Review: The Boy & His Ribbon by Pepper Winters

April 10, 2018 by · Leave a Comment

THE BOY AND HIS RIBBON
Genre: Coming of Age, Romance, Contemporary
Series: The Ribbon Duet #1
Author: Pepper Winters
Release Date: April 1, 2018

“What do you do when you meet your soul mate? No wait…that’s too easy. What do you do when you meet your soul mate and have to spend a lifetime loving him in secret?
I’ll tell you what you do.
You lie.”

REN

Ren was eight when he learned that love doesn’t exist—that the one person who was supposed to adore him only cared how much he was worth.
His mother sold him and for two years, he lived in terror.
But then…he ran.
He thought he’d run on his own. Turned out, he took something of theirs by accident and it became the one thing he never wanted and the only thing he ever needed.

DELLA

I was young when I fell in love with him, when he switched from my world to my everything.
My parents bought him for cheap labour, just like they had with many other kids, and he had the scars to prove it.
At the start, he hated me, and I could understand why.
For years he was my worst enemy, fiercest protector, and dearest friend.
But by the end…he loved me.
The only problem was, he loved me in an entirely different way to the way I loved him.
And slowly, my secret drove us apart.

AMAZON

He touched you deeper than any hand could reach. He affected you harder than any spoken word ever could.
He cared with his entire soul and committed with entire being.

Before I get into all the fantastic things about this book, I want to address the one negative piece. I’d like to get it out of the way with, because if I’m being perfectly honest, something that I thought could ruin the story for me actually ended up being nothing but a minor annoyance in the grand scheme of things. So confession time. I actually DNFd this book originally. Twice. Now, now, stow away those pitch forks and tomatoes and allow me to explain. See originally, I stopped reading at 20%. I felt compelled to push myself and ended up getting to 37%, only to stop again. As beautifully lyrical as the writing was and as unique as the story itself was, the amount of detail and the somewhat verbose nature of the first half of this book was difficult for this picky reader to get past. The story follows the main characters over the span of 18 years. And the reader is privy to every minute detail of their life. While it sets the stage and truly allows you to get to the heart of who these characters are, for this reader that has a penchant for instant gratification, it was a struggle. So what I’m telling you is, it’s definitely a me thing. If this level of detail and description doesn’t bother you, you won’t bat an eyelash at this. But for me, I felt like a good 20% of the overall book could have been trimmed and not lost anything in the process. But again, that’s a ME thing.

So getting to the good. For the first time in all of my reading history, I felt compelled to finish. There was just something so unique and gripping about this story, that I simply couldn’t bear not knowing how it all comes together. And I have never been more grateful for pushing myself through. Because that final 60%? It turned everything around. It made me fall in love with this captivating, emotional, and unforgettable story. It made me connect with this wonderfully unique, multi-layered characters. It had me eager to reveal layer after layer of detail that the story offered. And it had me riveted to the pages from that point on.

I was never lacking for love. I never felt unwanted or hurt or scared. He was my entire universe, and he treated me like I was his in return.

The author warned that this is completely different from her usual dark romance. And it totally was. Though I will say, it did have that touch of the signature dark undercurrent that Winters carries in her writing style.

You get introduced to the main characters as just children. With the heroine being just a baby at one years old, and the hero being a mere boy of ten. It takes them on an unforgettable journey of struggle and nightmares, wrapped in a unique sort of bond that ultimately shifts into a love unlike any other. Over the course of the next eighteen years, you get a peek inside adult Della’s head through a letter that she pens for her school. You get glimpses of how she saw their truth and the life they led. And you see a child’s bond that slowly, naturally, and surely begins to morph into a woman’s adoration and love.

I will always love you, Della Ribbon. Until the day I die and even past that.

This is not a romance, though it carries undercurrents of one. This is the set up of what’s truly looking to be one epic romance in the second part of the duet. But what this book does is set that stage. It builds the blocks of the foundation that their feelings are based one. It takes you into the dark underbelly of the horrors that these characters survived and came out stronger from. It spares no detail. It leaves no stone unturned. And it’s not afraid to give the gritty, emotional, and painful detail of the mistakes that both Della and Ren make along the way.

If you’re looking for something different, unique and compelling, this book is certainly that. Will I be reading the next one? Absolutely! And if you’re anything like me, don’t judge it but the somewhat slower pace of the beginning. Because the hook of this unique story is so unsuspecting, you’ll never see it coming. And before you know it, you’re glued to your kindle, incapable of setting it down until the very last page.

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Review: Love And Other Words by Christina Lauren

April 9, 2018 by · Leave a Comment

LOVE AND OTHER WORDS
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Author: Christina Lauren
Release Date: April 10, 2018

The heart may hide, but it never forgets.

The first women’s fiction novel from New York Times and #1 international bestselling author Christina Lauren (Autoboyography, Dating You / Hating You).

Macy Sorensen is settling into an ambitious if emotionally tepid routine: work hard as a new pediatrics resident, plan her wedding to an older, financially secure man, keep her head down and heart tucked away.

But when she runs into Elliot Petropoulos—the first and only love of her life—the careful bubble she’s constructed begins to dissolve. Once upon a time, Elliot was Macy’s entire world—growing from her gangly teen friend into the man who coaxed her heart open again after the loss of her mother…only to break it on the very night he declared his love for her.

Told in alternating timelines between Then and Now, teenage Elliot and Macy grow from friends to much more—spending weekends and lazy summers together in a house outside of San Francisco reading books, sharing favorite words, and talking through their growing pains and triumphs. As adults, they have become strangers to one another until their chance reunion. Although their memories are obscured by the agony of what happened that night so many years ago, Elliot will come to understand the truth behind Macy’s decade-long silence, and will have to overcome the past and himself to revive her faith in the possibility of an all-consuming love.

AMAZON | iBOOKS

Other people have a falling-out. What we had felt like a rupture.

I don’t typically read women’s fiction, unless of course it’s penned by the talented duo that is Christina Lauren. Then I don’t even think twice about jumping into the story. Though truth be told, while the story encompasses friendship, life and loss, the romantic element is very much at the heart of everything. So even though it wasn’t the steamy romance that I’m used to from theses authors, the emotional connection that I developed to these characters and their story was more than enough to make up for it.

Macy Sorensen is a woman that seemingly has her life together with a loving finance and a budding medical career. But then everything comes to a screeching halt when she bumps into the one man that she never forgot or gotten over; Elliot Petropoulos. The boy that was once her everything, her confidant, her best friend, her escape, is now a man. And while it’s clear there’s a reason for their ultimate rift, the reader is left to wander what could possibly happen to tear apart such a strong bond. The story is told in alternate parts past and present, truly engrossing the readers into the connection that these two develop and share from the time they’re just children. You get to experience them becoming friends, to developing feelings, and ultimately falling for one another. Christina Lauren did such a phenomenal job with the development of these characters and their sweet and budding love. You don’t feel like you’re just reading it, you truly feel engrossed in their experience. It’s beautiful, emotional, and so incredibly real. It’s a coming of age sort of feel with the addition of true adult feelings in the aftermath. It was, for lack of a better word, beautiful.

Elliot clearly never got over Macy, and Macy clearly never got over whatever it was that made her turn away from him. Years apart did nothing to heal the wounds or dim the love they had for each other. The story is brimming with emotion and overrunning with the rawness of their love for each other and pain of their past. It was magnificent and almost painful to read at times. It had me riveted to the pages, eager for just one more morsel to truly understand what could possibly go wrong to tear them apart.

This had all the makings of an epic 5 star read for me, until the big reveal happens. Man did I struggle with my feelings about it. And while I can understand how something like that could happen in the circumstances they had, it still felt like a betrayal to everything I had learned about these characters. I’d be lying if I said a part of me didn’t absolutely hate it. Because I did. I hated it and it ripped my heart apart at the same time. But after sitting on my rating and review for over a week, I decided that I can’t discount everything else this book made me feel, including the ultimate reveal of the truth. I may have hated it, but it also made me feel. It made me feel right along with the characters, and even though a part of me can’t help but still feel like it was in part unnecessarily OTT, I get it. I truly do.

Love and Other Words was a beautifully crafted coming of age story and second chance romance. It was emotional and all encompassing. It made you feel everything. So much of it. And it left a bit of a gaping hole in your heart at the end, even while mending bits and pieces of it. I hated it and I loved it, and I still can’t stop thinking about it.

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New Release & Review: Hurts To Love You by Alisha Rai

March 27, 2018 by · Leave a Comment

HURTS TO LOVE YOU
Series: Forbidden Hearts #3
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Alisha Rai
Release Date: March 27, 2018

Being bad never felt so good, in the third novel in Alisha Rai’s sexy Forbidden Hearts series!

Well-behaved women don’t lust after men who love to misbehave.

Heiress Evangeline Chandler knows how to keep a secret . . . like her life-long crush on the tattooed hottie who just happens to be her big brother’s friend. She’s a Chandler, after all, and Chandlers don’t hook up with the help. Then again, they also don’t disobey their fathers and quit their respectable jobs, so good-girl rules may no longer apply.

Gabriel Hunter hides the pain of his past behind a smile, but he can’t hide his sudden attraction to his friend’s sheltered little sister. Eve is far too sweet to accept anything less than forever and there’s no chance of a future between the son of a housekeeper and the town’s resident princess.

When a wedding party forces Eve and Gabe into tight quarters, keeping their hands off each other will be as hard as keeping their clothes on. The need that draws them together is stronger than the forces that should shove them apart . . . but their sparks may not survive the explosion when long-buried secrets are finally unearthed.

AMAZON | iBOOKS

Well-behaved women don’t lust after men who love to misbehave.

I immediately fell hard for Alisha Rai’s writing when I first read Wrong to Need You. Her slow paced, character driven stories are not my usual cuppa, but they never to fail to have me glued to the pages. Her characters are unique without any of the typical OTT flare that you’d find in most romance novels these days. They don’t need it. They’re raw, and real, and feel like someone you know or would meet in real life. There’s something just so refreshing about that, that it immediately clicked with me.

Hurts To Love You is the third and final book in the Forbidden Hearts series, and while it’s a standalone with a different couple, I still highly recommend reading the rest of the series first. There’s so much history with these families that may be lost on a new reader and not enjoyed as thoroughly having read the rest of the books. Evangeline is the youngest Chandler sibling and sister to Nicholas from Hate to Want You. She’s the shy, soft-spoken and unassuming one. But still waters certainly run deep with her, because this a woman that harbors plenty of secrets and desires. Her biggest? Her unrequited love for Nicholas’s friend, Gabriel Hunter. Gabriel is rough around the edges, tatted, and completely off limits to her. Even if he didn’t make it clear to her all those years ago that he’s not interested in her, she can’t help how she feels.

Gabriel is a man with secrets of his own. One, are his own lustful feelings towards the beautiful Evangeline. The other is so scandalous, it can ultimately cost him everything.

Forced together for Nicholas’s wedding, Gabriel and Evangeline are forced to acknowledge their secrets, their demons, and their feelings in a slow building yet deeply emotional romance that was impossible to put down.

I adored Gabe’s dirty side underneath that quiet and unassuming exterior. He fights his feelings for Eve, but a man can only resist so much. And when Eve decides that she’s tired of waiting for things to happen and takes matters into her own hands, there’s only so much a man can take. I loved watching Eve finally find her voice and inner core of steel. She may be shy and introverted, but she’s also no pushover. Her and Gabe were the perfect balance to each other.

Between the continuing family drama, the disastrous wedding that seems to have one thing go wrong after another, and their own internal struggles, there was plenty of things driving the plot forward. It wasn’t full of OTT drama but it had just the right amount of angst with plenty of sizzle. I think this was my favorite book in the series. If you’re looking for a romance brimming with feels and overflowing with passion, I definitely recommend you check this one out.

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Review: Three To Ride by Lexi Blake

March 20, 2018 by · Leave a Comment

THREE TO RIDE
Series: Nights In Bliss, Colorado #1
Genre: Erotic Romance, Menage
Author: Lexi Blake
Release Date: March 20, 2018

Re-released in a second edition with two new chapters and additional new content.

Rachel Swift is a woman on the run.

A stalker sent Rachel’s world reeling. Now she’s running for her life, and Bliss, CO, seems like the perfect place to hide. Bliss is a strange little town, filled with artists, nudists, and the occasional conspiracy nut. It’s a good place to start over.

Max and Rye are just the men to catch her.

Horse trainer Max and Sheriff Rye gave up on their dream of finding one perfect woman to share long ago. Rachel walks in, and they’re both in love and fighting their true natures.

A town like no other….

When Rachel’s past catches up with her, all of Bliss is in danger. Rachel knows she should run, but how can she leave behind the love she’s found with Max and Rye and the home she’s built in Bliss? With her whole town behind her, Rachel is ready to make her stand. It’s time for her to get back in the saddle and ride.

AMAZON

This man tore away all her defenses and inhibitions.

A litte suspense with a whole lot of sexy makes Three To Ride one titillating read! I first got curious about Lexi’s Bliss series when she hinted at it in Nobody Does It Better. As I hadn’t yet read this series that she initially released under her Sophie Oak pen name yet, I was instantly intrigued.

Rachel Swift is a heroine that I clicked with right away. This is a woman that’s trying everything to escape a dangerously obsessed stalker that has the resources of being a cop behind him. Forced on the run with nothing to her but her few meager belongings, she’s about to give up hope when she stumbles into the small town of Bliss, Colorado and instantly falls in love. What she doesn’t expect is to fall for a sweet yet brooding man while also harboring feelings for his twin brother and town sheriff.

I absolutely loved the way that Rachel took no sh*t from either man. She was quick to shut down Rye’s advances since she was dating his twin, and she was quick to put Max in his place any time he let his unreasonable jealousy get the best of him.

You will treat me like a lady, Maxwell Harper. You will politely ask me questions, and you will not accuse me of anything again unless you’re damn sure I’ve done something to deserve it. You will not walk into my place of business and tell the town I’m some sort of harlot. Is that understood?”

While her relationship with Max starts when he pursues her, it’s still a bit of a slow burn. All the while, she’s fighting her attraction to his twin, even though rumors in town is that the men like to share everything…and I do mean everything.

The road to the menage is a slow and sizzling burn. It also had the added element of suspense from Rachel’s stalker which I enjoyed thoroughly. The pacing was perfect and I really liked how everything wrapped up in the end. I can’t wait for more in this deliciously kinky series!

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Review: Sinner by Sierra Simone

March 20, 2018 by · 1 Comment

SINNER
Series: Priest #2
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance
Author: Sierra Simone
Release Date: March 15, 2018

I’m not a good man, and I’ve never pretended to be.

I don’t believe in goodness or God or any happy ending that isn’t paid for in advance.

What do I believe in?

Money.

Sex.

Macallan 18.

They have words for men like me—playboy.

Womanizer.

Skirt chaser.

My brother used to be a priest, and he only has one word for me.

Sinner.

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“Zenny,” I mumble against her lips, some valiant part of me recognizing that this is far, far beyond the kiss she asked for, and also recognizing that I’m going to come all over the inside of my Hugo Boss suit pants if she keeps it up. Even through the clothes, I can feel her heat, her shameless rolls hinting at where she goes soft and wet between her legs.

Fuck, I want to see it. I want to see her pussy. It’s suddenly all I can think about, all I can want or crave, just one glimpse, just a peek.

“I want to see your cunt,” I say hoarsely, lifting my head.

“My…cunt?” She says the word like she’s never said it out loud before.

“Yeah.” My voice is so ragged right now, so desperate, and fuck, I’ve never felt this frantic before. Like I’ll actually combust if I don’t get this one thing, this one small sight of her secret place.

She lets out a shaky breath, her hand dropping from my lapel to her skirt, which she slowly rucks up to her waist as I devour her lips once more, as I bury my face in her neck and kiss every sliver of skin exposed above her collar. I bite at her ear, at her jaw, my hand finding hers as it pulls her skirt up, so that I’m helping her do it, that we’re doing it together, this forbidden act, this forbidden revelation.

Her forbidden body. 

That word, forbidden, spikes through my mind, bringing with it equal spikes of lust and fear. Because yes, it’s fucking hot that I shouldn’t be kissing her, I shouldn’t be begging to see her most secret place, my hand shouldn’t be covering hers as it slides up her thigh—but it’s also bad. Bad even for Sean Bell.

Bad, bad, bad.

They have words for men like me—playboy. Womanizer. Skirt chaser.
My brother used to be a priest, and he only has one word for me.
Sinner.

So, erm, if anyone needs me, I’ll just be over here in the corner icing my ovaries. Because this book? Set those suckers on FIRE! I mean, sweet baby jesus. Pun intended. But seriously though. Hot damn. Just…hot damn.

As with everything, she is a contradiction. Artless and deliberate, embarrassed but driven past caring.

First of all, that blurb is vague as hell. And if you truly want to enjoy this book to its fullest, keep it that way. You do NOT want to know who the heroine is, or what exactly the taboo element of the story is. It’s so much better to have it unravel for you as you read. That much more delicious too. And let me tell you, it’s SO delicious.

Sierra Simone wrote one emotionally packed and erotically charged forbidden romance, and this girl loved every sizzling page of it. It was so much more than just smoking’ hot. It was brimming with passion and emotion with a perfect amount of feels to make you completely invested in everything happening to the characters. It was multi-layered, perfectly paced, and hot enough to singe your kindle. It was nothing like what I expected and yet it hit the spot SO right.

Jesus Christ. And I am shaking. I’m shaking because I need to fuck, I’m shaking because the woman I need to fuck is a woman I’m feeling insane things for

If you loved Priest, you need to read Sinner.

Sierra Simone is a USA Today Bestselling former librarian (who spent too much time reading romance novels at the information desk.) She lives with her husband and family in Kansas City

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Review: Rough Ride by Kristen Ashley

March 17, 2018 by · Leave a Comment

ROUGH RIDE
Series: Chaos #5
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Kristen Ashley
Release Date: February 13, 2018

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Kristen Ashley comes a new story in her Chaos series…

Rosalie Holloway put it all on the line for the Chaos Motorcycle Club.

Informing to Chaos on their rival club—her man’s club, Bounty—Rosalie knows the stakes. And she pays them when her man, who she was hoping to scare straight, finds out she’s betrayed him and he delivers her to his brothers to mete out their form of justice.

But really, Rosie has long been denying that, as she drifted away from her Bounty, she’s been falling in love with Everett “Snapper” Kavanagh, a Chaos brother. Snap is the biker-boy-next door with the snowy blue eyes, quiet confidence and sweet disposition who was supposed to keep her safe… and fell down on that job.

For Snapper, it’s always been Rosalie, from the first time he saw her at the Chaos Compound. He’s just been waiting for a clear shot. But he didn’t want to get it after his Rosie was left bleeding, beat down and broken by Bounty on a cement warehouse floor.

With Rosalie a casualty of an ongoing war, Snapper has to guide her to trust him, take a shot with him, build a them…

And fold his woman firmly in the family that is Chaos.

Note: Every 1001 Dark Nights novella is a standalone story. For new readers, it’s an introduction to an author’s world. And for fans, it’s a bonus book in the author’s series. We hope you’ll enjoy each one as much as we do.

AMAZON

I don’t care what way I gotta take you, as mine or just havin’ you in my life in a way you’d let me be there, but however that is, I’m not givin’ up. Not ever, Rosalie.

It’s been a while since I reached for a KA fix. Truth be told, the last two releases were a very sad DNF for me that left me questioning if I’d finally reached a point where I had to admit defeat with one of my previously favorite authors. But I love The Chaos series, and I simply couldn’t help but one-click this book to see if I’ll finally get a bit of those KA feels back. It’s just been too long since I felt them!

Did I 5 star love this book? No. It was simply too short for me to truly get fully invested in. It did, however, bring back some of those KA feels for me. Now some may have an issue with Rosalie being a little bit of a…uhem…men hopper. But for me, I totally bought into the why of it. Dare I say, I understood it even. Basically, it didn’t bother me in the least. Nor was I bothered by the practically instant relationship development that happened between her and Snapper. It’s a novella, so I didn’t expect much on this end to be quite honest. I actually enjoyed the quicker pace of the story.

With KA’s previous two releases, I struggled with the slower pace, the stunted story where everything happens by 50% and then I’m reading a bunch of nothing for the last half. This book kept me invested from beginning to finish, without the typical wordiness or over descriptive prose.

Rosalie definitely has a lot of history with the men of Chaos, but that didn’t bother me either. I didn’t feel that she was still pining after Shy and I was totally sold on the connection between her and Snapper. Rough Ride definitely gave me the fix I was looking for and it was an enjoyable one. The one thing that kept this from being a full 4 stars for me was that ending. What in the ever loving hell was that? A lead in for the next book? A story hook? A glimpse of what’s to come? It took a perfectly satisfying HEA and turned it on its ass and left me confused, slightly annoyed, and anxious.
But mostly confused.

Seriously. What even was that? I still have no idea what happened. And no, it wasn’t a cliffhanger. I genuinely don’t even know what it was.

Either way, this was still a fun read and gave me my KA fix that I was looking for, so money well spent for this girl.

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Review: Switch Hitter by Sara Ney

March 16, 2018 by · Leave a Comment

SWITCH HITTER
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary Romance
Author: Sara Ney
Release Date: March 15, 2018

I knew something was wrong the second she walked in the door tonight; I just couldn’t put my finger on what it was.

Same hair color.

Same legs.

Same face.

Except…I look harder.

At the small dimple beneath her lip that wasn’t there the last time we went out. And her laugh—that laugh isn’t as loud.

This isn’t the girl I’ve gone out with the past few weeks.

It’s her twin sister, and they’ve switched places on me.

Only I’m not quite ready to let them switch back.

AMAZON | AUDIO

Know what I’m going to do?”
“What?”
“I’m going to date the shit out of you.”

This was such a cute and satisfying novella that I devoured in one smile filled reading.

The classic twin switch tale gets a Sara Ney twist. When her twin double books herself for a date, who better to step into her shoes than her twin, Amelia. Lucy is the fun loving free spirit and Amelia is the serious one of the two. So when Amelia attends a date with the sexy Dante who immediately begins to note the differences between the girls even though it’s only their third date, that’s just one of the few problems she faces. The other? She’s insanely attracted to the guy that thinks he’s out with her twin sister.

Dante is the furthest thing from a douchebag. He’s sweet, attentive, and doesn’t believe in serial dating. And while this was a quickie novella, it was still fully satisfying. It was the perfect story to launch a brand new baseball series from one of my favorite authors and I already can’t wait for the first book! If you’re looking for a fun and easy afternoon read, you can’t go wrong with this one!
Sara Ney is the USA Today Bestselling Author of the How to Date a Douchebag series, and is best known for her sexy, laugh-out-loud New Adult romances. Among her favorite vices, she includes: iced latte’s, historical architecture and well-placed sarcasm. She lives colorfully, collects vintage books, art, loves flea markets, and fancies herself British.

She lives with her husband, children, and her ridiculously large dog.

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Review & Giveaway: Hello Stranger by Lisa Kleypas

March 10, 2018 by · 3 Comments

HELLO STRANGER
Series: The Ravenels #4
Genre: Historical Romance 
Author: Lisa Kleypas
Release Date: February 27, 2018

New York Times bestselling author Lisa Kleypas delivers a scintillating tale of an unconventional beauty who finds passion with the spy who can’t resist her

A woman who defies her time

Dr. Garrett Gibson, the only female physician in England, is as daring and independent as any man—why not take her pleasures like one? Yet she has never been tempted to embark on an affair, until now. Ethan Ransom, a former detective for Scotland Yard, is as gallant as he is secretive, a rumored assassin whose true loyalties are a mystery. For one exhilarating night, they give in to their potent attraction before becoming strangers again.

A man who breaks every rule

As a Ravenel by-blow spurned by his father, Ethan has little interest in polite society, yet he is captivated by the bold and beautiful Garrett. Despite their vow to resist each other after that sublime night, she is soon drawn into his most dangerous assignment yet. When the mission goes wrong, it will take all of Garrett’s skill and courage to save him. As they face the menace of a treacherous government plot, Ethan is willing to take any risk for the love of the most extraordinary woman he’s ever known.

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This woman owned the sum of him, his tenderness and violence, everything good or bad.

All.
Of.
The.
Swoons.
*dreamy sigh*

I am not typically a reader that enjoys the instant connection and road to love that was shared between Garrett and Ransom, but boy did it ever work for me here. I can’t even tell you why. I think it was a combination of several things, starting from wonderfully crafted and multilayered characters and ending with an engaging story and swoony romance. Whatever the case may be, I simply adored this book. ADORED IT.

Lisa Kleypas is almost always a guaranteed winner for me, and Hello Stranger definitely delivered on all sides.

Dr. Garrett Gibson is not your typical historical heroine. (side note: I love that she was loosely based on an actual person). This is a woman that’s not satisfied being the status quo. A brilliant doctor, her practice and career has always been her prime concern. She doesn’t want to be an accessory for a husband to be put away on a shelf when she’s no longer needed. But the last man she expects to draw her interest is the enigma that is Ethan Ransom.

Have I made you uncomfortable? I beg your pardon.”
Ransom lifted his head to reveal eyes glinting with laughter. “Not at all. It’s just that I’ve never heard a lady talk as you do.”
“As I told you . . . I’m not a lady.”

I love how these two characters balance each other out. Ethan is fiercely protective of Garrett, but Garrett can also hold her own like no other lady. They couldn’t be more wrong for each other. With his current dangerous mission, Ethan’s days are numbered. He knows he can’t offer Garrett the forever that she rightfully deserves. But Garrett knows what she wants, and she’s not afraid to go after it.

There had always been a cold streak in him, but he couldn’t seem to find it now, when he needed it most. He was breaking apart inside. He would never be the same after this. “Christ, you’ve ruined me,” he whispered.

Admittedly it took a little bit to fully get into the swing of things for me, but by 30%, I was completely riveted to the pages. The romance was equally swoony and heart achingly emotional. It was perfectly written and I couldn’t get enough of these two. It’s so charming to see a man as ruthless as Ransom brought to his knees by Garrett and showing his sweet side. And boy did this man have a sweet side. GAH!

A queen, you are,” he said softly. “I could travel the world the rest of my life, and not find another woman with half your ways.”.

Hello Stranger was an incredibly satisfying romance that was as swoony as it was gripping. It tugged at every single heart string I had, and I absolutely adored the fierce connection shared between these characters. Yet another winner from one of my favorite go-to authors, and I’m already craving more. I’m hoping West’s story is next because I was super intrigued by the little of him that we got in this book.

GERI’S REVIEW

“She was sunlight and steel, spun into a substance he’d never encountered before.”

One of the things I love Lisa Kleypas’ books is how vividly written her characters are especially her heroines. In Hello, Stranger, we see Garrett Gibson, the first female physician in England and Ethan Ransom, former detective of the Scotland Yard and current spy fall in love. It was glorious.

I liked their banter and how their relationship progressed. Garrett was intrigued by Ransom but was also suspicious about where his loyalties lie. Ransom for his part can’t help but be attracted to the doctor but because of the nature of his job, he felt that he can’t give Garrett what she needs. But they’re drawn to each other and even with the risks involved, a romance developed between them.

I simply adored Garrett’s character. If you follow Lisa Kleypas on social media or have read Devil in Winter, then you know that Garrett was inspired by a real living female doctor in Victorian England. Garrett was such an interesting heroine. Yes, she’s strong but she also shows vulnerability and isn’t afraid of showing it.

Ethan Ransom was a good Lisa Kleypas hero but not really an exciting despite the fact that he’s a spy. He’s definitely not my fave Kleypas hero. As much as I love how he’s all in with Garrett, I find some of his background problematic and convenient. I could do without the orientalism bit which may not bother some people but it’s definitely there. What I’m saying is, I wish his characterization is a lot deeper than what we got and less problematic. Other than that, he and Garrett are perfect together.

Hello, Stranger is another solid entry to Ms. Kleypas’ Ravenels Series. And speaking of Ravenels, I’m so happy we get to spend more time with West before his book comes out. I already adored his character. I can’t wait!

New York Times bestselling author Lisa Kleypas graduated from Wellesley College with a political science degree. She is a RITA award winning author of both historical romance and contemporary women’s fiction. Her novels are published in fourteen different languages and are bestsellers all over the world. She lives in Washington State with her husband Gregory and their two children.

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Review & Excerpt: Hawkyn by Larissa Ione

March 5, 2018 by · 1 Comment

HAWKYN
Series: Demonica Underworld #5
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Author: Larissa Ione
Release Date: February 27, 2018

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Larissa Ione comes a new story in her Demonica Underworld series…

As a special class of earthbound guardian angel called Memitim, Hawkyn is charged with protecting those whose lives are woven into the fabric of the future. His success is legendary, so when he’s given a serial killer to watch over, he sees no reason for that to change. But Hawkyn’s own future is jeopardized after he breaks the rules and rescues a beautiful woman from the killer’s clutches, setting off an explosive, demonic game of cat and mouse that pits brother against brother and that won’t end until someone dies.

Aurora Mercer is the half-wytch lone survivor of a psychopath who gets off on the sadistic torture of his victims. A psychopath whose obsessive psyche won’t let him move on until he kills her. Now she’s marked for death, her fate tied to that of a murderer…and to a sexy angel who makes her blood burn with desire…

**Every 1001 Dark Nights novella is a standalone story. For new readers, it’s an introduction to an author’s world. And for fans, it’s a bonus book in the author’s series. We hope you’ll enjoy each one as much as we do.**

 AMAZON



God, what was it going to be like to have all that intensity focused on her? Touching her? Inside her? All he had to do was look at her and she shivered with violent tingles.The cold air in this drafty castle just got warmer. “Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“You didn’t.”

“Didn’t what?”

“Warn me.”

She huffed. “When I said not to say I didn’t warn you… I was warning you.”

His lazy, lopsided smile made her groan. He was teasing her. She loved these glimpses, brief as they were, into his off-duty personality. He’d been on the go since they’d met, in a constant state of motion, and despite the shitty circumstances, it was nice to see him relax a little.

Of course, that could have something to do with the ninety-proof bottle of attitude adjuster in his hand.

She eyed her own glass of liquid bravery, but really, she didn’t need it. Even if her succubus genes weren’t already going to work, preparing her body with a hot rush of desire, she’d want Hawkyn.

And she’d want to help him.

As he gulped down another swig of vodka, she set her glass on the little end table and turned to him.

“Here’s another warning.” She pulled her shirt up over her head. “Some scenes may be too intense for young viewers.” She tossed the shirt onto the mattress and reached around to unhook her bra.

“What are you doing?” he croaked, the vodka bottle frozen a few inches from his mouth.

“Sex. That’s the fast method.” She dropped the bra on the mattress and flushed at the way he stared at her exposed breasts. “You game?”

For a long, tortured moment, he said nothing. Oh, God, what if he refused her? How embarrassing. She’d made a huge mistake, and she looked like a desperate fool.

Choking on humiliation, she lifted her hands to cover herself, but he shook his head.

“Don’t.” His voice was a low growl, sultry and dark, so resonant it hit her between her legs. “You’re beautiful.”

“Does this mean—”

He was on her before she could finish. His lips came down on hers and his body pressed her into the cold stone wall and both his hands gripped her shoulders so firmly she figured she’d have bruises later.

Awesome.

 

At this moment, he seemed to be both angel and demon, because what he was doing to her was nothing short of evil, but he was so damned good at it. 

It’s no secret that I’m obsessed with all things Larissa Ione writes. Having read her entire backlist, I don’t think there’s been one book of hers that I didn’t thoroughly enjoy, and this one was no exception. While the story is set in her Demonica world, new readers wouldn’t feel lost. There’s plenty of background, the characters are not ones that have previously introduced, and while part of a series, it’s a solid standalone as well. Though I’d still highly recommend the rest of the Demonica series because it’s just that awesome. But I digress.

Hawkyn is a Memitim; a special breed of earthbound angel that was raised by humans. His father is the powerful ruler of the underworld, Azagoth. But that doesn’t mean that he still doesn’t need to earn his way into heaven by doing his job. His duty is to protect his Primori. Unfortunately for Hawkyn, his Primori happens to be a deranged serial killer and he can’t interfere with destiny. That is, not until his accidental interference causes his Primori to abduct a woman that he can’t stop thinking about.

Aurora Mercer is a wytch; a fascinating hybrid of witch and succubus. She doesn’t know if she can trust the handsome angel that rescued her from the hands of a monster, but she doesn’t have much of a choice when she’s still hunted by the man determined to finish his job.

The chemistry between Aurora and Hawkyn is instant and sizzling, in only a way that Larissa Ione can write. But their relationship is a delicious slow burn that keeps you at the edge of your seat. I couldn’t get enough of these two together. I love Ione’s rich world building and all the characters that she’s created. And while Hawkyn brings mention some of my past favorites, there’s also some new faces that are introduced as well. I loved getting the additional development of Azagoth and Lili’s story. If you haven’t read their book, I can’t recommend it enough: Azagoth.

As for this one? For a short novella, it was incredibly satisfying, well developed and perfectly paced. It offers plenty of action, with a dash of sizzle, and a total page turner from beginning to finish. If you’re looking for a quick and sexy PNR read, you really can’t go wrong!

Larissa 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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Review: Kissing The Boss by Linda Kage

March 4, 2018 by · Leave a Comment

KISSING THE BOSS
Series: The Fairy Tale Quartet #2
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Linda Kage
Release Date: March 2, 2018

What’s the one thing you shouldn’t do when your boss is your ruthless evil widowed stepmother who hates your guts more than anyone?

Kiss the man she’s interested in.

So what does Kaitlynn Judge find herself doing?

Yep, she kisses the one man her stepmother currently wants, who also happens to be the CEO of the company where she works.

Can we say doomed?

After the death of her father, Kaitlynn’s life has been stuck in a rut. But that begins to change after meeting a dashing stranger during the office Halloween party. Now she has to navigate vengeful stepmothers, meddling stepsiblings, and gorgeous guys in hot pursuit to reach her happily ever after.

While making a detour from the fantasy aspect, this contemporary take on the Cinderella story continues to cling to a few of our favorite traditions. You’ll still find the unmerited oppression along with fleeing women, missing shoes, mouse companions, magic wands, pumpkin-like rides to the big bash, and so much more. So rest assured, it’s all familiar and yet quirkily different.

AMAZON

Beware of those crazy office holiday parties…


I’ve been a huge Linda Kage fan ever since her Forbidden Men series. She wrote some of my favorite angsty NA romance. This series is nothing like those. I’m actually ashamed to admit that I avoided starting this series because for some reason I thought it was a 4 part book. It’s not. It’s a quartet series. Each book is a full standalone with HEA set inside the same world and focusing on its own individual spins of fairy tales we know and love.

Kissing The Boss is a deliciously fun take on Cinderella and it was a perfectly light and feel good contemporary romance.

Kaitlynn Judge is stuck working for her witch of a stepmother who now runs her late father’s company that she had always dreamed would be hers. Left practically penniless after her father passed and left everything to her stepmother, Kaitlynn is not one to give up her dream. She doesn’t care if she has to work for free as a thankless intern for a woman that has no small amount of resentment and hate towards her. But she’ll take the licks if it means working her way up in the company and that much closer to making her dreams come true. Instead of two evil stepsisters, she has two stepbrothers. One that’s a total manwhore, but loves her fiercely. The other is a bit of a grumpy mystery. But things really spice up for Kaitlynn when an Office Halloween company leads to an unknowing kiss with the company’s co-CEO and the object of her stepmother’s not so secret obsession.

Ezra Nash was the best part about this book. I seriously loved this man. He was sexy, swoony, and while a bit hot and cold at first when he realizes who Kaitlynn is, once he decides he has to have her, he’s not shy about it. I loved the way he pursues and woos Kaitlynn.

I also loved the easy relationship that Kaitlynn has with her stepbrother and how protective he was over her. The slew of secondary characters in this series definitely stole my heart and I’ll be going back and reading the first book immediately. This was a super cute twist on a classic tale with just enough of a unique spin to make it stand out. If you’re looking for a fun contemporary read with a swoony romance and a feel good story, you definitely can’t go wrong with this one.

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