Reviews

Books I’ve read and reviewed

TRY ME, My Nights with SOLE REGRET (1/5)

Try Me (One Night with Sole Regret, #1) Who hasn’t dreamed of turning the head of a famous rock star?

That passion, that excitement of a sexy brush with fame probably started with Elvis and it’s more than an idle dream for some women.

And that’s what I love about Olivia Cunning’s novella series: One Night with Sole Regret–she gives us the fantasy from start to finish. Each night a separate member of the band finds a woman and the passion is explosive.

The first installment, TRY ME, follows the activity of Gabe “Force” Banner, the mohawked drummer and his encounter with accountant Melanie Anderson following a concert in Tulsa.

Melanie has tagged along with her friend Nikki, a girl after the attention of Sole Regret’s lead singer, Shade. Thing is, the only way Nikki and Mel can get backstage is to convince the roadies they are up for a wild night with Shade–together–and Mel is not down with it. She’s terrified of tattooed men and ends up insulting the copiously-inked, arrogant Shade right to his face, much to the amusement of Gabe.

Gabe, his own ink covered by cap and shirt, begins talking to Mel. He’s never known a woman to turn down Shade, and is drawn to her independence. Chatting casually, Mel inadvertently mistakes Gabe for another fan and is later appalled to learn that Gabe is not only the drummer, he’s also heavily tattooed… Of course by the time she learns all this, she’s hooked by his good looks and down-to-earth nature.

What cements it all? Gabe opens up about his closet-geek status and Mel is captivated. Gabe can’t understand why Mel being attracted to him for reasons other than his fame is so potent, but it really stirs him up.

I love the way they come together. He feels free to express himself in a way he never usually does, and Mel is just as open in return. They bond, and the following morning they both know more has happened than a one-night stand.

TO BE CLEAR– this is a STEAMER!! So super hot I thought my iPad might melt.

And what’s even better?

There are four more nights with Sole Regret! (So far…)

If you check TRY ME out, please let me know what you thought in the comments!

You can pick this title up on it’s own or as part of the ALPHA BAD BOYS box set I reviewed earlier. If you buy the box set you’ll get TEMPT ME, the second novella in this series–at a discount!

Who Doesn’t Love SEXY BERKELEY?

Sexy BerkeleyI had the pleasure to pick this Dani Lovell title up recently and I’m glad I did.

It’s THE HOLIDAY, without the cheating bastards…

So, yahoo!

Here’s what happens: Londoner Bea takes a spontaneous vacation with her friend Tilly to LA to visit Tilly’s sister. Bea suffers panic attacks in flight—particularly surrounding take-offs and landings. While she’s gripping the headrest in fear, a strong hand clasps hers and a connection is made.

Thankfully, that strong hand belongs to Daniel Berkeley, who is sexy, as the title proclaims.

Daniel invites Bea to the lounge for a drink and chat while the trans-Atlantic flight hustles on. And the chat ends with a more-than-pleasant ‘pash’ (That’s a ‘make-out’ for the Yanks). Skittish of holiday romantic entanglements, Bea turns down Daniel’s request for a date. Never fear—fate steps in to reunite these lovely folks two days later. Sparks fly, not just for Bea and Daniel, but for Tilly and Daniel’s BFF Luke Summers.

Bea is overwrought knowing that she’s developing serious feelings for a man that she can never truly have; she’s unwilling to move to the States, and Daniel’s a big wig at his father’s corporation. So, despite two passion-filled days and nights—she breaks off more visitations.

NO! How could she refuse to see Sexy Berkeley? you say.

Well, she does manage to drunk-text him the Friday before she leaves for London…

And the fire is even hotter.

In fact, the magma-like chemistry between Bea and Daniel eventually melts her objection to ‘trying’ a long-distance thing. Bea won’t concede to being long-distance lovers, but she agrees to chatting and texting every now and then, at least, until they work each other out of their systems…

But, Daniel doesn’t want Bea out of his system. And that’s probably the sexiest part of him.

Loved this. Hated that Bea would never relent to Daniel’s desire to simply be hopeful for a future, no matter how realistic her fears. See, I wanted her to throw caution to the birds and let them devour the scraps, but she just WOULDN’T! And yet, her stubbornness was decidedly what gave this story its satisfying ending. Also: Can I thank you, Dani Lovell, for creating a male lead who is attractive and uber-wealthy and yet not a kinked-out Dom? It’s nice to read a vanilla with sprinkles of heat for a change. (Not every book has to Out-Fifty, FIFTY, folks!)

SEXY BERKELEY is free at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. It’s a perfect summer read.

Also, Tilly and Luke’s big fling sets up the next book in the SEXY series—SEXY SUMMERS. I have a feeling we’re going to find a new arrival to the States in that tale, in more ways than one.

Looking forward to it!

My Weekend With HELLER

So, my hubby was away this past weekend. And, it’s rather lonely when he’s gone. Empty bed, and all.

Naturally, I sought out some companionship. My sis introduced me to HELLER, and yes, he’s all she said he would be.

How so? you wonder.

Well, when I first heard of JD Nixon’s series I thought…meh. Silly girl gets tied up in mysterious powerful man’s web of zaniness. Kinda old. I could smell the acrid fumes of a microwaved plot. In fact, I had it on my iPad a bit before I ‘broke the seal’. But, when my beloved sister tells me I should READ THIS! I do.

And, squee!

The HELLER series is a funny, heartwarming set of yarns that follow trouble-magnet Matilda “Tilly” Chalmers in her love-hate relationship with Heller, owner of HELLER’S Security.

Telling a reader that a book is funny is easy. Getting them to believe it? More difficult.

Say I mentioned that HELLER began with Tilly being told she was now let go from her current job because she refused to date her boss. Not funny, right? Especially as she’s flat broke and figures the only way to pay her rent is to have sex with her repulsive landlord. NOT FUNNY. But, what if I told you Tilly’s job was to act the part of a slice of watermelon in a children’s play. And, what if she needed help getting out of her watermelon costume, but the only one available was her lecherous boss. And, what if he told her the costume’s zipper was broken and she had to ride three public buses clear across town to get home—dressed as a watermelon slice–in the summer heat. And, when she finally manages to get home she’s exhausted, soggy with sweat, and must wait hours for her flat-mate to arrive and rescue her from the costume–only to learn that the zipper wasn’t broken after all!

Oh, poor Tils!

Her luck seems to turn around when Tilly applies to Heller’s as a receptionist/liaison who also provides companionship/security for wealthy female clients visiting the city while their husbands conduct business. Unfortunately, the ladies are often very hard to handle outside of their husband’s tight leases. Tilly finds herself caught up in capers, ranging from hilarious to downright dangerous. Our plucky heroine seems to collect stitches faster than a cheetah catches prey.

There is a lot of body comedy, and a definite attraction develops between Tilly and Heller, but, having been burned previously, she spurns his advances. No big. Heller’s drop-dead gorge and has no trouble finding available women. Much to Tilly’s chagrin.

I found the Australian slang charming and fell in love with Tilly from the first chapter. Which is how my weekend became ensconced in HELLER…so much so that I read HELLER’S REVENGE, HELLER’S GIRLFRIEND and HELLER’S PUNISHMENT, too.  I did manage to sleep. Yesterday.

Good thing the fifth installment, HELLER’S DECISION, comes out next month. I have time to plan another trip for the hubby…

You can check out HELLER for free, on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or iTunes Bookstore.  The sequels are cheap, and enjoyable. The sexual tension continues to build and the Tilly’s misfortunes get more outrageous. If you need another recommendation, try this one. HELLER is currently Book-of-the-Week at Apple’s iTunes Bookstore.

Let me know if you check them out and what you think!

Gems in the bargain bin–ALPHA BAD BOYS

So, I’m a frugal gal. I get ARCs (Advance Reader Copies) whenever I can. I download Amazon Freebies. I pick up $.99 specials. I buy secondhand books.

Before you condemn me, let me explain: I have to! Sadly, I spend more cash at Barnes & Noble or Amazon.com than I do on shoes…

This isn’t only how I buy books. I buy clearance everything. Yes, I’m that lady in the grocery trying to discern if the  dented can with no label marked 25 cent is corn (YEA!) … or sauerkraut (Eep!).

Naturally, being the clearance queen, the Alpha Bad Boys box set piqued my interest. It’s out for $.99 now…and I scooped it up.

Well folks, it wasn’t corn.

It was BETTER.

If they put hot fudge sundaes in cans, that’s what I would have tasted when I broke the seal on my bargain purchase!

To be clear, there are 7 books in this pack. SEVEN!! for a $1. Granted there are 5 novellas and 2 novels, but still!

Absolutely the best deal.

Why? Because Olivia Cunning. There are TWO novellas from her Sole Regret series–and they are SMOKING! Oh! Who doesn’t love tatted rockstars finding love? NO ONE!!  TRY ME is delicious. I could snack on Gabe…if I was guaranteed I wouldn’t burn my lips on his hotness. And TEMPT ME has turned me into a fangirl. Purchased separately they are $2.99 apiece. [Did I mention this boxset deal is fantastic?]

I also loved ONE NIGHT FOREVER and ASK FOR IT–both contemporary romance, and both full-length novels with strong female leads and dreamy Alpha love interests.

An erotic romance collection can’t be complete without some BDSM–and it’s front and center in TUCKER’S FALL. Not my fave, but a decent tale.

The bookends:  THEIR VIRGIN CAPTIVE and EDUCATING ANSLEY are menage novellas with virgin leads and moderate-to-heavy Dom Alphas. Personally, I feel like crafting a menage tale is 10X harder than an ordinary erotic romance. Like the act itself, describing a menage relationship is a delicate balance requiring finesse. I’ll just say (in this genre) I’ve been spoiled by the mastery that is Nicole Edwards.  I wasn’t blown away by these, but hey, they weren’t sauerkraut.

So, in total, loved this collection. And, it’s cheap. You like all variety of erotic romance?

Embrace your inner dented-can-chooser….Pick it up.

Caught in the UNDERTOW

Undertow (Dragonfly, #2)What can a person confide in wholeheartedly, without censure? A private journal.

Through it a reader sees the author’s bold hopes, petty machinations, and outright manipulations in stark relief.

I’ve just completed reading an advance copy of UNDERTOW, book two in the Dragonfly Series by Leigh T. Moore, and it wasn’t what I expected.

I’ve rambled before about expectations and how it’s nice to upset them. Mix things up. Make bold moves.

Well, UNDERTOW is a very bold move.

It moved the Dragonfly Series right out of YA and squarely into women’s fiction.

How could that be? you ask—firmly reminding me that the protagonist, Anna, is a high school senior.

99% of the time a high school age main character = YA, right?

Sure. I’d lay money on the table with those odds, but UNDERTOW isn’t actually about Anna—it’s about big plans, bigger lies and life-changing secrets.

This tale is really an intimate look at a troubled marriage written from three points of view, and the speakers are old journals. The voyeur in me was intrigued, but as you can guess, it was raw.

Yes, Anna is the reader, but she is a prop in the scheme.

We pick up the story with Anna being on her own after Christmas reading the three journals given her by Bill Kyser, Jack and Lucy’s father, at the end of DRAGONFLY. She begins with Meg’s journal—all shiny and bright with hope over her impending wedding to Bill—a marriage she secured by an ‘oops’ pregnancy (PSA: Don’t try this at home!) She assures Bill she’ll be able to manage housekeeping while he overloads on college coursework to get his foothold in business. See, Bill wants to develop the Alabama gulf coast. It’s his big dream, and Meg wants a comfortable life—with Bill. Now.

Yes. It is a setup for doom, kids.

Meg’s journal is anguish. Missing her husband as he works long, long hours, doubles up on classes to finish school in 2.5 years instead of 4. She tries to be happy, and fails—particularly wanting to have more babies to fill her days when their first boy goes off to school. Along the way she confides in Lexi/Alex LaSalle—her BFF. (For those who need to catch up, Lexi/Alex is also mother to Julian, Anna’s good friend who wants more.) Completely against Bill’s express wishes Meg tries for a second OOPS! And she succeeds, in both getting pregnant and completely alienating Bill. Especially problematic with twins, Jack and Lucy, on the way.

Bright, shiny Meg knows she’s wrong, but she is as selfish as any. Eventually Bill thaws, but things are never the way they were—yet Meg is finally realizing all of her dreams. Big house, beautiful family, and suddenly Lexi/Alex is pregnant—no Daddy to be found. Still she’s excited to have her friend join the Mommy club. Her journal ends with the revelation that Julian is not entirely fatherless—really.

Lexi/Alex’s journal is a study in naïveté. She embarks on her college studies in art and is promptly picked up by the resident scumbag painting instructor as his freshman plaything. Broken from that experience she moves to Atlanta to work in commercial art, but is worn by the long work days and inspiration-crushing competition. So, when Bill Kyser asks her to become the creative consultant for his real estate development company, she agrees to return home. She jumps into the job with both feet, working tirelessly with Bill on the interior and exterior concepts of the projects.

Surely nothing can go wrong spending countless hours with your best friend’s husband.

Right.

In truth it isn’t sordid, only sad. Sad that relationships change and people grow past their first love. Sad that decisions made in the half-aware high school world can affect so many loved ones later.

Bill Kyser’s journal is regret, plain and simple. Regret that his girlfriend is pregnant. Regret that he’s getting married following high school graduation. Regret that he has no time to be a father. Regret that he can’t realize his dream fast enough to be the husband and father he always wanted to be. And, eventually it is regret that he can no longer connect with the wife he never knew. He tries—and is blindsided by Meg’s ‘accidental’ pregnancy. Again.

To Bill this deceit is unforgivable. And, along the way he’s realized that he has serious feelings for Lexi/Alex. The kind he’d set all his big plans aside for, in fact. One quick tryst, and he’s ready to separate—not that Lexi/Alex will let him abandon Meg. She’d run first, to his great regret.

The climax comes three times in this story. Through all three points-of-view we experience Meg’s discovery of Bill and Lexi/Alex’s betrayal. It is cutting and acute and ends with a rash and final act that guarantees no happiness for the survivors.

Maybe.

Because time has passed. Nearly twenty years.

And Anna is now recruited to help bridge the chasm between Bill and Lexi/Alex. But what can she do? And, how will she keep these dark secrets inside when Julian is ready to move out of The Friend Zone?

UNDERTOW reveals much about life.

The danger of an undertow is how it can swiftly and silently take you under and steal your life away. One misstep and BAM!! your life is forever changed/altered/over, as you knew it.

Reading the close first-person accounts in UNDERTOW is not simply slowing for a peek at a wreck on the highway. It is understanding that a wreck is going to happen. It is watching the cars line up and begin their travels, hearing the songs playing on their radios, checking the texts the drivers won’t ignore, and then seeing each and every driver’s careful maneuvers collapse into a fiery catastrophe.

So, not really a beach read. And, not really YA, IMHO. There are some sexual references/situations, naturally, but (to me) its themes are out of the realm of what most teens would gravitate toward.

For the record–This advice is for MALES AND FEMALES alike: Do not get pregnant to ‘trap’ a partner or ‘save’ a marriage. Ever. This is the exact WORST thing to do—it complicates a relationship in a thousand different ways that you cannot predict and that may not be overcome. Having a baby is a life-altering event for, if no one else, the mother. Do so with eyes wide open. (This is my final PSA for the week.)

Is UNDERTOW at good story? Yes. In fact: YES! says it better. If it wasn’t written so close-to-the-bone we’d never feel it so deeply. Truly, there are so many people in this world who start out exactly like Bill and Meg and end up a broken couple. Probably someone you know, or did know back in high school…maybe even you?

For me, UNDERTOW is a lesson in “How not to structure a relationship.” Because, as Bill Kyser puts it to Anna, “The truth is always the right thing.”

I’ve given up more details about this story than usual—mainly because it is so unexpected.

What I didn’t expect in the reading? That I’d be eagerly awaiting the next installment—WATERCOLORS later this year—wherein Anna and Julian attempt a relationship. Guess that one will be more YA.

Other series books that had a raw, gut-wrenching, second novel? Diana Gabaldon’s DRAGONFLY IN AMBER from the OUTLANDER series—which is also told in flashback. And Suzanne Collins’ CATCHING FIRE is another prime example.

So, yeah. UNDERTOW is intense. It steals your breath away. It will be available July 18th and I’d set it on your TBR if you’re into TBR’s that is…

Perhaps WATERCOLORS will be as gentle as the name sounds…but, honestly, I wouldn’t expect it. Looks like Ms. Moore’s going to tear my heart out again.

It’s okay, I can take it. 🙂

Wild about WILD CARDS

Wild Cards (Wild Cards, #1)Oh, for the love of football…and hot football playas!

What can I say about Simone Elkeles? She is a master of the dual viewpoint. Ever since I read LEAVING PARADISE I knew her books would fill my TBR shelves. And yes, I’ve read every single title she’s published.

Because, as I have previously mentioned, I’m a sucker for series books.

I had the great pleasure to meet Simone at ALA last week and only needed to find a free day to inhale my advanced reader copy of her latest YA offering.

WILD CARDS begins a new series for Elkeles, one that centers on a high school football team struggling to reach the ‘next level’ and is sure to delight her legion of fans. As with the PERFECT CHEMISTRY series, the love story here is gritty and complicated, yet compelling enough to make the pages fly by.

Derek ‘The Fitz’ Fitzpatrick is a phenom quarterback with Division I scholarships whose military father is in a nuclear sub on the bottom of the ocean. His mother died of cancer two years prior–alone, because Derek didn’t leave practice to be at her side when she breathed her last; his guilt drove him to quit football forever. He’s just been expelled from prep school in California and his pregnant stepmother is moving him to suburban Chicago so she can be closer to her estranged family while Derek’s dad is deployed.

Arriving in Fremont, Derek meets Ashtyn, his stepmother’s younger sister–she’s a senior in high school, too. Oh, and captain of the Fremont football team.

You read that right. Ashtyn’s been the kicker on Varsity since her freshman year and just got voted captain–ahead of her star-quarterback boyfriend, Landon.

Derek and Ashtyn have both suffered abandonment, and neither is eager to experience it again. Derek’s ‘love-’em-and-leave-em’ attitude doesn’t mesh with Ashtyn’s need to be loved, so immediately they are at odds despite an overwhelming attraction. The stakes raise when Landon leaves both Ashtyn and Fremont High to transfer to their rival school, crushing Ashtyn’s dreams of a state championship.

Determined to carry the team forward, Ashtyn begs Derek to drive her to Texas for the Elite football camp she has been invited to attend. He reluctantly agrees, mostly because he can’t imagine keeping his hands off of her on the trip–and he knows he’ll only end up breaking her heart like everyone else in her life.

Excerpt from the book: “I wake up with a hard-on. And my arm around Ashtyn. We’re spooning like and old married couple and her long hair is in my face. The flowery smell of her perfume reminds me that while Ashtyn talks tough and is a football player, she’s one hundred percent female. I did my best to stay on my side of the bed, but she kept moving closer. And closer. Then she told me she was cold and asked me to hold her, so I did.

That was my first mistake.

I quickly take my arm off her and manage to get some space between us. I need to cool off. She was half-asleep when she asked me to hold her, so hopefully she won’t remember. I’m not about to play her temporary boyfriend until we get to Texas.”

SWOON! Seriously.

While at the football camp, Landon makes Ashtyn’s life hell–and her discovery that Derek is a renown quarterback turns her world upside down. Ashtyn will do anything to get Derek onto Fremont’s team–even if it means trusting him with her heart.

As with PERFECT CHEMISTRY there is some heat to this YA romance. It doesn’t get all smexy, but it doesn’t exactly fade-to-black; it’s recommended for readers at the 9th grade and above. Personally, I loved it and look forward to the next Fremont title–because now I NEED to know how the team fares in the season.

WILD CARDS is due for release in late September/early October–just in time for the high school football playoffs, I guess. You can pre-order it now.

Best laid plans are SUBJECT TO CHANGE

Subject to Change (Picturing Perfect, #2)I’ve been reading New Adult of late, mainly because they bring freshness to the romance genre. Just like a first kiss, one’s first adult relationship swings between tentative and unsteady to primal and headstrong. Alessandra Thomas has scored big time in this touching story about finding one’s dreams while managing parental expectations.

Josephine “Joey” Daly promised her father she’d become a doctor–just like him–before he died. It is her life’s goal, financed by the special trust fund created in her father’s will. And, try as she can, she struggles mightily with the course-work.

Joey spends so many hours studying she may as well move her bed from her sorority house to Temple’s library–and still she’s barely making a B- average.

Organic Chemistry is killing her.

In Joey’s single fluff course, Introductory Business, she’s paired with Will “Hawk” Hawkins a scruffy, chronically-late, hot mess who is now 50% responsible for her grade. High-strung Joey is also frustrated by the cold-as-stone Dr. O’Donnell, a pediatric oncologist she’s shadowing, who counsels Joey to remain detached from patients–something Joey finds impossible to do.

Like most pre-med students, Joey sacrifices to get into med school, to be the perfect doctor, to help cancer patients–all plans she made with her father’s legacy in mind. Driven, Joey struggles on even as she discovers the reality of medicine isn’t what she imagined it to be.

Surprisingly, it is the taciturn Hawk–shouldering more responsibility than Joey can imagine–who embodies an open-minded approach to life. Growing close to Hawk, Joey finally experiences the joy of following her heart instead of her plans.

What is romance without conflict, right? Joey’s mom plays a role in sabotaging Joey’s new life plan, but Joey finds a path that her father would have applauded. And, that’s exactly what new adulthood is about–figuring out how in the world to become an adult.

What I admired about this story:

It’s accurate. How can I say that? In another life I was a pre-med student. And, in a life after that one, I taught physiology to med students and pre-med students. Here’s what I learned: All parents wants to say their child is a Doctor–and it’s a lofty ideal that many ascribe to–but becoming a physician is a long hard row to hoe.

In truth, I’ve known more people who happily got off the Pre-Med track than medical school students who completed their training. It’s a VERY difficult career, one I quickly learned would not fit my life goals. Unlike Joey I didn’t have a medical legacy to live up to, yet it still wasn’t easy to go home and tell The P’s about my change in plans.

SUBJECT TO CHANGE is an excellent New Adult romance that deals with real-world issues many college students face. The narrative is well-paced and the conflict vital without being overblown or melodramatic.

If you decide to check it out make sure to leave your thoughts on it in the comments.

PRECIOUS THINGS…indeed!

New Adult fiction is taking off–and many people are still trying to figure out if it’s a real phenomenon. What is it? YA rawness, plus more. The ones I’ve read are all contemporary with hotter (wetter? stickier?) romance.

Honestly, I’ve read a few and I’m hoping to find more, because it’s fun. I love the freshness. I love the romance. The uncertainty of ‘new adulthood’ is as energizing and rapturous as it is bittersweet.

And that’s how I felt about PRECIOUS THINGS by Stephanie Parent.

Isabelle is an excellent student. She’s been accepted to Johns Hopkins and Georgetown and her freshman year should be one of excitement and adventure, but it’s not.

Dad’s business is in the toilet and her college fund? Poof.

And, mom? She poofed years ago leaving Isabelle to help raise her younger brother, Corey.

Having not considered this possibility, Isabelle neglected to apply to a safety school that she could afford–so she’s wandering about Hartford Community College lamenting her extremely bad fortune and despairing over her ridiculous courses–not the least of which is Electronic Music Production which she abhors–that she only took because they were still open.

If life wasn’t bad enough, her Music TA Evan Strauss is hot, but runs hot-and-cold, and Isabelle, hoping against hope for financial aid from her real colleges so she can leave at the end of term, doesn’t want to reach out. She must however, because she’s clueless in Music and knows a failing grade will strand her in Community Collegeville. FOREVER.

She develops a friendship with Lily, a beautiful dance major and fellow Music classmate, and warms to her English prof finding that there is more to college than a GIANT DEBT, I mean, name.

Especially when she doesn’t just, ahem, warm to Evan…

Flames, people. Get the extinguisher.

And, of course there is conflict. Corey’s hanging with all new kids and his disrespectful attitude is stronger than teen-boy-foot odor. Dad’s poor business sense weighs on Isabelle, as does her resentment over high school friends finding their brighter futures. And Evan, delicious Evan, seems to be the next one to let her down.

Through it all, Isabelle develops an appreciation for being exactly where she is. Oh, and Depeche Mode. (Who doesn’t, BTW?)

What I loved?

Shit gets real. There are millions of kids out there living Isabelle’s disappointment right now–albeit without the hot TA who knows how to swing his hammer. It’s an important life lesson.  To borrow from The Stones: You Can’t Always Get What You Want in this life. And, yet, you must go on and do the best you can.

And sometimes, if you’re lucky like Isabelle, you get what you need.

And that is very precious, indeed.

Let me know if you pick up PRECIOUS THINGS in the comments. I’d love your take on it, or any New Adult title you’ve recently enjoyed.

DRAGONFLY Magic

Leigh T Moore knows how to spin a yarn. I learned this when I read The Truth About Letting Go.

Now she’s launching a YA/New Adult contemporary mystery series–of which DRAGONFLY is the first novel-length installment.

Anna, a transplant to the Florida gulf coast, is beginning her senior year without her best friend, but she’s adjusting well. She just got hired at the local paper as an aide which will undoubtedly bolster her college applications. The gorgeous Julian is showing a romantic interest in her, and she makes friends with twin transfers, Lucy and Jack Kyser–whose father is a wealthy real estate tycoon.

Jack and Anna are drawn to each other–and this attraction is a problem for both Jack’s father and Julian. Jack can’t decide if he should pursue Anna, or not, and Julian is ever-present trying to scoop Anna up.

Tension builds when Lucy, distraught over the machinations of her father’s influence on her social life, ends up in the hospital after mixing pills and booze. And the trouble with alcohol doesn’t stop there.

Through it all, Anna strives to hold together her tenuous friendships and excel in her newspaper job. Her big assignment has her chasing down interviews with the key players who developed their small gulf town into a folk arts mecca, including Julian’s mother and Mr. Kyser, both of whom are reticent to participate, but when Anna uncovers the secret Mr. Kyser’s been hiding, it might just tear their community apart.

DRAGONFLY is a romance/mystery with some heat appropriate for older teens and those who like YA fiction. It’s a quick read with plenty of misdirection.

Looking forward to the release of the sequel, UNDERTOW, in July.

Serial issue–THE DEBT COLLECTOR

I’m a reader. And, when I say that I mean it. Not in the ordinary way of people who read, really. See, when I get interested in a story I will read all night, all day, forget to eat, barely make it to the bathroom in time, until I hit the end pages. (I am AWARE that this is problematic…therapy is expensive!)

I can’t begin a new story before bed because I will read until the lines blur and I doze (book-in-hand) for a few hours then wake and read until I have to shower for work.

Which is why I thought I would hate a serial.

A serial is not simply a novel broken into bite-sized chunks, it is a recurrent character story with new adventures that all build to a coordinated climax.

Think:  24, in book form.

And for those who can’t stand cliffhangers (ME!!!) I couldn’t fathom how I would be able to survive the 3 month roll-out of all the episodes in The Debt Collector.

But I know Susan Kaye Quinn’s work. It’s solid.  She’s a critique partner and friend. Her Mindjacker Trilogy is Hunger Games quality political-suspense-sci-fi-action-thriller with less bloodshed. If she was writing a serial I knew it was something I didn’t want to miss despite my obsessive reader nature.

I wasn’t let down.

Quinn calls The Debt Collector future-noir—which, simply put, means that it feels like a gritty noir feature, but it’s timescape is future. It’s ingenious!

dc-1The Debt Collector occurs in a future L.A. where pollution and corruption are a daily menace (okay so not very different from now). Still, in this brave new world, everyone’s life’s value is constantly calculated, assessed between the amount of money you could potentially earn versus that which the person might owe. That balance is never breached—if you near the point of equilibrium your lingering life energy is drawn out by a debt collector and transferred to another person more worthy. (Kinda makes me glad my credit card debt isn’t higher, amiright?)

Lirium is a young debt collector. He’s not so keen on the job–honestly, who wants to be a grim reaper? He deals with his depression in the natural way—booze and women—until the night his hired sex worker, Elena, convinces him to give the hit of life energy he generally bestows on his partners to her ailing sister, a child suffering an incurable disease. This turn of events leads Lirium down a path he never envisioned.  Unwittingly drawn into the Kolek mafia, Lirium becomes a hit man of the highest order—taking life hits from the dregs of society and selling it to mafia patrons—along with fellow debt collectors Olivia and Valac. Along the way Lirium learns that kids are being illegally transferred out, and he’s compelled to determine the mastermind.

And, did I mention there’s romance? Not the main feature, but still present and pertinent.

Omigod.

I was dying waiting for each episode to go live. Following along with the release dates was like the anticipation of a new The Walking Dead episode—especially when the best characters got killed just after I fell in love with them!

As for The Debt Collector, each episode provides a satisfying arc and an excellent resolution while still propelling the overall storyline toward it’s finale.

Interested? You can get the complete 9 episode first season on Amazon.

Don’t forget to come back and tell me what you thought of it!