Review: ★Bully★ by @PenDouglas

Review Bully BULLY
Series: Fall Away #1
Genre: New Adult Romance
Author: Penelope Douglasadd-to-goodreads-button3

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New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Penelope Douglas delivers an unforgettable New Adult romance that toes the fine line between love and hate…

My name is Tate. He doesn’t call me that, though. He’ll barely refer to me at all, and he’ll hardly ever speak to me.

But he still won’t leave me alone.

We were best friends once. Then he turned on me and made it his mission to ruin my life. I’ve been humiliated, shut out, and gossiped about all through high school. His pranks and rumors got worse as time wore on. I even went to Europe for a year, just to avoid him.

But I’m done hiding from him now, and there’s no way I’ll allow him to ruin another year. He might not have changed, but I have.

It’s time to fight back.

When one brave young woman stands up to her best friend Jared, now tormenter, the consequences go beyond anything either of them ever would have imagined…

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Review

5 starsBully- Dirty Girl Romance

I had loved Jared once, but now I knew, without a doubt, that “my Jared” was gone.

God. This book. I mean, THIS BOOK. Words fail me to describe just how much I loved this. I’ve had this in my kindle for what feels like ages since I got it as a freebie way back in 2013. I’ve seen it making the rounds on Goodreads and for some reason I still hadn’t read it. If I can kick my own ass for not reading this sooner, I would, because this book? This book reminded me about all the reasons why I fell in love with New Adult romance to begin with. And I’m not talking about the manufactured angst, stupid decisions, at at times gratuitous sex scenes. No. I’m talking that all-encompassing feeling, just the right amount of gut-wrenching angst, you hate but love the hero, and you want to high five the heroine kind of read. It was like it was custom written just for me.

This is how bullies are made…

Bully teaser- Dirty Girl RomanceJared will be a hero that every reader will love to hate. I sure as hell did. But as much as I wanted to hate him, I can’t deny that I was always wondering what was buried right below the surface to make him act the way he did because you just knew there had to be something. I have to say that Penelope Douglas did a phenomenal job with character development and that’s what made the book as good as it was. The characters were multi-faceted and strongly developed. You get to know both of them as the story progresses and you also begin to understand both of them that much more.
Bully teaser3-Dirty Girl RomanceWhat truly made this book for me was Tate. She wasn’t your typical NA heroine. This is a girl that had a backbone but didn’t take it overboard. She wasn’t intentionally cruel or flippant, she stood up for herself and she owned it. She was comfortable in her own skin and it was the perfect balance to the Jared’s mercurial moods.

You were my tempest, my thunder cloud, my tree in the downpour. I loved all of those things, and I loved you. But now? You’re a fucking drought. I thought that all the assholes drove German cars, but it turns out that pricks in Mustangs can still leave scars.”

I can’t remember the last time a book kept me up all night, completely incapable of setting it down for even a second because I needed to know what happened next. I was sucked in from just the first chapter and read this in one sitting. This is exactly the kind of angst that I’m starving for. Imperfectly perfect, rage inducing and yet flawless. That probably doesn’t even make sense, but if you’re an angst whore like me, you’ll know what I mean. My absolute favorite trope is the enemies-to-lovers, hate/lust thing and Bully delivers that in spades. While there were parts I wanted more from, I still can’t rate it down for that simply because this book absolutely enthralled me. So much so, that I couldn’t even bat an eyelash at any minor quibbles it may have had.

We can be confused about what is good for us but not about what we truly want.

Bully teaser2-Dirty Girl RomanceSimply put, it was amazing. Just amazing. This is a book that I recommend to any lovers of New Adult romance. I have found myself a new author to obsess over and my only regret is not reading this fantastic book sooner.

Yesterday lasts forever.
Tomorrow comes never.
Until you.


THE SERIES

Click directly on book covers for buy links!

Fall Away #1

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Fall Away #1.5

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Fall Away #2

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Fall Away #3

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Fall Away #4

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Review: ★Deeper Than Dreams★ by @jesstopper

Review- Deeper Than Dreams DEEPER THAN DREAMS
Series: Love & Steel #1.5
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Jessica Topper
Release Date: August 18, 2015add-to-goodreads-button31

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Will wedding bells rock out for Louder Than Love’s most beloved couple in this Love and Steel novella?

Falling in love with rock star Adrian “Digger” Graves was a dream come true for former librarian Kat Lewis. But with a little help from friends and family—including Kat’s adorable daughter, Abbey—Adrian has planned an evening and a proposal beyond her wildest dreams.

The night before, Kat witnessed the triumphant reunion of Adrian’s rock band at Madison Square Garden. Tonight, he will escort her to the elegant, ultra-exclusive Library Lion’s benefit. It seems like a fairytale, but even fairytales have a deeper, darker side. When old habits return to tempt her knight in shining heavy metal armor, will Kat’s happily ever after come crashing back to reality?

THIS IS AN EPILOGUE NOVELLA THAT PICKS UP THE DAY AFTER LOUDER THAN LOVE ENDS. This novella is intended to be read after Louder Than Love.

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Amazon / iBooks

Review

5 stars

DeeperThanDreams-DirtyGirlRomance

 

Adrian Graves, did you go and write me a heavy metal love song?”
“Well now, maybe I did.”
“I thought if love was going to appear in your music, it had to be doomed, damned, or deadly.”
“I’ve learned since that love runs much deeper than that. Deeper than dreams. And if I’ve made even one of your dreams come true tonight, then I am a better man for it.”

Last year I read a book and fell hard for a fictional couple. I swooned, I sighed, and I fell irrevocably in love with Jessica Topper’s incredible writing. Louder Than Love was one of those romances that was just so wonderfully real. I don’t even know how to describe it better than that. It wasn’t angsty, filled with crazy drama, manwhoring rockstars, or anything of the sort. It had two characters each struggling with moving on from their past finding love together. It was perfection.
Deeper Than Dreams teaser- DirtyGirlRomanceI simply adored that book. Now I’m not a reader that typically enjoys follow up novellas for a couple that I loved. Why? Because more often that not, that novella will do something to mess with the couple’s HEA, it will throw in some miscommunication or drama, anything just to justify them getting additional story. But I didn’t think twice before jumping at the chance to read this novella because I already knew it would be nothing of the sort. And you know what? I wasn’t even a little bit wrong.

No one else can take a couple you already loved and then make you fall in love with them even more than you already were in less than 100 pages. But that’s exactly what happened here. This was the perfect epilogue novella for Kat and Adrian. I downright cried happy tears at the end of it. What amazed me even more was the feelings that it was able to bring out in me. It’s not common that you’d read a novella and by the end of it feel like you read a whole book with the amount of emotions it was able to wring from you.
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This is not meant to be read as a standalone, and you absolutely need to read Louder Than Love before this. And if you read and loved Louder Than Love like I did, then this epilogue novella is an absolute must read. I couldn’t think of a better conclusion to one of my most beloved couples.

Jessica Topper also gives readers a lot more Rick if you’ve been curious about him, along with a teaser for his book that will leave you anxious to get your hands on his book in September. I absolutely cannot wait.

Deeper Than Dreams was one of those perfect treats that’s like the icing on an already fantastically delicious cake. Emotional, lovely, captivating, it was everything I’ve already come to expect from this author and more. I simply cannot recommend it enough.


Don’t miss the book that started it all!

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In this powerful debut novel, a young librarian grieves the loss of her husband…and discovers a love that defies classification.

It’s been over three years since a train accident made a widow of Katrina Lewis, sending her and her young daughter Abbey back to the suburban town of her youth…the only place that still makes sense. Lauder Lake is the perfect place to hide and heal.

Recluse rocker Adrian “Digger” Graves survived the implosion of his music career, but his muse has long lain dormant. Until Kat hires him to play at her library—not on the basis of his hard rock credentials but rather, because of the obscure kids’ TV jingle he wrote years ago. In a case of mistaken identity, Adrian stumbles into the lives of Kat and her comically lovable daughter.

Using tattoos as a timeline, Adrian unfurls his life for Kat. But as the courtship intensifies, it’s unclear whose past looms larger: the widow’s or the rocker’s. Will their demons ever rest, or will they break these soul mates apart?

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READ MY FULL 5 STAR REVIEW


And don’t miss Rick’s story in the upcoming Softer Than Steel

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LOVE & STEEL #2
From the author of Deeper than Dreams and the Much “I Do” About Nothing novels, a story that proves that you have to find yourself before you can find love…

As rock star “Riff Rotten”, Rick Rottenberg has enjoyed all the perks that fame can offer, especially now that he’s reunited with his former band mate, Adrian “Digger” Graves. But despite his success, Rick is a mess. Still reeling from the death of his wife years ago and terrified his demons will end his career, he agrees to seek help for his anxiety.

Burned by a musician in the past, Sidra Sullivan has closed her heart to love. So when Rick walks into her yoga studio, she wants nothing to do with him–until the bad boy shows an unexpected soft side.

As Sidra and Rick work through their painful pasts, they realize just how strongly opposites can attract. But when a crisis threatens the delicate balance they’ve forged, they’ll discover if their love is strong enough to weather another storm or just too broken to survive…

INCLUDES A PREVIEW OF THE FIRST LOVE & STEEL NOVEL: LOUDER THAN LOVE

Buy LinksPre-Order (Releasing September 15, 2015)

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Blog Tour, Review & #Giveaway: ★Ricochet★ by @KeriLake

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Title: Ricochet
Author: Keri Lake
Genre: Dark Romance
Release Date: July 9, 2015
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The only sure way to destroy a man is to take what he cannot live without.

Three years ago, I had everything.

A beautiful wife.

A son.

A reason for living.

Until a ruthless task force, assembled under Mayor Michael Culling, with a brutal strategy to make the streets of Detroit ‘safe’, ripped away everything I loved in a deadly hunt called The Culling.

They tried to kill me, too. I wish they had. Now I’m cursed by the memories of that night, and the words I whispered to my dying wife.

A promise—to avenge the wrong and set it right.

I’m no longer Nick Ryder. I’m a masked vigilante. Faceless. Loveless. Fearless. A man with nothing left to lose—one who’s seen the dark and violent truth behind the city’s flawless veneer.

Michael Culling doesn’t know who I am. Or what I want. All he knows is that I’ve kidnapped his beautiful wife.

An eye for an eye—isn’t that how the saying goes? And Aubree Culling is the perfect pawn to destroy him.

If she doesn’t destroy me first.

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What Others Are Saying:

“Holy. Fucking. Hell. Mind is blown and I’m left reeling. I’ve pulled myself together and can now write the review this book deserves.” ~ Sam’s Ramblings

“Ricochet was my first foray into the world of Keri Lake and if I could describe her writing style based on this alone, the words Evil Genius come to mind.” ~ Smokin’ Hot Book Blog

Excerpt
With my right hand, I pinned her flailing fist, then released her throat and seized the other. She stilled, flat against the wall, with my body pressed into hers.
“You had everything to do with it.” I pushed harder, my muscles steeled. “He didn’t just wrong me, he annihilated me. And there you were, stroking his cock, smiling beside him all the while.”

“All you saw was a smile, then. You should’ve looked deeper. So what? I’m your revenge? Your ticket to hurting him?” She sneered. “Guess what? He doesn’t give a shit about me. He never did. So, go ahead, Nick. Kill me.” She lifted her head away from the wall, only inches from my face. “Snap my fucking throat, if that’s what you plan to do. You’d be doing him and me a favor.”

 

Her body pulsed with tension, the tremble beating against me, through me, inside of me. Anger. Hate.
So much hate.

With one quick twist of my hands, I could’ve snapped her neck, been done with the whole plan and exited my miserable fucking existence on the wings of a bullet to my skull.

Instead, I slammed my lips against hers. Loving the struggle of her body trying to push me away. Hating the fact that her lips tasted like sweet salvation, beckoning me to whatever web of deception she’d been weaving since I’d taken her. Her delicious smell pervaded my senses—water on the flames burning inside of me, steaming up my mind.
Three years.
The last time I’d devoured a woman’s lips was three years ago, and that had been out of love. Kissing Aubree was something else entirely. Not gentle or tender. I kissed her violently, with all the fury locked inside of me, our frantic breaths clashing with one another.
Her moan vibrated inside my skull, as her hands clenched to fists, trying to break free from my grasp.

She opened her mouth wider, dragged my lip between her teeth, and bit me.

Aggression surged through my body and rattled the cage of something dark inside of me.
I wanted more. More pain. More rage. I wanted to tear into her while cursing her name. Purge myself of the hate until it was spent.
I broke the kiss, breaths heaving, as I glared down at her. “What do you know about Brightmoor?” I rasped.
“I don’t know anything about Brightmoor,” she gritted out.
Lies. “Yeah? Then, why did you have the fucking blueprints tucked in your purse? Devil’s Night plans safe and sound, beside your goddamn lipstick and compact.”
Her chest rose and fell as I kept her captive against the wall, her stare deadpan. “I didn’t—”

 

“Don’t lie to me.” I pressed harder, lips to her ear. “I fucking hate liars,” I whispered, inciting a shudder in her that brought a smile to my face. “Why did you have the chip?”
“I stole it.”
“You stole it.” I wanted to laugh at the stupidity of such a thought, but my voice lacked any ounce of humor or inflection. “I don’t think you did, Pistol Lips. I think he gave it to you. His little pet.”
“I fucking hate you.” Venom laced her words as she stared back at me, those golden eyes blazing with vehemence.
I licked my lips and glanced down at her pert breasts, and smiled. Squeezing her captured wrists with one hand, I reached up under her dress, only grazing the patch of lace that kept my finger from being inside of her, knowing everything she was too stubborn to admit.
Her lids turned heavy, as drunken eyes riveted on my lips.

“Tell me how much you hate me.”

“Don’t,” she warned, and I caught the scrape of her tongue across her teeth.

Grabbing a handful of hair, I tugged her head back until her neck stretched taut, and like a creature of night, I wanted to bite down into that supple flesh and rip her throat out. Dragging my tongue along her shoulder, I made my way to the base of her neck and bit her collarbone. She let out a gasp and I released her wrists. Lust blazed through my veins, when her fingers tangled in my hair and her leg curled around my hip, drawing me against her.

“You know what, Aubree? I fucking hate you, too, but goddamn … you taste so good.”

Hell was having her skin against mine and craving her so badly I wanted to crawl out of my own body…
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Review5 stars
Ricochet-DGR

But that’s what happens when you shoot at something impenetrable.
It ricochets.

Gritty, captivating, unpredictable and completely and utterly unputdownable. Ricochet will suck you into the dark vortex of depravity and vengeance.

This book is what would result if The Punisher and V for Vendetta ever had a baby. A super fucked up but incredibly awesome baby.
Ricochet2-DGRIt’s dark, gritty, and in your face. It will break you, make you bleed, make you cry, shatter you into a million pieces. This is not a story for the faint of heart. The violence is graphic and the story is no rainbow and unicorns kind of read. But if you’re a fan of the dark and gritty romance, you will devour this and beg for more.
Ricochet1-DGRI will not give you a full review here simply because you need to experience this book by going into it absolutely blind.

Nick’s story will break your heart. It will make you feel. It will grip you by the throat from the very first page and keep you at the edge of your seat the entire time. I’m not a reader that easily cries in books (if at all) and I was ugly crying my damn eyes out like a crazy person reading this. It deserves 5 stars for that alone.

It’s a story of revenge. But it’s also so much more. It’s a story of second chances. But that’s not to say the road to it is an easy one.

It’s violent, erotic, unapologetic.
Ricochet4-DGRBut at the heart of it, it’s an incredible love story.

Keri Lake is a master of her craft and she wrote a sexy, dark and twisted tale filled with unpredictable plot twists that will make your head spin. I’m a huge fan of her Sons of Wrath series, but clearly she’s got the contemporary thing down too. And that’s all you’ll be getting from me.
About the Author

Keri Lake is a married mother of two living in Michigan. By day, she tries to make use of the degrees she’s earned in science. By night, she writes dark contemporary and paranormal romance. Though novels tend to be her focus, she also writes short stories and flash fiction on the many occasions when distraction sucks her in to the Land of Shiny Things.
She loves hearing from readers …

Giveaway

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BONUS GIVEAWAY

Leave an honest review on Amazon or Barnes & Noble and enter the form below for a chance to win:

***SIGNED PAPERBACK COPY OF RICOCHET to the first 10 readers who submit a review
***SIGNED POST CARD to the first 50 people who submit a review

The first 50 submissions will receive an email containing a password for a chance to win a $50 Amazon gift card!

NOTE: You MUST submit the link to your review in this form to be eligible. Winners will NOT be drawn from the various sites (they will be chosen based on this form): REVIEW SUBMISSION FORM

New Release & Review: ★The Mistake★ by @ElleKennedy

The Mistake (Off-Campus #2)
Author: Elle Kennedy
Genre: New Adult Romance
Release: April 28, 2015

He’s a player in more ways than one…
College junior John Logan can get any girl he wants. For this hockey star, life is a parade of parties and hook-ups, but behind his killer grins and easygoing charm, he hides growing despair about the dead-end road he’ll be forced to walk after graduation. A sexy encounter with freshman Grace Ivers is just the distraction he needs, but when a thoughtless mistake pushes her away, Logan plans to spend his final year proving to her that he’s worth a second chance.

Now he’s going to need to up his game…
After a less than stellar freshman year, Grace is back at Briar University, older, wiser, and so over the arrogant hockey player she nearly handed her V-card to. She’s not a charity case, and she’s not the quiet butterfly she was when they first hooked up. If Logan expects her to roll over and beg like all his other puck bunnies, he can think again. He wants her back? He’ll have to work for it. This time around, she’ll be the one in the driver’s seat…and she plans on driving him wild.


He absolutely makes me nervous. He’s John fucking Logan, one of the most popular guys at this college. And I’m Grace fucking Ivers, one of thousand of girls who are crushing on him.

You know what I love? A sexy bad boy. Know what I love even more? A good grovel. What else? A sassy and sharp witted heroine that makes the sexy bad boy work for it. So this book? My golden trifecta.

If you’ve read The Deal, then you remember Logan, Garrett’s best friend and roommate and also the poor bastard that manages to get a crush on Garrett’s girlfriend. Seemingly Logan has it all; his choice of girls, a promising hockey future and infamy on campus. But deep down everything is not quite so perfect. His promising hockey future? A mirage that he perpetuates to his friends because of a secret he hides. His pick of girls? Irrelevant because he can’t have the one he wants. But then knocking on the wrong door changes the course of his life when he meets Grace Ivers.

Grace Ivers is an introverted freshman with a mild case of OCD that’s as endearing as she is quirky. Prone to babbling when she gets nervous, I knew just after a few short lines that I’d love her. Her internal dialogue never failed to bring a goofy smile to my face.


I’ve given handjobs before, plus a few blowjobs that I know were a huge success because…well, semen and all that. but I don’t have enough experience to consider myself an expert penis-wrangler or anything.

What starts out as an unlikely friendship quickly turns into something more. Unfortunately before Logan realizes just how perfect Grace is for him he manages to fuck things up so perfectly there may be no fixing it.

I’d say this book is split in two halves; 1. Pre-monumental fuck up and 2. Post-monumental fuck up. And in between those two there’s one deliciously perfect grovel. As much as I liked Grace in the first half of the book, I absolutely loved her in the  second half. She’s a lot more assertive and self-assured in the second half. She really grows into her own and becomes that much more endearing.

To be honest seeing how Logan was crushing on Hannah in the last book and beginning of this one, I was afraid that he’d be “settling” for Grace. But that was never the case, not at all. As a matter of fact, I loved how the author handled that situation. I seriously loved every page of this book. The humor and banter between the guys (and my beloved manwhore Dean) was pure gold.


Just out of curiosity, what constitutes a ‘nice cock shot’? I mean, is it the lighting? The pose?”
“Well, the trick is, you’ve gotta keep the balls out of it.”
“Seriously,” Dean insists. “Balls aren’t photogenic. Women don’t want to see them.”

As for Logan, let’s just say my lust love for Logan never wavered. Well it may have shaken slightly at one point but boy did he make up for it.


Trust me, baby, you’re the only woman I want. The only one who gets me going.”

Everything the man said and did had me feeling all warm and lusty inside.

There was the one “friend” of Grace’s, Ramona, that I wanted to punch in both ovaries and then not-so-gently push her off a bridge because hello twat alert! I was glad to see that Grace wasn’t such a pushover with her later in the book as she was in the beginning, but hopefully Ramona never gets a book. I swear every time I read her name all I could think of was crazy Ramona from Real Housewives and I wanted to reach through my kindle and throttle her.

True story 😉

Aside from that, I really loved this. Logan was absolutely swoon worthy. I loved him and Grace together. I loved him in general. Sure you get another hero with “daddy issues” but I couldn’t find it in me to care.


Belonging. It’s the only way to describe the exquisite rush of sensation that washes over me. His lips BELONG on mine.

If you loved The Deal, I’m almost positive that you’ll love The Mistake. I know that I sure as hell did and I absolutely cannot wait for the next book. I’m hoping it will be my manwhoring Dean. If the set-up in this book is what I think it is then his book is sure to be one verra interesting read.

Blog Tour, Review & #Giveaway: ★The Slayer★ by @Kele_Moon

Title: The Slayer (Untamed Hearts, #2)
Author: Kele Moon
Genre: Erotic | Contemporary Romance
Release Date: March 31, 2015
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To Chuito the apartment was a self-imposed prison for a lifetime of sins. To Alaine, the girl next door, it was salvation from her overbearing, religious father.He was a devil.
She was an angel.

Two people who should’ve never met, let alone become friends, but it’s not until they give into the dangerous passion that’s been simmering under the surface for five years that things go to hell.

On the outside, Chuito ‘The Slayer’ Garcia is on top of the world. He’s successful. He’s wealthy. He’s a champion MMA fighter surrounded by friends who support him, but they don’t know what he was before he came to Garnet.

A gangster.
A thief.
An addict.
A murderer.

Now his past is churning up demons he can’t ignore. Chuito knows he needs to go back to Miami to end it, but there’s something holding him back, a single temptation he can’t resist before leaving.

Alaine.

She’s the one drug he can’t give up…even if it destroys them both.

“To me you’re coke. Fine. Smooth. Perfectly white. Very bad for me, but so fucking sexy I don’t give a shit. It’s worth going down for.” – Chuito Garcia

His destiny always found him no matter how much he ran from it. As sure as Chuito knew the next breath would have to enter his lungs whether he wanted it to or not, he knew that Alaine couldn’t be his forever.

This was THE best fighter romance I’ve read. Ever. To date.

This was Kele’s best book to date.

This is a book that will not only stay with me but it’s going straight to my re-read shelf along with my top 5 favorites.

Simply said, I loved the absolute FUCK out of this book.

I can’t tell you that I loved Chuito in the previous books because let’s be honest here, the man can be a true asshole to anyone that isn’t his closest friends or family. If you’ve read The Viper and saw how he treated Marcos’ girlfriend, you know what I’m talking about. But beneath the tattoos, the title belt, the reputation, and the rough gangster exterior is the heart of a protector. Chuito is a man that does everything fiercely; the way he lives, the way he fucks, and definitely the way he loves. He will do anything for his family. Even if it means selling his soul to the devil, or better yet the Italian mob, to protect his best friend and cousin.

Fate caught up with everyone eventually. Even the devil wasn’t immune to it.

The Slayer will take you back to the beginning and really give you the bones of Chuito’s story, and it is no light read. This is not a man that had an easy life. This is someone that got his first battle scars on the streets, running with a gang that’s only more dangerous when it’s crossed. But when he saw a way out, he took it. Unfortunately, the life had already fully sucked in his cousin and he was unable to help him then. The story line here mixed in with the events of Crossing the Line, and to truly appreciate this book, I would highly recommend reading that first.

Alaine is a ray of life that Chuito never expected to deserve or to give him the time of day. But when the beautiful young woman becomes his neighbor, the begin an incredibly strong friendship. Alaine has been in love with Chuito for as long as she’s known him. There isn’t a part of him that doesn’t call to every feminine part of her. Now let me tell you, watching the way that Chuito is with her will absolutely melt your heart. This is not a man that ever hides his feelings or leads her on. He’s not your typical manwhore that sleeps around to take his mind off of the one woman he doesn’t think he can have or deserves. He couldn’t be further from that. But that doesn’t mean that he gives into her. She’s too good for him, too pure. His past and his life can always catch up with him. His current situation with Tino isn’t exactly one he wants touching her either. So while he loves her, he knows he can never give her more than that.

I just love you. That’s it. Only love. Not sex. I can just love someone. Love is good. Sex is cruel.”

Their connection was something that absolutely drew you in. The chemistry between them is so palpable it’s electric. Their private dancing is just the icing on the cake.


Listen to the drums. That’s the part you listen to. Feel it.”
“I’m feeling it.”
No. Feel it like a heartbeat. Like life. You want it to be a love song, hear the sex in it. Hold me like I hold you.” He jerked her tighter against him as he said it, forcing her breasts to crush against his chest and her dress to ride higher up on her thighs. “Like you need me.”

God but I loved it.

This was not a love story of a few days or even weeks. This was a love story strengthened by friendship and grown through several years. This may just even be one of my most favorite couples I’ve read to date.

Chuito fights the connection between them for a long as he can. But inevitably, it proves to be too much, and when these two finally get together? Well, forget sparks, we’re talking about 4th of July fireworks here. I don’t remember the last time I read a book where the first sexual encounter actually gave me goosebums. With the books I’ve read, believe me when I say that this pervert has been desensitized to most of it. But boy did these two together get my heart pumping.

She clung to his shoulders and let him take her mouth the way he had taken her heart a long time ago- violently and without warning.

But it was so much more than just an incredible love story. At the heart of it, there’s Chuito’s past catching up with him and him fighting like hell to protect Alaine and his cousin from it. There was one scene in this book that was so incredibly gut wrenching to read, I actually had to set the book down for 5 minutes after reading it, just to calm myself.

Gangster tears weren’t ordinary tears. The cut had to be deeper than bone, a hurt that made motherfuckers unrepentant murderers. It ripped open souls and bled out humanity.

All of my favorite secondary characters from previous books made an appearance. And of course what would this series be without Tino and Nova. Now Tino, oh my darling Tino. I freaking love this man. The banter between him and everyone else was the comedic relief that was definitely necessary and oh so welcome.

You just told me you manspaced. You’re fucked up too.”
“It’s a common courtesy,” Tino went on. “No woman wants to suck on a hairy dick.”

But when if there’s one thing that Tino does even more fiercely than Chuito, it’s protecting his loved ones. And there is definitely one heart breaking choice that Tino makes in this book that you just know will haunt him all through his book and I can’t wait to see how that plays out.

I’m pretty sure that I highlighted over half this book. I just couldn’t stop myself. I loved it so hard.

I’m talking everything; the story, the romance, the angst, the heartache, EVERYTHING. As long as this book was (an it was LONG), I never wanted it to end.

This is a book and author that needs to be on everyone’s TBR list. I don’t care who you are, it’s impossible not to fall in love with this series or these characters. If this book doesn’t make you fall head over heels for Chuito and Alaine, then we haven’t been reading the same one. I’m that confident. Kele Moon is an incredibly talented author that continues to write books that are better and better than the last. All have her signature voice, but yet they’re different in the best of ways. No one book, character, or story of hers is the same. I can’t tell you how much I love that. This book will break your heart, it will melt it, and then it will piece it together, all in one breath stealing and captivating story. I simply cannot recommend it enough.

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A freckle faced, redhead born and raised in Hawaii, Kele Moon has always been a bit of a sore thumb and has come to enjoy the novelty of it. She thrives off pushing the envelope and finding ways to make the impossible work in her story telling. With a mad passion for romance, she adores the art of falling in love. The only rules she believes in is that, in love there are no rules and true love knows no bounds.

So obsessed is she with the beauty of romance and the novelty of creating it she’s lost in her own wonder world most of the time. Thankfully she married her own dark, handsome, brooding hero who had infinite patience for her airy ways and attempts to keep her grounded. When she leaves her keys in the refrigerator or her cell phone in the oven he’s usually there to save her from herself. The two of them now reside in Florida with their three beautiful children who make their lives both fun and challenging in equal parts–They wouldn’t have it any other way.

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Blog Tour, Review & #Giveaway: ★A Perfect Ten★ by @lindakage

A Perfect Ten
Author: Linda Kage
Genre: New Adult Romance
Release Date: March 30th, 2015
Self-Published

Let your hair down, Caroline, they said. It’ll be fun, they said.I know I’ve closed myself off in a major way in the past year, ever since “the incident” where I messed up my life completely. It’s past time I try to live again or just give up completely. But this is quite possibly the craziest thing I’ve ever done. In a last ditch effort to invigorate myself, I’m standing outside Oren Tenning’s bedroom, I just peeled off the sexiest pair of underwear I own, and my hand is already raised to knock.

My brother would disown me for doing anything with his best friend, and he’d probably kill Oren. But if I play my cards right, no one will ever know about this. Not even Ten.

Maybe after tonight, I’ll finally get over this stupid, irrational crush I hate having on the biggest jerk I’ve ever met. Or maybe I’ll just end up falling for him even harder. Maybe I’ll discover there’s so much more to my crude, carefree hunk than meets the eye.

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Excerpt
She was Noel Gamble’s one and only sister; I could not fuck her. No matter what.
Ergo, I needed to take drastic measures to keep her at arm’s length. I needed to…okay, fine. Fuck. I just needed to be me. Not really so drastic once you think about it, even though it probably seemed that way to her.
So I let her have the full intensity of Ten. I stopped watching what I said when she was around, and I let all my base, disgusting thoughts bleed out of my mouth like I usually did. I stopped smiling at her, stopped paying her special attention with little courteous things like holding doors open for her or asking her how her day went. I completely stopped being a nice guy. I backed off and pretty much ignored her, unless I could think up something crude to say in her direction. I made sure to chase other women when she was around. And I felt like shit every night I lay in bed, unable to get to sleep, because I’d relive every awful thing I’d done to her that day.
No matter how deeply my actions ate at me, though, it didn’t stop me from making her hate me and killing any soft feelings she’d ever had for me.
It should’ve been easy to accomplish. Everyone who knows me knows how fast I can piss off a woman.
But nothing about Caroline has ever been easy.
That’s the curious thing about temptation. It festers and grows. You feed that bitch enough and she morphs into craving, and then craving turns into obsession. Pretty soon, nothing in your life is as important as that one thing you want but can’t have.
I wanted her and I couldn’t have her, so I fed the temptation, I flooded the craving, I would’ve fucking nursed the obsession from my own tits if I could’ve. I made sure I got little doses of her here and there. Except something incredibly enlightening happens when you spend enough time in one woman’s company. You start noticing shit about her, little useless shit that actually begins to mean everything, like how she brushes the hair out her face—even if there isn’t any in her eyes—whenever she’s unsettled, or how she chews on the end of a pen during class whenever she’s listening to something that captivates her attention. You learn all her different laughs and know what each one means. You learn what pisses her off the most, or what makes her the happiest. You discover how smart and witty and sarcastic she is, and that her mind is almost as dirty as yours. You see how passionate she becomes when she defends those she loves, and you start to fall. Hard.
So, this is my Pathetic Loser’s confession: I am Oren Tenning and I have fallen. Hard.

Review

5 stars

So this is my Pathetic Loser’s confession: I am Oren Tenning, and I have fallen. Hard.

Have you ever started a series and fallen so hard for a secondary character you were equal parts itching to finally get your hands on their book and dreading it at the same time? Dreading it because after 3 books of building his story up in your head, there is no possible way the author can do him justice. That is, unless that author is the brilliant Linda Kage. Because OH MY GOD. I loved this book so hard, I don’t even have the words. When Oren Tenning first came on the scene as Noel’s loud mouthed and manwhoring best friend in To Professor, with Love I just knew his story had to be a good one, especially when you could practically see the fireworks go off the first time he laid his eyes on Noel’s younger sister…Noel’s very VERY hands off sister.

Didn’t he know that forbidding me only made me want to crowd in as close as I could until I was fucking INSIDE her?

Book by book Linda built him up to our hearts, where finally in With Every Heartbeat he truly shined for everything that he truly is. Where early in the series you just get to scrape the surface of everything that is Ten, seeing the way he was with Quinn and Zoey you truly get to see the heart beneath his manwhoring and potty mouthed ways. And oh, be still my beating heart.
Caroline has been lusting after Oren for months. After having her young girl heart crushed by a man that cared nothing for her, she moves in with her brother and his now wife. But unfortunately her relationship past has turned Noel into an overprotective ogre, especially when it comes to warning off his best friend. Too bad that no matter how many times Noel tells her and no matter how many times she’s slapped in the face with who Oren is, Caroline can’t turn her feelings off…

My stupid, idiotic heart that had no sense of decency or self-preservation whatsoever. Seriously, what kind of heart fell for an annoying, obnoxious, loud-mouthed male-slut?

Can I just say how much I loved the humorous banter in this book? Because it was just filled with it. Between Ten’s smart mouth, and Caroline and Zoey, and all the other fantastic secondary characters, I think I had a goofy smile on my face the entire time reading this.

I can’t text him saying, ‘Your dick is now mine. Get it near any other woman, and I’ll physically remove it from you and keep it in a jar by my bedside.’ That would sound a bit creepy.”
“Actually, I was thinking it sounded A LOT creepy.

But of course at the center of everything was Ten and Coraline. If ever there were 2 people that couldn’t be more perfect for each other, it’s these two. They just fit. I don’t know else to better describe it. Their chemistry together was just through the roof. And speaking of chemistry, this may just be THE hottest book Linda Kage has written yet. I thought my Kindle may catch fire through certain parts because let me just say that Oren has quite the mouth on him…

What the fuck have you done to me, Caroline?

I never wanted this book to end. I honestly can’t tell you one thing about it I didn’t absolutely love. It was funny, it was sexy, it was os so addictingly good.
I adored Ten. Who would have guessed that the dirty mouthed manwhore would have such a heart of gold. Gah! I’m in total gush mode here.

Why couldn’t I stay away from you?” he demanded with another long, slow thrust. “Why can’t I get enough of you?” Thrust. “Why do I want to own every fucking piece of you?” Thrust.

As much as I never wanted it to end, I absolutely LOVED the epilogue. What a perfect conclusion to the series. I absolutely cannot wait to see what Linda has in store with us next, and hopefully Asher will be getting his turn soon because the little peak we get of his story in this book sounded absolutely delicious.
About the Author

Linda grew up on a dairy farm in the Midwest as the youngest of eight children. Now she lives in Kansas with her husband, daughter, and nine cuckoo clocks. Her life’s been blessed with lots of people to learn from and love. Writing’s always been a major part of her world, and she is so happy to finally share some of her stories with other romance lovers.

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Review: ★Fisher’s Light★ by @TaraSivec

Fisher’s Light
Author: Tara Sivec
Genre: Contemporary Romance (Second Chance Romance)
Release Date: March 24, 2015

Fisher,I guess this is it, huh? After fourteen years together, starting a life of our own on this island, five deployments and countless letters I’ve written you through it all, I finally go out to the mailbox and see something I’ve always dreamed of: an envelope with your handwriting on it. For one moment, I actually thought you’d changed your mind, that all the awful things you said to me were just your way of coping after everything you’d been through. I was still here, Fisher. I was still here, holding my breath, waiting for you to come back even though you told me you never would. You always said you’d find your way back to me. Out of all the lies you’ve told me, this one hurts the most.
Enclosed you will find the signed divorce papers, as requested.
I hope you find what you’re looking for. I’m sorry it wasn’t me.
Lucy

To get the ending they want, Lucy and Fisher will have to go back to the beginning. Through the good and the bad, they’ll be reminded of why they always made their way back to each other, and why this time, one way or another, it will be the last time.

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Review5 stars

I’m going to fix this. I have to fix this… I hate every moment that I’m away from her, but I will do whatever it takes to find the man she once loved and bring him back to her.”

When I first read that blurb, I knew that this was going to be one of those books for me. The soul crushing, gut wrenching, make you hurt so good just to put you back together kind of books. And you know what? I wasn’t even a tiny bit wrong. Just 5 percent into this story, I was completely captivated and totally enraptured in the story of Fisher and Lucy. I think the only thing I love more than an amazing second chance romance, is a tortured hero and this book gave me both.

How do I get that back when the darkness is hell bent on taking over, holding me in its clutches and making sure I never see the sunshine again?

Fisher’s Light is told in alternating first person POV and flips back and forth between past and present in the form of Fisher’s journal entries in past and alternating POVs in the present. It’s done in such an incredible way that it read like two sides of a coin. It gave you the dark, ugly parts of their relationship only to turn around and through Fisher’s journal to give you that light at the end of the tunnel. Where one part you’ll find yourself hating him and the way he treats Lucy, in the other part your heart will break for him and his internal struggle. These two sides were balances out so well, that the story was made that much better.

Fisher and Lucy are high school sweethearts. Their love for each other flows right off of the pages and deep into your soul. It’s one of those couples that will really stay with me for years to come. Fisher is the son of the founding family of Fisher’s Island. He’s the popular rich boy that every boy wants to be and every girl wants to be with. But the second Fisher first lays eyes on Lucy, no one else exists for him.

Fisher joins the Marines when he’s 18. Their marriage of 14 years survives 5 of his tours overseas. Every time he comes back, he comes back a little more broken, a little more haunted, and a little more tortured.

Suffering from debilitating PTSD, Fisher begins to slowly lose touch between his reality and his memories but Lucy stands by him through it all

There might be a few cracks, but nothing is ever perfect. Anything that’s worth living for, worth dying for, has a few cracks

But unfortunately, no matter how hard she fights for him, with each and every day that passes, Fisher slips further and further away from her. Until the one day where he breaks her so completely that there is absolutely no coming back from it.

I don’t deserve her forgiveness. I never deserved her to begin with, so now she’ll be free to find security and happiness without having to worry about the broken man she married who can never be fixed.

This book hurt so good, I can’t even begin to describe to you the feels of it all. I was a slobbering, sniveling mess for a good chunk of it and I loved every tearful second of it. It was such a beautiful and emotional story.

Lucy is ones of those heroines that you will fall in love with from the very beginning. She’s strong but with insecurities, yet her love for Fisher is so fierce and unconditional. When he left her a year ago, she didn’t know if she could come back from it. But she picked up the scattered pieces of her life and she’s trying to move on.

To get to the good, sometimes you have to live through the bad.

Fisher never stopped loving Lucy. He knows that his actions hurt her immeasurably, but he’s determined to atone for his sins and get his wife back. There is no one else for him.

You’re my light, Lucy…
You are always the light in my darkness. You’re the reason I’m alive, you’re the reason I’m here and you’re the reason I breathe, every day.”

Lucy is no longer the insecure and meek little girl from their childhood or the quiet wife he left behind, and she definitely doesn’t make things easy for him. Watching him really work to get back into her life was one of my favorite parts of this book. Having only read Tara’s Chocolate Lovers series, I was honestly shocked at how she was able to flip from humorous and fluffy to something so emotional and poignant. It speaks volumes of her talent as an author.

I will ALWAYS fucking fight for you, Lucy,” I promise as I dig my fingers deeper into her hips and pull her body down a little more on my cock…
“It’s always been you. It will ALWAYS, only be you.” I whisper as I shift my hips and slide in and out of her as fast as I can in the water.

I adored this book from beginning to finish. It ripped my heart to shreds and then melded it all back together with a romance that I’ll compare all others to. It was just THAT good.

I recommend this book for any romance readers. This is simply a must read and it’s going straight to the very top of my all time favorites.

Release Blitz, Review & #Giveaway: ★When I Fall★ by @AuthorJDaniels

 
Title: When I Fall
Series: Alabama Summer #3
Author: J Daniels
Release Date: March 17, 2015

From NY Times and USA Today Bestselling author, J. DanielsBook three in the Alabama Summer series.

For the past nine years, I’ve kept my heart as far away from my dick as possible.

Those two can’t be anywhere near each other. They don’t play nice, and one of them undoubtedly winds up getting hurt.

Not my dick. My dick is good.

The women I take home know exactly what they’re getting from me—sex. Nothing more. At least, that’s what’s supposed to happen. The sweet brunette from Kentucky I set my sights on tonight shouldn’t have been any different. I had her right where I wanted her. Where I needed her. But when my past comes walking into McGill’s pub, the woman in my arms decides to take things to a whole new level, putting me into a situation I never saw coming.

My heart is about to get fucked. My dick can sit this one out.

*** Warning: This book is recommended for readers over the age of 18 due to strong language and explicit sexual content. When I Fall can be read as a standalone novel.

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Review

5 stars

I don’t know how she does it, but she manages to look this perfect blend of innocent and I’m-about-to-fuck-your-world-up.

You know what I love when finding a new author? When that author never sticks to a formula and shows growth with every book she writes. I also love that she has her signature voice in her characters, but every book is refreshingly different, entertaining, and oh so sexy. To say that I was anxiously anticipating Reed’s book would be a major understatement. What I wasn’t expecting, however, was to love it as much as I did.

I loved Reed as a secondary character in All I Want. If you follow my reviews or know me at all then you know just how much I love me the manwhores. And Reed? He’s the manwhore king.

This is just sex, and the only thing this chick needs to know is how I fuck, not why I fuck the way I do. I’m not getting personal. My dick is. End of discussion.

5 years ago, a relationship gone wrong twisted Reed’s world on it’s axis. The last thing he wants to do is dive back into the clutches of love and have his heart torn to shreds again. He will never allow himself to be that pathetic and vulnerable.

Beth has never had anyone in her life to rely on. When her alcoholic mother dies, she’s left homeless and without any family. Loneliness and desperation makes people do things that they’re not proud of, and Beth has definitely been through her share of bad memories. So when she learns that her mother has a sister that she knew nothing about that’s willing to take her in, she’s absolutely thrilled. She picks up her meager belongings, mainly her beloved Kindle, and moves to Alabama.

Given Reed’s sexual proclivities and just how absolutely sweet Beth was, I wasn’t sure how the author would pull off their connection at first. But I should have known better than to doubt the brilliance of J. Daniels, because not only does she pull it off, she does so effortlessly.

I absolutely LOVED the way that Beth and Reed meet and how their relationship develops. These two have absolutely sizzling chemistry from their very first shared look. Then there’s Reed’s absolutely filthy mouth, and who the hell can resist that?

My mouth goes dry, but luckily, the image he just put into my head makes me salivate instantly.
Me.
Bent over the table.
Him.
Doing the bending.
My chest shudders on an exhale.

I’m usually a reader that enjoys the tough and sassy heroines, so it was shocking to me just how much I loved Beth since she was neither one of those things. Well, I can’t say she wasn’t tough, she did survive most things that would turn others into someone bitter and angry at the world. She was like a ray of sunshine; always seeking the positive, caring, and so sweet she’d make sugar melt. But it was never in a naive way, not really. She was just incredibly endearing. And watching someone like that bring the town’s infamous manwhore to his knees? Well it just made it THAT much more satisfying.

This isn’t fucking. Not this. I can’t stop looking at her. I can’t tell her how wet my dick is. I can’t ask her to suck me while I finger her ass.
I don’t want to stop.
I don’t want to come.
I don’t want anything but her.
I’ve never been this terrified.

Considering just how much I love me my dirty talkers, it’s not too hard to see why Reed was my favorite character in the series, is it?

I want to watch those perfect fucking lips wrap around around my cock, sucking me while you finger yourself. I want you bent over, spread out on the floor, tied to the bed while I’m fucking you raw.

Right then.

I devoured this book in practically one sitting. I honestly can’t tell you one thing I didn’t enjoy about it. I love how each new book in the series gives us a continuation of the previous couples. It was so great getting those extra moments with Luke and Tessa, and Mia and Ben. This book had everything; humor, a fantastic and heartfelt story, a dirty talking hero that will melt all panties within a 20 mi radius, and a beautiful romance. I loved it! Fans of the series will definitely enjoy this book. And if you haven’t discovered this fantastic author yet, I couldn’t recommend a better book. While you’d best enjoy reading this series in order, since you’d have a better appreciation for the characters, you may still easily read it as a standalone. I’ve been a fan of this author since her Sweet Possession series, but after this book she’s going straight to my auto-buy list.


Hope is a funny thing. Even when you think you have none, it refuses to lied down quietly. In the darkest moments of my life, I’ve always had hope..

Available Now

Alabama Summer (book 1)
Alabama Summer (book 2)
(On sale for $1.99)
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About the Author

J. Daniels was born and raised in Maryland.After putting her kids to bed, she escapes into her cheeky world where some of her characters kiss, and some of them do a lot more than kiss.

She is an avid reader and enjoys everything from unconventional romance to fantasy novels.

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Release Blitz & Review: ★Pocketful of Sand★ by @mleightonbooks

A story of heartbreak, loss, redemption and second chances: Pocketful of Sand from New York Times bestselling author M. Leighton

Pocketful-of-Sand250“She’s beauty for my ashes. And I’m hope for her heartache.”—Cole Danzer

I don’t know what makes a great love story. Is it that instant attraction when boy meets girl? The passionate kisses and the fairy-tale ending? Or is it a lifetime of tragedy, paid in advance, for a few stolen moments of pure bliss? The pain and the suffering that, in the end, you can say are worth it for having found the missing piece of your soul?

The answer is: I don’t know. I don’t know what makes a great love story. I only know what makes my love story. I only know that finding Cole when I did, when Emmy and I were running from a nightmare, was the only thing that saved me. That saved us. He was more broken than I was, but somehow we took each other’s shattered pieces and made a whole. If that is what makes a great love story, if that is what makes an epic romance, then mine…ours is the greatest of them all.

Contains material that some may find disturbing. Not intended for readers under the age of 18.

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Review

5 stars

 

He was more broken than I was, but somehow we took each other’s shattered pieces and made a whole.

I don’t know what it is about this book that touched me on such a viscaral level, but I still can’t stop thinking about this story or the ending. I’ve read other books by this author and I already knew she could write, but this book just blew the other ones out of the water. It was THAT good. Emotional, gripping, and unforgettable story of second chances and redemption, this is one story I won’t be forgetting any time soon.

Eden is running from a past that still haunts her. Together with her young daughter they finally find the peace they’re looking for in a small town on a cabin on the beach. Eden isn’t looking for a man in her life. All she wants is stability; stability for her and especially for her daughter. But when they stumble onto a handsome stranger silently building a sandcastle on the beach, Eden and Emmy are both inexplicably drawn to him. Eden doesn’t know what it is about the silent and brooding man. Maybe she recognizes his inner turmoil and pain in his eyes? Or maybe it’s just a connection that can’t be explained with simple chemistry. Whatever the reason may be, she finds her eyes gravitate to him at every chance…

He’s capturing me.
And I’m captured.
He wants me.
And I’m all his.
And I love it. I love it all. More than I ever thought I could.

At being just 23 years old, you would think that Eden would be yet another cliche early 20’s character. But she was so much more than that. Maybe it’s the mother in me that connect with her so much and seeing how much she loved and protected her daughter? She just always had this quiet and unassuming strength to her that was incredibly endearing.

Now Cole….oh my poor broken Cole.

You make me feel all sorts of things. Too many things. Things I never wanted to feel. But you just wouldn’t stop. You just. Wouldn’t. Stop.

This is a man that you just know has some deep pain. A pain that can only stem from a loss that’s so great, the wounds from it will never heal. And he doesn’t want it to either. He welcomes the pain, the heartache. That’s his atonement for being the cause of his loss.

I loved seeing the relationship slowly develop between these two broken souls. They’re both struggling with their own demons, but together they help heal each other’s wounds. While it is a slow burn, this story was completely unputdownable for me. I just couldn’t get enough of both these characters. While you get bits and pieces of Cole’s painful past right away, Eden’s doesn’t fully come out until the end and boy does it pack a punch.

I loved how the author aged to weave together an incredible intricate story of loss and survival along with a touching and emotional romance.

His lips. I knew they’d taste like heaven. And they do. They’re the perfect mixture of firm and soft, and they move over one with a power I always knew him capable of. It prowls in him, just beneath the surface, like a caged animal. Right now, the animal is barely contained.

I really wish I can give you more than that, but it would just take away from the story. This is just one of those books that you would best enjoy going into absolutely blind. This was a very solid 4 star read until that ending. That ending? It brought it up to a 5 star for me for the uniqueness alone. It completely caught me off guard and I found it simply perfect for the book. If you’re looking for a unique romance unlike most you’ve read lately that will capture your heart and make you cry tears of joy and pain right along with the characters, this is a book that NEEDS to be on your TBR. I cannot recommend it enough.

PoS-MLeighton-LaunchMeme3

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author M. Leighton is a native of Ohio. She relocated to the warmer climates of the South, where she can be near the water all summer and miss the snow all winter. Possessed of an overactive imagination from early in her childhood, Michelle finally found an acceptable outlet for her fantastical visions: literary fiction. Having written over a dozen novels, these days Michelle enjoys letting her mind wander to more romantic settings with sexy Southern guys, much like the one she married and the ones you’ll find in her latest books. When her thoughts aren’t roaming in that direction, she’ll be riding horses, swimming in ponds and experiencing life on a ranch, all without leaving the cozy comfort of her office.

 

Review: ★This Heart Of Mine★ by @Brenda_Novak

This Heart of Mine (Whiskey Creek #8)
Author: Brenda Novak
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Chick Lit
Length: 400 pages
Release Date: March 31, 2015

First love. Second chance?
As the daughter of a hoarder, Phoenix Fuller had a tough childhood. So when the handsome, popular Riley Stinson became her boyfriend in high school, she finally felt as though she had something to be proud of. Phoenix was desperate not to lose him—especially once she found out she was pregnant. Yes, she might have acted a bit obsessive when he broke up with her. But she did not run down the girl he started dating next!
Unfortunately, there was no way to prove her innocence. Now, after serving her time in prison, Phoenix has been released. All she wants to do is return to Whiskey Creek and get to know her son. But Jacob’s father isn’t exactly welcoming.
Riley doesn’t trust Phoenix, doesn’t want her in Jacob’s life. He is, however, ready to find someone to love. And he wants a good mother for his son. He has no idea that he’s about to find both—if they can forgive the mistakes in their past…

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AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER

Review

5 stars

She’d wanted him so badly seventeen years ago. And now that he wanted her, regardless of what anyone said, she wouldn’t come near him.

This book. This wonderfully written, poignant, emotional and beautiful book. This Heart Of Mine reminded me exactly what made me fall in love with contemporary romance in the first place. I cannot believe that I am just not discovering this fantastic author and 8 books into a series no less. And I’m sure some of my OCD friends are twitching right now over the fact that I started with book 8 in a series. But breathe easy, concerned friends, because this book was easily read as a standalone and I am not planning on going back and reading the 7 books that came before it.

Phoenix Fuller grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. A daughter to an overweight hoarder, she’s never had an easy life, so when handsome and popular Riley Stinson becomes her boyfriend, she thought her life was finally starting to look up…until he broke up with her. Being young and having no support, she didn’t know how to deal with her heartbreak. Her extreme behavior after the breakup led her to be incarcerated for a crime she was innocent of simply because she was the most likely suspect.

Now after spending the past 17 years in prison, Phoenix is back to the small town of Whiskey Creek with a new outlook on life. She wants to help take care of her mother and she wants to get to know her son, a son she had with the boy that stole her heart all those years ago and then ripped it to shreds.

Don’t let your pride stand between you and the things you need, Phoenix.”
“Pride? All I have left is my self-respect. You want to take that away, too?”

I think that Phoenix was probably one of the best heroines I have read in quite a long while. You would think that going through what she’s gone through, she’d be angry at the world, cynical and bitter. But she was none of those things. She had this charmingly unassuming quality to her that made her both vulnerable and yet strong. She’s broken in a way that she no longer believes herself worthy of love or kindness of others. She’s accepted that about herself and she doesn’t blame anyone or holds any animosity towards the people that have done her wrong. She simply takes it for what it is and tries to live her life and provide for her son even if his father isn’t exactly welcoming and she has to live on her last cents just so she can go to bed at night knowing that she gave something to him.

Riley is still trying to set his feelings in order now that Phoenix is back. He loved her when he was 18, but he was too immature to truly recognize it for what it was and not give into the pressure of his family about being too good for the town’s trailer trash. The unanswered questions still burn between Riley and Phoenix, as well as the lack of closure for their failed relationship makes for some angst. The author did such an incredible job writing these two characters that you can’t help but feel every emotion they feel. Riley is definitely a man that feels guilt and he doesn’t know what to do with it. He knows that he’s one of the many that has wronged Phoenix, but as much as he wants to right it he also knows he may never get her forgiveness. This was just so incredibly palpable the story practically vibrated with it. I can’t even begin to describe in words all the feels that this book brought out in me.

It’s not fair, I know. I don’t understand why everything went the way it did. But since you came home it feels…it feels as if you’re what I’ve been waiting for.

Phoenix was by all accounts a heroine that I probably would have hated in any other book. Her insecurities and her experiences truly made for a broken woman, and yet…she wasn’t. There was always just something so endearing about her that you can’t help but have your heart break for her and everything that she’s been through.

I fell in love with Riley and Phoenix, and even more so with their son Jake. This was not the typical teenager that you’d expect to read about. He was wise beyond his years, so down to earth and kind. I just adored him and how he was always this part that kind of filled in the holes between Riley and Phoenix and made them whole. I loved all the secondary characters as well.

While this book wasn’t very steamy, I never even found myself missing it. I loved the story so much that I think anything more than what it had would have been too much. The budding relationship between Riley and Phoenix was realistic. Brenda Novak did a great job building it around everything that they’ve been through and giving both their experiences justice without taking anything away.

I’m happy to do all the fighting, for both of us. But I have to have YOU on my side. I have to know I’m fighting for something I can actually win.”

My only minor complaint is how a few things wrapped up. I guess I wanted apologies and repercussions. But at the same time, it was realistic and played true to the story and the characters. So as much as I would have loved to have something…more, I understood why it was the way it was. I also would have loved an extended epilogue, but again, the ending was satisfying enough that I didn’t focus on that too much.

The mere fact that I was so thoroughly engrossed in the story I couldn’t bear to put it down for even a second. If that’s not a 5 star read, I don’t know what is. If you’re a fan of chick lit, second chance romance, and amazingly written characters with a poignant story, this book is an absolute must read. I can’t recommend it enough.

ARC courtesy of publisher in exchange for an honest review

Copyright © 2015 · Dirty Girl Romance

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