Review: Love and Lists by Tara Sivec

November 14, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

Love and Lists (Chocoholics, #1)Love and Lists by Tara Sivec

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

 

Love and Lists is the first book in the Chocolate Lovers spinoff – Chocoholics: The foul-mouthed offspring tell their stories.
Twenty-five-year-old Gavin Ellis has always had the love and support of his family ever since he was a little boy and couldn’t stop talking about his penis. He’s also always had their unsolicited advice and uncanny knack of embarrassing him at all costs. Now that he’s an adult and trying to convince the love of his life to love him back, things haven’t changed very much from when he was younger.
When Gavin’s best friend Tyler suggests he make a to-do list of items that will ensure he wins the girl, Gavin is one-hundred-percent on board: after a few six packs.
After puking in the shrubs, a bad experience with Viagra, a Sex-Ed course gone wrong, and a slew of other mishaps courtesy of his family and friends, Gavin is pretty sure this list will be the death of him.
Sometimes, trying to make someone love you with a list isn’t always the best idea. Especially when “Show her your penis” is the first “to-do” item…

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She has no idea that every time I’m within three feet of her my penis perks up like a meerkat when it hears a noise. It’s fucking Meerkat Manor in my pants.

So have you ever sat there and thought to yourself, I wonder how many times the word penis can be used in a book? No? That’s just me? Really? Huh. Well I’ll bet you’re curious about it now. Let me appease your curiosity then. 83.

So remember the mouthy little shit, Gavin, from the Chocolate Lovers series? Well, he’s now a grown up mouthy little shit. He’s also secretly in love with his best friend, Charolette, who happens to be the daughter of his mother’s best friend. There’s just a few tiny problems with that. Biggest one being that every time Gaving gets near Charlotte

But not to worry, because he has plenty of help from his family and friends.

There’s his mom and her friend, Liz


“You should buy her flowers.”
“Or jewelry. Women love getting jewelry.”
“I never cared much for jewelry. I was happy if he just remembered to put the toilet seat down.”
“True. Put down the toilet seat. Ooooh, make her a mix tape! Those are always fun.”
“Nineteen-eighty-five called, they want their idea back.”
“Suck my dick.”

There was Gavin’s best friend, Tyler

I’m pretty sure I’ll never look at My Little Pony the same after him.

Then there was my favorite, Drew

 


Quick, what are the ten erogenous zones on a woman? GO!”
“GAAAAH! Fuck! Um, neck, lips, feet, inner thighs—”
“BZZZZZZZZZZ. WRONG, FUCKER!”
“What? Those were totally right. And I wasn’t done yet,” I argue. “Those are wrong. Want to know what the ten erogenous zones on a woman are? Number one: vagina. Number two: it doesn’t fucking matter if you’re touching her vagina right!” Uncle Drew shouts. “You are a disgrace. Your mother should have swallowed.”

And of course what would it be without Jenny


Gavin, you have a girlfriend?! Oh my gosh that’s so exciting! I have condoms in my purse if you need them. They’re the kind with insecticide so they totally work,”

I laughed like a crazy person throughout the entire book. But while I thought it was cute and funny read, I never really found myself connecting all that much with Gavin and Charlotte. I think maybe the two of them as a couple kind of got lost in the hilarity that was the rest of this book. That’s what ultimately made this less than 5 stars for me.

If you’re looking for a lighthearted, hilarious read, you know you can never go wrong with a Tara Sivec book.

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ARC Review: Jagged by Kristen Ashley

October 31, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

Jagged (Colorado Mountain, #5)Jagged by Kristen Ashley
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars




Book Synopsis

An old flame rekindled . . .
Zara Cinders always knew Ham Reece was the one, but he wasn’t interested in settling down. When she found someone who was, Ham walked out of her life. Three years later, Zara’s lost her business, her marriage, and she’s barely getting by in a tiny apartment on the wrong side of the tracks. As soon as Ham hears about Zara’s plight, he’s on her doorstep offering her a lifeline. Now, it will take every ounce of will power she possesses to resist all that he offers.

Ham was always a traveling man, never one to settle down in one town, with one woman, for more time than absolutely necessary. But Ham’s faced his own demons, and he’s learned a lot. About himself, and about the life he knows he’s meant to live. So when he hears that Zara’s having a rough time, he wants to be the one to help. In fact, he wants to do more than that for Zara. A lot more. But first, he must prove to Zara that he’s a changed man.

My Review

3.5 Why am I craving ham all of a sudden stars

I’d walked away from the love of my life. And he let me.

“Cookie, pay attention. I’m gonna give you everything.”

 
See that fidgety crazy person twitching away in that gif? Well that’s me right now (well, minus the penis and the cartoonish look; but you get the idea). Why am I like this? Because this is my least favorite kind of review to write; a book I neither loved nor hated. It was just OK.

I’ll be honest, when I saw that Graham will be getting a book next, I wasn’t exactly crazy excited

Don’t get me wrong, I will read anything that Kristen Ashley writes. I mean the woman can probably smear poop on a page and I’d buy it. I’m THAT much of a fan. Maybe it’s because I’ve been dying to finally get Frankie and Benny’s book so any book that gets priority before them is going to upset me? I dunno. But the point is, I really went into this book with zero expectations, except for the fact that it’s a KA book and that is enough for me.

So what did I think? Well Therein lies the rub, I’m not really sure what I though. I didn’t love it, nor did I hate it. There were things that I liked, and then again things that I didn’t. So let’s start with the good.

What I liked

Graham Reece. It’s no secret that I have a soft spot for the assholes. So of course at Graham’s first asshole speech to Zara, my first thought was

I swear, my happy place would get a tingle at his every scowl, growl, and general assholishness. Then he would have these incredibly sweet moments, and I just loved him all the more. Plus this description of him just sealed the deal for me.

Yeesh, didn’t know a bear matin’ with a human could create somethin’ that divine but there it is. Proof.”

The steam. No one can write a love scene quite like KA. And let me tell you, when Graham got down to business…he got it done.

What I didn’t like

The friggin nicknames. I am all for endearments, I love them, they’re cute, sweet and just add to the mood. But when I’m reading a book, or more specifically a love scene, the last damn thing I wanna be thinking about at the same time is food. So explain to me, why every single time I would crave cookies or honey glazed ham. Seriously. I’ve read a lot of different nicknames in book, some bad, some good, some plain awful. But I’m pretty sure that takes the cake. No pun intended…well maybe a little.

The man’s name is Graham Reece, and he goes by Reece to his friends. Why not stick with that? Why in the hell would Zara call him Ham? Does that instill sexy thoughts for you? So safe to say that this nickname did NOT work for me.

So what did Graham call Zara? Well, I guess we are sticking to food groups because she was Cookie. Now maybe if Graham had a different nickname, then I wouldn’t have batted an eyelash at Zara’s…but as it was, all I could think of every time I read it was

Don’t ask me why. I’m weird like that. But I guess I felt that Zara got the short end of the stick on the endearment department considering that Graham called Feb “Beautiful”. ‘Cookie’ just sort of paled in comparison for me with that.

I feel like people going into this book with great expectations will not really enjoy it as much. It did not feel like a typical Kristen Ashley book, or at least not to me. I went into it expecting nothing, so I did enjoy it. Aside from the few aforementioned things. I’ve seen a few reviews touch on the fact that the past few KA books have been shorter in length. I don’t really have an issue with this. Yes, they are shorter in comparison to some of the books she released when she self-published, but she’s releasing books at an amazing pace. So I have zero complaints. Plus it had KA’s amazing epilogues, which I have come to absolutely love.

Did I like it? Yes. I got my KA fix, although a slightly watered down one. Will I be re-reading it? Probably not.

So I believe I’m done with my rant here. I’m off to stalk Kristen Ashley’s website for more updates on Frankie and Benny’s book. I’m pretty sure I’d be willing to part with an ovary at this point to get their book sometime soon. And I thank you.

ARC courtesy of publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

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Review: Consequences by Aleatha Romig

October 7, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

Consequences (Consequences, #1)Consequences by Aleatha Romig

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Book Blurb

Anthony Rawlings had a plan—to teach Claire Nichols to behave.
Claire Nichols had a plan—to survive!
In an unfamiliar bedroom within a luxurious mansion, Claire Nichols wakes to memories of a brutal abduction. All of her recollections have one common denominator, the man she just met—Anthony Rawlings. Unbeknownst to Claire, Anthony has had her in his sights for a long time. Every action has consequences—and his actions resulted in their chance meeting. 
Facing incomprehensible circumstances, Claire must learn to survive as she comes to terms with her new reality—every aspect of her livelihood is now dependent upon the tall, dark-haired, dark-eyed tycoon. Anthony may appear to the world as a prosperous, benevolent, kind businessman, but in reality Claire learns he is also a menacing, controlling captor with very strict rules: do as your told, public failure is not an option, and don’t divulge private information. Failure to follow these rules and more, are met with serious consequences.
In an effort to earn her freedom, Claire learns her lessons well and before long, she unknowingly captivates her captor. Anthony/ Tony reluctantly becomes enthralled with Claire’s beauty, resilience and determination. Their interaction instigates strong emotions, including—fear, anger, love, and lust—as their journey flows into uncharted waters of intrigue and passion. 
From the opening criminal abduction, through the twists and turns, to the unlikely romantic thrills, the suspense climaxes as Aleatha Romig utilizes vivid detail, allowing this novel to unfold like a movie. 
Can you put the pieces of the puzzle together? Claire Nichols abduction wasn’t a random act—did she learn her lessons well enough? Will these unlikely lovers remain true–or will she learn the truth before it’s too late?

My Review

3.5 I’m still questioning my sanity after reading this stars

She made a decision, and that decision would have consequences.

How do I even begin to review this book? What a dark, torturous, crazy, fucked up ride! I’m not sure I’m right in the head after finishing it. I’m not sure I’m right in the head for even starting it? I couldn’t put it down. I looked like one of those crazy people that talked to themselves through the whole thing. I must have been yelling and swearing in 5 different languages throughout the entire thing.

I was going to rate it differently, but after sleeping on it, I decided to go with a slightly higher rating. Why? Because I choose to rate this book as a psychological thriller. And as that…it was fucking fantastic! For those that are reading the labels and expecting an erotic romance or even a romance…well you’re in for one hell of a surprise…when you don’t fucking get it! How this got labeled is an erotic romance is really just beyond me. I will not give you a full review, because there is NO WAY to review this without revealing spoilers. So let me try to sum this up as best as I can without the multitude of book notes and highlights I made. Just straight, fucked up feelings.

TONY

“Good morning, Claire”

AHHH! You sadistic, fucked up, fucking asshole! I hate you! I hate you so much! How the fuck are people Team fucking Tony? HOW?! I’m Team Tony Should Have an Unfortunate Accident. Period. But I digress.

Let me take you on my Consequences experience

20% in

35%

45% in

50-80%-ish

80%

The ending?

Any questions??
Oh you DO have some?

The only reason I took off stars is I had to majorly skim many parts due to extremely lengthy and unnecessary descriptions of clothing brands, trips, things that weren’t too pertinent to the story. It just got way too wordy and lengthy and I found my interest waning in those parts.

This book fucked me up! I will never be the same. I may need intense vodka therapy after finishing it. I’m questioning my sanity for reading it. But what a ride! I’m really hoping for some answers in Truth…but somehow I’m doubting I’d get them…or even like the answers I get. Oh well. I’m off to cleanse my brain and read Truth.

And I thank you

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ARC Review: Bound by Night by Larissa Ione

September 29, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

Bound by Night (MoonBound Clan Vampires, #1)

A WOMAN OUT FOR BLOOD
Nicole Martin was only eight years old when the vampire slaves rose up in rebellion and killed her family. Now she devotes her life to finding a vaccine against vampirism, hoping to wipe out her memories—along with every bloodsucker on the planet. But there’s one thing she cannot destroy: her searing, undeniable attraction for the one man she should hate and fear the most . . .
A VAMPIRE OUT FOR REVENGE
A member of the renegade vampire MoonBound Clan, Riker is haunted by demons of his own. When he recognizes Nicole and remembers how her family enslaved his loved ones, his heart burns for vengeance. But when he kidnaps Nicole and holds her in a secret lair, his mortal enemy becomes his soul obsession, his greatest temptation, and, perhaps, his only salvation—a hot-blooded lover who could heal him with her touch . . . or bury him forever.


She was a human among vampires, but she felt far less alone than she had as a human among humans

I have been a HUGE Larissa Ione fan ever since I read the very first Demonica book, Pleasure Unbound. With her unique and rich world building, amazing characters, and incredibly steamy love scenes, she has quickly become one of my favorite PNR authors.

So when I saw that she plans on coming out with a new series, I didn’t even think before adding it to my auto-buy list. Now that I’ve read it, I’m at a little bit of a loss as to how to rate it. For those that have never read a book by Larissa Ione, I would not suggest starting with this one. I feel like her previous books were much stronger than this one, and you might get the wrong impression of this very talented author.

Bound by Night offers a very unique and different take on your typical vampire fiction. In this world humans have captured vampires for slaves. The vampires go through “reconditioning” and some even have their fangs removed. The non-captured, rebel vampires live in clans.

Nicole Martin’s family’s company is at the top of this particular hierarchy. Her farther owns the company that sells vampires. Until the day where everything in Nicole’s world changes when she is only 8 years old, her family is killed by the very vampires that have served them, and Nicole herself is brutally attacked and barely survives. Now Nicole lives in Paris, and devotes her life for finding a vaccinne against vampirism. She hates vampires with a passion, and her dreams are still haunted by a particular vampire that she has every reason to hate, yet still feels undeniable attraction to.
Riker is a member of the renegade vampire MoonBound Clad. Despising all humans, Riker is haunted by nightmares of his own past. When a mission to rescue a captured vampire brings him face to face with the woman whose family he holds responsible for taking everything he loved, all he wants in revenge.

The book had a bit of a slow start for me. I didn’t really connect with it until past the 50% mark. I really liked Nicole’s character, and Riker was a tortured soul. It took him quite a bit of time to get over his particular biases, where Nicole realized hers pretty early on.

I also really enjoyed the secondary characters. Now is it just me or did Myne also remind anyone else of Wrath from the Demonica series? I loved that! I can’t wait for his book.

I enjoyed the world building and the unique take on vampire lore in this. There is one thing that Ione knows how to do well, and that is giving us rich world building.

Although I did not find this to be as strong as her previous books, this was a good start to what I think will be a great series.

I’m also very intrigued by the sneak peak we get into Hunter’s book. I can already tell I’m going to enjoy his book. The set up sounds interesting, and I already love the heroine.

So while I can’t say this was my favorite book by her, it was still a good one.

P.S
The sexy blue eyed hottie in my casting? That’s the actual cover model from the book. As you can see, I completely agree with that choice 🙂

 

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Review: Baby Come Back (Baby Series Lite #3.5) by Andrea Smith

September 24, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

Baby Come Back Lite (Baby Series Lite, #3.5)Baby Come Back Lite by Andrea Smith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Tristan had been the one to teach me about love and intimacy; he’d been the one to show me how to trust again.

A wonderful conclusion to a fantastic series. Baby Come Back Lite is a novella told from Gina’s POV.

I have loved Gina’s character from book one. She is quirky, funny, tough, and isn’t afraid to stand up for herself and her friends. She was an amazing friend to Tylar, and their friendship is what endeared me to her from the get go.

Tristan has also been a huge favorite of mine throughout the series. He has a very quiet intensity to him. I think maybe that’s why I enjoyed his character as much as I did. He was a bit like the yang to Trey’s ying, maybe? Well whatever the reason may be, Tristan was great.

I have been looking forward to reading Tristan and Gina’s book from the very beginning. Perhaps this was why this didn’t become a 5 star book for me? I think I set my expectations too high. There were a few things that I was looking forward to reading, that didn’t happen in the novella. I was really hoping to get Gina’s perspective on how her and Tristan got together. I know this was more or less covered in book 2, but I guess I just wanted a little more. But that’s really just my own biased opinion and not a reflection on the book or the writing at all. The book itself was great.

I will say this, Andrea Smith definitely knows how to hit the reader where it hurts, and she certainly doesn’t pull any punches. When she gives us Gina’s deepest and darkest secrets and past, she doesn’t hold back. Some of it was very hard to read for me, my heart just broke for what she has been through. The way that she had persevered and was such a strong heroine in the end just made me like her more.

The story takes up right around the time where Tristan finds out about Gina’s pregnancy “secret.” We get to find out more about Gina’s past, as well as Tristan’s and what experience had really scarred him in relationships. Tristan and Gina were both very real characters, they weren’t perfect, and I liked that. They both made their share of mistakes, but it was wonderful to see them work through it and the way that they did it.

I am not sure why exactly, but for some reason Tylar seemed to get on my nerves in this book. I found her irritating in the first half of book 1, until she grew on me. But in this book, perhaps because we didn’t get her POV, she just came across almost selfish and whiny at times. Meh. *shrugs*

This was a quick and entertaining read. I finished it in one sitting.

Many of the characters from the last book made an appearance…including Amber

And Libby

But all that was made better by Tristan and Gina together.

This novella might have been short in comparison to the other books, but it packed a punch. Almost sad to see this series come to an end now. But what a ride!

ARC courtesy of author in exchange for an honest review

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Jagged by Kristen Ashley

September 23, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

Jagged (Colorado Mountain, #5)Jagged by Kristen Ashley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.5 Why am I craving ham all of a sudden stars


I’d walked away from the love of my life. And he let me.

“Cookie, pay attention. I’m gonna give you everything.”

Full review to come closer to the November release date.

ARC courtesy of publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Jagged is set to be released on November 5th, 2013

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ARC review: Blaze of Secrets by Jessie Donovan

September 1, 2013 by · 2 Comments

Blaze of Secrets (Asylums for Magical Threats, #1)Blaze of Secrets by Jessie Donovan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.5 stars

What did I think? I’m still not quite sure…

I didn’t love this one, nor did I hate it either. It had all the makings to a great book for me, the writing was good, the characters intriguing, steamy, with fantastic world building. Yet somewhere along the way, it just fell flat. Not enough for me to put it down, but enough that it did take me longer than usual to finish it. I tend to rate books based on how unputdownable it is for me. While I was curious enough to finish it, I had no problems putting it down for a while to go back to it later.

My first love is PNR, considering the series that first sucked me into the wonderful world of books was Black Dagger Brotherhood. So I have a bit of a soft spot when it comes to PNR and discovering new authors.

Jessie Donovan is off to a good start with Blaze of Secrets. The unique take on elemental magic and the intricate world building is what initially drew me to this book.

Considering that most of the PNR books I’ve read lately have been about vampires, demons, or shifters, this was a very refreshing chance of scenery.

The Feiru are struggling to keep their elemental magic a secret from the humans. In order to achieve this, they go to great lengths; locking up their first-born children in compounds known as Asylums for Magical Threats (AMT) when they reach magical maturity.

Unbeknownst to the general public, these Asylums are nothing short of prisons where many Feiru are experimented on, punished, and dying. This is also the place that Keirra has been in for the past 15 years.

Jaxton is ordered by the higher ups to also rescue Keirra for reasons unknown to him, during his rescue mission of his older brother. This is where the story begins.

So why only 3.5 stars?

Well, to be honest, I had a hard time getting into the book. There was a lot of world building that takes place in the first half, and a part of me had a tough time following it at parts. I found myself going back and re-reading certain paragraphs to better understand things. This is at times an issue with the first books in the series, so I overlooked this.

Around the 60% mark the book really took off, and I found myself enjoying it a whole lot more.

Overall, for a debut novel in a series, this was quite good. I feel like as the author grows into her craft the books will just keep getting better and better. The book, although not being a favorite of mine, definitely intrigued me enough to pick up the second book in the series once it comes out.

Keirra’s brother, Gio, was the most intriguing part of this book for me. I love characters like him, conflicted, on the wrong side of the war but yet ignorant of it. I really hope that he gets a book soon because I would definitely want to read that.

If you enjoy PNR reminiscent of Nalini Singhs Psy/changeling series but with elemental magic, you’d definitely want to give this one a try. I think what I enjoyed the most about this book was the unique new take on PNR. I see great things coming from this author in the future.

**Many thanks to the author for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review**



Blaze of Secrets is set to be released for September 3rd

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Review: Sinister Kisses (SKALS) by Adriana Noir

August 29, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

Sinister Kisses (SKALS, #1)Sinister Kisses by Adriana Noir
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars



“Death is the only thing that could ever tear us apart, and even that would fail. Somehow, some way, I would find you.

ALL ABOARD!The crazy Train!

Calling all passengers! Calling all passengers!
This is your final call to board the crazy train, destination…fuck if I know!

Please be advised that you may find parts of your journey disturbing, fucked up, and probably unlike any other ride you’ve ever taken.

I would like to take this time to introduce you to your fellow passengers.
First, let’s meet Taylor

No need to apologize just yet Taylor…or do…whatever. Passengers are advised to attempt and disregard her sporadic crying, apologizing for shit she didn’t really do, and for just generally being a naive girl that will act like a wounded puppy for the duration of our trip.

Let’s now move on to Sebastian, shall we?

Now now Sebby…no need to put it all out there. You’re not that bad…err…actually…forget I said anything…please don’t hurt me??

Passengers who value their faces as they are, are advised to not speak to, touch, or even probably speak to the general direction of Taylor.

Please also disregard any disputes between Taylor and Sebby here that may look like, or very well be abusive in nature or not consensual…this is just par of the course.

Ah, looks like they’re starting early…

Whoa there Sebby! No need to over react here, I was just letting the good people know! I’m sorry! I love you?

Moving along then…
As you may have noticed, we have now reached the half way point of our journey. There will be someone walking around to collect your sanity. Kindly leave behind everything you think you know, and deal with it.

For those that don’t think they can handle this shit, I’d advise you to make your exit now

The rest of you? Good fucking luck and enjoy the ride 😉

My thoughts?
Fuck, fuckity, fucking fuck! What the fuck did I just read?!
I am all for the dark and twisted reads. I love them! But this one disturbed even me. Parts were disturbing because I sorta kinda liked them? Other parts were just plain fucking disturbing!

The writing is fantastic. The main characters? Hoo boy! I’m not gonna lie, characters like Taylor drive me almost as crazy as this book was. I’m not big on the naive, constantly crying, and weak heroines. I could deal with it, however.

Sebastian? The man is on a whole different playing field of crazy. Wow!

I truthfully don’t even know how to rate this book. I wanted to hate it…and yet…I couldn’t. I hated the fact that I couldn’t hate it? GAWD! I don’t even know! I feel like I need therapy after this.

This is definitely not a book for the faint of heart.

Will I read the next book? I have to know what happens with these crazies, so yes, I will.

I do have a sudden urge to read a whole bunch of rainbow and unicorns type books after this one. And people, I do NOT enjoy the rainbows and unicorn type books. So that should tell you something.

I still need to think on my rating…I just…I don’t…I can’t!
3.5 stars??

Now this girl is going to go and attempt to find my happy place again…and maybe try to get some of my sanity back?

And I thank you!

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