Lana & Jenn Review: Thrill Seeker by Taryn Quinn

THRILL SEEKER
Series: Sinful In Seattle #1
Genre: Erotic Romance
Author: Taryn Quinn
Release Date: August 15, 2017

He saved me…

I wasn’t paying attention that night after work. I was just in a hurry to get to my car.
But someone was watching.
A stranger waited in the shadows, and he tried to hurt me. But another man also came out of the darkness, ready to defend me.
I serve billionaire Max Chapel his dinner every evening.
He’s powerful. Mysterious. And just as dangerous, but in a much different way.

He destroyed me…

But is it destruction if I asked him, the man who’d saved me, to tear my clothes? To take me roughly while the fear and helplessness still raged inside my belly?

He made me whole again…

Not just physically, but emotionally. He unlocked a side of me I never knew existed. But he knows.
He practically owns this whole town.

Now he wants to own me.

Author’s note: If you like sweet love scenes, this isn’t the story for you. Max and Georgia learn they like dangerous games. And they want more of them.

Author’s note part deux: Thrill Seeker is a 19K novella that ends on a cliffhanger, and there are two more parts to come of this story.

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LANA’S REVIEW

I wanted her laid out and bare. I wanted to grip her hair as I took her from behind. I wanted to leave bite marks on that glorious ass that swung with each brisk step across the courtyard to my favorite table. I wanted to lick her from clit to ass and own it all.
Oh no, my wants were not the hero kind.

Sweet.
Baby.
Jesus.

This book should come with an additional warning: Do NOT read in public. For the love of ovaries! For just 19k words, this quickie novella packed a heck of a punch. Wowza!

Sassy restaurant hostess meets millionaire playboy and sparks don’t just fly, they explode. Yes, this is short, but it’s surprisingly satisfying and serves to whet the appetite for more deliciousness to come. And considering the sexy games these two allude to? I’m not sure I’ll survive the next two books.

As for that cliffhanger? Let’s just say the authors were getting a 12 AM death threat though messenger when I finished. But it’s nothing they didn’t expect. These two sadists know full well what they were doing when they teased the readers with what’s to come. And having a pretty good idea of what it is (it just happens to be a HUGE fave of mine), I’m pretty sure I’d part with an ovary to get my hands on book two IMMEDIATELY!

And authors, if you’re reading this review, if I don’t have book two in my grabby little hands in the next 3 months…

Just kidding!
*whispers*
I’m not kidding.


JENN’S REVIEW

Marshmallows.

Chocolate bars.

Graham Crackers.

Yep, I’m about to roast it up because this book was FIRE and I want S’MORE!!!!

 smores GIF
Too cheesy???
Georgia has been eyeing Max for a while. She is the hostess of a restaurant that Max frequents, and they continue to dance around each other. They don’t know that they want each other…..BAD. When something happens to bring them together, they cannot resist each other. Things, clothes, body parts…..GET…HOT….FAST. And they like it rough, y’all….*giggles like a giddy school girl.
 tv dancing jimmy fallon tv show tonight show GIFI gorged myself on this book, and I’m not ashamed. I loved every second of this shortie. Of course it wasn’t long enough, but I would go back and reread it already.

I’m sad to say that I had no idea there was a cliffy and I have to wait for the next one, but that did not affect my view of this book because it’s THAT good.

As for you, Taryn Quinn….

 the sandlot sandlot killing me smalls GIF

Blog Tour, Review & Giveaway: The Forbidden by Jodi Ellen Malpas

THE FORBIDDEN
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Jodi Ellen Malpas
Release Date: August 8, 2017

FROM THE #1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE THIS MAN TRILOGY….

What do you do when you can’t control your feelings for someone? When you know you shouldn’t go there? Not even in your head.

Annie has never experienced the ‘spark’ with a guy-the kind of instant chemistry that steals your breath and blindsides you completely. Until a night out with friends brings her face to face with the wickedly sexy and mysterious Jack. It’s not just a spark that ignites between them. It’s an explosion. Jack promises to consume Annie, and he fully delivers on that promise.

Overwhelmed by the intensity of their one night together, Annie slips out of their hotel room. She is certain that a man who’s had such a powerful impact on her and who could bend her to his will so easily, must be dangerous. But she’s already in too deep. And Jack isn’t only dangerous.

He is forbidden.

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“Thank you for your help,” I say quietly, studying him, definitely detecting that he’s deep in thought. Don’t ask, don’t ask, don’t ask. I need to get back into my apartment without engaging with him, which could prove tricky when he’s blocking the doorway and looking like he has no intention of shifting to let me in.“Annie,” he breathes. “I’m struggling so badly.”

“I’m not doing this.” I swallow, pushing my way past him. He grabs me by the top of my arm and holds me in place. “Let me go, Jack.”

“I’ve already told you I can’t do that. Annie, I’m drowning here. I’m going out of my mind, and the more time I spend with you the fucking worse it’s getting. Listening to you, talking to you, sharing a passion with you that goes way beyond the amazing time we had in bed together.”

“You have to forget!” I yell, knowing anger is the only way forward. Be angry with him. Let it dominate me and rule me, because the alternative scares me to fucking death.

He pushes me into the hall and slams the door behind us, forcing me to back up. “No,” he says, straight and even. “No,” he repeats, moving one more step forward, except this time I don’t retreat. Because I can’t. Because he has me locked in place with those grey eyes, and now they’re back to their full glory. Sparkling, even if it’s with anger. He reaches for his shirt and starts unbuttoning it before shrugging it off and throwing it to the floor, revealing the chest that’s haunting me.

I quickly look down at the pile of material, my mind reeling. His chest. His perfect damn chest. “What are you doing?”

“I have no fucking idea.” He reaches for me and slides a hand around my neck, pulling me to him. Our chests meet, and my determination to repel him vanishes under our connection. Wrongs turn into rights. Conflict turns into craving.

“I can’t get you out of my head, Annie.” His forehead meets mine, his palm massaging away the tightness in my neck muscles, softening me up until I relax in his hold. “I want you all over again, and I can’t even find the will to worry about how much more that’ll make me want you.” He breathes down on me. “I’ve played that night on repeat. I’ve dreamed of holding you in my arms again. I’ve craved the sound of your voice, the feel of your touch, the softness of your lips on mine. I know I shouldn’t want you. But I do. Nothing has ever made me feel this insane with need. Nothing has taken up so much space in my head. I can’t fucking help it, Annie.” His grey gaze sinks into me, my heart steadying to an even thrum. His head starts to shake mildly, his splayed hand moving up to the back of my head and fisting my hair. “I don’t want to help it,” he growls. “I want you. I don’t care how wrong it is.” His clenched fist tightens, gripping my hair harshly. “I know I’ve been on your mind since I fucked you every which way in that hotel room. Stop denying it. Don’t insult me and tell me you don’t crave that amazing feeling all over again. I can see it in your eyes every damn time I look into them. You. Want. Me.”

It’s me who moves in first. All me. I lunge forward and smash my lips to his, the magnetic force winning. His words winning. Jack winning. My heart winning. I coax his mouth open with hard, hungry kisses. I’ve lost my mind to a craving too powerful to fight off. And, like Jack, I don’t care how wrong it is.

Lost.

Yet as he walks me backward until my back slams into the wall, I feel found again.

I cry out, and Jack moans. We’re clumsy and desperate. He’s pushing me up the wall with the force of his kiss, then he’s rolling away, taking me with him until it’s his back slamming into the wall. It’s the elevator all over again. The atmosphere is sizzling. I’m on fire. He scoops me up, pinning me to him, and carries me into my bedroom. I focus on him. Only him and the return of feelings that I’ve fantasized about since that unforgettable night. All the guilt is abandoning me, and I let it, unprepared to let anything stop me from taking the forbidden.

I have no hope of stopping this. And no desire to. The forbidden is too irresistible. It has a dangerous allure and a compelling magnetism. And it’s certainly going to inflict pain and anguish. It defies reason for me to willingly allow myself to be possessed like this.

 

Wow.
WOW.
Just wow.

My feelings are all over the place but there’s one thing I know and that’s I’m absolutely blown away by the war honesty and emotion of this book. This is a story that many people will hate on principle alone. It’s a story that they’ll want to judge and condemn. It’s a story that will take you out of your comfort zone and likely never get you back to it. And I have so much respect for this author for daring to go there

In a time where there’s so many authors out there that write what they think the mass readership wants, this a story that was written solely because the author wanted to write it. She took a colossal risk with it. A risk that she even acknowledged won’t sit well with most. But this reader? I. Loved. It.

I knew that smile was dangerous. A man who can bend a woman to his will so easily and so soon couldn’t be anything less than lethal. And the fact that he got me with his wicked game means hats off to him.

The Forbidden is about love that’s unexpected and defies all rules. Annie is a woman that has dedicated herself to her career and making something of herself by the time she’s thirty. Having beat her time goal, she’s now a successful architect who’s never experienced an incendiary connection with any man. She’s practically given up on feeling that sort of connection with anyone until a total stranger tilts her entire world on its axis.

You’ve clearly never been consumed by a man.” He pauses, giving me a moment to agree, but I don’t. I’m fixated on him. “But one day a man will come along and he’ll swallow you up, Annie. Blindside you.”

And blindside her he did.

I don’t want to give away the story, and I implore you to go into this book with an open mind and no preconceived notions.

Tell me to go,” he whispers, the demand licking its way from the base to the top of my spine.
“Tell me.”
“Go.”
“Not a fucking chance.” He swoops in and takes my mouth as if he owns it—deeply, passionately and with an unfathomable conviction.

Did I want to judge these characters for their decisions? Absolutely. But there was just something so honest about them. They were so viscerally real and imperfect and while you want to condemn them for their choices, you really can’t, or at least I couldn’t. The author did such an incredible job with the character development that you truly understand the why’s of their decisions. My only quibble is the slightly over the top situation at the very end, but it also did nicely to tie up some loose ends, so I understand the necessity of it.

I applaud Malpas for truly stepping outside the box and writing what her heart wanted because you could truly feel that reflected in her writing. The Forbidden was raw, emotional, and completely unforgettable. It brought every emotion to the surface and while it was the furthest thing from conventional, it was also a book I won’t soon forget.

You possess me. You own me. You rule me,” Jack murmurs in my ear. “You are everything to me, Annie Ryan. My pulse, my heartbeat, my breath. Everything.”

Jodi Ellen Malpas was born and raised in the Midlands’ town of Northampton, England, where she lives with her two boys. Working for her father’s construction business full-time, she tried to ignore the lingering idea of writing until it became impossible. She wrote in secret for a long time before finally finding the courage to unleash her creative streak, and in October 2012 she released This Man. She took a chance on a story with some intense characters and sparked incredible reactions from women all over the world. Writing powerful love stories and creating addictive characters have become her passion, a passion she now shares with her devoted readers.

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Review: The Forbidden by Jodi Ellen Malpas

THE FORBIDDEN
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Jodi Ellen Malpas
Release Date: August 8, 2017

FROM THE #1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE THIS MAN TRILOGY….

What do you do when you can’t control your feelings for someone? When you know you shouldn’t go there? Not even in your head.

Annie has never experienced the ‘spark’ with a guy-the kind of instant chemistry that steals your breath and blindsides you completely. Until a night out with friends brings her face to face with the wickedly sexy and mysterious Jack. It’s not just a spark that ignites between them. It’s an explosion. Jack promises to consume Annie, and he fully delivers on that promise.

Overwhelmed by the intensity of their one night together, Annie slips out of their hotel room. She is certain that a man who’s had such a powerful impact on her and who could bend her to his will so easily, must be dangerous. But she’s already in too deep. And Jack isn’t only dangerous.

He is forbidden.

AMAZON | iBOOKS

 

I have no hope of stopping this. And no desire to. The forbidden is too irresistible. It has a dangerous allure and a compelling magnetism. And it’s certainly going to inflict pain and anguish. It defies reason for me to willingly allow myself to be possessed like this.

Wow.
WOW.
Just wow.

My feelings are all over the place but there’s one thing I know and that’s I’m absolutely blown away by the war honesty and emotion of this book. This is a story that many people will hate on principle alone. It’s a story that they’ll want to judge and condemn. It’s a story that will take you out of your comfort zone and likely never get you back to it. And I have so much respect for this author for daring to go there

In a time where there’s so many authors out there that write what they think the mass readership wants, this a story that was written solely because the author wanted to write it. She took a colossal risk with it. A risk that she even acknowledged won’t sit well with most. But this reader? I. Loved. It.

I knew that smile was dangerous. A man who can bend a woman to his will so easily and so soon couldn’t be anything less than lethal. And the fact that he got me with his wicked game means hats off to him.

The Forbidden is about love that’s unexpected and defies all rules. Annie is a woman that has dedicated herself to her career and making something of herself by the time she’s thirty. Having beat her time goal, she’s now a successful architect who’s never experienced an incendiary connection with any man. She’s practically given up on feeling that sort of connection with anyone until a total stranger tilts her entire world on its axis.

You’ve clearly never been consumed by a man.” He pauses, giving me a moment to agree, but I don’t. I’m fixated on him. “But one day a man will come along and he’ll swallow you up, Annie. Blindside you.”

And blindside her he did.

I don’t want to give away the story, and I implore you to go into this book with an open mind and no preconceived notions.

Tell me to go,” he whispers, the demand licking its way from the base to the top of my spine.
“Tell me.”
“Go.”
“Not a fucking chance.” He swoops in and takes my mouth as if he owns it—deeply, passionately and with an unfathomable conviction.

Did I want to judge these characters for their decisions? Absolutely. But there was just something so honest about them. They were so viscerally real and imperfect and while you want to condemn them for their choices, you really can’t, or at least I couldn’t. The author did such an incredible job with the character development that you truly understand the why’s of their decisions. My only quibble is the slightly over the top situation at the very end, but it also did nicely to tie up some loose ends, so I understand the necessity of it.

I applaud Malpas for truly stepping outside the box and writing what her heart wanted because you could truly feel that reflected in her writing. The Forbidden was raw, emotional, and completely unforgettable. It brought every emotion to the surface and while it was the furthest thing from conventional, it was also a book I won’t soon forget.

You possess me. You own me. You rule me,” Jack murmurs in my ear. “You are everything to me, Annie Ryan. My pulse, my heartbeat, my breath. Everything.”

Release Blitz, Review & Giveaway: BLACK SHEEP by Zara Cox.

BLACK SHEEP
Series: Dark Desires #2
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance
Author: Zara Cox
Release Date: August 8, 2017 (Paperback)

**Now Available in Print for the First Time!**

In a family of cold-hearted black sheep, 
I, Axel Rutherford, am the blackest.

My father has hated me since the day I was born. The feeling was mutual. In the shady underworld that was my legacy, Cleo McCarthy became my light. She was beautiful, passionate, and my whole world. So naturally my father had to destroy us. First he sent me away. Next he claimed Cleo as his own. But now I’ve returned, and nothing will stop me from taking back everything that is rightfully mine.

He was the love of my life – when my life was still my own.

We were young enough to believe we would last forever, Axel and I. But neither of us realized how cruel life – and our families – could be. Now I’m trapped in a gilded cage: desired by Axel, who must never know the full truth, and controlled by his father, who would sooner see me dead than free. And I wouldn’t even care, except that it’s no longer only my life at stake

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I trust no one. But like I do with Quinn Blackwood, the Black Widow and I share a special bond. Not one I would swear life or death on by a long shot. But there’s an…understanding. She’s the only one who’s been allowed into my special room, the only one who knows the ingredients of my sweet poison. The only one who’s seen what this room does to me. The longest I’ve been able to withstand is five hours.Her concern is warranted.

I see her swallow before she reaches into her pocket. The small remote is directly linked to the chains. She sets the time but hesitates before pressing the requisite button.

Boldly she steps up to me, and she slides her hands through the hair at my nape. I jerk away but cannot escape her touch because of the cuffs. She stops, staring down at me with narrowed eyes.

I’m on the edge. Hell, who the fuck am I kidding? I was born on the edge. But tonight I’m a whisper away from annihilation and we both know it.

“Are you sure about this?”

“Fuck no. Hell yes.”

She opens her mouth.

“No,” I preempt her.

“I don’t have to stay here with you, but I can be outside.”

“No. Press the button. Don’t make me repeat myself.”

“Axel…”

I close my eyes and shudder as my fists ball. I want to hear my name, but I don’t want the voice to be The Black Widow’s. There’s only one voice I want to hear right now. One face I want to see. Cleo’s.

“Do it and leave. Now.”

“I will, but at least let me come back and check on you—”

“Say another word and I’ll fire you.”

Her eyes harden to ice chips. “Fuck you. Have your six hours if you want. But I’m coming back in three hours to check on you. Fire me then if you want.”

With a defiant flick of her wrist, she sets the timer down between my feet, within touching distance.
The moment her back is turned, I kick the remote. It bounces against the last step and skids sideways halfway across the room. She hesitates, her back stiff, but she doesn’t turn back around. In silence, she leaves.

The moment the door shuts, twenty projectors on the dark gray walls flicker to life. Large, small, and in-between, they take up every inch of the circular wall. If space allowed I would have had more screens put in, but I work with what I have.

Each one is set on a half-hour loop at full volume with a different video. With barely an inch between them, they could be one jumbled-up picture but I know each screen like I know the length of my cock.
I take a deep breath as the first reel plays on the middle screen. The chair moves, the wheels beneath the floor spinning it slowly around.

Fading sunlight dapples over a lake before the camera swings to the figure in the tiny white bikini fleeing a large wave.

The wave catches her, splashes up to mid-thigh. She shrieks. “Omigod, you’re such a liar. The water is collllldd—What are you doing?”

“What does it look like?”

She approaches. Her hands come up to block the lens. “Stop filming me. I look fat.”
A different set of hands reaches out to grasp hers, gently nudging hers aside. “You don’t look fat, Cleo. You’re perfect.”

Feminine hands curl around a masculine one. Together they slowly lower until long-lashed, deep blue knowing eyes stare into the camera. “You’re only saying that because you’re in love with me.” Sultry words whispered from between kiss-swollen lips.

“Yes, I’m saying that because I’m in love with you.” Gruff, hopelessly young, newly broken voice, thick with seething emotion. “I’m also saying it because I have fucking eyes in my fucking head.”

A naughty, goes-straight-to-an-eager-cock giggle. “You’re so bad swearing all the time. Daddy says he’ll paddle my behind if he catches me swearing.”

A wobble of the camera before it steadies. “If he lays a fucking hand on you, I’ll tear his fucking head off.” A voice no longer gruff, hard with rigid purpose. Harsh breathing. “I mean it, Cleo. I see so much as a scratch on you, someone will fucking die.”

A gasp. “You can’t say things like that!”

“I can. I fucking am. Because you belong to me. I don’t care who created you. You are mine. No one else is fucking allowed to touch you. No one is allowed to take you away from me, do you hear me?”
A bite of her lip as her nostrils flutter in a shaky inhale. “You’re scaring me.”

Deep, harsh breath. “Am I? Really? Tell the truth. Are you scared, Cleo?” Camera poised with intent, recording every flutter of her lashes.

A pause. A firming of plump lips. Then a shake of the head. Thick, vibrant locks frame her stunning face.

“Say it. I want to hear you say how it makes you feel when I say this to you.”

“It…it excites me.”

“That I claim you as mine?”

A shy nod.

“What else excites you?”

A flick of her gaze between the lens and the face behind it. “Come on. I can’t say it on camera.” She reaches out.

The camera angles away from her but remains on her. Focused. Rabid. “Tell me.” The voice that will one day command hell itself.

“It excites me when you say that you’ll do…all of that for me.”

“All of what?”

“That you’ll…tear his head off.”

“I fucking will.” A solemn promise. A brief pause. “You think I’m a sick psycho?”

“I think you’re…you’re…”

“What?”

“I think you’re effing amazing.”

“Effing?”

Pink color stains her cheeks. “Don’t tease me.”

“I won’t if you say the word. The actual word, Cleo.”

“I won’t.”

“Right. Then I’m not as amazing as you want me to think, am I?”

Blue eyes, opened wide. “You are.”

“Then say it. You’re not going to burn for it. It’s just a word.”

“I hate you when you’re like this.”

“You don’t hate me, but fine. Don’t say it.”

The camera swings out to the lake, to the setting sun that’s almost swallowed up by the orange water.

In a family of cold-hearted black sheep, I, Axel Rutherford, am the blackest. Abundantly despised by my three brothers, actively hated by my father. She was the golden princess. Put on earth to test every single one of my hardened edges. And I happily burned away every last one for her.

If I said that I was an insta-fan of this author after I finished I, Porn Star, this book solidified it. Damn. Just damn. Zara Cox knows how to weave one complex and erotic tale that’s equally spine tingling and toe curling. It’s addicting and twisty and downright intense.

Her eyes tell me she hates me. Her body beckons me with the promise of transcendental lust.

If you like a good second chance romance with a healthy dose of hate lust mixed in to blur the edges, all wrapped in a story with dark undertones and enough twists and suspense to keep you glued to the pages from start to finish, you’ve found your next read.

Whatever twisted roles fate may have chosen to star us in, the savage power of our mutual feelings for each other will never diminish.

Being born to a cruel and abusive father intent on hardening his sons enough to help run his mafia empire has hardened Axel. He’s the black sheep of the family, the son that wants nothing of his father; not his name and not his infamy in the dark underbelly of organized crime. He dreams of escaping the life with the only person that makes his heart beat and gives him hope. But that hope gets ripped away from him with a jarring betrayal that now years later still continues to haunt him. Losing everything and the one person he always thought he could trust is enough to change a man and change the course of his life forever. Now Axel lives and breathes vengeance. His father will pay, and if the woman that’s now back in his life after costing him everything is the pawn that he’ll have to use in this brutal game, so be it.

Once upon a time, when my addled state didn’t know better, I stupidly believed the phenomenon of our gazes connecting had the power to stop the world from spinning. That view has altered significantly.

As a young girl, Cleo loved Axel with everything she was worth. He was her everything…until he wasn’t. Forced back into his orbit by an arrangement in which she’s nothing but a puppet on a string of a cruel master that dangles the one thing she wants in exchange for her cooperation isn’t what she wants, but she’ll do it. Even if it forces her to own up that while she hates the man he is now and doesn’t see a remainder of the boy she once loved in him, the carnal effect his mere presence has on her hasn’t changed even a little.

You may have condemned my decayed soul and closed your heart to me, but in some respects, nothing has changed. Your body will always sing the perfect tune for me.”

Black Sheep delivers on another twisty story full of betrayal and revenge. Zara Cox is truly a master of her craft and I’m absolutely captivated by her writing style and the characters she creates. I couldn’t put this book down for even a second. I walked the edge between hating and loving Axel. But between all the secrets and twists that kept unearthing, my mind was too busy spinning to focus on any singular emotion.

She never needed a gentle knight in shining armor. So I become her marauder.

Axel was perfection. He was a dirty talking, angsty, domineering and deliciously sexy perfection. My heart broke for him and what he’d been through. I was on the edge of my seat waiting for all the secrets to finally get revealed so the puzzle pieces can click together. And let me just tell you, when they did? Mind. Blowing. Yet another addicting installment in what’s now become a favorite series of mine. I absolutely can’t wait for more!

I want to roar with rage. I want to fuck until I explode into a million pieces. This is what she does to me. What she’s always done.

Each book in the Dark Desires series is a standalone in an interconnecting world. So if you’ve read the first book, you’ll appreciate Quinn’s cameo in this one 🙂


DON’T MISS THE FIST BOOK IN THIS SIZZLING SERIES!

BEAUTIFUL LIAR (Previously published as I, Porn Star)

I may be Quinn Blackwood, occasional user of prescribed meds to keep the demons in check, who moonlights as Q, porn star to an exclusive few who pay millions for my work. And I may be an unhinged asshole with serious daddy issues. But no one said I wasn’t a giver.

PURCHASE | READ MY REVIEW

BEAUTIFUL LIAR | BLACK SHEEP | WICKED S.O.B. | ARROGANT BASTARD

Zara Cox has been writing for almost twenty-five years but it wasn’t until nine years ago that she decided to share her love of writing sexy, gritty stories with anyone outside her close family (the over 18s anyway!).

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Jenn’s Review: Raw Redemption by Tessa Bailey

RAW REDEMPTION
Series: Crossing The Line #4
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Tessa Bailey
Release Date: June 13, 2016

Disgraced cop Henrik Vance is having a shit year. Banished to a derelict undercover squad, he’s been tasked with hunting down the daughter of Chicago’s most dangerous criminal. His obsession with saving the beautiful girl destroyed his career. And this time, it might cost his life.

Ailish O’Kelly doesn’t need a hero. She’ll save herself from her father’s violent criminal dynasty, thank you very much. Unfortunately, the sexy as sin cop who crashes her hideout isn’t hearing reason—especially not after the kiss that becomes much more.

His boss wants her as an informant. Ailish wants Henrik to keep whispering filthy things against her skin. But she knows too well the evil they’re up against, and when it comes down to protecting the man who owns her body and soul, she only has one choice…

Each book in the Crossing the Lines series is a standalone, full-length story that can be enjoyed out of order.

AMAZON | iBOOKS

Hi. I’m Tessa Bailey, and I write the dirtiest words you’ll ever read….ever.
 You don’t even know….unless you know…if you’ve read my books. You should read this book I wrote, and Henrik is going to tell you why.
à la Mode St. » fashion

“My fingers are a lot bigger than yours. It would be more of a fucking than a fingering if I put my middle one down the front of your underwear. You could ride it just like a dick.”

à la Mode St. » fashionà la Mode St. » fashion

“You think I won’t put you on your knees in that Disney Princess T-shirt, baby?” he breathed in her ear before licking along the rim. “You’re wrong. I’ll even use it to wipe your chin afterward.”

à la Mode St. » fashionOh, Henrik, you say the sweetest things! *swoony giggles
These two GET….IT….AWN pretty much the entire book and it doesn’t get old. I would say it’s the hottest book in the series. I love Henrik almost as much as I love Connor (ok, I love all my heroes).

And I just rolled up my sleeves and went to town on this book.


Now go forth and Read this book. You will flove it.

 bow gene wilder willy wonka willy wonka and the chocolate factory bowing GIFAnd if you don’t…

(Just kidding. Well…kinda LOL)

Disclaimer: The author of this review is not actually Tessa Bailey….but she wishes she were.



THE SERIES


RISKING IT ALL | UP IN SMOKE | BOILING POINT | RAW REDEMPTION

Review: Wrecked by JB Salsbury

WRECKED
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: JB Salsbury
Release Date: July 18, 2017

Wrecked is the new standalone novel of deliciously dark, deeply emotional contemporary romancefrom J.B. Salsbury, the New York Times bestselling author of Split and The Fighting Series.

When you can’t trust yourself, how can you ask anyone else to?

It’s been months since Aden Colt left the Army, and still the memories haunt him. When he moved into a boat off the California coast, he thought he’d found the perfect place to escape life.

Then Sawyer shows up, and turns his simple life upside down.

Beautiful and sophisticated, she seems out of place in this laidback beach town. Something is pushing her to experience everything she can—including Aden. But as much as he wants her, starting a relationship with Sawyer puts them both at risk.

For Aden, the past doesn’t stay there; it shows up unexpectedly, uncontrollably, and doesn’t care whose life it wrecks.

AMAZON | iBOOKS

I look at you and I forget.” “What do you forget?” He leans in and brushes his lips so softly against mine. “Everything.”

It’s official, I’m totally and completely wrecked. Ruined. My heart hurts because the book almost crushed it with its incredibly powerful and emotional story. My eyes hurt because I cried hysterically through the entire last third. I’m moved down to the marrow of my bones. YES. It was THAT good.

No seriously. I don’t remember crying so hard reading a book before and I downright sobbed. SOBBED.

So what made this book so good? The story. It was simple yet emotional. Gripping yet not over the top. The characters. Both Aden and Sawyer are incredibly multilayered characters filled with so much depth, it practically overflows from the pages. But I’d be lying if I told you that Aden didn’t steal my heart. I had honest to god shivers reading the prologue. SHIVERS, people.

Dead bodies litter the floor.
Shock overtakes me.
My hands shake but I feel nothing.
Only one thought pumps furiously through my mind. It should’ve been me.

A soldier riddled with nightmares that he can’t escape. A survivor burdened with guilt and rage. A man filled with emptiness and regrets. He escapes in the only way he knows how, at the bottom of a bottle. Secluding himself from everything and everyone living on his uncles boat, he doesn’t expect a beautiful stranger to make him want to live again.

Scared?” I look up at him and get lost in the warmth of his gaze.
“No. I feel safe with you.”
“Yeah?” His lips part and his breath dances across my lips. “So I’m not a stranger anymore.”
“No.” I run my hands up the back of his neck into his hair and slide against his hard body. “You make me feel like I can do anything.”
His eyebrows drop low and his jaw ticks. “And you make me forget.”

Sawyer made a promise to her terminally sick twin sister; a promise that brings her to California and stumbling into a stranger that changes everything for her.

Because soon enough I’ll be out of his life and I’ll go back to being Sawyer, the kind of girl who would never turn the head of a guy like Aden, and I’ll be able to go on living my sheltered safe life knowing what it’s like to truly live. That is, if I survive it.

I expected a ton of angst with this book but that’s not what I got at all. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not exactly a light read but it’s also not filled with anything extra to take away from the character driven story. You really get to know Aden and Sawyer and what makes them tick. You get to see them be there for each other during some of the most difficult parts of their lives. You get to see them hold each other up and slowly fall in love. It was beautiful and touching, emotional and sweet.

I don’t want to forget you.”
He pulls his shirt off over his head, his wide muscular chest on display and tensing with anticipation. “I’ll make sure you never will.” He pushes down his shorts and closes in until the warmth of his bare skin presses against mine. “I’ll mark your fucking soul.”

Wrecked is very appropriately titled. Both of these characters were anything if not a little broken but in completely different ways. It wasn’t dark or full of drama. It wasn’t angsty or full of gratuitous sex scenes. It was just two broken people learning to make themselves whole together. It was a beautiful and memorable romance that I won’t forget for a long, long while, and a book I can’t recommend enough.

 

Jenn + Lana’s Review: The King by @skye_warren

THE KING
Series: The Masterpiece Duet #1
Genre: Dark Romance
Author: Skye Warren
Release Date: June 27, 2017

The highest stakes…

My father gambles every night, falling deeper and deeper into debt. When he hits the bottom, he places a new bet: his daughter.

I’m his entry bet to the biggest underground poker game.

Every kind of danger circles the velvet-covered table, but only one man makes me tremble.

A trailer park princess.

The son of a criminal king.

We don’t belong together, but I’m caught in a twisted game.

His eyes meet mine with dark promise.

And when he puts down his cards, I know I’m going to lose more than my body. I’m going to lose everything.

AMAZON | iBOOKS | NOOK | KOBO



LANA’S REVIEW

Damon Scott traded himself for me. He’s the only reason I’m safe. And I’m the reason he’s not.

Well…holy hell. I mean, damn, people. When Skye Warren first intrigued me with Damon and Penny back in The Castle, never in a million years did I imagine the depths of hell that these two truly go through. I don’t know how I’ll survive the wait until book two, because this book completely ruined me. It’s dark and gritty with barely any ray of hope to it. It builds the foundation to one incredibly powerful backstory and I couldn’t tear myself away until I read the entire book in one sitting.

Frustration flits beneath his calm surface. Even a hint of vulnerability. How many people can see it? I know that not everyone sees the kind side of him. He has weapons and suits and a million kinds of armor, all designed to shield his humanity.

Growing up in poverty to an drug addict mother and a gambling addict father, Penny barely had a chance for a normal life. Her genius mind and her gift for numbers her only hope to escape the meager life and hope for something more, until she catches the eye of one of the most dangerous men, a man that will eventually cost her everything.

The King takes you back years before the events in The Endgame trilogy; when Damon was just a young boy and Penny a seven year old girl. That fateful meeting sets in motion a chain of events that will forever change the course of Penny’s life.

Damon is the son to one of the most ruthless and evil underground criminals. A desperate attempt to escape his fate doesn’t go the way he hoped. To save a young girl from a fate worth than death, he makes the ultimate sacrifice. Now years later, when his father may be the King, he’s now the Prince of the underground crime. Dealing in drugs and women, his name is almost as feared as his father. When fate brings Penny crashing into his life again, nothing will ever be the same again.

There’s this heat coming off him, like he’s a fire and I’m thawing out. I know it’s not safe, being this close. He could burn me. But there’s also a small part of me that feels alive, only when he’s here. Only when he’s on top of me, his warm breath on my forehead.

Don’t expect much light with this book. It’s dark. Penny’s life is not an easy one and her ultimate fate is beyond devastating. The time transitions are smooth and flawless, eventually bringing us to parallel the time line in The Endgame. While you knew from the events in The Castle, that Penny suffered something horrendous, nothing prepares you for the true reality of it.

Admittedly, it was a tough pill to swallow, Penny being only 15 years old (eventually 16) in the present part of the book and Damon being 25. The age difference should be cringeworthy, and yet, it’s not. It’s hard to explain, and not wanting to give away parts of the book, I won’t even attempt. But if you’re worried about the age gap, don’t be. Penny lived a hard life and her 15 would be a sheltered girl’s 25. Skye Warren truly knows how to develop incredibly multi-layered characters full of depth. The King gives us only a hint, a small taste of the story between Damon and Penny. It gives us the backstory that I’ve been desperately craving, but now it leaves me even more desperate for the conclusion.

While this is a spin-off from The Endgame and could technically be read as a standalone, I highly recommend reading The Endgame first to truly appreciate everything that is Damon. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to rock myself in a corner somewhere until September.


JENNIFER’S REVIEW


I couldn’t gush enough about Skye Warren. If you know me at all, you know I am a HUGE fan. This series is one of my favorites of hers, after the Stripped and Endgame series. Lol. Ok. I love all her books. Leave me alone!! Her writing is able to capture beauty in the darkness. And there is A LOT of darkness in her books. Just gimme all the darkness.

à la Mode St. » fashion

We have something in common now. We’re both monsters. Not the kind you can see on the outside. He wears a secret smile on his handsome face. Bruises faded back to pale skin on my naked body. It’s only inside that something can never be repaired. Only inside that I never really leave the water. Inside that I learn to need the dark.

à la Mode St. » fashionThere was a turning point in this book that I loved. I could literally FEEL the words turning to a dark place. There is a pivotal before and after to Penny’s story, and to be completely honest, I prefer the AFTER. Skye’s writing just hits me harder when it’s darker and gritty and honest.

Penny. She is young and very smart, like genius with numbers, rain man style. Penny’s father has a gambling addiction, and Penny gets caught in the crossfire of her father’s addiction, and it doesn’t end well. Her body and mind are dragged through the fire, and let me tell you, I am glad that Skye didn’t give us all the details on this because I don’t think I could have handled it. Penny is ruined in this book, and Damon is on the other side to throw his soul off a cliff for her.

Damon. He is a tortured soul….literally. His father tortured his body and his mind when he was young. I am aching for more of him. I really appreciate that Skye included The Prince as part of the prequel to this story because it gives us more little morsels into what makes Damon tick. But I really do need MORE of Damon!!

Damon & Gabriel. Gabriel & Damon. Just put me in the middle of that delicious sandwich, please. I loved the snippets of Gabriel in this book (BECAUSE HE’S MINE!!).
à la Mode St. » fashion

Gabriel Miller is as bold as thunder, rumbling, unmistakable. Damon Scott is lightning, so bright he’ll blind you. They’re both forces of nature but only one will kill you just to touch him. Only one will burn you in a flash.

à la Mode St. » fashionMost of this book is a re-telling of the Endgame series, but from Penny’s pov. It definitely helped to fill in the blanks with Damon and Penny and how they get to where they are at the end of the Endgame series.

Yes, this ends in a cliffy. Do I care?

Not.

One.

Bit.

Skye could write cliffhangers all day long, and I wouldn’t stop reading them. It’s her words that matter and her words that I love.


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AMAZON | iBOOKS

Review: Crosshairs by Kate Stewart

CROSSHAIRS
Series: Predator & Prey #2
Genre: Erotic Romance, Suspense
Author: Kate Stewart
Release Date: June 30, 2017

Safe.

It’s a liar’s word. No one is ever truly safe.

Daniello still haunted me—in my bed, in my dreams, in a ridiculous notion of a future we would never have.

I was drawn to darkness, and he was the abyss.

My love for him made me flesh and bone—vulnerable.

I was finally a woman with something to lose and would do anything to keep it.
But when my past caught up with my present, it became clear that safe would forever remain an illusion.

Laz was coming for us, his looming darkness a threat to the life I carefully designed.

Armed with hope, and ready for battle, I never imagined the casualties of the war that came to me.

And then I lost all control.

****This is the conclusion to the Predator and Prey Duet.

Duet reading order
Camouflage
Crosshairs

***If you are not a fan of cursing, erotic and extremely explicit sex, immoral behavior, violence, dysfunction or sexual scenarios that may make you feel uncomfortable this is not the book for you. FILTHY. EROTIC. SUSPENSE.

AMAZON

This Cinderella had no prince waiting, but she didn’t need one and never would. No, this Cinderella had run with the rats, fucked a prince or two, and decided that self-worth was superior to being second to a man’s ego.

Now it’s been a hot minute since I first read Camouflage but it didn’t take me long to be sucked right back into the world of Predator and Prey. Kate Stewart brings a fiery, suspenseful, and heart pounding conclusion to a story that owned me from the very beginning. It’s impossible not to become completely wrapped up in her words and her characters. She truly has a gift for creating some of the most vivid, unapologetically broken and unorthodox characters. And let me tell you, it doesn’t get more unorthodox than Taylor and Daniello.

She was no whore; she was untouchable. A self-made picture of perseverance that drew breath and exhaled fire.
A phoenix.
My phoenix.

It’s rare that I read about a heroine that truly owns her sexuality and Taylor was the epitome of power and sex. This is a woman that didn’t just fight to the top; she almost sold her soul for it. She makes no bones about who she is. She doesn’t feel bad for herself. She knows who she is and she owns it. While her heart was broken by life and lovers past, no one has truly made it beat quite as much as a man that’s even more untouchable to her today as he was before. A threat to everything she holds dear; his secrets may just cost her everything.

He was a threat to all I had built. A fatal blow to the reputation I had carefully crafted. He would tear my castle apart and ruin my kingdom if I let him. Because I loved him. Someone had to love the fucking villain.

Everything truly comes to a head here. I swear I could feel my pulse pounding through my fingers with every page I turned. It was impossible to put down. I was starving for more details of Daniello. Who is he? What does he do? This man is cloaked in danger and oozes sex from his every pore. He’s utterly magnetic and I couldn’t get enough of him.

We clung to each other as he tore me apart piece by piece and fed me for his absence. My body repeatedly shuddered as he commanded it. At his mercy, an ocean of feeling swept between us as he silenced my doubts with every soothing touch of his hands.

As desperate as I was for more information about Daniello, I was just as desperate for more of Taylor’s past. The mysterious Ray, the ultimate devastating destruction of her childhood love, her sister and the danger that follows them into the present. All of it completely sucked me in, leaving me desperately turning the pages well into the night.

Years of living like a savage had forced me to a place where very little light existed, but Taylor’s light forced her way under my skin and into my veins.

This was one of the most satisfying conclusions to a duet I’ve read in a long damn while. It was worth every second of the wait. It was, in a word, perfection. It was gritty and sexy, heart stopping, and unputdownable.

If you’re looking for a romance that’s different, with enigmatic characters that are so vivid you feel like they practically jump off the pages, and a story that’s full of twists and turns, then look no further. Because you just found your next addiction!


DON’T MISS BOOK 1 IN THE DUET

CAMOUFLAGE
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Geri’s Review: The Simplicity of Cider by Amy Reichert

THE SIMPLICITY OF CIDER
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Author: Amy Reichert
Release Date: May 16, 2017

Fall in love with The Simplicity of Cider, the charming new novel about a prickly but gifted cider-maker whose quiet life is interrupted by the arrival of a handsome man and his young son at her family’s careworn orchard by the author of The Coincidence of Coconut Cake and Luck, Love & Lemon Pie.

Focused and unassuming fifth generation cider-maker Sanna Lund has one desire: to live a simple, quiet life on her family’s apple orchard in Door County, Wisconsin. Although her business is struggling, Sanna remains fiercely devoted to the orchard, despite her brother’s attempts to convince their aging father to sell the land.

Single dad Isaac Banks has spent years trying to shield his son Sebastian from his troubled mother. Fleeing heartbreak at home, Isaac packed up their lives and the two headed out on an adventure, driving across the country. Chance—or fate—led them straight to Sanna’s orchard.

Isaac’s helping hands are much appreciated at the apple farm, even more when Sanna’s father is injured in an accident. As Sanna’s formerly simple life becomes increasingly complicated, she finds solace in unexpected places—friendship with young Sebastian and something more deliciously complex with Isaac—until an outside threat infiltrates the farm.

AMAZON | iBOOKS

Image result for tangled lanterns gif

You make my heart reckless.”

I had the pleasure of reading my first Amy Reichert book with The Coincidence of Coconut Cake. I fell in love with Lou and Al and with Amy’s writing then. I mean, I love food. And what’s better than reading about romance and food? Nothing! It’s a no-brainer for me.

The Simplicity of Cider take readers on another journey through Wisconsin’s charming apple orchards.

Sanna Lund is a daughter, hermit, and talented cider maker whose life was scarred by a family betrayal. She’s content with her life making cider and helping her father tend to their family orchard. Things aren’t going well for Sanna and her father though. She’s failing to sell her cider and her family might lose the orchard to developers.

Help came in the form of two strangers, Isaac and his son, Bass. Father and son are running from their own heartbreak at home and found solace and respite in the Lund orchard bringing Sanna and Isaac together. The attraction that sparked between them took Sanna and Isaac by surprise. But Sanna has no time for love especially one that could leave her at any moment.

She couldn’t tell if he was the storm or the rescue boat.”

Love, loyalty, family and betrayal are just some of the themes that are at the heart of this book. Amy Reichert did a phenomenal job with these characters. Sanna was an amazing character. She’s awkward but sure of herself. Confident in her skill but also shows vulnerability which made her such a joy to read.

Isaac and his son Bass straight up stole my heart. Their interaction and banter was given a substantial amount of page time, which I really enjoyed and the tragedy that they both went through tugged at my heart. Isaac was the perfect foil for Sanna. He’s exactly what she needed.

Image result for fireflies gif

Despite its somber theme, there was such a joy to this book. Sanna’s love for cider making, Isaac’s love for Bass, Einar’s patience, Ms. Dibble’s matchmaking—these things saved the book from being depressing. Not to mention, the romance was really strong in this book. Isaac and Sanna’s chemistry sizzled throughout the book.

The toe-curling romance combined with strong family dynamics made this book a winner for me. Simplicity of Cider was simply lovely. And I couldn’t have asked for a better book from Amy Reichert.

Review & Excerpt Tour: Razr by @larissaione

RAZR
Series: Demonica #11.8 | 1,001 Dark Nights
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Author: Larissa Ione
Release Date: April 11, 2017

 

New York Times bestselling author Larissa Ione returns to the Demonica Underworld…

A fallen angel with a secret.

An otherworldly elf with an insatiable hunger she doesn’t understand.

An enchanted gem.

Meet mortal enemies Razr and Jedda…and the priceless diamond that threatens to destroy them both even as it bonds them together with sizzling passion.

Welcome back to the Demonica Underworld, where enemies find love…if they’re strong enough to survive.

 Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AUPaperback

Shivering, she went back inside and fetched the med kit from the bathroom. Razr was still passed out cold, so gently and carefully she stripped off his slacks.He didn’t wear underwear. Oh, my.

Her mouth went as dry as the sand forest in her elven homeland as she took in his magnificent body. Everything began to burn, parts of her she’d all but forgotten she had in the five years since she’d last been with a man. The fallen angel was about as perfect as anything she’d ever seen. Made sense, she supposed—she’d never thought angels would be anything less than perfection. But seeing one naked and up close? No one could blame her for wanting to take pictures and post to all her friends on Instagram, right?

Cursing her ethics, she arranged him on his belly to allow access to his shredded back. Shame at the fact that she’d just ogled him shrank her skin. Gods, he must have been in so much pain. She’d nearly passed out herself during the beating, unable to stomach the sight of muscle and bone exposed by the deep lacerations.

Making matters worse, Shrike had reveled in the gore, growing angrier with each strike, as if he’d been taking some deep inner pain out on Razr. When it was over, he’d thrown down the cat and fled the office without a word, leaving her to gather Razr’s unconscious body and find her way out of the castle.

At least the wounds had stopped bleeding and were already starting to heal. Still, this was one of the times she wished she’d chosen the garnet Gem of Enoch instead of the diamond. Jedda and her sisters hadn’t known what power each of the gems had possessed at the time they’d chosen and assimilated them, but neither Jedda nor Reina had been completely happy with the outcomes. Manda had embraced the killing power of her stone, but Reina had no desire to heal and had been furious. And while Jedda’s gem had given her an ability to violently repel demons that she actually used sometimes, being able to help now and then would have been cool too.

Very carefully, she cleaned Razr’s wounds and applied bandages, each one drawing an elven curse from her. Such a perfect body, torn to shreds on a regular basis. He had no scars—at least, none that were visible. She’d heard there were species of demons that could see scars no one else could, and she wondered what one of those demons would see if they looked at Razr.

Jedda saw a very fit, very toned male

Twisting, she looked over her shoulder at him, and in the glow of the nightlight from the bathroom, he was incredible. Passion and raw hunger lurked in his half-lidded eyes, his full lips parted on panting breaths, and she suddenly wanted that mouth on her body. Tasting her. Licking her. Kissing her

Have I mentioned how much I love Larissa Ione and her writing? Because man do I. SO HARD. Her world building is incredible. Her stories unfold in front of your eyes with the most stunning of visuals and I can never get enough. I’ve devoured her entire backlist and I love that she keeps giving us a taste of her Demonica world with these novellas.

And while this a somewhat short read at just around 120 pages, it’s as satisfying as a full novel. I don’t know how the woman is able to pack so much into those pages; the romance, the action, the mystery, the character development, all of it, but she does. And she does it WELL. I was hooked from the very first page.

Razr may say he’s a fallen angel, but he hides a secret. A big one. He may be in Azagoth’s service in the underworld, but he’s also a man on the mission. He mistake in his past that cost him everything and the reason for his years of punishment is not just a haunting memory for him. It’s a mistake that he continues to pay for and his salvation seems to be out of his grasp…until it isn’t. Now he just needs to convince a female that may hold a deeper secret than him to help him locate it.

Jedda has a gift for finding precious gems. But her gift isn’t one of luck; as a gem elf, it’s essentially her life calling. When her gift lands her in some hot water with a fallen angel, trusting another one doesn’t seem very smart…but there’s just something about Razr that runs deeper than attraction.

Fans of this series are in for a treat with this one! Ione delivers her signature witty banter and steamy passion all wrapped around a totally addictive story line that’s action packed from beginning to end. I loved the slow sizzle and burn between Razr and Jedda. I love Ione’s heroines, because while having their weaknesses, these are not wilting wallflowers and Jedda was no exception. It was ridiculously cool to get a peek into the elfin world because that’s not a species yet introduced in this super rich world building that the author has crafted. But as always, reading another installment has only whet my appetite and I already can’t wait for more!

 

Larissa Ione - author imageLarissa Ione is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. An Air Force veteran, she traded in a career as a meteorologist to pursue her passion of writing. She now spends her days in pajamas with her computer, strong coffee, and supernatural worlds. She believes in celebrating everything, and would never be caught without a bottle of Champagne chilling in the fridge…just in case. She currently lives in Wisconsin with her U.S. Coast Guard husband, her teenage son, a rescue cat named Vegas, and her very own hellhound, a King Shepherd named Hexe.

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