Review: The Punk and the Plaything by B.B. Reid

December 12, 2019 by · Leave a Comment

THE PUNK AND THE PLAYTHING
Series: When Rivals Play #3
Genre: New Adult Romance
Author: B.B. Reid
Release Date: December 9, 2019

From bestselling author B.B. Reid comes a riveting, second chance romance…

Never trust a nice ass and a smile. That girl is definitely poison.
When I first came to Blackwood Keep, I was just looking for a thrill.
Instead, I found a beautiful fraud—a tomboy my wildest dreams couldn’t conjure.
Bee didn’t just run with boys; she ran the boys. It was only a matter of time before I gave chase.
It took one summer for me to win her over and two to lose her forever.
My summer love turned ice queen. Without heart or thought, she ruined me.

Four years and an ocean between us, I still can’t forget that she chose my cousin…so I won’t.
When the clock strikes twelve, you’re mine, Cinderella.
It’s too late to turn back time.

Jameson and Barbette’s story.

Are the When Rivals Play books standalone?

Each novel depicts a unique romance; however, the plots connect. It’s recommended that you read them in order for the best experience.

AMAZON

Are the When Rivals Play books standalone?

Each novel depicts a different and completely unique romance. However, the stories and their plots are connected. It’s recommended that you read them in order for the full reading experience. 

It is strongly advised that you read The Peer and the Puppet and The Moth and the Flame before reading The Punk and the Plaything. Content suitable for ages 18+. 

Read The Peer and The Puppet today!

Available FREE to read with Kindle Unlimited.

AMAZON

Read The Moth and The Flame today!

Available FREE to read with Kindle Unlimited.

AMAZON

Read Evermore: A When Rivals Play novella

Available FREE to read with Kindle Unlimited.

AMAZON

“Well, isn’t this the most delicious surprise.”My head confirmed what my eyes were showing me, but my stubborn heart still refused to believe. Jamie was back from Ireland? Why hadn’t Ever told me? Neither of those answers seemed to matter as much as why Jamie was back.

The short sleeves of the button up he wore were rolled and bunched at the shoulders, displaying the muscles he’d grown since I’d last seen him four years ago. The white cotton only pronounced his tanned skin. He’d left the buttons undone, allowing anyone who laid eyes on him to see his hard chest and defined abs…and the many tattoos that covered them. Most of them were angry and aggressive, almost scary as if he were showing off his demons for anyone to see. Recalling my sweet Jamie from long ago, and what happened the last time I’d seen him, I knew I was responsible for every one of them.

Gone was the gentle boy next door with a full mop of hair, a lanky body, and an easy smile. This boy standing before me was darker, edgier…more tragic to my lonely, fragile heart. Was that yearning burning in the pit of my stomach or fear of the unknown? Because I didn’t know this Jamie, and judging by the wicked gleam in his eyes as he flashed that mocking grin, I didn’t want to know.

“What the hell are you doing back here?”

“Is that any way to greet your first love? I got to say”—his gaze slowly traced every dip and curve of my body—“I love how well you’ve grown up, Bette.”

“First love?” I scoffed, even though it felt like he’d stolen my breath. “You were hardly that.”

“Then what was I?” he challenged, backing me against the opposite wall. “I’m breathless to hear more of your lies.”

“You were nothing.”

He flashed me that sad, beautiful smile I hadn’t realized I’d missed so much. I stood perfectly still as his wolfish gaze ate me up. As close as he stood now, he wouldn’t miss a single fucking flaw. There were many, but no one dared looked close enough to see. I might as well have been Medusa. As he ran his gaze over me, I took the time to study him as well, noting the silver bar piercing his right brow and the small diamond in his right nostril. I could have sworn I’d even glimpse a flash of metal piercing his nipples. Jamie had taken all that sinful deliciousness he naturally possessed and multiplied it by ten thousand. As if the world didn’t already have enough injustices.

“You’re so beautiful. Did it hurt?” He kept his gaze on me as he turned his head and blew out smoke.

“Did what hurt?” I could feel the heat from Jamie’s cigarette when he defiantly brushed his thumb across my bottom lip. To Jamie’s knowledge, I belonged to his cousin now, but he clearly didn’t give a damn.

“When you fell from heaven, Satan.”

I slapped his hand away while telling myself to get a grip. Jamie might have surprised me, but he was nothing I couldn’t handle. “Get lost, Jameson.”

Tapping the end of his cigarette, he sprinkled ash onto my designer blouse. A piece of the flame had fallen, burning through the sheer material, scorching my skin. Before now, I’d never thought Jamie capable of hurting me. The truth was now so blatantly blazed into our history that it could never be unwritten.

Without warning, he pressed closer until I could see nothing but the angry blackness of his eyes. “I’m afraid I’m not going anywhere. By the time I’m done with you, Barbette Montgomery, you’ll be crawling back to me… but I doubt I’ll want my cousin’s sloppy thirds.”

“I wouldn’t hold your breath.” I wasted little time pushing him away. Tragically, the moment my hand connected with his warm skin, the electricity threatening to make my broken heart beat again became too obvious to ignore. I tried to run from it, but some inexplicable need to seal our fate had me spinning on my heel to face him again. “Better yet, Jameson, do us both the favor, won’t you?”

You preyed on the wrong McNamara, kitten. My trust fund has more zeroes. Dick’s bigger, too.”

You know that feeling when you read a book that you’ve been dying to get your hands on FOREVER and it doesn’t just live up to your expectations, but blows them out of the water? Because GAH! Y’all. This book. I can’t.

CRACKILICIOUS.

There’s just no other way I can describe it for you. I knew Jamie and Bette’s book would be epic, and I was not wrong. I went through wanting to chuck my kindle at the wall and rip my hair out, to giddy anticipation, to goofy grinning, back to ripping my hair out, and giddiness again. This book took me through the wringer. The angst. The sweet, sweet angst. I can still taste it.

I’ll admit, Barbette definitely wasn’t my favorite character when we first meet her in The Peer and the Puppet. BB Reid gives us an entire different outlook on her in this book. We not only get to be inside her head, but we get to know the young and rambunctious tom boy that she used to be before she became the beautiful ice queen. You get snippets of her history with Jamie, and piece by piece you see how the fell in love and inevitably fell apart. You get to experience the lies, secrets, and betrayals. You get to understand why they are who they are today.

Barbette was it for me—my slice of heaven and my one-way ticket to hell. I could never trust her with my heart again, but maybe I was kidding myself thinking I could stay away completely.

Jamie was a character that had my immediate attention from the first. I didn’t need to be inside his head to warm up to him, the guy set me on fire as a secondary character, so I already knew he’d be sizzling in his own book. And again, I was NOT wrong. Jamie is full of anger at Bette’s betrayal. While you learn the whole of it piece by piece throughout the book, you know that whatever happened between them was bad. Jamie may still be attracted to Bette, but now he just wants revenge for his broken heart, even if his cousin is the collateral.

Jamie was the kind of thrill every girl sought at least once in her life. Maybe that was all he’d been for me, too.

I devoured this book. I was completely incapable of setting it down for even a second. I was glued to the pages, totally invested, and completely riveted. There’s a few puzzle pieces that come together on the whole Fox mystery here. But for as many questions as are answered, there’s a hundred more that are left. Reid also throws out the most delicious of lures for the next book and OMG! I’m not sure I have the patience for it.

This was everything that I had hoped for and so much more. Angsty, sexy, with just the right amount of suspense to make it a perfect page turner. Did I want to jock punch Jamie more than a few times? Absolutely! But my inner cougar still wanted to bang him after, so it wasn’t all bad. (It’s fiction so stop judging me here. He was 18, ok?!)

Bette really grew on me and came into her own here. I love stories with strong females, and I loved watching Bette grow her backbone and turn it into steel. Her and Jamie were incendiary together. I loved catching up with past favorites too! My one quibble was a particular scene in the book that I felt blurred and confused more than anything. Was it hot? Absolutely. Was it necessary to the story? Maybe. But the way it came together just struck me as…well…odd. That aside, I absolutely LOVED the book. I’m utterly addicted to this series and I’m practically salivating to get my grabby little hands on the next book.

B.B. Reid is a bestselling author of new adult romance. She grew up the only daughter and middle child in a small town in North Carolina. After graduating with a Bachelors in Finance, she started her career at an investment research firm while continuing to serve in the National Guard. She currently resides in Charlotte with her moody cat and enjoys collecting Chuck Taylors and binge-eating chocolate.

Please visit her website for more information: www.bbreid.com

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Website www.bbreid.com

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Review: Chase The Butterflies by Monica James

December 5, 2019 by · Leave a Comment

CHASE THE BUTTERFLIES
Genre: Contemporary/Total WTF (snort laughs)
Author: Monica James
Release Date: December 3, 2019

“Victoria, will you marry me?”

Those words changed my life forever…just not in the way it would for most. I had it all until one fateful evening transformed my life in ways I never imagined.

Nine months later, I move to a sleepy little town, hoping to escape the demons of my past. As I attempt to claim back my life, Jude Montgomery enters my world, and things begin to change.

I thought running would appease the nightmares, but I soon discover my past won’t let go. Things are not what they seem, and I begin to question the world as I know it. Jude may hold the answers, but will my love for him blind me to the truth?

Does the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas? In my case, yes, it does.

Will the truth set me free? Or will it imprison us both?

My name is Victoria Armstrong, and this is my story…I think.

AMAZON

I want to consume you just as you’ve consumed every…single…part of me.
Everything I am, I give to you. Mind. Body. Soul. You own every part of me. That’ll never change. Regardless of our circumstances, I’ll love you for eternity.”

So I…
yeah so…
This was…
And then it…
…Yeah, I got nothing. Seriously. I can’t even begin to process, let alone review what I just read. I have no idea. I really don’t. Total and complete mindf*ck.

How do I even categorize this for you? I don’t know what genre this would fall into. Unless there’s a mindf*ck genre. Is there? No? Dang. But seriously, though. I am floored. Shooketh. Utterly SHOOKETH. This book took me right out of my comfort zone and then took a sharp left somewhere off of the everything I thought path and veered right into OMG lane. No lie. I read it with bated breath. With my jaw on the floor. With tears in my eyes. And when I finished? I immediately went back to re-read it. Because it’s a story that’s meant to be experienced twice. This also needs to be a movie. IMMEDIATELY. Because wow. WOW!!!

There’s actual footage captured of me reading this book. Please find below for reference:




As you can clearly see, myself was SHOOKETH.

How do I even begin to review this book without spoiling it for you? I can’t. I don’t know how. This book needs to be experienced absolutely blind. Trust me. Tori and Jude’s story will be unlike anything you’ve ever read. It’s a story of undying love and redemption. It’s a story of soul mates and heartache. It’s a story that’s as riveting as it is unique. It’s heartbreaking and completely unforgettable.

Yes, my cynical self popped up every now and then. But the story was so unique that I was able to tell that bitch to stfu and sit back down so I can keep enjoying it.

If you’re looking for something that’s different an unlike anything you’ve ever read, do yourself a favor and read this book.

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Review: The Fake by Rebecca Jenshak

November 23, 2019 by · Leave a Comment

THE FAKE
Series: Smart Jocks #4
Genre: New Adult, Sports Romance
Author: Rebecca Jenshak
Release Date: November 21, 2019

I’ve made a lot of dumb mistakes but none dumber than losing her.

Senior year. I should be partying and living it up with my friends before graduation, but one more mistake and I’m off the team.

Enter Chloe.

She comes into my life at a low point, but she becomes the bright spot I reach for every day.

She’s the kind of girl who makes a guy want to be a better man.

And for a while, I even start to believe I’ve changed enough to deserve her.

I’ve got my eye on the future, and I’m letting my past stay where it belongs.

But the thing about the past… it always comes back to bite you when you least expect it.

AMAZON

Catch up on the Smart Jocks series!

Book 1 – The Assist

AMAZON

Book 2 – The Fadeaway

AMAZON

Book 3 – The Tip-Off

AMAZON

I feel like we’re finally seeing each other without any pretenses or expectations, and us like this—as a real couple—we’re even better than I ever imagined when we’d been faking.


What is it about Rebecca Jenshak’s books that just make me giddily happy every time I finish one? She has this knack for writing completely addictive sport New Adult romance that I fall head over ovaries for and The Fake was no exception! I simply ADORED Nathan and Chloe’s story.

I’ve been a huge fan of this series since discovering it early this year, and it seems like it only keeps getting better with each book. Because I think The Fake was easily my favorite of the Smart Jocks. There’s just something so incredibly endearing about Nathan. He may have the looks and the talent on the outside, but he’s struggling to hold his family together and keep them afloat after the passing of his father. His desperate need for money leads him to a terrible decision that almost costs him everything. On the cusp of dealing with the repercussions, he meets Chloe, a girl dealing with her own personal demons.

Chloe is a recent transfer who’s desperate to make a name for herself on her volleyball team and gain the trust and respect of her teammates. Tarnished with her parent’s mistakes, she’s still struggling to prove her worth. Money has never been a concern for this rich Cali girl. But proving herself and stepping outside of the stain of of her parents money and privilege has been a struggle. Nathan is the perfect storm that she never saw coming. He holds the answers to what she needs. Her teammates love him and she’s desperate for her teammates acceptance. The answers? A fake relationship. Only it’s not as fake as she tries to make herself believe.

Nathan is such an incredibly sweet guy. He’s absolute perfection. I couldn’t get enough of him. He’s an endearing combination of cocky and vulnerable; sexy and sweet. His treatment of Chloe and the way that he was always there for her just warmed my heart. Chloe was wonderful in her own right. She’s strong, smart, and incredibly loyal. I loved all of the secondary characters along with past favorites that make cameos. The Fake delivered on the feels and the steam and I loved every single page of it. I’m obsessed with this series! If you haven’t read it yet, you’re seriously missing out.

The author is giving away a signed set of the Smart Jocks series (US only) and a $25 Amazon Gift Card (open international). ENTER HERE —> www.facebook.com/rebeccajenshak

Rebecca Jenshak is a self-proclaimed margarita addict, college basketball fanatic, and Hallmark channel devotee. A Midwest native transplanted to the desert, she likes being outdoors (drinking on patios) and singing (in the shower) when she isn’t writing books about hot guys and the girls who love them.

Stay up to date with all things Rebecca!

Newsletter | Website | Amazon | Bookbub | Facebook | Instagram | Join Rebecca’s Rad Romantics on FB

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Review: Spun Out by Lorelei James

November 5, 2019 by · Leave a Comment

SPUN OUT
Series: Blacktop Cowboys #10
Genre: Contemporary, Western Romance
Author: Lorelei James
Release Date: November 5, 2019

New York Times bestselling author Lorelei James returns for another wild ride in Wyoming with a new Blacktop Cowboys® novel.

Years in the Army equipped Bailey Masterson for many things: target shooting, rappelling off cliffs, dodging grenades. She’s lived through horrors that still give her nightmares. But nothing in Bailey’s life-or-death training prepared her for caring for the tiny terror that is five-year-old Olivia Hale. Or how to control her raging attraction to Olivia’s father, Streeter, the rugged, green-eyed cattle rancher who undermines her every move even when he stars in her dreams.

Streeter Hale has room for only two things in his life: his daughter and his job. He doesn’t date. He doesn’t get attached. Not anymore. So not only is Streeter stunned by Olivia’s improved behavior after just a few days with Bailey, he’s downright floored by his immediate attraction to the woman. But with secrets in her eyes and a body that doesn’t quit, Streeter begins to worry that Bailey Masterson might just be the one woman to heal his fractured family and broken heart.

One thing’s for sure–these two wrecked souls are spinning out of control as they desperately try not to fall in love…

AMAZON


You can show me those dark corners of yourself and I’ll help you shine a light on them, deal with them, chase them the fuck away without you havin’ to fear that I’ll abandon you when you need me the most. Ain’t happenin’, sweetheart. Ever.”

Oh.
My.
Heart.

This beautiful romance completely captured my heart and I never want it back. If single dads are your catnip, prepare to hand your heart and ovaries to Streeter Hale. There’s something so incredibly sweet and endearing about this man. And it’s not just his love for his adorable and rambunctious little girl. Streeter isn’t a man that’s been around the block. He married his high school sweetheart only to lose her in the worst way possible. Years later, the shadow of her death still follows him and his daughter’s inability to connect to anyone but him is a daily reminder of everything that’s he’s done wrong. My heart broke for this man and everything he’s been through. There’s this quiet intensity to him that you can’t help but fall in love with.

Bailey is a soldier that used the army to escape her not so sunny childhood. She may have a good relationship with her sisters, but even they don’t know all of the secrets that she’s determined to hide. Steeter and Bailey immediately clash, but underneath the glares and barbs, there’s an undercurrent of attraction.

When it becomes evident that the rambunctious kids in their circle of family and friends can use someone like Bailey to give them some structure and discipline, Bailey sticks around longer than she expected to run a summer camp. It doesn’t take long for her to fall for the sweet little girl with too much energy and sass right along with her sinfully sexy daddy.

I mean, y’all. This book. I don’t even have words. Sexy. Swoony. Emotionally gripping. Touching. Heartwarming. Tearjerker. Ok, so maybe I do have words?. But seriously. This romance was just everything. I loved the slight role reversal of Bailey being the one that really pursues Streeter and is more sexually experienced. I loved Streeter’s sweet side and the way he peels back Bailey’s layers effortlessly. I loved watching their hot and short-planned affair bloom into something neither of them expected.

This book touches on several deep and highly emotional subjects and I thought that the author handled them perfectly. She didn’t shy away from the ugly details and the ramifications of them. She takes the issues head on and throws the reader right in with the characters. It was perfectly written. There’s plenty of sizzle in typical Lorelei fashion, but it was so much more than just a romance. It was a beautiful story about second chances and finding love when you least expect it. It was yet another amazing addition to one of my favorite series and just another reason why I will never tire of this woman’s writing. Ten books into the series and they just continue to get better and better!

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Review: Getting Played by Emma Chase

October 8, 2019 by · Leave a Comment

GETTING PLAYED
Series: Getting Played #2
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Emma Chase
Release Date: October 8, 2019

A magnificent new romance by New York Times bestselling author Emma Chase.

Dean Walker is all about keeping life simple. He’s effortlessly talented and intelligent—spending his summers playing drums in the local band and the rest of the year teaching high school in the same Jersey town where he grew up. He likes his love life simple too, enjoying the commitment-free hook-ups his good looks and sexy charm have always made oh so easy.

Then he meets Lainey Burrows. And his simple, easy life gets turned upside down.

One wild one-night stand was all it was ever supposed to be, so Lainey is shocked when she discovers that her sizzling summer fling is also her son’s new math teacher. But that’s nothing compared to the most unexpected twist of all—their hot hook-up left Lainey knocked up, and now they’re about to become parents. Together.

What ensues is an addictive, insatiable, sweet and tender romance that won’t be simple, but it will be more than worth the fight.

AMAZON

I want to be her everything. Because somewhere along the line—Lainey, Jason, our baby—that’s what they’ve become to me. Everything.

You GUYS.
*flails happily*
GUYS.
*laughs giddily*
GUYS!!!!
*sighs dreamily*

I am on book cloud nine right now. This is just one of those swoony, lighthearted, and feel good romances that’s guaranteed to put a smile on your face and butterflies in your tummy. It’s ice cream on a hot summer day. It’s a cozy sweater and a fireplace on a cold winter day. It’s the perfect cup of hot cocoa. It’s one of those books that just hits the spot, no matter what mood you’re in and makes your day better.

Now look, I’m not typically a reader that enjoys a sweet romance. Being the angst addict that I am, it’s just not typically my cuppa. But this book? Oh my swoon. It was everything I didn’t know I wanted. There’s just something about Emma Chase’s writing that’s pure magic. She creates characters that you can’t help but fall head over heels for, and it doesn’t just stop with the main characters.

Dean was pure perfection. He’s a hero that’s guaranteed to tug at every heart string you have. Dean has a history liking things loose and easy. He was a player in high school and while he may have outgrown that part of his life, he still doesn’t like complications beyond a steamy night in the sheets. But then he spends one night with a woman that changes something in him irrevocably. Months later he can’t stop thinking about her but has no idea how to find her since he didn’t get her number. As fate would have it, months later they meet again and not only is the woman’s son in his high school class, but surprise of surprises, their one night stand left her pregnant.

Dean Walker is going to be a father. Holy fuck me sideways. When you start referring to yourself in the third person in your own mind—that’s when you know you’re screwed.

Now let me tell you guys, the blurb doesn’t even begin to do this book justice. The chemistry between Lainey and Dean is absolutely sizzling. There’s this instant connection they share, and I sweat it only amplified when they finally meet again. Lainey is a lifestyle blogger and her new project lands her in the same small town where Dean lives and teaches. She’s such a sweet soul that you can’t help but love her. And her teenage son is one of the most endearing secondary characters I’ve read to date. I loved watching the connection between Dean and Jason, almost as much as I loved it between Dean and Lainey. There’s just something so magnetic about them. And watching this sexy former playboy become total goo at the hands of a woman, their unborn baby, and her son was so stinking SWEET.

This was such a sweet and satisfying romance. I adore all things Emma Chase, and the woman can write enemies to lovers like no other, but there’s something about her sweet, angst free romance that just DOES IT FOR YOU. I can’t recommend this one enough.

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New Release & Review: The Play by Elle Kennedy

October 7, 2019 by · Leave a Comment

THE PLAY
Series: Briar U #3
Genre: New Adult, Sports Romance
Author: Elle Kennedy
Release Date: October 7, 2019

A brand-new standalone novel in the New York Times bestselling Briar U series!

What I learned after last year’s distractions cost my hockey team our entire season? No more screwing up. No more screwing, period. As the new team captain, I need a new philosophy: hockey and school now, women later. Which means that I, Hunter Davenport, am officially going celibate…no matter how hard that makes things.

But there’s nothing in the rulebook that says I can’t be friendswith a woman. And I won’t lie—my new classmate Demi Davis is one cool chick. Her smart mouth is hot as hell, and so is the rest of her, but the fact that she’s got a boyfriend eliminates the temptation to touch her.

Except three months into our friendship, Demi is single and looking for a rebound.

And she’s making a play for me.

Avoiding her is impossible. We’re paired up on a yearlong school project, but I’m confident I can resist her. We’d never work, anyway. Our backgrounds are too different, our goals aren’t aligned, and her parents hate my guts.

Hooking up is a very bad idea. Now I just have to convince my body—and my heart.

AMAZON 

You’re a fun date.” “This isn’t a date.” She tips her head in challenge.
“Then why are you giving me the Penis Eyes?”
“I’m not.”
“I know Penis Eyes when I see ’em.”

Elle Kennedy knows how to hit the spot just right when it comes to her addictive NA Sports romance. She’s able to combine quirky humor with deliciously steamy romance and create page-turning books that seems to get better with each new one in this series. I know I said this when I finished the The Risk, but I really mean it now when I say that this was my favorite in the series!

Hunter has been a character that’s been on my radar since The Chase. My heart went out for the guy after he lost the girl he was interested in to his buddy who swore up and down that he wasn’t interested in her. We got to see Hunter spiral from that let down and turn into a quite an indiscriminate manwhore. The guy went through a stage where any woman that looked his way was game, and it almost cost him more than he bargained for. Now he’s determined to rid himself of temptation by saying no to sex. Sex is what got him in trouble so sex is what he’ll cut out. The answer? Celibacy. The problem? It’s easier said than done.

When Demi and Hunter first meet in class, Demi thinks he’s just like every other hot jock; vapid and vain. But when an assignment together forces them together, she soon discovers that there’s many more layers to Hunter than meet the eye. He’s sweet, funny, and soon becomes a friend and confidant. So who better to turn to when she finds out her boyfriend is cheating on her and needs a rebound to move on? Her new buddy, of course. Unfortunately Hunter is a lot more stubborn when it comes to his celibacy that she thought.

This guy is funny. And he’s much cooler than I’d thought, definitely not the arrogant asshole I expected him to be. I’m not gonna lie—Hunter Davenport is growing on me.

This was such a fun story. I love a strong and confident heroine, and Demi was definitely that. She’s sassy, with a fiery temper, and a super sharp mind. I couldn’t help but like her immediately. This is not a girl that plays game or doesn’t speak her mind. She says what she means and she means what she says. You can’t help but appreciate that. Hunter was wonderfully multi-layered. You get to peel back the layers and truly see what makes him tick, and when you begin to get to the true depths of him, you can’t help but love the guy. There’s just something so wonderfully endearing about him. I think I loved the friendship between him and Demi almost as much as their budding romance. I loved that Demi wasn’t afraid to push his buttons to get what she wanted but she didn’t play games with him either. She’s extremely straight forward in what she wants.

The romance was a perfectly paced slow burn. These two start off as friends with fiery chemistry and it soon turns into something neither of them saw coming. I loved seeing the gang from the previous books and catching up with Garrett, Dean and Logan. Then there’s my favorite crazy duo, Hollis and Rupi, and all of the other wonderful secondary characters. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we get Connor’s book next. I seriously can’t get enough of this series!

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Review: Perfect Strangers by J.T. Geissinger

October 3, 2019 by ·

PERFECT STRANGERS
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: J.T. Geissinger
Release Date: September 29, 2019

“These kisses of his…they’re demanding and possessive. They’re hungry and deep. They’re the kisses of a man who wants more of a woman—who wants everything—and isn’t going to stop until he gets it.”

Author Olivia Rossi hasn’t been able to write a word since tragedy struck two years ago and ripped her world apart. Heartbroken and still haunted by the past, she accepts an offer to spend the summer at a friend’s apartment in Paris in search of healing and her lost muse.

What she finds instead is James, an enigmatic stranger who ignites in her an unexpected and all-consuming passion.

Agreeing to tell each other nothing more than their first names, Olivia and James embark on a torrid affair. But the more time they spend together, the more Olivia begins to realize her summer fling is turning into a powerful connection…and that the magnetic man she’s falling in love with might not be what he seems at all.

AMAZON 

Just feel me. Just feel me and breathe.”

I… So… Well… And then… Yeah… I got nothing. Seriously. NOTHING. I’m too busy still picking my jaw off of the floor because this story just blew my ever loving mind! I can’t even. I don’t even know where to begin to review this book. How do I even tell you about what I just read if even I’M still figuring it out. My brain needs to phone a friend or poll the audience. Sweet baby jesus I don’t know what is happening!!!

Our existence is measured in minutes. Seconds. Heartbeats. Time is the most valuable commodity we have, because it can never be replenished. Once it’s gone…it’s gone forever. And so are we.”

If you’re looking for a book that’s uniquely different, take you out of your comfort zone, and make you feel, you need to read this book. Seriously.

Olivia and James were absolutely electric together. There’s just something about reading Olivia’s inner monologue that made you feel like you were getting a peek into the author’s own psyche. It was fascinating. The connection between her and James is instant and no less potent as they continue on their affair. Olivia is in Paris for a short time only and knows that whatever they have will come to an end. They agree to a short but fiery affair but no more. No last names. No personal information. Nothing to tie them down. But you know what they say about those best laid plans, right? It’s not long before the lines get blurred and secrets begin to unravel.

Man oh man, I don’t even know where to start with this story. I will definitely advise you to avoid reviews until you read it, because there’s so much about this story that’s a HUGE spoiler. I won’t give you any hints in terms of what that spoiler is, but let me tell you, it’s seriously HUGE. Like mind blowingly huge. Like questioning everything you thought you knew huge. All I know is I spent an entire ten minutes after I finished with my jaw on the floor and my mind reeling. This story was a unique and unexpected surprise from someone that’s become an absolute must read author for me. I cannot recommend this one enough!

 

J.T. Geissinger is a bestselling author of emotionally charged romance and women’s fiction. Ranging from funny, feisty rom coms to intense, edgy suspense, her books have sold more than one million copies and been translated into several languages.

She is the recipient of the Prism Award for Best First Book, the Golden Quill Award for Best Paranormal/Urban Fantasy, and is a two-time finalist for the RITA® Award from the Romance Writers of America®. She has also been a finalist in the Booksellers’ Best, National Readers’ Choice, and Daphne du Maurier Awards.

Her first novel was published in 2012. Since then she’s written eighteen more novels. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, drinking wine, surfing the internet, and daydreaming about all the things she’s going to be when she grows up. She lives near the beach in Los Angeles with her husband and deaf/demented rescue kitty, Ginger.

Connect with J.T. Geissinger

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JTGeissinger

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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jtgeissingerauthor/

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Website: http://www.jtgeissinger.com

· Filed Under: All Reviews, Contemporary Romance · Tagged With: ,

Review: White Knight by Meghan March

October 1, 2019 by · Leave a Comment

WHITE KNIGHT
Series: Dirty Mafia Duet #12
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Meghan March
Release Date: October 1, 2019

New York Times bestselling author Meghan March continues the story of untold truths and one man’s redemption in the Dirty Mafia Duet.

I never expected to be anyone’s white knight. That’s not a role I’ve ever played.
But when the Casso crime family shifts into uncharted territory, they’re looking for a new hero, and they’re looking for me—Cannon Freeman, the black sheep.

But my time in disgrace is at an end.

It’s my turn to rise up and save the people who matter most to me.

Even if my family has never given a damn about me, I will not let them fall.

More than anything, I will not let her fall.

White Knight is the second book in the Dirty Mafia Duet and should be read after Black Sheep, book one.

She’s worth the fallout.


AMAZON | iBOOKS | B&N | KOBO | GOOGLE PLAY

 

I excelled at hiding who I was from the world. Even more, I excelled at hiding my fears and my demons from myself. So, how in the hell did Cannon Danger Freeman find my heart anyway?

Well, dang. I did not see that coming. Meghan March has seriously brought her a game with the twists in this book, and my head is still spinning.

I was excited to take a step away from the trilogy side of March with a sexy duet, and White Knight certainly delivered one heart pounding conclusion. The story of Drew and Cannon was full of so many twists and turns, no way one book could have contained it. But it did make for a perfect duet.

I will say I was a little worried with the pacing of this installment starting off a bit slow for my liking. So much so that it took me 2 days to get through the first 40%. But boy did it bring the bang in the second half.

I don’t even know how to begin to review this without spilling any of the spoilers, because like pretty much every Meghan March book I’ve read, everything is a dang spoiler. The woman can’t help it. Her evil genius mind just spins a heck of a tale. But what I will tell you, is I fell even harder for Cannon in this book. Where we get the intense and mysterious side of him in the first book, we get the devastatingly devoted and protective side of him here. I couldn’t get enough of this multi-faceted character. His fierce and protective side and his boyish vulnerable side that still yearns for a connection with his half sibling and father that always seemed to allude him. There’s a lot that happens here and a lot of it is one twist after another. Year old vendettas are settled and truths are revealed, and all of it wrapped around one heart stopping conclusion.

I especially loved the way that Meghan was able to bring so many of our previous characters together and tie it all up with a glorious bow in this book. If you love cameos, you’ll love this.

And then she introduces the mother of all alphas that will leave you a drooling and trembling mess in your wait for Legend’s book. Because holy mother of GAH!
 

Making the jump from corporate lawyer to romance author was a leap of faith that New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author Meghan March will never regret. With over thirty titles published, she has sold millions of books in nearly a dozen languages to fellow romance-lovers around the world. A nomad at heart, she can currently be found in the woods of the Pacific Northwest, living her happily ever after with her real-life alpha hero.

 

Sign up for Meghan’s newsletter and receive exclusive content that she saves for her subscribers: http://meghanmarch.com/subscribe

To get the inside scoop on a daily basis, search Meghan March’s Runaway Readers on Facebook and join the fun!

FACEBOOK | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE | TWITTER | BOOKBUB

Leave a Comment · Filed Under: All Reviews, Contemporary Romance · Tagged With: ,

New Release & Review: Collateral by Natasha Knight

September 23, 2019 by ·

COLLATERAL
Series: Collateral Damage #1
Genre: An Arranged Marriage Mafia Romance
Author: Natasha Knight
Release Date: September 23, 2019

Gabriela

Stefan Sabbioni showed up uninvited in my bedroom on my sixteenth birthday. He stood in the shadows smelling of whiskey and death and wrapped a broken, blood-crusted necklace around my neck. I thought he’d strangle me with it.

That night, he left a message for my father. He said he’d be back to take something precious.

I never delivered that message, though. I wonder if things would be different if I had because now, two years later, he’s back. And he’s not hiding in any shadows.

He’s come to make good on his promise.

He’s back to take that something precious.

Me.

Stefan

Marchese is the manipulator of my family’s tragedy. I won’t just bring him to his knees. I’ll bury him for what he did.

Taking his daughter is only the beginning. I’ll do it knowing I’m starting a war. I’ll do it knowing my enemies will become his allies. They’ll stop at nothing to destroy me and he’ll stop at nothing to get her back.

I’ve never shied away from war, though. I’m not one to play nice and I don’t share my toys. I’ll demolish you if you touch what’s mine.

And she is most definitely mine.

AMAZON | iBOOKS | B&N | KOBO

You’re in my world now. And in my world, I make the rules and you obey them. I. Own. You.”

The second I read the blurb to this book, I knew I had to get my grabby little hands on it as quickly as possible. I’m a sucker for a good arranged marriage trope, and when you add in a dark and gritty mafia romance, I’m practically frothing at the mouth in my need.

I’m ridiculously picky with my dark romance reads as of late. There’s just too many books out there  masquerading as dark, when they’re anything but. There’s just something about a well written dark romance that has a feeling to it, an electric current that transfers to the reader. And this book? Oh this book had it in spades. It practically vibrated with a dark electricity that made my fingers tingle with every turn of the page.

What I loved most about it was the utterly slow burn of the developing romance. Gabriela and Stefan are not exactly a love match. They’re a marriage of convenience, a convenience suitable only to Stefan. With years of bad blood between their families, there’s enough dark and hidden secrets that ensure everything ends in bloodshed. Gabriela has always been one thing in her life; a pawn. She was a pawn that her mafioso father used as needed and no one cared of her feelings about it. She’s been hidden away, but she’s not sheltered. She may only be 18 years old, but she’s no where near naive. She know who and what her father is and she’s made peace with her life. When she finds out that her father agreed to give her to Stefan in an agreement she doesn’t quite understand the intricacies of, she’s non too pleased. She may do as she’s told, but she won’t take her fate lying down.

I loved the dueling parts of vulnerability and strength that Gabriela has. It made for an incredibly enchanting and endearing character. This is a woman that has been through so much in her short life, and it certainly sharpened her edges and her tongue. I loved her fierceness. She fights for supremacy with Stefan, even while knowing that’s it’s a failing battle against his dark intensity.

While the romance is a pulse through the story, it doesn’t quite flesh out in this book, and I really loved that about it. It made it that much more believable. There’s just enough to make the reader feel the brewing chemistry between them and give enough of a taste to leave you begging for more.

I’m seriously itching to get my hands on the next book to see how it all comes to a head. BRING IT ON!

USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance, Natasha Knight specializes in dark, tortured heroes. Happily-Ever-Afters are guaranteed, but she likes to put her characters through hell to get them there. She’s evil like that. 

Connect w/Natasha:

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· Filed Under: All Reviews, Dark · Tagged With: , , ,

Review: Back In Bliss by Lexi Blake

September 10, 2019 by · Leave a Comment

BACK IN BLISS
Series: Nights In Bliss, Colorado #9
Genre: Erotic Romance, BDSM, Suspense
Author: Lexi Blake
Release Date: September 10, 2019

Re-released in a second edition with new content.

Logan Green is back in Bliss, but only for a few weeks to help out at the sheriff’s office. Everything changes when Seth Stark strolls into town with Georgia Dawson on his arm.

Seth’s arrival is anything but a happy accident. He always dreamed of a big house on the river and a wife he could share with his best friend, Logan. After building a software empire, his only goal has been to make that dream come true. He just needed the perfect woman.

Georgia is still haunted by the dark, troubled man who saved her life. She can’t get Logan out of her head. Her boss brought her to Bliss to help him decorate his new summer home, but when Logan Green walks through the door she discovers Seth has something different in mind.

Seth has a plan for their mutual happily ever after, but he never dreamed that coming home would put all their lives in danger.

AMAZON

Logan Green was the match and her body was lighter fluid waiting to explode.

This book was worth EVERY. SINGLE. SECOND. of the wait. GAH! I feel like I’ve been waiting for Logan’s book forever. The man went from the adorkable deputy to sinfully sexy Dom in seriously the blink of an eye and I’ve been waiting with bated breath for this man to finally get his HEA. And let me tell you friends, his HEA was EVERYTHING.

Like every menage relationship in this series, there’s always one man that’s beyond ready to settle down while the other one is the broody and broken one that doubts his place. So of course Logan and his beautifully broken self was the later. He went through a life altering experience and it turned everything he knew upside now. It’s been years and he still hasn’t recovered but his Dom training in Texas gave him the respite that he needed. But now he’s back in his hometown of Bliss and dealing with every emotion that he pushed down into the darkest parts of his soul.

Seth is Logan’s best friend since they were just kids. They grew up together but where Logan’s childhood was warm and loving, Seth’s was anything but. Now the man is a successful billionaire and he’s more than ready to settle down with the woman of his dreams. There’s just one problem. That woman is in love with his best friend and that best friend refuses to admit that he needs them as much as they both need him. Enter all of the angst and emotion!

Of course this wouldn’t be Bliss if there wasn’t some mystery and action thrown in. So if you’ve been waiting to see who is after John Bishop after reading Once Upon a Time in Bliss, you’ll get those answers here.

But so much of this book is Logan coming to terms with his experiences and opening himself up. This was probably my favorite part of the story. I absolutely adored the way that Lexi handled his healing process and my heart broke at the full details of his torture and what he went through.

Admittedly I was a little afraid I wouldn’t like Georgia after I first met her in Siren Unleashed. She came off as a spoiled and slightly fluffy character. But then by the end, you can see that there’s more to her. And that more definitely gets expanded on here. Georgia is a character with plenty of depth and I loved seeing her true personality come out. She’s fierce and loyal and impossible not to love.

This was probably my favorite in the series so far but I’m already rabid for more!

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