words I could write. Hazzah!

Being a huge Romance junky, I know my list for this is pretty big, but who are some of your favorite authors?

I’m in love with my fellow Entangled author Samanthe Beck. I love her mix of wit, sexy times and emotion in her books.
I think I’ve read every Kristen Ashley starting with Motorcycle Man which I adored. Oh, Tack.
I’ve read every Agatha Christie book ever published. I never guessed who did it. Not once.
I started reading John Green so Clueless Wonder 1 and I could have something to grunt about. I started with The Fault in our Stars and laughed and sobbed through the book. We still have differing opinions on the ending of Looking for Alaska which goes for healthy debate at Casa Manning over the dinner table.
Anything in the Beyond series by Kit Rocha. I cannot get enough of those books.

What about your favorite books?

Any book in the Beyond series by Kit Rocha. Them’s are sexy, sure-fire reads
Motorcycle Man by Kristen Ashley. Did I mention my love of Tack?
Easy by Tamara Webber. Sigh. Sigh. Sigh. Loved it.
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. I loved it and hated it in equal measure but is still debated here at Casa Manning.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. A book narrated by Death? Awesome. I read in one sitting.
Falling for the Marine by Samanthe Beck.

What’s your writing process like?


To be honest there are days when I’d rather chisel the stalagmites off the oven, but I have to get my butt in the chair and get ideas flowing. I start the day with an enormous cup of joe, hit the emails, procrastinate, read what I wrote yesterday. Decide it’s rubbish and start again today. Some days the words flow like honey. Some day’s I’d rather enter a bikini contest after chowing down on a box of Krispy Kreme’s. Rather than supply the audience with Pepto Bismol after seeing me in a bikini (shudder) I plonk myself down and make myself write.

Where is your favorite place to write? At home? In your writing cave? Coffee Shop?


At home looking like I’m still wearing a failed Halloween costume where I can hide under the table when anyone approaches. Sad but true.

Any must haves you need during your writing? Coffee? Chocolate? Complete silence or music?


Silence. There are way too many folks talking in my head already. Diet coke or Diet Mountain Dew with enough caffeine to kick me to Mars works.

Any hints as to what you have planned and coming up next? 


I’m in the process of penning an Entangled Brazen (I hope) about a dirty-talking bounty hunter who teams up with a preacher’s daughter PI to catch a man who destroyed both their lives.
Well, that’s the plan. Some days I write slower than a sloth at a sleeping party. 
*Making mental note to stalk Hayson for more news about this* (Seriously though, can that sound any more like my kind of book? Gah!)
Thank you so much for stopping by again! Any words you’d love to leave your readers and fans with?

Thank you so much for letting me hang here with the cool kids. I love your blog and I’m honored to be here. 

Connect with the Author

Review

4.5 Healing Heart Stars
Yeah, he may be one hot tamale on the outside, but she bet old Satan himself was sitting in his heart playing Solitaire.

I fell in love with this book. Hard. I wasn’t sure what to expect going into it. Maybe another stereotypical romance where the rich and jaded boss seduces the naive assistant? Well, that’s not what I got. Not even close. Let me tell you, the synopsis of this book doesn’t even begin to give it justice. It was so much more. I adored everything about it; the hero and heroine, the gorgeous setting, the romance, the quirky humor, and the writing. I read it in one sitting, and that says a lot about it.

Meet Mason Christian:

He’s cold, jaded, rich, and efficiently to the point.

He watched her with those unblinking blue eyes. Didn’t look like the man smiled a whole lot. She resisted the urge to shift in her chair. She doubted his middle name was jocularity or could even form the word “fun” in an anagram.

But behind the unfeeling facade, is the broken soul of a man that’s experienced the worst sort of heartache. I knew I was going to fall in love with Mason, he pretty much had me at “42”

I need a cook and a secretary. If you get the job, I’ll be calling you Forty-Two, as none of my assistants stay. I work long hours and expect the same.”

Meet number 42, Billie McLeod

Billie is my favorite kind of heroine. She was endearingly quirky, funny, yet she also had this core of strength that I really admired about her.

The relationship development between these two characters was probably my favorite part of the story. There was no insta-love or lust. There was no over the top sexual “you’re mine” encounters. It was a beautiful and romantic story about love, forgiveness, healing old wounds, and learning to move on

I loved watching Billie slowly chipping away at Mason’s walls. She wasn’t whiny, intrusive, or naive about his pain. She recognized that his pain ran deep, yet she never let him hide behind it.

Jesus,” he said under his breath.
“Putting yourself out there for salvation?”
“I don’t have a soul,” he replied instantly.
“Yeah, you do,” she whispered. “You only wish you didn’t.”

The author did an amazing job with story telling, able to pain a beautiful picture in your mind of Footsteps Bay, New Zealand and it’s people. Plus this book gets an automatic 3 stars for featuring one of my all time favorite movies, The Princess Bride.

I devoured this story and didn’t want it to end. The last 5% made me tear up, it was just perfect.
Spoiler below, highlight to see

Hear this now. I will always come for you.
Me, you, and Stan. And jam. And all those goddamned pinecones. Stay with me, Billie. You have to. Because if you don’t, hear this now. I will always come for you. And that would make me a stalker. Don’t let me turn into a stalker, Billie.


And then the icing on the already perfect cake was that epilogue. The entire book was wonderful, lovely, romantic, just perfect. It was exactly what I needed. Miss Manning has now been added to my auto-buy authors. I’m really looking forward to all her future books.

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

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