New Release & Review: ★The Heart of It★ by @MollyOKwrites

Review-THoITHE HEART OF IT
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Novella
Author: Molly O’Keefe
Release Date: February 29, 2016add-to-goodreads-button-2

TheHeartOfIt-v5

On the outside rich and successful Gabe Paterson has everything.

No one would guess the ghosts from his past are tearing him apart.

Desperate, he reaches out to Elena – a resilient call girl, with her own childhood scars – for help.

In their moments of honesty, the two forge the most surprising relationship of their lives.

But will they be brave enough to make it into something more?

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The Heart of It Graphic 3

Review4.5 starsThe heart of it-DGR

He was a bag of lies and half-truths and she was without counterfeit. There could have been a hundred women sitting at this bar and he would have only seen her and the brilliant truth of her.

Can you write a heartfelt and poignant story full of steam and emotion in under 70 pages? If you’re Molly O’Keefe not only can you, but you do it effortlessly. The Heart of It is a must read for any fans of this author. It’s captivating and erotic; full of feeling and emotion. It’s short but satisfying and yet still left me craving more; not because it was lacking, but because I just didn’t want it to end. I don’t believe I’ve ever rated a novella so highly in all my reading experience. Not only am I rating it for the wonderful story, but the mere fact that the author managed to pack in as much development and emotion as she did in these few short pages.

The characters are so well developed they practically leap from the pages. Considering the subject matter it touches on, I was blown away at just how much this author accomplished with just 67 pages. It’s a beautiful story of healing. A story of meeting that one person that finally changes everything. Elena and Gabe couldn’t be more different. Heck, they practically live on opposite ends of the world for all the differences between them. A high class escort and a successful author of children’s books that’s haunted by the demons of his past share an experience together that irrevocably changes them both.

Miss O’Keefe does an incredible job laying the foundation of a truly broken man for the readers. Gabe is no perfect in any means even while he may live the picture perfect life on the outside. He’s a man with a past that won’t let go of his present. He’s a man that hopes to find some solace in the arms of a beautiful escort if only for one night. I loved how endearing his imperfections came across. You can’t help but fall for him and want to heal all his emotional scars. He was this gentle giant that was just perfectly imperfect. Elena has scars of her own from the past, but she’s a heroine I connected with right away. She’s strong in an understated way. She doesn’t flaunt herself, but she owns her sexuality. Both of these characters were simply refreshing in their originality.

What a wonderful treat the author has written for her fans. I only wish it was longer.

If you haven’t read anything by Molly O’Keefe yet, but enjoy novellas by Cara McKenna and Anne Calhoun, this is an author you’ll want to check out. Trust me on that.

Review: ★Monster In His Eyes★ by J.M. Darhower

Review-MihEMONSTER IN HIS EYES
Series: Monster in His Eyes #1
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Mafia
Author: J.M. Darhower
Release Date: April 27, 2014add-to-goodreads-button-2

MIHEFRONT

Ignazio Vitale is not a good man.

I suspect it, the first time I see him, sense the air of danger that surrounds the man. He has a way of commanding attention, of taking control, of knowing what I’m thinking before I even do.

It’s alarming and alluring. It’s dark and deadly. It’s everything I’ve ever wanted but the last thing I truly need. Obsession.

It doesn’t take him long to draw me into his web, charming me into his bed and trapping me in his life, a life I know nothing about until it’s too late. He has secrets, secrets I can’t fathom, secrets that make it so I can’t walk away, no matter how much I beg him to let me go. I see it sometimes in his eyes, a darkness that’s both terrifying and thrilling. He’s a monster, wrapped up in a pretty package, and what I find when I unmask him changes everything.

I want to hate him.

Sometimes, I do.

But it doesn’t stop me from loving him, too.

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He’s a whirlpool of darkness, and I feel myself getting sucked deeper and deeper into the depths of his abyss. I’m drowning in him.

As I sit here beating my head against the wall for my complete and utter stupidity, I have only one thought in mind: why in the ever loving hell did it take me so long to read it?
No, but seriously. I love anti-heroes. I love mafia romance. And I seriously love J.M. Drawer’s writing. So why did this book spend almost 2 lonely years collecting dust in my kindle? Because I’m an idiot, ladies and ovaries. Complete and utter idiot that’s currently kicking my own ass if it’s any consolation.

I told you, Karissa. I read people. You have the tendency to just go with the flow and see where the wind blows, so I picked somewhere decent for you to land.

I heard many things about Ignazio “Naz” Vitale. Some of them intriguing, some of them scary, and all of them utterly titillating and ovary tingling.

Monster In His Eyes is told entire in Karissa’s POV. Karissa is an 18 year old college student that’s struggling through a philosophy class. She’s a good girl; she’s not into the party scene, she talks to her mother daily, and she has a scholarship to her school which she needs to maintain with her grades. But then Karissa’s life takes a real turn when she meets the mysterious Naz; a man twice her age, rich, enigmatic, with just the right edge of dangerous.

He fucks me like he means it, like he needs it, like being inside of me is more important than anything inside of him, and every cell in my body calls out to him, craving more of it.

Naz is such a magnetic force. As a reader you know there’s something almost sinister and dark about him. You certainly know this way before the pieces begin clicking in Karissa’s head about the man she’s involved with.

At first I was a little concerned with Karissa being only 18, that she’d be too naive, idealistic and immature. And maybe she was those things in a way, but she also pulled it off. Or better yet, the author pulled it off. I’m not sure how she did that, but I connected with her right away.

As you’re reading, you know that there’s something much deeper involved than a chance meeting. Why? Because the prologue gives that little bit away. It gives you a vague piece of the puzzle that will keep you glued to the pages in eager anticipation for more details. Is it truly a chance meeting or the work of something more? What is it that Naz truly wants. What’s his end game and will Karissa survive it?

He’s a monster, wrapped up in a pretty package.
But I find myself wondering at times like this, when I feel the distance between us, if maybe in his eyes, the real monster is me.

Naz is a true force of nature. I fell head over ovaries for him right away. There’s this air of danger to him. But he’s also a perfectly balanced two sided coin. One side nurturing and caring, and the other side dangerous and depraved.

I’m the king of the jungle. I’m the predator.”
“Does that make me your prey?”
“That makes you my queen.”

You never know just what side you’ll get and yet you’re connected to each side equally. You crave that darkness even while you’re enjoying his sweetness. Though to be fair, there’s really nothing sweet about the man. But his treatment of Karissa is almost fervent.

While the romance is hot, what truly grips you is the intrigue behind Naz’s past and present. Who is he really? What does he want? And when the truth finally gets unveiled?
The only thing that kept this from a solid 5 star read for me was the super quick connection between Karissa and Naz. It wasn’t quite insta-love, but it wasn’t quite not either. There was a large chunk of the book centered around the everyday of their relationship which got a tad stale after a while. But then the second half more than made up for the slowness of the first.

JM Darhower crafts yet another addicting tale that’s utterly impossible to put down from beginning to finish. I read it cover to cover in one day. I was ready to cut someone for daring to interrupt me. This author has this way of sucking you right into the story and keeping you at the edge of your seat the entire time. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to dive straight into book two!

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MONSTER IN HIS EYES SERIES

MONSTER IN HIS EYES | TORTURE TO HER SOUL | TARGET ON OUR BACKS

New Release & Review: ★Divided★ by @ivystoneauthor

Review-DividedDIVIDED
Series: Unguarded #2
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: February 22, 2016add-to-goodreads-button-2

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We were strangers.
Two people on different paths that were never meant to cross.

He saved me.
I ruined her.
We had no control.
We were powerless against fate. 
It wasn’t wrong, it wasn’t right, but it was real.
Ours was a toxic love. So lethal it was destined to ruin us both, and it did. In the end, everything went wrong for all the right reasons. 
Our lives divided. But our love would be infinite.

A forbidden crush.
A destructive romance.
A fierce love.

Roamyn & Alison
An Unguarded Novel

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Review4.5 starsDivided teaser-DGR

 

He wasn’t supposed to show up on that bridge.
He wasn’t supposed to fill me with a slither of hope, for more, for different. But he did.

When I read Exposed last year, I knew two things immediately:
1. I found myself a new author to read
and
2. I desperately needed Ali and Roamyn’s story

The set up for their book sounded utterly delicious, in a super angsty and tortured way. Clearly this couple had a backstory that I needed to know about.

He fought for the both of us. He pulled away. I pushed back. We’re a mess. Reckless. Beautiful. Destructive. And I’ve never wanted anything more in my life.

Ali is not the typical heroine you’d find in books. She’s a tortured soul; a drug addict, a stripper, a woman that put her sister through hell and back in the first book. You know that there must be a good reason for her to have become the woman that she is now, and that is the story that Divided gives you.

This book takes you back all the way to the beginning. To the night that changed Ali irrevocably. To the night that is the sole reason for who she is today. Her backstory was utterly gut wrenching and heart breaking. I wasn’t sure from reading the first book and seeing Ali’s behavior if I’d connect with her as a heroine. I knew I was curious about her as a secondary character, but was she a strong enough character to hold her place as the heroine of the story. I can safely tell you that she was and more…

You’re not lost. You just haven’t found yourself yet.

Roamyn is twelve years older than Ali. But what her sister and Roamyn’s best friend don’t know, is their history goes back years. He first met her when she was just a broken little girl. But that meeting, that one fateful night, changed the course of both their lives.
Divided 2-DGRRoamyn and Ali’s story is not an easy one. It’s filled with heartbreak and pain. It’s angsty and gritty. It’s basically everything I love in my romance and Ivy Stone serves it up brilliantly.

Roamyn is not a perfect man. He struggles with his connection to Ali, and the age difference is just a small reason why. Their relationship is a slow burn built up over several years. But when these two finally do get together? They’re combustible!

Seven fucking years.” He breathes out through each thrust…
“You’re worth every excruciating second of the wait.”

While Divided focuses on a different couple from the first book and their HEA, do yourself a favor and read the series in order. While the author does a fantastic job giving you the backstory along with any details you may have missed without having it sound redundant, it helps to read Exposed first. It gives you the bones of the backstory of Ali and her sister. I highly recommend you read that first.

As for Divided? I loved it just as much as the first book. It had just that right amount of angst and grit that I come to crave in my books. If you’re looking for a gritty and sexy romance with imperfect characters that are simply perfect together, you’ve found your next read.


DON’T MISS BOOK ONE IN THIS AMAZING SERIES! 51sOKD9PKHL._SX311_BO1,204,203,200_GOODREADS | MY REVIEW | AMAZON

New Release & Review: ★Set The Pace★ by Kim Karr

Review-Set the PaceSET THE PACE
Series: The Detroit Love Duet #1
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Kim Karr
Release Date: February 21, 2016add-to-goodreads-button-2

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Every city needs a hero, but Detroit’s white knight just might be a villain. 

A rough childhood branded Jasper Storm trouble. A bad boy. Not worth a damn. His love of cars was the only thing that could battle his delinquency. With the need for speed in his blood, he overcame his wayward ways. Mostly. All grown up, the broken city of Detroit hails him their shining star. And the man behind a new cutting-edge automobile is ready to turn this bankrupt town around.

Everything he does in life is fast. He talks fast, f*cks fast, and drives fast. But when one reckless turn brings him face-to-face with the childhood he has tried very hard to forget, he finds himself on the edge of wondering if he shouldn’t slow down.

Charlotte Lane was the tomboy who lived next door. She was his best friend. He was her protector. Then tragedy struck and she disappeared, forever—or so he thought.

Jasper has many reasons to hate Charlotte and keep his distance, but she’s infiltrating his every thought and he can’t stay away. Back in town with an agenda of her own, she should push him aside. Make him turn around. Walk away herself. Yet she can’t.

With the past lurking between them, they proceed with caution. That is until one sex-filled night leads to murder. When Detroit’s biggest ally suddenly becomes suspect number one, will Charlotte—the girl Jasper once kept safe—be the one to save him?

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Review3.5 starsSet the Pace-DGR

There’s this need inside me that I can’t fight-the need to stay close to her. It’s as if somehow she snuck over that wall I’ve spent my whole life building so high and is getting inside of me.

I’m a huge Kim Karr fan. When she releases a new book, I jump on it, no second thoughts. So when I saw the blurb and cover for this pretty, suffice it to say I was utterly giddy with excitement to get my grubby little hands on it! What? I’m a cover whore, mkay! And that, my friends, is one lick worthy cover. Add into that the fact that the blurb made this sound too delicious to pass up, and it was a no brainer!

Was it everything I thought? Well…not quite. But it was a heck of a start.

Jasper Storm
Jasper is a self made man who once came from nothing. After tragedy struck his family, he was determined to make his dreams come true. Twenty years after that horrible night, he’s exactly where he’s always wanted to be: about to finally launch the company that will bring the struggling city and his hometown of Detroit around. He’s designed and built his dream car and now along with his best friends and partners, he wants to build the company that will manufacture them. There’s just a few things standing in his way; the return of his best friend that he hasn’t seen since the night twenty years ago, murder and a whole slew of dark secrets.

Truth and lies. Past, present, and future. I’d laid it all out under the sun and the sky, and it turned out just the way I knew it would.
There never was any other way, though.
That…I’d known all along.

Jasper is a character I was intrigued by right away. What can I say? I have a weakness for those manwhores, and Jasper is no angel in that respect. He drives fast, he fucks fast, and he moves on from his one night stands even faster. But the one woman that threatens his cool resolve is the one that brings up every dark memory of his past.

Charlotte Lane once saw Jasper as her everything. They were the best of friends until everything changed. Now she’s back in the town she grew up in hoping to unravel the secrets that still continue to haunt her. But Jasper is not exactly happy to see her and their secrets just may be more than either of them could handle.

As much as I wanted to love this book, I found myself struggling with certain parts. Jasper ran hot and cold way too much with Charlie. On the one hand, I could understand it given their past. On the other, he was always so quick to jump to the worst conclusion of her and treat her like dirt in the process. Charlie’s quiet understanding of this treatment certainly didn’t help matters. I wanted her to show a bit of backbone, but it was almost like she was determined to play the martyr and it didn’t always work.

Their relationship is a slow burn, which I definitely enjoyed. There’s nothing better than that delicious burn of built up sexual tension, and these two had it in spades. But their relationship did sometimes take the back burner to the mystery and secrets unraveling throughout the story. The murder mystery and the secrets unraveling is what had me turning the pages with fervor. The suspense was thick and I was hungry for any crumb of information that would help me wrap my mind around what was going on.

Set The Pace was not quite what I expected in terms of romance. I really found the romance to take the backseat to the suspense and mystery here, but then again, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. As for the ending? Holy mother of all cliffhangers! I wanted to rip my hair out and then stalk down Kim and demand she give me the next book immediately! Oh my god it was PAINFUL! I can’t wait to see how everything unfolds with the conclusion because the set up is delicious as hell!

While slower paced than I had expected and the heroine was not my typical preference, I still enjoyed this one. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to stalk the author incessantly for news on the release of book 2.

Graphic is stock purchased and created by me for DGR blog. Please don’t share without permission

Review: ★Fighting Dirty★ by Lori Foster

Review-Fighting DirtyFighting Dirty
Series: Ultimate #4
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Lori Foster
Release Date: March 1, 2015add-to-goodreads-button-2

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He’s the hottest MMA fighter in the game, but one woman is ready to try out a few steamy moves of her own in an unforgettable new novel from New York Times bestselling author Lori Foster 

With the life he’s led and the muscles he’s gained, Armie Jacobson isn’t afraid of anything. Except maybe Merissa Colter’s effect on him. It’s not just that she’s his best friend’s little sister. Fact is, she deserves better. Women pursue him for one night of pleasure, and that’s all he wants to offer. Until rescuing Merissa from a robbery leads to the most erotic encounter of his life.

Good girl meets bad boy. It’s a story that rarely ends well. But Merissa is taking matters into her own hands. No matter how he views himself, the Armie she knows is brave, honorable and completely loyal. And as past demons and present-day danger collide, they’re both about to learn what’s truly worth fighting for…

 

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Review: ★The Rules★ by Elizabeth Brown

Review-The RulesThe Rules
Series: Off-Limits #2
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romantic Comedy
Author: Elizabeth Brown
Release Date: February 2, 2015add-to-goodreads-button-2

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An older-brother’s-best-friend romance

When you’re a guy, the rules are simple. Live by the Bro Code:
Rule #1: Always have his back.
Rule #2: Don’t ever leave him stranded.
Rule #3: Never, ever, touch his sister.

Aw, hell. Two out of three ain’t bad.
———-
Warning: This story contains mature humor, a lot of cursing, and of course, sexual situations. It’s intended for adult readers who enjoy that kind of thing.

———-

Lambo and Ainsley’s story.
Dual POV with no cliffhanger.
Book 2 in The Off-Limits series. Standalone- but you’ll enjoy it more if you read Book 1.

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New Release & Review: ★Fade Into You★ by @TracyWolff

Review-Fade Into YouFade into You
Series: Shaken Dirty #3
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Tracy Wolff
Release Date: February 15, 2016add-to-goodreads-button-2

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A sexy category romance from Entangled’s Brazen imprint…

She’s one addiction he can’t resist.

Wyatt Jennings has been called a lot of things by the media. Bad-boy rocker. Intense drummer. Addict.

Finally out of rehab and desperate for a fresh start, Wyatt rejoins his mega-platinum rock band Shaken Dirty as they prepare for their world tour. But Wyatt’s demons are never far behind, always nipping at his heels for one. More. Fix.

Enter Poppy Germaine, the band’s new social media consultant. A beautiful bombshell who somehow manages to get underneath Wyatt’s skin, Poppy’s an addiction Wyatt can get behind. And even though she’s with the label—and therefore off-limits—he craves her. Needs her.

Except Poppy isn’t actually a social media consultant. She’s the daughter of the label’s CEO, sent undercover to babysit Wyatt and keep him from falling off the wagon again. Proving herself to her father is Poppy’s only goal—until she finds herself in Wyatt’s bed. But if Wyatt discovers the truth, it could send him spiraling all over again…

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Review: ★Taking The Score★ by @KittyMeader

Review-Taking The ScoreTaking the Score
Series: Tall, Dark, and Texan #2
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Kate Meader
Release Date: February 15, 2016add-to-goodreads-button-2

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A sexy category romance from Entangled’s Brazen imprint…

His office temptation is now his full-blown fantasy…

Paying down her sister’s debts has left personal assistant Emma Strickland with little more than the thrift store suit on her back. And as if the suckfest couldn’t get worse, she’s forced to get a second job as a waitress to support herself and her cat. At a strip club. Her uptight, sexy-as-hell boss Brody Kane can never find out.

Texas property tycoon Brody Kane hired Emma for her spreadsheet skills, but her prim and proper demeanor sealed the deal. There’s no room in his life for a sexy distraction…and yet, he can’t stop lusting after the delicious Ms. Strickland.

But then he takes an important client to a Chicago strip club and gets the worst lap dance in adult entertainment history. From Emma.

Now that he knows his office good girl has a naughty streak, Brody makes it his mission to uncover her secrets, one illicit, over-the-desk encounter at a time. But Emma is hiding more than her side job, and her final secret could end up destroying them both.

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Review: ★Dare to Run★ by Jen McLaughlin

Review-DareToRunDare to Run
Series: The Sons of Steel Row #1
Author: Jen McLaughlin
Release Date: February 2, 2016add-to-goodreads-button-2

dare to run comps_final.indd

The New York times bestselling author of the Out of Line Novels takes readers to Boston where one gang of criminals knows how being bad can be so good…
 
She knows what he’s like on Boston’s mean streets. Now she’s going to find out if he’s got some heart.

Lucas Donahue is not ashamed of his criminal past, but after a brief stint in prison, he’s ready to go legit and live a normal life. The problem is, no one leaves the gang without permission—even if he is one of the boss’s top men. Plus someone’s placed a hit on him. And then there’s that feisty little bartender who’s going to cause him even more trouble.

Heidi Greene knows to keep her distance from a ladies’ man like Lucas—even if she can’t keep her eyes off him. When he rescues her from an attack in the alley outside her bar, she’s forced to stay by his side for safety. But the longer she spends time with him, the greater her chances are for getting hurt in more ways than one.

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Blog Tour, Review & Giveaway: ★Fighting Solitude★ by Aly Martinez

fighting solitude book tourFIGHTING SOLITUDE
Series: On the Ropes #3
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Aly Martinez
Release Date: February 2, 2016add-to-goodreads-button-2

I was born a fighter. Abandoned by my parents, I spent my life forging my own path—one guided by my fists and paved with pain.

Untouchable in the ring, I destroyed everyone who faced me, but that’s where my victories ended. Outside the ropes, I repeatedly failed the few people who loved me. Including my best friend, Liv James—the one person I’d die to protect.

Even though I didn’t deserve her, Liv never stopped believing in me. Never gave up. Never let go. After all, she understood what I’d lost, because she’d lost it too.

Liv was everything to me, but she was never truly mine.

That was going to change.

I lost my first love, but I refused to lose my soulmate.

Now, I’m on the ropes during the toughest battles of my life.

Fighting to be the man she deserves.

Fighting the solitude of our pasts.

Fighting for her.

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