Saturday, February 28, 2015

Dine & Dash (Cut & Run #5.5) by Abigail Roux

This ultra short novella is a free bonus scene Abigail posted on her blog (Click HERE to read) as a thank-you for her readers voting the "All Star Game" (I really haven't a clue what it is except it's sports related :P). That's what Abigail had to say about it -  

In June I asked readers to vote for the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. Because I can. As a reward, I told everyone that if one of the three players I listed (who all totally deserved to be All-Stars, by the way) made the team, I'd give them a Ty/Zane sex scene. That's it, just sex. Whoring my characters out for votes. I am not ashamed.

Armed & Dangerous (Cut & Run #5) by Abigail Roux

Another great installment in the series. I can't get enough of Ty and Zane and in this one there is another couple which are simply adorable together! I'm talking about Julian and Cameron. Ty and Zane are instructed by Richard Burns to find Julian Cross and bring him ALIVE to DC. He doesn't explain why.. mainly because he doesn't want Ty getting mixed in the mess but it turns out totally different than either of them expected. 

Friday, February 27, 2015

Marked (Roads #1.5) by Garrett Leigh

This novella contains the scene in which Ash does the cover up of Pete's tattoo and what follows next was sexy and sweet at the same time. It's a free download from the publisher's website (Click HERE to download).

Slide (Roads #1) by Garrett Leigh

Outstanding! I would say it was a JOY to read, but with all the heart ache I guess it's not exactly the right word.. I LOVED this book to pieces. I would have read it in one gulp but as usual life keeps getting in the way of my reading! grrrr! 

You have to be a fan of the overly wounded hero to enjoy this one, but as I CLEARLY am it's just the perfect book for me. I also really liked that though one character was the "flawed" one, the other one wasn't too perfect or rather it wasn't just about one fixing the other. It's a love story. Love is found from the first few pages but as healing goes, there is more than just one person being there for the other to right the wrongs. 

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Soulbound (Darkest London #6) [Eliza May & Aodh MacNeil/Adam] by Kristen Callihan

We met both Adam and Eliza May in the previous installment in the series. It's the beginning of their (love) story - as she lays dying after being attached, Daisy and Mary Chase find her and offer her an immortal life as a GIM. They call upon Adam who sees her and realizes she is the one who was promised to him so long ago. Taking his vow she is now eternally his, well, up until Sin and Will Thorne break her free. 

What exactly happened the time they spend together we know very little of, and frankly it doesn't even make any sense. He is happy she is by his side, but he is also a bit wary, he doesn't want to confide with her, yet he wants her to speak to him. She just sees a brooding annoying man who keeps her chained to his side so she gives him the "silence treatment" which annoys the heck out of him and in the end, when she finds her way out she happy to finally be free. 

Monday, February 23, 2015

Kyland (A Sign of Love - Taurus) [Kyland & Tenleigh] by Mia Sheridan

Nope. I wanted to like it, but I think I ruined it after my DNF of "Becoming Calder" - the previous book in the series. I have a feeling if I read it BEFORE or read the books farther apart - then I would have finished it (though I would probably still not rate it very high). There are too many similar themes in the series. The small isolated place, the two young kindred spirits who can't be together or are separated for a few years before they re-meet. Naturally we've all read it all anyhow, but when you read a series that more than half of the books have somehow the same setting it's a bit too much. I LOVED both "Stinger" and  "Archer's Voice" I truly feel these two were excellent on their own and as a part of the series (being more original than the others..) but also, they are true to the genre they represent - both are New Adult towards Contemporary Romance. The rest, especially this one, are more on the Young Adult towards the New Adult which isn't really what I bargained for.. 

Saturday, February 21, 2015

The Morning Side of Dawn (Holt #3) [Cassie & Dar] by Justine Davis

Maybe it's just not my day? This is the second book I'm putting down today.. and I can't say there is anything around here that annoys me or anything.. It's a rather relaxed Saturday, nothing special to do, it's cold outside so sitting at home with a book was everything I could wish for. 

I don't have any real problem with the book actually. I have nothing against either Cassie or Dar - the main heroes. I just don't feel any "pull" toward them. Cassie is a super model who wants a break especially since there is a stalker who messes with her head and Dar, well, he is our overly tormented hero. What he mainly does is brood. It's not very compelling, it's not even that annoying since I guess he has his reasons - an accident making him cripple for life. Yet he is mostly a busy guy, competing with is wheel chair in races, building hand made chairs for other people. He isn't sitting at home feeling sorry for himself, yet in a way he does. He shuns any social life except for Sean (Stevie's brother) and Chase (Stevie's husband and also Cassie's brother), this is how she met him - on Sean's wedding (taking place in the second installment I haven't read and not planning on..)

Becoming Calder (A Sign of Love - Aquarius #1) [Calder & Eden] by Mia Sheridan

I can't, I just can't continue reading this book.. I usually give a book more time than I gave this one - 13% - yet the whole setting just put me off and I don't think it will change enough for me to keep on reading it.. 

I didn't know what to expect from this one, I'm guilty of not even reading the blurb.. it's just that I wanted to read more by Mia and this one has SUCH a high rating on GR.. The writing WAS great, and the way the story was told and the characters introduced as well as the world building itself was beautifully done and yet.. 

Enlightened (Enlightenment #3) [Murdo & David] by Joanna Chambers

Amazing conclusion to a beautiful love story. I couldn't be happier with this book or the entire series with how it progressed and the way it ended. Murdo and David are finally at peace with themselves, each other and as much as possible - the world around them. 

We finished the previous installment with Murdo and David heading to Laverock, the estate Murdo recently bought in Perthshire where David can recuperate from his broken leg. We start this installment 5 months later as David is getting better and their imminent breakup in on the line. At least as David sees it. When he is back to himself, he would be going back to Edinburgh, taking back the cases he left in the hand of Catherine Chalmers's husband - Donald Ferguson, now also a good friend. Murdo is reluctant to talk about what happens when David will getting back to himself, he keeps postponing the talk about the matter to a time when David is actually better.. 

Friday, February 20, 2015

Beguiled (Enlightenment #2) [Murdo & David] by Joanna Chambers

Utterly beautiful. I don't even know where to start, all I want to do is start the next one and get to their happily ever after. Unlike the previous one which ended quite sadly, the ending of this one was so sweet and promising, it was the final ribbon rapping to the way the relationship between Murdo and David progressed throughout the book. 

The first installment ended with Murdo and David parting ways supposedly never to see each other again, yet the small novella "Season's Pass" written from Murdo's POV told us he will be coming to Edinburgh for the King's visit. It's not that he cares so much about the king or his father's request to attend the ceremonies as a representative of the family, it was the fact that there was a small possibility of seeing David again. 

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Seasons Pass (Enlightenment #1.5) [Murdo & David] by Joanna Chambers

A short interesting novella told from Murdo's POV. I really enjoyed getting somewhat his side of the story though it's mostly the effect David had on him even though they didn't spend THAT much time together. 
This novella takes place 2 years after their last encounter. It mostly contains two scenes - 
The first, Murdo in a meeting with his father instructing him to return to Edinburgh for the king's visit.  It's a nice little glimpse into Murdo's head and state of mind. He is now engaged to be married, as he told David he is planning to be. 
The second scene is in a gay brothel (a sort of high society one) where he sees someone HE doesn't recognize but he was mentioned (even if briefly) in the previous installment and there is a very significant let's call it "information" that David would have been surprised to find out.. In the brothel Murdo is talking to someone who is going to Edinburgh as well, I guess it's suppose to prepare us to him being mentioned in the second installment, his name is Sinclair. 

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Provoked (Enlightenment #1) [Murdo & David] by Joanna Chambers

Really enjoyed this one! I had mixed feelings about it since I'm not usually into Historical Romance and I guess I was really giving it a go because it's a MM romance, something that was bound to be different than the "average" Historical Romance novel - and it sure was. It was beautiful in a heart breaking way. be warned it doesn't have a happy ending, yet from reading reviews I understand t's simply not meant as a stand alone - you must read the 2 other installment in the series to get the whole love story between David and Murdo. This book is only the beginning that gives as a glimpse to who they are, what the crave and know they cannot really have. 

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Running Barefoot by Amy Harmon

I wanted to love this book, I expected to enjoy it as much as I adored "Making Faces" which made a HUGE impression on me, yet they have nothing in common... it was, just, well, boring! I made myself read almost half of it, then when I picked it up the day after - meaning today - to continue I couldn't be bothered with it, even though the exact place I put it down was were things were about to take a turn. Yet I just couldn't keep on going.. Even if things are going to change, the way this story is portrayed won't change.. 

Monday, February 16, 2015

Stinger (A Sign of Love - Scorpio) [Carson & Grace] by Mia Sheridan

This one was really sweet. It's the unlikely love story between the driven law student and plan obsessed Grace Hamilton and the porn performer Carson Stinger who doesn't think more than a day in advance. They meet for the first time in Vegas attending a (different!) convention taking place in the same Hotel. After a somewhat rough start they decide to spend the weekend together - no strings attached. It's not what Grace would have thought she is capable of, yet with Carson it worked, they got closer to one another even if initially it was about the sex it became a lot more than that. They had a HUGE impact on one another yet when the weekend was over they each returned to their lives - the same yet different. 

Saturday, February 14, 2015

Divide & Conquer (Cut & Run #4) by Abigail Roux and Madeleine Urban

Another great installment in the series, as usual with a lot of action, injuries and heart ache, emotional roller coaster when it comes to the boys and how much they are BAD at telling each other how much they mean to each other, well, since Ty already confessed to loving Zane, I guess it's mostly Ty trying NOT to say what is so hard for Zane to deal with and Zane struggling with his feelings for Ty, not knowing if he is capable of saying the words he realizes are already there for a while now even if he hadn't said them to himself before. 

This book starts with a series of bombing and bank robberies in the city the police and bureau are unable to stop or predict since the villains uses the "Divide and Conquer" technique having a bombing in one side of the city while a bank robbery happens in a totally different location. The locals who want results not excuses are thoroughly angered with their lack of safety start to turn against the armed forces as well. Ty and Zane get thrown in the middle of the mix when after they jump to help with a possible bomb, Ty angrily growls to the TV reporters "They are coming for HIM" (meaning the master mind behind it). Pierce - our main Villain - sees this act as a personal "insult" trying his best to target Ty and Zane specifically and actually succeeding in hurting Zane pretty badly.

Friday, February 13, 2015

Leo's Chance (A Sign of Love - Leo #2) [Leo & Evie] by Mia Sheridan

Leo's Chance is basically the previous book - Leo - told from Leo's POV instead of Evie. While I was interested in hearing his voice and what he went through, I didn't find his side of the story "different" enough to justify a whole book. Especially since most of the book is a re-play of the previous one with just glimpses of the time he was in the hospital after the accident and his talks with the psychologist. The best parts in the book, in my opinion, where the last hour or so, were there are NEW details that we didn't hear about, not even in the previous Epilogue. Also the Epilogue in this one wasn't the same, it had a different time line and told from Evie's POV which I MUCH prefer.

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Leo (A Sign of Love - Leo #1) [Leo & Evie] by Mia Sheridan

This is the first installment in the series as well as Mia's debut novel. I really enjoyed it though it did drag a bit for me which is kind of surprising considering this novel is less than 200 pages. I felt it took too long for the truth to be revealed and the interaction between them was strange at times (though it was mostly explained in the end). But let's start at the beginning..

Evie and Leo met for the first time at a foster home. Both being taken from their family due to neglect and abuse. Both feeling like discarded junk with no real parental figures around them they find compassion, warmth and strength in one another. They spend 5 years as close as they can to one another but their promise to always stay together is being strongly challenged when Leo is adopted at the age of 15. He still promises to keep in touch, even though he will be moving far away, he also vows to come back for her when she is 18 and they can legally be together. Yet promises aside and real life at the other.. After their first kiss on the roof top at the home she is currently staying in - Evie never hears from Leo again.. 


Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Infinity + One by Amy Harmon

While I genuinely enjoyed this novel, I can't say it was a true favorite. I should say I'm not usually into "road trip" books, I usually don't find myself in those (especially if they have the Young Adult vibe). This one, though, was definitely a New Adult novel with the "coming of age" theme, it was fun and engaging, both main characters were interesting and the general idea of doing a sort of re-make to the "Bonnie and Clyde" theme through modern characters was original and fun to read. Yet somehow this book dragged for me and I saw I'm not the only one complaining about it. I DO think that all the adventures that our current "Bonnie and Clyde" went through had a certain meaning and couldn't really be avoided, yet it felt like too much adventures before they get to their destination. I also thought the same about the last hour or so of the book, There were a lot of details, a lot of things happening and being revealed yet it took too long to get to the "point" so to speak. 

Sunday, February 8, 2015

Hostile Ground by Aleksandr Voinov & L.A. Witt

WOW, this one was simply a JOY! it was quite complicated and it takes time to get what's happening though some things you CAN guess. The whole story is told from Mahir Hussain's POV - an undercover cop working under the name Saeed - trying to uncover a drug ring in a Seattle strip club. 

Mahir being gay has an advantage since as it seems Gene Lombardi (the big bad boss and owner of the club and it's other shady businesses) only hired gay security men. He doesn't want anyone (who hasn't paid..) touching what he owes and he sure as hell owns the girls who strip at the club. First thing Mahir has to do is to impress the head of security David Ridley. Meeting him for the first time makes him wonder who is more dangerous - Lombardi who is the kind to beat a person to death with his bare hands or Ridley who won't lift a brow while shooting someone in the head. Not a very enjoyable place to do undercover, ha? That could be said more than twice with all the shit Mahir has to endure to show his bosses he means business and he ISN'T a cop.. 

Saturday, February 7, 2015

Stevie's Chase (Holt #1) [Stevie & Chase] by Justine Davis

I was wondering about this book, or rather this series and how different it will be considering it was written in the 90s. I AM a child (or rather teenager) of the 90s and even though I didn't really read romance back then I thought it might have a different vibe - and it did! Both characters felt in a way more naive, their relationship was somewhat more tender than I'm used to reading. The relationships in general between all side characters were sweet and caring. But honestly I don't know if it's the 90s or the author and how she decided to write the characters and surrounding. I don't recall the 90s being THAT euphoric but maybe the books were more innocent in a way as we might have been back then. 

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

On Dublin Street (On Dublin Street #1) by Samantha Young

What a disappointment :/ there is SUCH a hype around this one I should have KNOWN not to even consider it as I'm can never really agree with anything mainstream.. So I"m saying, it's me, not the book. I got to 42% and realized that if I'm trying to convince myself to "bear it down" for another 3 and a half hours because it MIGHT get better - meaning - it won't get THAT better and I should just give it a rest already.. 

Fish & Chips (Cut & Run #3) - Abigail Roux and Madeleine Urban

Another great installment in the series! A bit complex with everything that is going on there. I remember the first time I read it I actually didn't understand ANYTHING even at the very end since I was mixing all the people and schemes together. This time around I think I got it, maybe ;) Yet what's important is not WHO is trying to kill Ty and Zane - it's the both of them together, this time REALLY together as they are on a two weeks cruse pretending to be a gay married couple - Corbin and Del Porter. It's the first time Ty an Zane get to really act on their feeling (mainly on their attraction) between them in public which is strange for both of them in the beginning but as the days goes by, it becomes quite natural. It was sweet and endearing. I also think since they were in public and were suppose to act as Corbin and Del they were more loving toward one another, expressing themselves and less bartering and bickering at one another. Well, don't think there is none of that! They DO have quite a lot of that when they are in private! 

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Falling from the Sky (Gravity #2) [Callie Anders & Hank “Hazardous” Lazarus] by Sarina Bowen

Beautiful. SO SO beautiful. It wasn't exactly what I was expecting in the best way possible :) There's a certain expectation I think most of us have towards "happily ever after", how one achieve that and who is the person they utterly fall in love with, it's the second book by Sarina that I encounter a totally different, let's say "approach" to finding your happiness even if it "could have been better" (?) I"m not sure how to phrase that (without spoilering this one and the other one I'm talking about..). 

While this is the second installment in the Gravity series, it can totally be read as a standalone. The couple from the first installment DO appear as they are good friends with both the main characters. So if you are obsessed with reading by order (like me!) you would HAVE to start with the first one (not that it's a chore! it was also AMAZING!). But if you are a bit more "loose" with your reading you'll have no problem picking this up and enjoying it as it is. 

Monday, February 2, 2015

Neanderthal Seeks Human: A Smart Romance (Knitting in the City #1) by Penny Reid

I wanted to love this book, I even expected to! It sounded as my cup of tea as I started reading it. A strange kinda gal, not especially good looking (or rather not your typical beauty), smart in an unconventional kind of way, the kind who attracts too much attention to her strangeness and embarrass herself when she is trying her best not to. This sounds so ME on so many levels! It should ABSOLUTELY be my "thing", yet I was annoyed and bored out of my mind I couldn't be bothered to listen to Jaine's inner voice. 

Sadly, this is a DNF at 13%. Usually I give a quarter of a book a chance before I give it up, but here since the main character won't change there is no use in waiting for the plot to save me as Jaine seems to be the sole POV in this one so no matter what happens I am stuck with her anyway... 

Sunday, February 1, 2015

Spoils of War by Aleksandr Voinov & Raev Gray

A nice, free, very short read. I'm not sure how many pages it was, I think about 20.  Achilleus dies on the battle field, he isn't afraid of dying yet he is somewhat surprised to find himself in a new surroundings.. He is brought to the gods home up above by Ares the god of War, much to his brother Hermes' displeasure, to be offered eternal life.