Review of Paradise Hops By Liz Crowe

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Stand Alone, Erotica, Adult Fiction.

Published: October 2012

4 out 5 Stars (This was a great read.)

 Lori Brockton survives a brutal attack and comes out of hiding two years later, ready to run her family’s famous Brockton Brewery Company.  Since the attack she trusts and relies on no one. All her energy is to learn every aspect of her family’s brewery.  Garrett Hunter, is handsome, successful and stable and is hired as the new Brockton business manager, who takes one look at Lori and can’t help but try to win her trust and heart.  Standing between Garrett and Lori is hot, bad boy, Eli Buchannan, who has just been hired by Brockton Brewery.  Eli is the complete opposite of Garrett. Eli has been burned by a previous relationship is not looking for any type of love.  But then something drastic and life changing occurs.

Days after reading this I had to put my thoughts together before I was able to write this review.

First let me start by saying I loved the story.  I also loved the author’s writing style.  I know I will be reading more books by Liz Crowe.

Before I started this book, I knew that there was going to be an angsty part.  I did not know where in the book it was going to fall or what it was going to be.  What I have to say is that the tragedy took me by surprise.  It came out of left field and hit me right in the head.  I had to go back and reread a few chapters.  After I realized what happened, I had to stop for a few minutes.  “No way did that just happen” were my thoughts.  Those scenes were written perfectly.

My only problem with the story was Lori.  I liked her in the beginning, but then I did not care for her. I had some problems with her “thought” process.  I felt like she never knew what she wanted.  She frustrated and angered me.

I do not want to say much more.  I want you to go into this book not knowing too much.  One last thing I would like to say is that I craved an ice cold beer and Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata when I was done.

• Did I skim? No.
• Did I feel connected to characters?  Yes.
• Would I reread?  Yes. I had to reread certain chapters to wrap my head around what happened.
• Pace of the story? Excellent
• Positives?  I loved the plot.  It was very interesting.  Kept my interest throughout the book.
• Negatives? Can’t think of anything except I did not care for Lori, but I guess when you dislike a character, it makes for a more interesting story.  This book would make a GOOD  book club read. There are so many things I would love to discuss concerning the characters and certain scenes in this book.
• Do I recommend? Yes. Read it. 

 A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for an honest review.

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Review of Fight or Flight By Vanessa North

Genre: Sci-Fi, Contemporary Romance, Adult Fiction.

Published: December 2012

4 out of 5 Stars (I am glad I found this one)

I love when I come across an author I have never heard of and end up reading one of their books and loving it.  I can’t recall how I came across Vanessa North’s website and read the description to Fight or Flight and became curious.

I used to read sci-fi in college, but not the Star Trek kind of sci-fi.  I used to read a lot of Ben Bova. Not sure if anyone has ever heard of him, but he writes about human expansion through the solar system.

Anyway, I would not consider sci-fi my favorite genre or one that I seek when I go through my Kindle wish-list. However, after reading Fight or Flight, I will be putting more sci-fi books on my wish-list, especially Vanessa North’s books.  She has opened a door to sci-fi that had been closed for a while.

The story starts with Tirzah Simonian, while trying to escape from her estranged husband, kills him and is arrested for his murder. Advacate-Commender, Zeke Lucassen, is assigned as the prosecutor in Tirzah’s case.  Zeke is pressured to win the case and make sure that Tirzah is stripped of her pilot wings and placed in work camps (jail). Zeke, has no problem prosecuting Tirzah since he has no love for women especially ones who abandon their husbands.  However, as more and more is discovered during the court proceedings, Zeke is not so sure that everything that is being said about Tirzah as being a ruthless woman and killer is true.

First, I love the characters. Tirzah is a strong woman even after her abusive husband ripped away most of her self-esteem.  Zeke, is a strong and kind man, who went through a very difficult experience in his marriage and is now leery to have any woman in his life.

I enjoyed reading how these two people who both gave up hope on ever finding love and happiness find each other.  However, some of their experiences in their past relationship does hunt them.

• Did I skim? No.  The pages are filled with the story.  Not meaningless inner monologue.
• Do I recommend? Yes
• Did I feel connected to the characters? Yes. The story is written through Tirzah and Zeke’s POV.
• Pace of the story? Good. It kept my interest the whole time.
• Steamy: Yes.
• Did I look forward to returning to the book when I had to stop reading? Yes.
• My Positives:  I liked the flow of the story.  I was not bored.
• My Negatives:  I did not really find any. My only thought is I would have liked the court proceedings to be extended.  I liked the way Vanessa North wrote those scenes, so I was disappointed when they came to a close.

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Will You Read Stealing Harper (Taking Chances #2) Chase’s POV?

Will You Read Stealing Harper (Taking Chances #2)?

****Please do not read if you have not read Taking Chances #1 by Molly McAdams. The following contains spoilers.

I first read Taking Chances on September 8, 2012.  I knew of no one who had read the book, so I had no idea about anything concerning the book. The only reason I picked it up was it came up as a recommended read on my Kindle.

So I read it and I think like the rest of us who read Taking Chances was shocked, stunned, had that whole stomach twisted feeling about what happened with Chase.  And I came to that part at 1:16am.  Yes, I remember the exact time I found out that Chase was no longer with us.  When something that traumatic happens in the book, you stop look around and go ‘Oh My God’.  I happened to be staring at the cable box, which was blinking 1:16, in my bedroom.

I ranted and ranted and ranted for weeks.  I joined support groups with a lot of people on Goodreads because of my daily ranting and crying. I needed to get all my feelings out to anyone who cared or would listen. I was pathetic in September.

I think Molly McAdams is an amazing writer.  However, at the time, I was so upset with her.  The baby should have been named after Chase, not someone from Brandon’s family.  With the way the story ended, I felt she put no consideration to putting Chase at peace.  I hated Harper (actually I still do) and the way she handled his death and Brandon, he just annoyed me. He did from page one. Sorry to any Team Brandon fans out there. Chase was my guy and when he was gone, it felt strange.

So when I heard that Molly McAdams was writing Chase’s POV titled Stealing Harper, I immediately posted on Goodreads the following:

1/16/13 – “I am putting this on my bookshelf, as I CAN’T GO THRU THAT AGAIN. I think it will kill me to read every word that my FAVORITE character in Taking Chances thought, felt and said. Months after reading Taking Chances, I still remember what I felt when I read those last paragraphs with Chase.”

Then not a day later, I wrote the following:

01/07/13 – “Okay, I am a masochist because I swore on all that was holy that I was not going to read this book. I think I did the whole “I am not reading this book” talk yesterday. So what did I do just now…went on Facebook, clicked on Molly McAdams’ link, and read a teaser from Stealing Harper. Honestly, when will I ever learn???!!!!”

So my question to all of you is:

Will You Read Stealing Harper?

My answer…I do not know.  I miss Chase, but am I willing to go through that again?? I know what will happen, so the ending will not be a surprise. Molly McAdams, I know will write his story very well and I would want to know what Chase was thinking. It is a tough question.

Stealing Harper – Expected Publication June 4, 2013

To follow Molly McAdams:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MollyMcAdams
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Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/Molly_McAdams
Blog: http://www.mollymcadams.blogspot.com
Email: molly.mcadams@hotmail.com

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Review of Rule (Rule #1) By Jay Crownover

4 out of 5 Stars (I really liked this book.)

Genre: Contemporary Romance, YA/NA/College (18+), Bad Boy.

Publication: December 2012

Length: 327 Pages

Okay, let me start by saying that I really liked this book. I am not positive if Rule was Jay Crownover first book, but I could not find anything else by her.  All I can say is that she has a new fan and that is me.

I was getting a little frustrated and losing hope that I would not find another good, hot bad-boy with tattoos meets sweet cute girl love story. Well this book brought me out of that drought because I loved it.

These are of course my favorite type of YA/NA stories.   Bad boy meets good girl.  Bad boy has issues as does the good girl, but they start a relationship with a lot of baggage and other drama.  Rule, the bad boy, is a male slut. He is angsty and moody.  Shaw Landon is a beautiful, smart, good girl who happens to love Rule even though Rule has no idea.    Rule and Shaw have known each other since they were 14 years old.    Rule is estranged from his parents after his brother died in an accident 3 years ago.

Every Sunday morning, Shaw picks up Rule and drives him to his parents’ house for brunch only to find Rule with a different girl naked with him in bed. Shaw has not become immune to seeing Rule with those girls.  Shaw just keeps her feelings for Rule a secret, because she knows that he does not share the same feelings that she has for him.

This book had me yelling and frustrated with Rule and yet I could not stop reading.  The story has you sucked in at page one.  It does not drag. Even with the grammar and editing issues, I really enjoyed this book.  The romance was steamy, their relationship was hot and I loved all the characters.

• Did I skim? No.
• Did I feel connected to the characters? Yes.
• Do I recommend? Yes.
• Will I reread? Yes.
• Pace of the story: Good
• Will I read the sequel? Yes. I cannot wait to read Jet’s story.
• Positives: I liked that the author had one of the obvious angsty issues happen early on in the story.  I hate when the author leaves the obvious conflict for the last 20%.  In Rule, the main characters deal with the obvious conflict in the first half and then the characters deal with another conflict that I did not see coming later on, which made the story all the more interesting.
• Negatives: Grammar and editing.  The Kindle book edition I had said the editing problems were corrected, but I still saw a lot of misspelled words and grammar issues.  However, once I got passed it, I really enjoyed the story. I think Jay Crownover is a very talented writer and I like her writing style.

 

Series Reading Order:

Rule (Rule #1)

Jet (Rule #2) – Expected Publication 2013

 

 

 

Review of Knight (Unfinished Hero #1) By Kristen Ashley

5 out of 5 Stars (My favorite Kristen Ashley book. Yes, it is!!)

Genre:  Erotica, Contemporary Romance, Alpha Male, Drama.

Published: April 2012

Length: 273 Pages

I love this book and I love Kristen Ashley for writing a great story about a hot, controlling, alpha male named Knight.  If you have never read a Kristen Ashley novel, you must.  She is one of my top 5 favorite authors.

Was the story:

• Predictable – YES
• Hot and Steamy – YES
• A lot of unnecessary swearing – Yes
• Did I enjoy Knight – Hell Yes

A friend originally lent me this book. I loved it so much that I bought the book a month later and reread it.  It was better the second time. There is something about this book that I just love.  Knight is true alpha male and I find him appealing and sexy.  I love him. Yes, there are some bad qualities in him, but I do not care. I am willing to overlook them because he is so awesome to Anya. He is my favorite Kristen Ashley male character.

 The plot is Anya Gage has worked for everything she has every gotten in her life.  She has no expectations, no dreams.  She is just a good person who accepts life for what it is. Then she finds herself at a party where she doesn’t want to be and she meets Knight. OMG and he is hot!!!  While at the party, Anya walks into a bedroom looking for a phone to call a cab only to run into Knight Sebring. Knight knows what he wants and what he wants is Anya.  Knight learns that Anya is kind and loving, everything he feels he is not, so he tries to leave her so she can find what she deserves…a good, normal and clean life. Only Anya walks into Knight’s nightclub and he finds it is hard to stay away from her.  He only hopes that she does not find out his dark secrets.

• Did I skim? NO. The story did not drag at all.
• Did I feel connected to the characters? Yes
• Do I recommend? Yes
• Did I think about this book after I finished? Yes.
• Will I reread? Yes.  I already read it twice.
• Ending/Cliffhanger? The ending and everything was awesome.  It completed the story. I love Knight! *sigh*
• Pace of the Story: Perfect.
• Positives: Everything.
• Negative: That Knight and Anya do not have their own series. I want Knight and Anya to have their story continue.  I know that they were mentioned and ‘appeared’ in CREED, but I want more.

I do not understand why more people do not love this book.  I see the mixed the reviews and cannot believe it.  Are we reading the same book????

This is how I picture Knight and Anya:

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Series Reading Order:

Knight (Unfinished Hero #1)

Creed (Unfinished Hero #2)

Raid (Unfinished Hero #3) – Expected Publication: February 28, 2013

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Review of Turning Point (The Kathleen Turner Series #3) By: Tiffany Snow

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Suspense, Fiction.

Release Date: February 19, 2013

Length: 444 Pages

10++++ Stars (I LOVED!!!)

The third book in Tiffany Snow’s, Kathleen Turner series, did not disappoint. I cannot say enough about how much I enjoyed this book.

I am ecstatic that there is going to be book #4 and I already loved the first chapter that was the preview in back of the book.

When I finished Turning Point, I immediately when back and read my favorite scenes.  I did not want this book to end.  I could not put this book down.  It was such an amazing read.  I cannot think of the proper adjective to describe or tell you just how much I loved this book.

Like in most sequels, I thought that this book would start out slow.  NO, this one does not.  Tiffany Snow has such a great imagination that there is not one dull moment.

I first was introduced to Tiffany Snow’s Kathleen Turner series when I went away with my husband on his business trip and was stuck in the hotel room because of bad weather.  While my husband was in all-day conventions, I had nothing to do. So, I randomly purchased some books.  One of them was No Turning Back. I never heard of No Turning Back or Tiffany Snow.  I don’t know what made me purchase it. The minute I started, I could not put it down.  As soon as I was done with No Turning Back, I immediately picked up the sequel, Turn to Me.  That was another amazing read.  I was actually glad I was stuck in the hotel room while there was a storm outside and no one to interrupt me. I don’t think I even ate until my husband came back from his meetings and asked if I was hungry.

My love letter to Tiffany Snow: This is going to be a shameless letter to you. I do not know how to tell you what an amazing writer you are.  I hope there are 100+ books in the Kathleen Turner series.  This is hands down my favorite romantic suspense series and you are one of my top 5 favorite authors.

Plot: Kathleen Turner is promoted from working as law-firm-runner at her boyfriend’s, Blane Kirk’s office to work with Blane’s brother, Kade, as an investigator.   Kade is a well-known assassin-for-hire who also happens to have some interest in Kathleen.   Kade and Kathleen go on a lead to solve an old case only to come across some people who are willing to kill just so they are not found.  Meanwhile, Blane is defending a ruthless man who is accused of raping a woman.   Kathleen, Blane and Kade must atone for the sins of the past and the present. The fallout will force Kathleen to a turning point…in her career, and her life.

This book carries everything you need in a story to be satisfied.  There will be no regrets reading this book.  You will not feel like you wasted your time.

If you like romance with a bit of suspense, you will love this book. And if you think that you are not into romantic suspense novels, you will be after reading this incredible book.

• Did I skim? NO
• Did I fell connected to the characters? Yes.
• Did I look forward to returning to the book when I had to stop? Yes.  I asked my husband to make dinner for the kids and put them to bed so I can finish this awesome book.  I could not stop reading.
• Will I re-read? Yes. I already re-read my favorite parts.
• Pace of the story? Perfect.
• Will I read the sequel? YES. Without a doubt. Is there someone I can bribe to get book #4 now??!! How will I be able to wait until December???!!!!
• Positives:  The story never got dull.  There was always something happening. Great writing.
• Negatives:  It ended. I did not want it to end.  I cannot think of anything negative except that I will have to wait until December to read book #4.
• Ending/Cliffhanger:  AWESOME!!!  I already read the Epilogue three times.  10+ stars.

Series Reading Order:

No Turning Back (The Kathleen Turner Series #1)

Turn to Me (The Kathleen Turner Series #2)

Turning Point (The Kathleen Turner Series #3)

Out of Turn (The Kathleen Turner Series #4) – Expected Publication: December 17, 2013

Thank you to Amazon Publishing and Net Galley for providing a copy for an honest review.

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Review of Beg for Mercy (Cambion #1) By: Shannon Dermott

               

4 out of 5 Stars (I really liked this book)

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Contemporary Romance, Fiction

Published: August 2011

Length: 473 Pages

Who would think that one kiss could be so deadly??

That is the story of Mercy Moore who is a junior in high school and has only been kissed by one boy…one boy she almost killed with that kiss.

I read another book by Shannon Dermott and loved it so I decided to pick up ‘Beg for Mercy’.  It did not disappoint.

There is a lot of inner dialogue from Mercy, so we really get to know and connect with her character quickly.  In the beginning, it took a little time for me to get used to all the inner dialogue, since I am not a fan of that type of writing style. However, in this book, it works.  You get a great understanding of how this 16 year old sees her life, school, mom, friends and boys.  Yes, there are a lot of boys in Mercy’s life.

You may find some of what Mercy says or thinks is immature, but you have to remember she is 16 years old. Also, she has only kissed one boy and that did not go well so she has been staying away from boys ever since.

Mercy’s mother holds a lot of secrets as to who Mercy is in this world.  It was frustrating for me since I had some issues with her mom.  However, I love how Shannon Dermott has me not like the mother, but yet try to understand where the mother was coming from by holding all these secrets from Mercy. Many times, I wanted to yell at Mercy’s mom (more like my Kindle) and say “just tell her or she will resent you.”  So, yes, I got emotionally involved in the characters.

As the story progresses, we learn why a girl who has only had one boyfriend in her life immediately draws the attention of four.  By the end of the book, you will have a ‘boy crush team’ that you will be rooting for.  I have mine, but keep switching back and forth.  Every time, I am rooting for specific boy, another one does something that makes me switch back.  Would it be bad if I was rooting for the devil??? *sigh* YES that was a sigh for the devil.!

I don’t particularly care for love squares/triangles times two. No joke, Mercy is able to attract all types of boys and change them.

Once you have finished this book, Shannon Dermott, wrote a few POVs that are on Figment from Flynn and Sebastian, Two male characters in the series.  I love these guys! Who am I kidding???  I think I love all male characters in this book. I am telling you, if you read this book it will be so hard for you to choose your favorite “team boy.”

Plot: Mercy Moore has only kissed one boy when she was 14 years old.  With that one kiss she almost killed that boy.  Now she is 16 years old, has not been since that scary night and is stuck at a party with her best friend playing ‘spin the bottle’ and the bottle that the hottest boy in school spun just stopped on her.  What is she supposed to do?? She wants to fit in?  Be like any normal junior in high school. As Mercy learns more and more about her “curse” she meets more characters that may have the answers as to why her kisses are so deadly.

Did I skim? No

Ending/Cliffhanger:  I wanted to immediately to start the sequel.

Did I feel connected to the characters: Yes

Did I look forward to going back to the book when I had to stop? Yes

Do I recommend? Yes. 

Positives:  Great story. Great characters.

Negatives: Mercy can be a little repetitive with her thoughts.

Pace of the story: Good

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Series Reading Order:

Beg for Mercy (Cambion #1)

Waiting for Mercy (Cambion #2)

No Mercy (Cambion #2.5)

Angel of Mercy (Cambion #3) – Expected Publication: February 26, 2013

 

 

Who I think could play Anastasia in The Fifty Shades of Grey Movie

I was watching Arrow on the CW and thought to myself the girl that plays Laurel on the show, Katie Cassidy, would make a great Anastasia in the Fifty Shades of Grey movie.  I know there have been rumors of who could play that part, but I can picture Katie Cassidy.  Below are some pics of her if you do not know who she is.

I would love to hear your thoughts/comments.

 

Review of Harbour Falls (A Harbour Falls Mystery #1) By S.R. Grey

3 out of 5 Stars (I had high hopes for this one.)

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Suspense, Mystery

Length: 344 Pages

Published: October 2012

The plot goes like this…Madeleine “Maddy” Fitch is a successful mystery writer.  She comes back to home town of Harbour Falls to “investigate” and write her next book on an unsolved disappearance of a young woman, Chelsea.  Chelsea disappeared the night before her wedding to Adam 4 years earlier.   Adam, a guy who Maddy had a crush on in high school was a prime suspect in the disappearance of Chelsea. Adam is hot, successful and rich and Maddy can’t help but fall for all his charms. However, Maddy is not sure if she can trust Adam especially since the disappearance of Chelsea remains unsolved.

I enjoy suspense/romance novels so I was looking forward to reading this book, but was disappointed.  This book had its moments, but I think that there was too much inner monologue.  A lot of it was repetitive.

I had some problems with Maddy’s character.  I felt like for the life of her, this 26 year old woman could not keep a secret.   I understand Maddy was investigating a possible murder and had to question things that she heard but she was a big mouth.   Every time, Adam told her something personal, she blabbed or had an urge to blab.

I liked Adam’s character, but I did not understand why he wanted to be with Maddy.  He would say she was beautiful, exquisite, but other than that they would fight about her big mouth.

Every time, I thought I had the mystery solved, there was a twist that threw me off, which I love when an author can do that in a mystery.

In the end, the big mystery is solved, but a little “mystery” was left to be solved in the sequel.

-Did I skim? Yes.  Certain parts I skimmed.

-Did I feel connected to the characters?  No.

-Do I recommend? I did not really like the book.  I did not care for the writing style.

-How was the pace of the book? The story moved at a decent pace.

-Will I re-read? No.

-Writing style: One POV – Maddy’s.

-Ending/Cliffhanger?  Even though I doubt I will pick up the sequel, I have to say the cliffhanger was pretty good. Maybe, just maybe, if the book lands in my Kindle, I will read the sequel, but that is a big MAYBE.

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Sequels: Willow Point (A Harbour Falls Mystery #2) – Expected Publication: April/May 20

 

Review of Someone to Love By Addison Moore

3 out of 5 Stars (I started out good, but then it lost me.)

Genre: Contemporary Romance, YA/College (but I recommend for 18+), Erotica

Published: December 2012

Length: 271 Pages

Kendall “Kenny” Jordan transfers to new college.  On her first night at the college, she meets the school’s biggest and hottest bad boy, Cruise Elton.  Kendall and Cruise both do not believe in love and both agree that it does not exist in any relationship.   Since Kendall wants to become the biggest female player, with no strings attached, she asks Cruise, the biggest playboy on campus to teach her the ropes. Not only will Cruise be teaching Kenny the ropes on how to “love them and leave them”, but he turns out to be a Teaching Assistant in one of her classes.

I love these types stories.  I was excited to read this cute contemporary romance.  I liked Kendall (some of her lines at the beginning made me laugh) and I liked Cruise (he was just a good person) and I liked the premise of the story (I seek out these types of stories in YA books).  However, somewhere at 65%, it lost me.  I can’t put my finger on it.  Cruise has some history with an ex-girlfriend that comes back to stir some trouble, but that part did not bother me.  I am reader who likes when an ex comes back to cause some drama.

I so wanted to love this book, but did not.  It was a great disappointment.

Kendall’s behaviors with her friends got on my nerves.  There was a scene were Kendall was involved in trying to prove that one of her friend’s boyfriend was possibly cheating. The way they tried to prove that was very immature for college age girls. Kendall was witty and smart yet some of the things she did were out of character.

Cruise, I would think, being a college teaching assistant, would be more careful and not be so open about his relationship with a student.  Cruise wasn’t an idiot, but yet some of the choices he made, were just dumb.

-Did I skim? A little. Certain parts got a little silly. You get dual POVs from both Kendall and Cruise. Cruise started going a little overboard with his thoughts about Kendall being so hot and pretty.  Certain things he said sounded more like they were coming from a girl not a guy.

-Did I fell connected to the characters? At times.

-How was the pace of the story?  The writing was a little choppy and was hard to follow at times.

-Will I re-read? no

-Ending/cliffhanger? the ending was okay. There was one part of the story that I wish would have ended on a better note. I don’t believe there is a sequel so I wish it would have ended on a better note.