Reviews

Books I’ve read and reviewed

Catch the Fever–DARKFEVER

In honor of October’s SPOOKTACULAR, it’s time for another Urban Fantasy Series–this one by Karen Marie Moning.

Now Ms. Moning had a great thing going with her Highlander romances. And I mean great. They freaking rocked.–from a romance standpoint. Delicious, burly, sensitive, considerate lovers, some with mystical Druid powers, all falling for smart, confident, not-quite-perfect-bodied, women-many displaced in time to the seventeenth century…

Money, pure and simple.

But no, Moning wasn’t content to churn out more category romance.

She went Dark.

Darkfever (Fever, #1)DARKFEVER is the first in an on-going series surrounding the MacKayla Lane, a party-girl turned warrior.

In this first book, Mac, as she is called, travels to Dublin to find her sister’s murder. Not as if she is remotely qualified to do so. But, she heartsick–missing Alina as if missing her own left hand.

Still, upon arrival Mac learns that her life has taken a step into the ether. Everywhere she looks she sees strage-looking people–well. not reall people. Fae. As in the mystical, mythical race my Irish ancestors called “wee folk”.

Ain’t NOTHIN’ wee about the creatures she observes draining humans of theirbeauty, or innocence, or life, however.

Lost in a world she can’t understand, Mac nearly dies herself–those flesh-sucking Shades are a sure excutioner–but a run-in with Jericho Barrons’s provides clarity and confusion in equal measure.

The dude is intense, and his desire for Mac is barely chained. She senses there is something dark within him, and it keeps her pushing back, even when the sensible thing to do would be to seek his protection.

In contrast to Moning’s earlier romances, DARKFEVER only drips with innuendo. No sex to be found, though it’s lurking, much like Barrons. It’s a great start to an urban fantasy series that holds many sensual delights down the pike.

You can find DARKFEVER in  your library, GOODREADS  AMAZON  Barnes & Noble

And, as always: Keep reading, my friends. 😉

FIRST GRAVE ON THE RIGHT? Dead funny!

First Grave on the Right (Charley Davidson, #1)Still running down some fave paranormal/Urban Fantasy reads for the October SPOOKTACULAR.

FIRST GRAVE ON THE RIGHT by Darynda Jones is a gem!

Charley Davidson is a Reaper. She doesn’t actually harvest souls–she’s merely a portal–a conduit to the otherside. A Pearly Gate, if you will.

And, she’s been this way her whole life. Even brought her own mother’s soul to eternal rest when she died at Charley’s birth.

So, it’s no surprise when dead lawyers show up unwilling to ride the express to Eternity. What is shocking? The three of them are partners–and they had a really nasty client.

Can anyone say m-o-b h-i-t?

Being the gate to the afterlife doesn’t pay bills. Charley works as a PI, and also helps her uncle, a police detective, solve crimes for the Albuquerque PD. Why not? I mean, lots of murder victims could tell her exactly where to find the body and who the perp was.

Anywho…Charley’s seen it all. Except perhaps for the dream lover who continues to sex-her-up when her eyes close. He’s the absolute sex bomb. And, for good reason:  Reyes Farrow is the son of Satan. Yeah.

Uber-hot!

Oh! I see you staring down your nose at me! Who’s to say he’s pure evil? And, and, even if he is, lots of girls go for the Bad Guy, amiright?

Besides, he’s just a dream lover…which means they do the dirty dance in her head. No need for confession, folks.

Charley endeavors to solve the mystery of the Three Dead Lawyers whilst dodging a pint-sized poltergeist and commiserating with her BFF/secretary Cookie and lamenting her shitty coffee maker. It’s a rollicking time–and Charley manages to get herself beat up (twice?) and nearly shot by a client’s abusive husband. In this she would have died but a cloaked visage appears and slices her attacker down with mystical efficiency.

Here’s the thing: this book is Laugh. Out. Loud. Charley is irreverent. She’s so dead pan (pun intended) about her interactions with the departed that it stuns the reader into hilarity. In the end she does help the lawyers to crossover and finds out a bit more about the connection between Dreamy Reyes and the cloaked assassin. Oh, and it’s hawt.

FIRST GRAVE is the first in a series–and I’ve read on. They are soooo fun.

Again, it’s a trad pub title and my library stocked a couple copies.

Check it out at YOUR library, or the usual spots:    Amazon   Barnes & Noble    Goodreads

Let me know if you’ve read and of Darynda’s Jones works–and if you liked them.

And, as always: keep reading, my friends.

 

 

 

EMPATH! I knew I felt something…

Welcome to OCTOBER!!

At this moment I will simply state, for the record, that HALLOWEEN–the kitschy Americanized givemecandy holiday of extravagant costumes and cheesy haunted houses–is my FAVORITE holiday of the year. Yes, more fun for me than Christmas, kiddos. Because, costumes. I still usually dress even though my next birthday cake will read ANCIENT instead of a number. Luckily, my kids are patient enough to let me dress in some accessorized fashion to their selections. *embracing my inner goofball*

So! In honor of the spookiest month on the calendar, I’m featuring many a paranormal book. Fear not, I’ll still throw in some erotic/women’s fic as is my usual, but there’ll be more Urban Fantasy, and ooh! thrillers.

WARNING: Expect excessive exclamation point usage. I’ll begin Punctuation Camp on Dia de Los Muertos.

Buckle up, folks. It’s gonna be a wild month!

On that note, today’s my day on the EMPATH BLOG TOUR!!!

Empath blog tour banner

Empath (The Flawed Series, #1)Here’s the Goodreads synopsis:
Supernatural empathy isn’t a gift, it’s a curse. Anywhere she goes, Jade’s emotions are replaced by those of the people around her.

Jade grew up in a suburb of Colorado Springs, protected from other people by her parents. Now she faces college—and the world—with nothing to shield her from unwanted feelings.

When Cam, a classmate with a major crush on her, unintentionally hijacks her emotions, Jade struggles to keep from being carried away in feelings of attraction. When Ethan, a psychopath with a thirst for fear, fixates on her, the emotional impact could be lethal.

Caught in a deadly trap, Jade must untangle the emotions and find a way to use her empathic curse to overcome this killer or be overcome by him.

And, frankly, this is only the barest inkling of the plot. Jade encounters several people with gifts that draw her in a way she has never known before. Good thing this menagerie is equipped for the cause, because Becca J Campbell really offers quite a punch in this thriller.

My Review:
Jade Edwards is super-touchy-feely. Because, well, she feels other people’s emotions. Her parents hoped a quiet serene life would keep Jade from the horrors of people’s nasty inner monologues, but Jade is determined to go to college. Summer school—at least. Jade thinks small classes will be manageable.

While there she meets the vivacious Cam, a happy presence whose exuberance and affection is easy for Jade to become lost in. Cam has a delicious—if heart-rending—crush on Jade and his family is just as smitten. Poor Cam’s afflicted by a strange time-warp brain ailment. Every now and then he gets trance-lytized. His brain snags and he relives the past few moments, like, a hundred times. So everything that happened in those moments is permanently etched into his memory. Kinda cool when it happens during Chem lab. He memorized half the textbook in a heartbeat!

Jade is inexorably attracted to Professor Logan Henry—his emotional landscape is a quiet zone in the maelstrom that usually bombards her. And Logan desires Jade—except he’s not into relationships. See, Logan has a secret:  He’s not all human. And he fears anyone finding out about his hidden half.

As Jade and Cam become closer, Logan is more and more frantic to claim her. Oh, and there’s a visually-impaired serial killer who meanders into their town. And, he’s got his ‘sights’ set on Jade. This guy’s a patient one. Catch her he does.

Good thing Cam and Logan have fantastic superhuman powers. Because they need every advantage against the nocturnally-active killer.

In truth, this thriller gets resolved though there’s a serious cliffhanger upon which to hang Book Two…

You can pick up EMPATH here:

US Versions:

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UK Buyers!

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About the Author:
An avid lover of stories that tiptoe the line between fantasy and reality (even when they plunge off one side or the other), Becca J. Campbell looks for new angles on bridging the gap between the two. She holds a special place in her heart for any story that involves superpowers or time travel. Her passion is defying the limits of her own creativity.

Becca’s journey into writing began as many of her other creative endeavors do – by daring herself to try something new. The question “what if I wrote a novel?” and some hastily scribbled notes on a church handout were the inspirations that jump-started her first book. Since then, she has written half a dozen additional novels and several shorter works.

As the wife of a musician and mother of three young boys, Becca’s life is never dull. Whether it is writing, painting or knitting, she enjoys making stuff that wasn’t there before. You can catch up with her in the usual ways:
Author Blog, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Pinterest, and Amazon

Let me know if you check out EMPATH. I’d love your take on the ending!

Got any AWESOME Halloweenish tales to recommend? Do so NOW!!!

(You were warned about the !!!’s. Sorry, I’m too excited for the CANDY!) 😉

Cephalopod Coffeehouse–featuring ROMANCING THE BOOKWORM

Welcome to my stop on the Cephalopod Coffeehouse tour! This month’s review features ROMANCING THE BOOKWORM, a New Adult contemporary romance by Kate Evangelista.

I finished this one a couple of week’s ago, but I’ve held back on the review because I had a feeling it would end up being a fave. So, here goes:

Romancing the BookwormXavier Solomon has it bad for bookish Tamara Winters. They go to college together—not that she’d ever know. She’s always trapped in a novel. Friends with Tamara’s bestie, Ronni, Xavier devises a plan to romance this little bookworm on spring break.

At sunny Maverick Bay Tamara’s out of her comfort zone—the third floor corner of the library where she spends her days and nights reading. But when Ronni begs her to waitress at her brother’s restaurant on the beach, Tam just can’t say no. Besides, she’s got a suitcase full of fiction to keep her busy. That is, until delish Xavier sweeps across her coastline.

In champion romantic hero form, Xavier plans little interludes for Tamara to experience–with him–all in the name of turning her head. Does it work?

Comme ci, comme ca.

As with all plans, there are small and large snafu’s—none-the-least of which is the appearance of Zander, Xavier’s hard-partying step-brother, who is by turns a cad and a competitor. His constant challenges cause Xavier to enter the surfing competition if only to take Zander out. Meanwhile, Tamara gets caught in the undertow between Xav, Zander and Ronni, and Xavier’s big romancing ends up as a near wipe out.

The dual viewpoint (which I adore) gives a clear window to the hopes and fears of these two romantic souls. It’s a fun romp with great repartee. I loved watching Tamara break free of her shell, and Xavier is such a gentle love interest. *swoon*

For a New Adult title, the tone is light and the pace is right. It’s got some spice as well. I’d recommend it to anyone who likes a good romance.

If you’re interested in ROMANCING THE BOOKWORM you can find it here:

GOODREADS     AMAZON     Barnes & Noble

If you think you might be interested in more of Kate’s work, leave me a comment HERE telling me what physical sense you’d sacrifice for your true love’s life, and you might just win a free eBook!

Frisky Freebie–SELLING SCARLETT

Selling Scarlett (Love Inc., #1)When your bestest best friend’s life is on the line, what’s the value in a hymen?

SELLING SCARLETT, New Adult contemporary romance by Ella James, endeavors to find out!

Elizabeth DeVille has two best friends, absentee parents, and a crush on her neighbor, the somewhat older, millionaire, poker-player, Bourbon heir Hunter West. And, one of her best friends–Cross–is in a coma following a motorcycle accident. His parents, his dad’s the Governor of California no less, plan to withdraw Cross from the swanky clinic where recovery seems imminent and transfer him to a less-than-desireable county clinic. This, because the good people of Cali wouldn’t want to pony up for the medical bill…

Hunter, playboy-with-a-secret, has anonymous sex with escorts because, well, it’s too dangerous to get close to people. They might find out he’s not such a great guy. And, he’s got a mommy-complex. But there’s something valiant buried within because he’s inordinately attracted to helping little Libby DeVille. She’s clearly in need of a boost, and rather fetching, in his opinion. Unfortunately he’s under the thumb of a vicious porn star who’s wielding secrets like Laboutin heels and Hunter doesn’t want Libby popping up on her radar.

Thus, we get the entanglement: Elizabeth wants to help her buddy Cross, but she’s broke. Hunter has plenty of cash, but he’s not able to approach Libby with it. Not that he really knows she needs it. Everybody in Napa has a trust fund, right? Wrong. Elizabeth’s dad cut off her support years ago when he shacked up with a new wife and her mom’s in and out of rehab too much to be of use. She only has one semester of grad school to finish and then she’s on her own. Not that she could pay Cross’s medical care on an ethics professor’s salary, mind you.

Elizabeth has a brilliant plan, however:  sell the one thing she has–her virginity. (I guess you really can do anything in Vegas.) If the bidding goes well, she might just ‘earn’ enough to cover the medical bills and her tuition. Oh, and the experience could mesh with her master’s thesis on sexual autonomy.

While in Vegas, Elizabeth gets a crash-course in seduction from the inmates of the high-class brothel brokering her hymen-auction–which happens to be frequented by one deliciously messed-up, Hunter West.

You’d think this tale ends with Hunter buying LIbby’s cherry–and perhaps it does–but, in the meantime, we get kidnappings, blackmail, new friendships, BDSM sex acts, and human trafficking, alongside the heartbreaking recovery of Cross. So, SELLING SCARLETT is not a one-trick, erm, pony.

This one could have gone totally seedy. At times it borders on melodrama, but the characters are strong and the anguish feels real. There’s a sequel, TAMING CROSS, out now–but SELLING SCARLETT is a freebie–for the moment. It’s worth nabbing.

Couple caveats:  It seems as though the distance between Napa and LA can be traversed by car in an hour. Not even a hovercar could mange this feat, so it jarred me. And, I’m not really sure the Gov of Cali needs high priced escorts. I mean, there’s all this housestaff just hanging around. No doubt one could dally with a maid.

Amiright, Governor Schwarzenegger?

Here’s the linky-links if you want to download SELLING SCARLETT.

GOODREADS      KINDLE        NOOK

Don’t forget to hit my comments and let me know if you like it!

And, as always, keep reading, my friends.

ESCAPE FROM EDEN–Review and Giveaway!

escape from eden banner copy

Welcome to my stop on the ESCAPE FROM EDEN blog tour hosted by YA Bound Book Tours. Click HERE to see the full blog tour schedule!

escape from edenEscape from Eden
by Elisa Nader
YA Contemporary romance/adventure

Available NOW!

Summary from Goodreads:

Since the age of ten, Mia has lived under the iron fist of the fundamentalist preacher who lured her mother away to join his fanatical family of followers. In Edenton, a supposed “Garden of Eden” deep in the South American jungle, everyone follows the Reverend’s strict but arbitrary rules—even the mandate of whom they can marry. Now sixteen, Mia dreams of slipping away from the armed guards who keep the faithful in, and the curious out. When the rebellious and sexy Gabriel, a new boy, arrives with his family, Mia sees a chance to escape.

But the scandalous secrets the two discover beyond the compound’s façade are more shocking than anything they ever imagined. While Gabriel has his own terrible secrets, he and Mia bond together, more than friends and freedom fighters. But is there time to think of each other as they race to stop the Reverend’s paranoid plan to free his flock from the corrupt world? Can two teenagers crush a criminal mastermind? And who will die in the fight to save the ones they love from a madman who’s only concerned about his own secrets?

My review:

Wow. Just, wow.

This YA romance/Adventure kicked me in the gut.

Sixteen y/o Mia hates the religious compound where her mother brought her six years ago. She wants to leave desperately and clings to her one hope–that she can somehow escape. Seventeen y/o Gabriel arrives with his parents–bearing the emotional scars of a chilling childhood incident. He’s angry and resourceful, and just as desperate as Mia to escape.

After becoming an unwitting accomplice in the deaths of 11 commune members, Mia is shaken. But she soon has a new drama: attending her first prayer circle. These mysterious experiences leave many members changed, and not for the better. When Gabe is brought along, Mia is sure something strange is happening behind the scenes, but she could never imagine the hellscape she’s a part of.

A fire. A jungle escape and an impossible choice keep this story hopping. Will Mia return to Edenton to save her friends and family from Reverend Eden’s torture?

[Spoiler: hey, she’s a heroine, right?]

The climax is brutal, and makes the reader sit up and wonder about the power of religion in human experience. For some of you the word ‘Jonestown’ may conjure the mass killing of a religious cult.

In ESCAPE FROM EDEN, we learn that the Jonestown True Believers really had it easy.

Goodness!

You want ESCAPE FROM EDEN? Get it here….or there…

Goodreads│ Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Powell’s | IndieBound

ADVANCED PRAISE

“The chemistry between Mia and Gabriel is palpable in their teasing dialogue and sizzling moments of physical connection. Its rewards … are many: fast-moving action, a capable heroine and a resolution that leaves plenty of room for a sequel.” – Kirkus Reviews [STARRED REVIEW]

“Debut author Elisa Nader hits a strong note with her ESCAPE FROM EDEN… At-times swoony, at-times extremely dangerous, and at-other times completely shocking.” – Examiner.com

“Nader has done something amazing: written a really original novel, one full of characters you’ll care about; smart, witty dialog; and plenty of shocks and thrills. A wonderful balance of light and dark.” —Michael Grant, New York Times Bestselling Author of the Gone Series

“An exciting, terrifying, page-turning thrill ride you will not be able to put down.” – Gretchen McNeil, Author of POSSESS, TEN and 3:59

About the Author

elisa naderHi. I’m Elisa. I like cheese and reading and TV show marathons. Writing is scary, but not as scary as, say, Civil War amputations. I’m an Aquarius. Uh… let’s see… I’m not very good at writing my own biography. Or autobiography. I guess this is reading more like a slightly incoherent personal ad.

 

Author Links:

Website│Goodreads│Twitter│Facebook │Pinterest

 

GIVEAWAY:

(2) Sets of Moleskine Sketchbook, set of Le Pen colored fine tip pens, a copy of Otherkin and Othermoon by Elisa’s crit partner Nina Berry, and a personalized copy of Escape from Eden

eden giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Sleepless night? TELL ME About it!

imageDamn you, Olivia Cunning!
I’m a working mother. I gotta be at work by 7am every morning come hell or crying children.
And, yet, I gave away my sleep for Gabe and Melanie. Again.
I am such a sucker.
But, I got a smile on my face.
In fact, I’m feeling bulletproof right now–and that’s not tequila talking. That’s the delicious afterglow of a great read, my friends.
Here’s what happened: the email came in that my pre-order of TELL ME had arrived at 2:37 am. I sparked up my iPad and boy howdy, I had me a piece of fantastic fiction to keep me solidly awake until my alarm, had I bothered to set one, would have blared.
Oh, wait…that’s what happened to me.
Here’s what happened in the story: Gabe and Melanie met way back when in TRY ME, which I reviewed in a week-long Sole Regret lovefest. In their world, it’s five days later and Gabe can’t wait another night to have Mel in his bed. Or the shower. Or wherever he doesn’t have to just phone-sex-her-up. He convinces her to join him a night early so they can have three nights together. Mel’s on board—the plane—when her bestie Nikki shows up even though she’s been completely disinvited from this rendezvous. Melanie’s pissed, but she can’t tell Nikki no—not while she’s in the plane, anyhow.
Still, the heat sizzles between Gabe and Mel. So much so that they practically meld with each other. They leave Nikki to enjoy Gabe’s empty suite in New Orleans while they visit his ranch in Austin for the weekend. Mel loves everything about her kinky drummer—his passion, his house, his dogs—even his parents who pop in unexpectedly.
Just when things really start to get emotional, Nikki calls for yet another rescue. And Gabe’s left in the cold. Quite literally. I nearly tossed my iPad (but I forged on!) and WOW. I’m over the moon—at daybreak, Ms. Cunning.
Some favors, if I may?
Write faster?
Or, maybe, get Amazon to release your preorders at a more human hour?
I’m desperate for TEASE ME, so if you could release it…soon?
Pretty please, with Owen on top?
Thanks. You’re a peach, dear.
You want a sleepless night, too?  TELL ME is live on AMAZON and B&N… Probably other places, but I’m too tired to track them down just now…

WAITING FOR DUSK–Review and Giveaway

Waiting for Dusk banner copy

Welcome to my stop on the Waiting For Dusk blog tour hosted by YA Bound Book Tours.  Click HERE to see the full blog tour schedule!

waiting for duskWaiting for Dusk

A time-travel YA novel
by Nancy Pennick
Available now!

Summary from Goodreads:
Read a book.
Fall asleep.
Meet a boy.
Is it real or just a dream?
Katie’s everyday life suddenly turns exciting when she travels back in time and meets the boy of her dreams. Thinking of nothing else, willing to leave the real world behind, she’s determined to find out if it’s all a dream or not. Returning again and again, Katie almost has her answers until one day her precious book goes missing.

My review:

Katie’s bored with her boring summer. All her friends are gone and she’s stuck at boring home with her mom every boring day. Until…

She gets a book.

A magic book that time-travels her from Oberlin, Ohio, Today to El Tovar, a lodge on the southern rim of the Grand Canyon in 1927. There Kate meets many fantastic new friends…and Drew, a boy she can’t forget.

Each night when Katie reads the book and visits her new exciting world, she falls more in love with that life. With confidantes on both side of the timescape, Kate tries to exist in both places. Of course, problems in today’s world creep in. Tyson, her long-time friend wants to become her boyfriend, but Katie can’t forget Drew. Her father thwarts Katie’s attempts to reconnect with her past-time friends and love leading to a couple blow-ups and Katie being deceitful in order to sneak back in time.

When Katie learns of Drew’s mysterious disappearance, she enlists the help of an unlikely partner to save Drew from certain death.

So. Did I like the story? It’s a bit rough grammar-wise and had some logic issues, but I like the premise. Having devoured the works of Gabaldon and Moning, I’m well-schooled in time-travel romance. This is a YA dealie, so no hot-n-heavy scenes. Most of the time I felt Katie was a bit immature. Dialogue sometimes didn’t connect for me. It was a fun exercise in fantasy, nonetheless. If the stalker hadn’t been present, I’d recommend it for upper MG readers.

Interested? You can find YOUR copy of WAITING FOR DUSK here:

Goodreads│Amazon│B&N│Book Depository

About the Author

nancy pennickBorn and raised in Northeast Ohio, Nancy currently resides in Mentor, Ohio with her husband and their college-age son, plus a delightfully entertaining lovebird. She secretly wrote short stories as a child, typed them up and put them in a drawer. She’d give anything to see those stories one more time. Her writing is influenced by all the years of working with young people as a teacher and raising her own son. When not writing, Nancy loves to travel with her husband and enjoys a good cup of tea.

Interested in interacting with Nancy online? Try finding her BLOG TWITTER FACEBOOK or GOODREADS…

***GIVEAWAY***
3 e-book copies of Waiting For Dusk (PDF or Mobi) (INT)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Totally smitten WITH GOOD BEHAVIOR–Review

With Good Behavior (Conduct #1)I’m wrapping up my summer reads–because, well, I’ve gotta get to my FALL reads and my pre-Christmas reads. So…

I finished WITH GOOD BEHAVIOR a couple weeks ago and haven’t had a chance to share how much I enjoyed it.

First off, Chicago. It’s my home. I will not carve your heart out with a rusty spoon if you say you don’t loooove it…but I will seriously question your judgment and count my silver when you depart my abode.

But, see, Chicago is not simply a setting for a book. It’s an experience. It’s stuffed pizza and tomatoes on hotdogs and art that looks like chrome spaceships and black dragon-lions and rattling El trains and sultry ozone action days that stink of exhaust and hot pavement.

And, that’s what Jen Lane gives us:  The grit and grime of a city shrouded in corruption, with a hearty helping of Oh yeah–ROMANCE!!

Sophie Taylor and Grant Madsen are new parolees. They share a parole officer, and a deeper connection neither one knows about.

Sophie Taylor, a clinical psychologist, served a year in prison when police discover cash and guns hidden in her office. They were her lover’s. And he was a gangster. Oh, and a patient. Bam! Behind bars…

Grant Madsen, a naval officer, got collared trying to steal the money his brother lost in an illegal poker game. He’d been blackmailed into it–by his brother. And he never said a word.

Now these two ex-cons keep running into each other. Their mutual love of the White Sox (bonus points from this Southside reviewer!) and a mutual attraction turns into a very sweet relationship. Of course, they face the same struggles of any parolee. Sophie can’t get a job, risking re-incarceration. Grant can’t escape his family’s criminal influence. But, together, Sophie and Grant find solace and strength.

Both working for an architectural cruise line, they take on far more responsibility than they expect when their boss has a heart attack. Oh, how I love Grant’s Tequila-moment. Jose Cuervo is not friend of his! And yet, without that inebriated nudge Grant would never cut loose his inner Frank Sinatra.

This bittersweet tale is more sweet than bitter–and the climax continues through four chapters. Tensions ride super high when Grant learns his brother’s role in Sophie’s arrest. Man! That dude is toxic.

The narrative adopts many viewpoints, but it’s not distracting. I love when Jerry, the parole officer, narrates. His jaded view is so deadpan, but warms to his star-crossed lover parolees.

The good news–sequels! SQUEE!

Looking forward to BAD BEHAVIOR…and ON BEST BEHAVIOR is set to drop later this month!

WITH GOOD BEHAVIOR is such a steal at $.99, I’m hoping I don’t get pinched at checkout.

AMAZON  B&N

If you’ve read it tell me I’ll love it in the comments!

WHAT REMAINS–Review, Tour and Giveaway!

What Endures Blog Tour Banner

Welcome to my stop on the What Endures blog tour hosted by YA Bound Book Tours.  Click HERE to see the full blog tour schedule!

what enduresWhat Endures
by Katie Lee
Contemporary New Adult Romance  Available NOW!
Summary from Goodreads:

Jason Kincaid is young, hot and successful.

An All-Star outfielder for the Seattle Mariners, he finally had everything he ever wanted, including a second chance with his high school sweetheart, Megan Williams.

But their hopes for a ‘happily-ever-after’ are dashed by tragedy.

A horrific car accident wipes out most of Jason’s memories. Unable to recall anything from the last fifteen years of his life, Jason is suddenly adrift, his once charmed life now in ruins.

Megan finds herself in the untenable position of having to deal with the fact that the man she’s helping to rebuild his life may look, and even act, like her beloved fiancé, but in reality, isn’t any longer.

Trying to protect herself, as well as Jason, Megan fights the attraction between them. . .to no avail. As their potent connection inevitably draws them closer, Megan wonders,

With the memories of their relationship gone, can love endure?

WHAT ENDURES can be picked up…right now, in fact….right here:

Goodreads|Amazon

MY Review:

So, I’ll start with this one thing: I liked this story. Liked it enough to recommend it to my sister. But it took me a bit to get settled in. See, I’ve got a medical background. Been teaching or working in hospitals and med schools my entire adult life…so, when there’s a medical issue in a book I’m challenged to NOT look for all that is wrong with the author’s treatment of the illness. Mostly because I can’t stand when popular culture gets basic medicine wrong in order to tell a convenient story.

I’m not going to say that anything was ‘wrong’ here–I’m no expert on amnesia–but I was surprised that Megan moved out of her home to allow Jason to recuperate alone. She had been by his side for years. They had been through worse personal tragedy, and I really felt it an odd scenario that any medical provider would advocate a loved one to completely remove herself from a patient in need. But, then again, there is lots of goofy pseudomedical advice out there in the real world, and Jason had plenty of money to spend on professional care, unlike most people.

You may wonder why, with such reservations about plausibility, did I like the story?

Because, the tugged heartstrings!

Jason’s struggle to regain his lost memory is engrossing. And Megan’s effort to care for him without obligating him–well that’s admirable, too. With their history lost she doesn’t want to push him into a relationship he can’t understand. So, in essence, they must begin again.

While Jason and Megan’s new love story has some words on the page, they must write new passages, new scenes to bind them together. It is only when they both decide the past doesn’t matter that their future is possible. And, thankfully, it seems to be better than before. 

A strong story is to be admired. And that’s what endures.

About the Author

katie lee copyKatie Lee has had a lifelong love affair with books. She fell in love with her first book in the second grade and hasn’t looked back since. She first took up writing as a hobby, wanting to craft her own magical adventures, and through the love and encouragement of family and friends, decided to get serious about writing and share her stories with the world.
She currently resides in Maryland in the United States. She works for the government during the day, and her spare time is devoted to writing. She gains inspiration from all sorts of things, but mostly from the fun and adventurous trips she takes when she can. She loves hearing from her readers so drop her a note!

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