Double Team of Ella Frank–TRY and EDIBLE–Reviews

Edible (Exquisite, #3) I picked up on Ella Frank’s Chicago-based erotica this past summer when I sampled EDIBLE. Mmm. Delish.

But It wasn’t until TRY, that I became a true fan.

Here’s why:

EDIBLE, for all it’s hot sex, is kinda like a lot of books. There’s a broody dominating male and a vixen female lead.

Rachel styles herself as a Domme so she can protect herself. She is attracted to Cole Madison, but won’t take it further, knowing he’ll want to touch her–and she can’t bear that level of physicality. A former boyfriend was abusive, and she needs to control all aspects of touch in order to avoid the panic attacks.

Meanwhile, Cole is emotionally closed off. He’s a Dom in search of a fiery gal–and pasty-chef Rachel brings as much sweet as she does heat. Cole’s privileged childhood was isolating, his father died young, and later Cole learned his father’s infidelity left a half-brother–so he’s got some daddy issues. And a (medically) demented mother.

When these two control-freaks get together, their freak is sooper-deeky. What they do with caramel sauce is illegal in Red States. And, this book opened my eyes to Prince Albert piercing. [Disclaimer: Googling PA will result in eye-opening for you, too. XXX-warning!]

But, they get over their insecurities (rather quickly) display an appealing amount of sexual exhibitionism, and tie the knot in no time flat–enraging their respective family members. A little prodding later and all gets forgiven.

In short, they are damaged souls who find themselves. And, an HEA. The story is solid. If you like erotic romance you will not be disappointed. REALLY. I wasn’t. But, EDIBLE felt a bit similar to other reads…

Try (Temptation, #1) TRY, which begins it’s own series, does not.

Why are they linked in my head? The lead in TRY, Logan Mitchell, is introduced in EDIBLE. He’s the half-brother of Cole Madison, and a confirmed bi-sexual bachelor. In TRY this all changes. Logan’s in hot pursuit of his obsession. And, he’s a straight man, baby.

Tate Morrison is going through a nasty divorce. He’s never really connected with his wife, Diana, and mainly they hooked up because she was Tate’s sister’s BFF. He’s a bartender, and is used to fielding come on’s, but Logan’s direct approach is unsettling, int he most curious way.

Their continued interactions leads Tate to try what Logan offers–namely some fantastic–albeit gay–sex.

There’s a period of wooing, and a longer period of experimentation, and throughout these two men (who would likely be considered Alpha in a hetero romance) develop a deeper connection. This isn’t just a conquest to Logan, King of the One-Nighter. For long-term lover Tate, it’s not just a rebellion. For the first time, they each find a loving relationship they want to work on, one that can be as satisfying for both as it is foreign to Tate.

It’s obviously fraught with conflict. Tate wants to stay closeted, while keeping Logan exclusive. Logan wants to publicly embrace Tate as his boyfriend, yet doesn’t want to help Tate break the news to his uber-Catholic family.

In the end, the book takes sensual to a whole new level. And, it’s the beginning of a series for these two. I’m anxious to read on.

You can find EDIBLE at Goodreads, Amazon or Barnes & Noble. Same for TRY. (Goodreads, Amazon, and B&N linky-links)

Let me know if you pick up either of these–and what you thought. And, as always, keep reading my friends!

Rectifying A PERFECT MISTAKE–Review and Giveaway

Hi there, and welcome to my stop on the A PERFECT MISTAKE blog tour hosted by AToMR Book Tours. For other stops on the tour, click here. Today I’m reviewing a New Adult romance by Zoe Dawson, and it sizzles.

Book Description:
How can they have a future when their past is based on a lie?

The perfect preacher’s daughter, Verity Fairchild, has something that only she and God know about and she wants to keep it that way. Her mistake was easy to keep secret when she was out of town, but now that she’s come back to Hope Parish for the summer, she comes face-to-face with the guy responsible for it all. Boone Outlaw nearly ruined everything for her and despite the fact that he’s now working at her father’s church, she’s determined to stay as far away from him as possible.

Boone Outlaw doesn’t understand Verity’s anger towards him. He barely knows her. In high school she was Holy Mary Verity and she was off limits – except in his dreams where Verity seems way too real. Most of the time he was wasted in high school, not the type of boy Verity would ever look at twice, but he can’t shake the feeling that something might have happened between them. He’s going to break his own rules to get the answers he needs straight from Verity.

What will Verity do when she finds something in Boone that she never knew existed and her perfect mistake is the only thing that could stand between them and their happiness? Will she sacrifice Boone to keep her secret?

My Review

“Holy Mary” Verity has tried to live up to her parent’s expectations. Really. She wasn’t a party-girl, she wasn’t a promiscuous teen, but she also wasn’t in Kenya on the mission for the past year–as she had told them. No, Verity was in New York trying to rid herself of her perfect mistake. If only that freaking Boone Outlaw hadn’t tainted her drink at that graduation party, and her perfection.

Boone Outlaw has always wanted Verity Fairchild. Not that he could ever hope to deserve her. In high school he was perpetually wasted–and nobody cared. Why bother? Those low-life Outlaw triplets won’t do no good no how, right? Well that was then, and Boone’s built himself up from a Waste-oid to a successful business owner now. And Verity has finally returned. Shame her daddy, the Reverend Fairchild, wants her to marry his protege, Billy Joe Freeman.

Verity is stunned by the changes she sees in Boone. Perhaps the changes she sees aren’t actually changes–but the reality of a man she never got to know before this whole mess started. They had one night together after graduation–one night that changed her world–and he didn’t even remember, he was so drunk. But that reminder is in New York. And the secret shame is eating Verity alive. Particularly when he sees how tender Boone is with the kids at the parish daycare. Was her mistake hiding everything? Or was it not telling Boone her secret from the beginning?

As they forge a relationship, Verity learns that her concept of Boone was built on the town’s anti-Outlaw prejudice and the man he actually is, well, that’s a man to treasure. But will he still love her when he learns what Verity is hiding?

In the end, this dual POV love story has some shocking revelations, and some belly-twisting angst over both Verity’s ‘mistake’ and Billy Joe’s psychotic stalking. We get a neat and tidy ending and plenty of Louisiana heat–in the bedroom. It’s the second installment of the Perfect Series, and I’m still swooning over the better-than-this-town-thinks-we-are Outlaw triplets.

Interested? You can find A PERFECT MISTAKE at Goodreads, Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

And, to find out about Book One in the Perfect Series–A PERFECT MESS–you can check my review on Goodreads. It’s a great start to this New Adult series. Booker Outlaw is a delicious leading man–and he is besotted with Aubree Walker, class valedictorian home from college to care for her aunt after a debilitating injury. Booker and Aubree resolve their complicated history–and put to rest one big-bad problem in tiny Suttontowne, LA.

About the Author

Zoe Dawson is the alter ego of Karen Anders, award winning, multi-published author. Her writing journey started with poetry and branched out into fiction. With a couple of college English courses under her belt, she penned a historical, then moved onto contemporary romance fiction. Today, she is happy producing romantic suspense, romantic mystery, urban fantasy and paranormal novels. The words feed her soul and the happily ever afters feed her heart.

***GIVEAWAY***

Click the Rafflecopter link below for your chance to win (1) $25 USD Gift Card from Amazon or Barnes and Noble (International)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck, and keep reading, my friends!

He Knows How to STIR ME UP–Review and Giveaway!!

Hi there and welcome to my stop on the STIR ME UP blog tour hosted by YA Bound blog tours. For other stop on the tour, click here. Today’s book is a mature YA romance by Sabrina Elkins.

Summary from Goodreads:
Cami Broussard has her future all figured out. She’ll finish her senior year of high school, then go to work full-time as an apprentice chef in her father’s French restaurant, alongside her boyfriend, Luke. But then twenty-year-old ex-Marine Julian Wyatt comes to live with Cami’s family while recovering from serious injuries. And suddenly Cami finds herself questioning everything she thought she wanted.

Julian’s all attitude, challenges and intense green-brown eyes. But beneath that abrasive exterior is a man who just might be as lost as Cami’s starting to feel. And Cami can’t stop thinking about him. Talking to him. Wanting to kiss him. He’s got her seriously stirred up. Her senior year has just gotten a lot more complicated….

Praise for Stir Me Up:

“Fun, steamy, and leaves you hungry for more. Sabrina Elkins nails the vulnerability of becoming an adult and the choices that come with growing up.” —Katie McGarry, author of Dare You To

“Cami’s slow burn for a wounded hero will rivet readers. I seriously loved this book.” —Jennifer Echols, author of Dirty Little Secret

“This book is one of my favorite young adult contemporaries. Not only does it feature a hot romance, it’s also very meaningful and well, you just have to read it and see.” —#1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout

My Review:

I read this book on fast-forward. Cami is a high school senior who has grown up in her father’s restaurant. She’s always cooked, and wants to make it her career, despite her father constantly pushing college. That’s not the only force on her life, however. Her boyfriend is pushing her into a more physical relationship, and now her new step-mother is pushing her into a closet of a room to accommodate her nephew, an amputee returning from Afghanistan.

Julian is not happy to be “home”. Since he enlisted in the Marines his aunt, and former guardian, has married and his new step-cousin is…too much. He’s mean and nasty; angry at the world and his crap luck. His parents die, and his comrades die, and now this busted up young man feels he has nothing to offer the pretty girl who sees him, always, at his very worst.

Julian’s gruff demeanor would put anyone off, but, after years of prep work in a professional French restaurant, Cami’s used to overbearing men. Not that she’s looking for anything. Really, because she isn’t. She and Julian do develop quite a friendship, bonding over the pain of losing mothers–his to cancer, hers to abandonment. The boyfriend? Well, he doesn’t quite measure up to Julian, even as an amputee.

Their relationship does turn physical–after months of get-to-know-you–and it’s tender and caring, not a hot sticky mess. Through their love, Julian is able to move past his trauma (mostly) and Cami develops the confidence to take the next step in her professional world–pretty much tell her dad no college.

It’s a solid love story with well-drawn characters and patient affection. Due to the not-exactly-fade-to-black sex, the book is rated for upper YA readers. I think it’s acceptable for anyone who reads YA.

Disclosure: A copy of this book was given to me by the publisher for the purpose of an honest review.

Interested? You can find STIR ME UP on Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, BAM, iTunes and ZOLA. So, pretty much anywhere!

About the Author
I am a former journalist who worked for the Los Angeles Daily News and other newspapers in the greater Los Angeles area. Prior to this I worked in advertising, writing ad copy for corporate travel accounts and major motion pictures. My first job out of college was as an administrative assistant to an executive chef and a food & beverage director at a Four Seasons hotel. I also spent some time working as a prep cook for Spago in Beverly Hills.

I received my Master’s degree in Journalism from the University of Southern California. While in graduate school, I had the privilege of studying fiction writing under renowned author Hubert Selby, Jr., and comedy writing under famed comedian Shelley Berman. I am a past participant of the Squaw Valley Community of Writers Summer Writing Workshop.

Raised in the woods of Vermont, I now live in the greater Los Angeles area with my husband and three children. STIR ME UP is my first novel.

Wow. Find Sabrina on her website, Goodreads, twitter, or Facebook!

***GIVEAWAY***
Click on this link: a Rafflecopter giveaway
to win 1 OF 3 STIR ME UP fun foodie gift packs!

Good Luck and keep reading my friends!

Cami’s Cookbook Pack
Le Petit Paris: French Finger Food by Nathalie Benezet
500 Soups by Susannah Blake
Godiva chocolate bar
Stir Me Up magnet

Julian’s Late-Night Pack
George Noory’s Late-Night Snacks by George Noory
Dinner and a Movie by Katherine Bebo
Godiva chocolate bar
Stir Me Up magnet

Sweet Desserts Pack
Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey by Jill O’Connor
Cutie Pies by Dani Cone
Godiva chocolate bar
Stir Me Up magnet

RULES AND RESTRICTIONS:
Contest is void where prohibited. Entrants must be 18 or else have parent or guardian’s permission to enter. Winners will be notified via email and will have 48 hours to respond or another winner’s name will be selected. Winning entries will be verified for authenticity.

LUMINARY–Review and Giveaway!!

Hi there! And welcome to my stop on the LUMINARY blog tour, hosted by YA Bound Blog tours. For other stops on the tour, click here. Today’s book is a Christian Speculative/Sci-Fi YA novel by Krista McGee. It’s the sequel to Anomaly.

Summary from Goodreads:
She was an anomaly with a death sentence. Now she’s free.

Thalli was scheduled for annihilation. She was considered an anomaly–able to experience emotions that should have been eradicated by genetic modification. The Scientists running the State couldn’t allow her to bring undue chaos to their peaceful, ordered world. But seconds before her death, she is rescued.

Now Thalli is above ground in a world she thought was destroyed. A world where not even the air is safe to breathe. She and her three friends must journey across this unknown land, their destination a hidden civilization. It’s their only chance of survival.

Broken and exhausted after an arduous journey, they arrive in New Hope, a town that survived the nuclear holocaust. When Thalli meets the people there–people actually “born” to “families”–her small world is blown wide open.

Soon after their arrival to New Hope, the town comes under attack. She has escaped imminent death, but now Thalli is thrust into a new fight–a fight to save her new home. Does she know enough about this world of emotions, this world of chaos, to save not only herself, but the people she has come to love?

My Review:

In this sequel to ANOMALY, we follow the escape of Thalli and her three companions from the State, an underground civilization created following a nuclear holocaust. Berk, a young Scientist, is Thalli’s pseudo-boyfriend. Rhen is Thalli’s logical BFF. And John is a 90 y/o man who is a devout Christian. Throughout this dangerous journey John is seeking help from the Designer (God) by means of prayer and spreading the Gospel.

The risks of death are high on the 900-mile trip to the nearest above-ground settlement. They are set upon my animals and injured, and their solar-powered transport fails taxing their physical and supply resources to the stretching point. But they make it to New Hope, a peace-promoting agrarian colony managed by escaped Scientists Kristi and Carey. They are welcomed in, and begin to really experience the love they had all been denied in the emotionally-sterile State, all without the knowledge that the State is monitoring their whereabouts. The State Scientists need these four intrepid (?) travelers to locate missing Scientists who *might* to be pressed into service to solve the State’s oxygen-problem. As to that, they are (somehow) running out of oxygen in their underground compound. [Methinks it could be solved by opening a vent at this point, but I’m getting ahead of the plot…]

A neighboring settlement, Athens, attacks New Hope. See, Athens is a militaristic settlement ruled by a despotic king hellbent on subjugating the peaceful and prosperous New Hopeians. King Jason always has his way–and maintains order through the liberal use of mind-control drugs. Thalli, in total meltdown over her jealousy of Rhen and Berk’s friendship, volunteers for the suicidal mission of being a spy in Athens. As an escapee from the State, she has technology secrets the King would desire.

Of course, she didn’t expect to be drugged, or named as Prince Alex’s bride-to-be. Now the murder and mayhem truly begins. Berk arrives to save her and they both end up condemned and blamed for a royal assassination. Throughout, Thalli is focused on prayer to the Designer, which brings about nearly instantaneous, miraculous, results. During this time of uncertainty, Thalli and Alex develop a bond–good, because she tests that bond repeatedly to save New Hope from destruction.

The bond between Thalli and Berk is tested as well. Especially when State Scientists return and Thalli and Berk are separated–perhaps for the final time.

For a YA Sci-Fi romance, LUMINARY is devoid of any intimate physicality. Which is in-line with the overt Christian theme of this novel. It also fully discredits science and the uber-villainous Scientists who ran the State. Which is in-line with the overt Christian theme of this novel. Nevermind that science and technology is constantly exploited. I had a bit of trouble with the plot of ANOMALY, and this one was not without issues, but the action made more sense here. Thalli’s raging jealousy was hard to take, at times. I kept having to remind myself that emotions seem to simply be stronger in her. Also, I was rather shocked at how much murder actually happens in this book. The psychotic slaughter would undoubtedly receive a nod from MacBeth, or The Dark Knight’s Joker, IMHO. The strong anti-science message is hard for a lifelong scientist (moi) to recommend, but I feel like this type of book already has a staunch audience to which it will appeal. It also has a super cliffhanger ending to whet one’s appetite for the final book in this trilogy.

Interested? You can Find Luminary at Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository,
and Kobo.

The publisher made both ANOMALY and LUMINARY available for me to read through NetGalley. My review of ANOMALY is posted on Goodreads if you wish to know more about how this dystopian adventure began.

You can find Anomaly at Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository and Kobo.

About the Author
Krista writes for teens, teaches teens, and more often than not, acts like a teen. She and her family have lived and ministered in Texas, Costa Rica, and Spain. Her current hometown is Tampa, FL.

You can find Krista at her website, Goodreads, twitter and Facebook.

***GIVEAWAY***
Click the Rafflecopter link below for your chance to win
one of 3 sets of print copies of Anomaly and Luminary (US only)
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Best of luck, and as always, keep reading my friends!

Why I Loved ELEANOR & PARK…

I got a recommendation to read Rainbow Rowell‘s Eleanor & Park months ago. Like, back in September. And I heeded this recommendation. But, I didn’t go buy it. Sorry. Buying a paper book is a little pricey for a gal who reads as much as I do. Also, TRUTH BE TOLD when I read a book I like, I buy copies as gifts for others I think will enjoy it. I’ve got too too many books, really. I gave away probably 250 books in my last move…so I went to my library. No copies. I went to my library’s digital download center. It was a month-long wait to get the book–and when it came it was an AUDIOBOOK. No dice, baby.

There is no time for me to sit and listen to a book, and, frankly, I can read it just as fast–likely faster–without a constant stream of noise disturbing my family in the middle of the night–when I often read.

I FINALLY got my hands on a copy after a second (long) library request wait, and I’m glad I did.

Eleanor & Park is one of those special books–the kind I love–because of the quiet love story and tender angst of two characters trying to figure out who they are in the world and in their own skin. I’m also enamored with stories told in first-person, and if I can get the POV of both love interests? OVER THE MOON.

The Story:

Sixteen y/o Eleanor is a mess. She’s only just returned to her family (a patchwork of mom/stepdad/siblings-full-and-step) after a year of being abandoned at her mother’s longtime friends for A YEAR. That’s right. Her lecherous, alcoholic, abusive stepdad kicked her out a year ago. She’s naturally scared of what that year meant. That she wasn’t worth getting, most likely. And her actual father isn’t much better. He’s called once. To ask her to babysit his girlfriend’s kid. Beyond this she’s tall, and awkward, and poor and red-headed. All things destined to attract the wrong kind of attention in her new school.

On her first school day, Eleanor can’t find a seat on the bus. Not that there aren’t seats; no one will share with her. An Asian boy, Park, takes a miserable slice of pity on her–practically yelling at her to sit down already…with him.

They sit side-by-side. Not touching. Enveloped in awkwardness. They share a couple of classes and Park can’t help noticing Eleanor. How tall she is. How fair her skin. How strange she dresses. How she doesn’t seem to care that the others mercilessly ridicule her. Yet, he can’t bring himself to speak to her. For…weeks. They continue to share a bus seat, but in complete silence, complete isolation. Until he notices she’s reading his comics over his shoulder. A tentative friendship develops over the WATCHMEN and X-MEN, and soon punk rock, when Park shares his music collection.

It is the barest of romances. Holding hands setting off internal fireworks. The long wait for the weekend to end so they will see each other on the bus. Looking away shyly, not coyly. There are no ploys, only core feelings. Love, sadness, anger, exhilaration.

Eleanor can’t have a boyfriend, but she can’t resist the temptation to spend more time with Park outside of school. Park isn’t sure he wants Eleanor as a girlfriend–at first. He mistakes her odd dress habits for style, when it’s simply covering the flaws in her worn-out clothes. He convinces her to say she’s spending time with a girlfriend so she can hang out at his house. Unfortunately, Park’s mother thinks she’s weird, and rude, when Eleanor is just plain overwhelmed by the kind and loving atmosphere of Park’s happy home.

Over the course of the year, Eleanor and Park develop a tender relationship–parental interference notwithstanding. Park’s mom helps make-over Eleanor, and the glam-look damages Park’s tenuous relationship with his father in the process. Eleanor’s siblings nearly (possibly) rat out her boyfriend-status causing the biggest rift Eleanor has had to experience. It is Park who gives his heart away first, in both the figurative and literal sense.

A bittersweet end is what I expected until the very last line…with which I am totally smitten.

I’ve seen the low side of poverty, and drug abusing parents, and 1986, so I bonded with both the setting and the characters. It’s a book adult readers will enjoy as much as YA readers–and it’s Fade-To-Black, innocent/realistic teen coupling, so no smexytimes to steam up the title pages. I’ve got FANGIRL all queued up on my iPad, so expect to hear about it soon…

Interested? You can find ELEANOR & PARK at your local library, Goodreads, AMAZON and Barnes & Noble….anywhere probably.

Be sure to let me know what you thought of it in the comments, and, as always, keep reading my friends!

Cephalopod Coffeehouse–December 2013–Knight and Play–A Review

Hi there and welcome to my stop on the Armchair Squid‘s friendly collection of book reviews. What we do is simply pick our fave read of the month, and present it to the community at large. You’re invited to link up with us, if you like. Info is below.

I’ve read a lot of books this month, but I’ve held Kitty French’s KNIGHT & PLAY special because…reasons.

No, seriously, I’m an Anglophile. I love books about other cultures, and this erotic romance hit all the right notes for me.

Knight & Play (Knight, #1) Sophie Black is looking for more. More in life than her lecherous boss, and more in love than her (presumably) cheating–and definitely inattentive–husband. She takes a chance applying as the personal assistant to Lucien Knight, chairman of Knight Inc–a corporation that owns shops selling ‘marital aids’ and operates a number of sex clubs throughout Great Britain. In the interview Lucien is more than direct–how can a woman who can barely talk about sex hope to work in this environment? He’s harsh with her, and she demonstrates an inner strength he finds surprising–and he’s intrigued again by her defensiveness when it comes to her marriage.

See, Lucien has a bad history with marriage. His own idyllic life turned tragic when his mother eye-witnessed his father’s infidelity. Suspecting Sophie’s marriage is likewise bound, Lucien hires Sophie with the intent to prove to her how very sexy and worthwhile she is.

Okay–so, to begin–the sex is fantastically hot. Everything sexy-dirty you would blush-cringe over? Lucien makes it delicious. There’s no Dom/sub dynamic, just a hedonistic exploration of a woman long-neglected. It’s an awakening both emotionally and sexually for Sophie who learns shortly after succumbing to Lucien’s irresistible advances that her husband’s “business trip” is a sham, a lover’s getaway with his girlfriend.

We get a lot of Sophie’s angst over her own actions, without it feeling preachy–and a few slices of her husband’s remorse over the subterfuge he’s been running. But mostly, we get a realistic look at the heartbreak of a woman experiencing a crumbling marriage as she’s simultaneously swept away by a man who is by turns tender and demanding. Lucien doesn’t let Sophie wallow, and forces her to embrace the fact that she is appealing and exciting, even if her husband is a cheater. It’s a very refreshing take on the rebound romance–particularly as Sophie didn’t know she needed a “rebound” until she was in the midst of it. And Lucien isn’t terribly interested in keeping Sophie–he just wants her battle-ready, able to tell off her loser husband and walk away unscathed–or so he thinks…

It turns out that KNIGHT & PLAY is the first of a trilogy. It has an ending that is at once closure, and at the same time a cliffhanger. (Not the kind that makes one wish to hurl her iPad across the room, in my experience. Yet, I moved to purchase the second book toot-sweet!) It is rare that I enjoy the middle book of a trilogy most, but in this case, I do. That notwithstanding, I adored all three books and highly recommend it for readers of women’s fiction, contemporary romance, or erotica.

Interested in KNIGHT & PLAY? You can find it Goodreads, Amazon and Barnes & Noble…

If you’ve read it, or pick it up, don’t forget to come back and let me know your thoughts!

I always exhort my followers: keep reading my friends! But, in this case, I’ll ask you to keep clicking my friends!

Below are links to my fellow coffeehouser’s reviews. You never know what might strike your fancy. Last month I learned about Kevin Jakubowski’s 8-BIT CHRISTMAS which was a super fun read I reviewed earlier this week. So check out what they read and maybe you’ll find a gem for yourself!

1.	The Armchair Squid	2.	Scouring Monk
3.	Huntress	4.	mainewords
5.	Wishbone Soup Cures Everything	6.	What’s Up, MOCK?!
7.	The Writing Sisterhood	8.	A Creative Exercise
9.	Katie O’Sullivan ~ Read, Write, Repeat	10.	The Hobbit: A Review (Part 1)
11.	Denise Covey	12.	Trisha @ WORD STUFF
13.	The Hobbit: A Review (Part 2)	14.	Words Incorporated
15.	V’s Reads

Catch TEN TINY BREATHS–A Review

Surviving tragedy is often harder than being a victim of it.

Ten Tiny Breaths (Ten Tiny Breaths, #1) TEN TINY BREATHS, a New Adult romance by K. A. Tucker is a solid tale of loss, redemption and forgiveness.

Kacey Cleary survived the car accident that claimed the lives of her parents, boyfriend and best friend. She overcame bone shattering injuries and fought through the crushing depression in order to be there for the sole remaining member of her immediate family–younger sister Livie. Kacey is plagued by nightmares of the crash–being trapped in the car holding hands with her dead boyfriend as the heat left his skin, hearing the gasping breaths of her mother fade into nothingness. It’s been four years since the drunk driver stole her family away, but she can’t escape the revulsion she feels when another hand touches hers.

Kacey and Livie are on the run from her aunt and uncle–mostly her lecherous uncle who has taken an unnatural interest in fifteen year-old Livie. Relocating to Miami, Livie’s outgoing spirit draws the friendship of Storm–a bartender/stripper, and mother of young Mia. Through Storm, Kacey takes up tending bar in the strip club, as is not-so-subtley stalked by their attractive neighbor, Trent.

Trent is rather relentless in his pursuit of Kacey–shattering her every boundary against intimacy. It seems that he’s going to get her to come to terms with her PTSD, but an abrupt separation nearly destroys their fledgling relationship. In the meantime, Kacey’s anger issues are getting harder to hide.

Just when a reconciliation seems about to happen, a new curve lands Kacey in the psych ward. And Trent? He’s not who he seemed to be…at all. But, the betrayal of Trent is small potatoes in comparison of the plot arc. Through his deception, Kacey and Livie are able to claim their inheritance that they had thought was squandered by Creepy Uncle. And Kacey’s aversion to intimacy is overcome–in fact, Kacey finally receives the help she needs to get past her anger and begin living a life of hope.

In the end, Kacey learns to forgive the drunk driver who killed her family–and forgive herself for actually surviving. It’s a redemption for her, and others, that leads to a HEA we want and in the best way possible.

I really enjoyed it–and think readers of contemporary romance will find the story strong and uplifting.

Interested? You can pick up TEN TINY BREATHS through Goodreads, Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

If you’ve read this one, drop me a comment about what you thought about it.

And, as always, keep reading my friends!

Reminiscing with 8-Bit Christmas

This book is “A Christmas Story” for American boys raised in the 80’s.

8-Bit Christmas Kevin Jakubowski’s debut novel is a pseudo-memoir-style prose effort that made my cheeks hurt from smiling. I laughed in all the right places.

Disclaimer(s): I am not a boy–but I was raised in the 80’s in Chicago’s south suburbs, so I actually KNOW the setting–Batavia, IL. My Southside-raised parents spoke much like the MC’s parents. I survived my own personal “knock-off Cabbage Patch Christmas.”

Take a trip back in time, for a moment. Before ADHD diagnoses, and X-box, and Netflix. Before cell phones and two-income families, and cars with installed movie players.

***wavy scene cut to 80’s America, Midwest suburban sprawl***

Jake Doyle is nine. A rather annoying kid in his classes, Timmy Kleen–who’s wealthy and spoiled and poorly behaved–is the proud owner of the newest fad in video gaming: the Nintendo Entertainment System.

Despite being an unpleasant cur, Kleen is catapulted into rockstar status by his schoolmates who mob Kleen’s front yard hours before 9am vying to be one of the lucky ten invited in to play–or watch Timmy play.

Tired of suffering Timmy’s whims–especially when Kleen decides the charge for entry–Jake’s mission becomes: obtain a Nintendo of his own. And his campaign is robust.

His parents aren’t keen on this Japanese technology. Reports of kids having seizures are problematic. What God-fearing mother would buy such a monstrosity? So Jake jumps into the Boy Scout wreath-selling competition to win the grand prize: a Nintendo. He busts his hump–only to suffer an extreme setback.

He contacts Santa.

He contacts his rich uncle. His grandparents. Anyone and everyone. He even forms an unholy alliance with his younger sister promising to help her get a red-headed-freckled Cabbage Patch doll (named Dawn) in exchange for her help convincing the parents that Nintendo is the best of all possible gifts.

Nintendos sell out across the land.

And then real tragedy strikes.

One of Kleen’s more robust outbursts of erratic behavior results in the death of a jumbo TV and a four-legged member of the Kleen household. Outraged with the “violence of video games” Kleen’s parents secure a ban on Nintendo sales in Batavia and the nearby towns. Now teens from Geneva and Fox Lake are itching to rough up these rabble-rousing elementary school kids who shredded their Nintendo dreams.

Jake’s Nintendo mission isn’t dead, however. If he can only get to Chicago, he could BUY a Nintendo. And, it turns out, his class is heading to Chicago for a field trip to the Art Institute. Vowing to build an open-access playing zone, Jake convinces his buddies to sell their baseball cards to bankroll the purchase. His attempt is…well, how successful do you think it may be? He’s nine, on his own in Water Tower Place, and wearing his Batavia Football cap.

In the end, Batavia has many more Nintendos in operation on Christmas Day–but the lessons Jake learns are awesome. I had a tiny bit of trouble with a chapter that seemed out of the narrative sequence, and would have appreciated a clue that we were experiencing a flashback, but otherwise I wholeheartedly enjoyed the ride.

Why I loved this one: My elementary school buddies were insane Nintendo addicts. Reading this brought me right back to my childhood, much like A Christmas Story does for my parents, and It’s A Wonderful Life does for my grandparents.

The black-market Cabbage Patch hunt. Oh! My own mother battled crowds to get those “special” toys when I was a kid–something I have done for my own kids. (Today, my black market buys arrive with Ebay labels. Shh!)

I had my own Timmy Kleen. Only her name was Carrie. She had an Atari and made my sister and I suffer untold hours of Ms. Pac-Man in order to play RiverRaid for the five minutes it took us to bite it in the game. We are still good friends.

The commercialization of Christmas is something I won’t belabor here, but Jakubowski’s handling of what was a growing trend in 80’s America is poignant.

Jake’s humor. He is a hysterical kid, with a quick wit and indomitable spirit. Narrator ‘voice-overs’ only reinforce the nostalgia.

The ending. It was excellent. And, no, I’m not giving it away. Just know that Jake is probably the happiest kid on his block when Christmas ends.

Final Disclaimer: I obtained a copy of this book from NetGalley for the purpose of review.

Interested? You can find 8-bit Christmas at Goodreads, Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

If you pick it up, come back and tell me what you thought about it.

And, as always, keep reading my friends!

NOCTURNES–Dark and Delicious–A Review

Most people would agree that alcoholism and prostitution aren’t sexy.
Yet somehow Kendall Grey turns these two vices into romance.
Nocturnes (Hard Rock Harlots, #3)

NOCTURNES is the third installment of her Hard Rock Harlots series. I adored both STRINGS and BEATS, and couldn’t wait to find out what happened to Rax–self proclaimed Guitar God and Dom Deluxe.

Back in BEATS Rax was captivated by a stripper, Lola, and in despair of losing her he drank so much he ended up with alcohol poisoning. Rax’s battle with the bottle has only increased since then. Especially now that his wingman/lover, Toombs, is exclusive with Jinx, the drummer of their band Killer Buzz Float.

As the band records what may be their breakthrough album, Rax pulls away from the happy couples–he’s sure he’ll never find a true love. Drunk and stumbling through the strip club Nocturnes, Rax spots his Lola–aka Eve Belikov.

Eve has danced since she was a child. Her parents, Russian immigrants, were killed by a drunk driver when she was twelve and left her floundering in the foster care system. As a stripper Eve is sexy and untouchable, but as an angel in Heaven, Nocturnes’ super exclusive BDSM sub-club, Eve gets touched any way her customers desire. In truth, as a reader I was appalled and disgusted–and had to remind myself that fiction is not even as strange as real-life. Somewhere in this world humans are degraded/exploited far worse than Eve was. Still, it was unsettling. And I think that’s the genius of Kendall Grey. She didn’t try to make it fun or sexy. She made it real. It was a risk. A big risk, and creatively I think it paid off–at least for me.

Eve isn’t interested in Rax. He’s a drunk mess, and she’s committed by contract to have no sexual contacts outside of Heaven. Still, in Rax she sees her own loneliness, and feels an emotional connection she has lacked since her parents died. Rax, he’ll take Lola/Eve in any capacity. Being near her stirs more than his libido–his music is richer and more soulful, kinda like the Night Music of a nocturne. His alcoholism troubles more than Eve; his bandmates stage an unsuccessful intervention.

Unable to keep seeing each other, Rax hopes for one last connection, and in the process saves Eve from a brutal attack. Rax blames himself, his drunkenness, for not preventing Eve’s disfigurement, and Eve sends him away in her shame, and also for her own peace of mind. Though, their reunion? EPIC seems too small a word.

Ms. Grey turns this Leaving Las Vegas-tale into an HEA. Much love, girl. It’s a miraculous feat.

By turns, NOCTURNES is nasty, dirty, gritty, infuriating, sad, soulful, redeeming and sexy. It takes the filthiest sow’s ear of a storyline and fashions a silk purse romance fit for FLOTUS. I highly recommend it, even if you have to read the Heaven scene with only one half-closed squinty eye, like me. NOCTURNES was nothing like I thought it would be, and everything it needed to be. Rax isn’t a sap. Eve’s hardened and jaded. The two of them have to rub all their rough edges against each other to smooth each other out. And peeling back those layers exposes the soft vulnerability that underlies a true love.

Interested? You can find NOCTURNES at Goodreads, Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Make sure to come back and let me know if you liked NOCTURNES. And, as always, keep reading my friends!

Captivated by ECHOES IN THE GLASS–Review and Giveaway!

Hi there, and welcome to my stop on the ECHOES IN THE GLASS blog tour sponsored by AToMR Book Tours. For other stops on the tour click here. Today’s read is a YA paranormal romance from Cheri Lasota–and it kept me up most of one night!

Synopsis:

Finnian bears the scar of an unspeakable crime. Tiria hides the pain of a terrible betrayal. When all their secrets are laid bare, will the truth rip them apart or forever silence the echoes of the past?

Nineteen-year-old Finnian Bell has been on the run for years, but he finally has a chance to rebuild his life while restoring an abandoned lighthouse on the Oregon Coast. Tiria Vaughn, the lightkeeper’s daughter, is still reeling from the pain of an event that has shattered her innocence. Fear and bitterness have turned her heart from Finnian, but he is determined not to let her go.

The lighthouse harbors dark secrets of its own… When Finnian and Tiria uncover the story of two teens hidden in the tower back in 1935, they discover a shocking connection that bridges time and death.

Crossing genres into worlds you’ve never seen… Echoes in the Glass is half-contemporary, half-historical with enough mystery, romance and lighthouse lore to ignite your imagination.

My Review:
I read most of this book in the middle of the night. Ghost stories do that to me. And this book is a two-ghost story, so I had a doubly hard time setting it down to sleep. I liked it a lot. Here’s why:

It’s a two-arc story. One contemporary, one historical. Both Romance. We get two couples, with two plights, in one book. Alternating chapters rock us between now and then, which is fun and keeps the story rolling.

First, the contemporary side: Finnian Bell is a runaway. He fled after a brutal fight with his younger brother Joss–a fight he believes ended Joss’s life. After three years on the streets he’s decided it’s time to make amends to his parents–the only way he can. His dad runs a foundation devoted to restoring and preserving lighthouses in America, so Finnian signs on to help restore the post at Sorrow Island, the lighthouse his father most adores knowing he will be required to confront his dad at the lighting ceremony. Finnian prays this will pave the way to a reunion. Of course, he doesn’t expect to meet the lighthouse keeper’s estranged daughter, Tiria, on the island. And he really doesn’t plan to like her.

Tiria Vaugh is a broken girl. She’s survived a brutal experience that Finnian doesn’t know about but senses has changed her into the angry person she’s become. She knows he’s trying to befriend her, but pushes him away time and again. Plus, she’s mad at the world and her father, and Finnian is an easy target. Despite the tension, they develop an uneasy alliance. Divulging their deepest secrets to each other, Finnian learns that not only is his brother alive, he’s a dangerous person. A chance encounter sets the climax into motion–and pits brother against brother in a battle over Tiria. The ghosts appear from the moment Tiria and Finnian set foot on Sorrow Island–almost as a warning about how dangerous this place will end up being.

Tiria’s father isn’t happy about Finnian being around his girl. She needs time to heal–and warns Finnian to stay away from her. He does his best, but they become adventurers together in the lighthouse’s caverns. It’s a quiet teen romance–chaste and thoughtful–but the attraction simmers. I had a bit of trouble with language in the book–and I mean it simply as this: Finnian doesn’t talk like a contemporary teen. I think the author tries to describe him as Irish, and some of his speech and thoughts have a British ring to them, but it didn’t jive with the “growing up on a commercial fishing boat/raised helping restore lighthouses” backstory that was offered. He’s no foul-mouthed hooligan. In fact, I think he’s more stiff than I can imagine a lad from Eire being–if he is one. Perhaps this is ironed in the finished version, but it struck a chord with me and I wonder if it will cause younger readers to stumble. I still loved Finnian, and I adored his story arc–for the most part. Coincidences aside, the end of his storyline seemed a little forced–but I get why the author wanted the parallel experience. I just had a had time believing Joss was so…obsessed? It seemed a bit cartoon-y, to me.

For the historical part: It’s Depression-era Oregon, and Carina Jane can see Sorrow Island’s light from her family ranch where she serves as a “workhorse.” Lack of funds and men on the ranch leave her as the main hand–under the abusive watch of her father. As bad luck would have it, he takes on a boarder to work as well–Morgan Graves, orphaned son of the lighthouse keeper. Morgan’s mother fell to her death a month prior and his father fled the murder charges. While Morgan works the ranch, he and Carina develop a deep friendship.

Seeing her abuse, Morgan stands up for Carina–only to lose his shelter. They flee together to the only home he’s ever known–his lighthouse. They camp there to regroup and Carina soon learns the rumors of a ghost aren’t rumors at all–and to join Morgan’s grandmother’s ghost a new one has arrived–his mother. New perils arrive as well: the new lighthouse keeper. He’s a shifty sort, willing to allow them to stay–in exchange for their services. Of course, the service he’d like from Carina isn’t decent. And by then she’s head over heels for Morgan–and he, her.

Ready to flee again, the climax builds quickly leading to the rather dramatic scene I had expected, but found well-written and thoroughly engaging. So many delightful breadcrumbs had been sprinkled between the two storylines I felt the payoff was rewarding. Their romance is more passionate than Finnian and Tiria’s, though it still Fades To Black and gets my Safe For All YA Readers seal.

I did enjoy ECHOES IN THE GLASS as both a romance and a paranormal. We don’t get any supernatural powers or flash-dash, but the ghosts add some mystery and play pivotal roles in the action. Won’t give you the Heebie Jeebies, if that’s an issue for you.

Disclosure: An ARC was provided to me to review for this tour, so if the final edition doesn’t match entirely–that’s not me being senile. I say this because some of the description of the book is different from what I read–not much, but I don’t want to be called out for it later.

Interested? You can find ECHOES IN THE GLASS at Goodreads and Amazon.

About this author:
Cheri Lasota has written poetry and fiction for sixteen years, edited fiction for nine years and recently jumped headlong into design work for enhanced e-books. She has a great love for all things techy, so she finds herself pushing the boundaries of e-book marketing and design at every turn. Her passion for fiction and helping other novelists achieve their goals is without limits.
Her bestselling debut novel, ARTEMIS RISING, is a 2013 Cygnus Awards First Place Winner and a 2012 finalist in the Next Generation Indie Books Awards. Cheri just released her how-to e-book DESIGN AND UPLOAD YOUR EPUB and has just finished up her second YA novel, ECHOES IN THE GLASS. You can find her on her website, Goodreads, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or LinkedIn.

***GIVEAWAY***

Click the Rafflecopter link below for your chance to win:

an e-book Artemis Rising,

or coffee cup and pen swag for Artemis