Room on the Shelf

“Always expect an arrow to the face, Z.” Zinnia is a princess by day and The Ghost – a fae bounty hunter – by night. Her list of people who can be trusted is short, but her reflexes are sharp. She’s cunning, she’s fierce, and she is about to learn that the rules to the world aren’t exactly what she thought they were. “I have to keep people at a distance, hold my tongue…and play the part of the future queen perfectly, even though I’d rather pull all the feathers out of my big black wings than stand on tradition, ignoring all the problems in our nation as if they don’t exist simply because it isn’t my place to do anything about them yet.” Duality is both a blessing and a curse – a freedom and a binding – and it’s a major theme and moving force throughout this amazing start to a new series from Cilla Raven. “Until a fae girl is married, her words will have no bearing.” As if my mind doesn’t work until I’ve had a cuff placed on my left wrist and a pretentious royal fae dick inside me… There’s a whole lot of social…

Despite the darkness of its title, Desolation is a truly delightful and well-rounded debut novel from R.L. Caulder. Though the book touches on a variety of difficult (and potentially triggering) topics, Caulder handles those subjects with just the right touch of deftness, skill, and a healthy dose of levity that makes Desolation un-put-downable. “Oh shit! Sober up, Lana! Sober up! You’re talking to a Goddess!” Our heroine, Lana, is – in a word – dramatic. A spitfire. She’s a wear-your-heart-on-your-sleeve kind of girl, and if she’s feeling strongly about something, everyone in the vicinity is going to know about it. She’s not always entirely relatable (who is?), but when she is, LORD IS SHE! I mean, who hasn’t found themselves drunk in a bathtub trying their best to act sober while speaking to a goddess? At her core, Lana is spunky, determined, fiercely loyal, and has a SERIOUS coffee addiction – and I think most of us can identify with at least some of those qualities. Even in moments when I found myself struggling to relate to aspects of her personality, the humor that Calder infuses into her reactions was just the push I needed to connect again. “A hand…

Life is pretty dark for seventeen-year-old Eloise Wylde. Her alcoholic dad is her only family, and she makes a living by helping him cheat during poker games. But when Eloise makes a mistake, things get darker quickly and their mark, Randy, issues an ultimatum: either Eloise counts cards for Randy, or her Dad dies. From the first page, Cariker proves herself a master of imagery. The opening scene in Randy’s apartment is truly grim, gritty and depressing. Eloise and her dad are barely scraping by, and there isn’t much light or happiness in their lives. The scene created a very visceral avoidance reaction in me: I didn’t want to be there, and all I could think was, “God. What a horrible existence.” The role reversal in Eloise’s relationship with her father is also starkly apparent, and Cariker illustrates it quite poignantly in several places throughout the story. As she is running from Randy, Eloise comes across a mother with her son – the foil to the dynamic in her own relationship with her father – and she thinks: “Maybe I could ask her for help. Maybe she would take me home with her and help me come up with a…

ShamelessSybil Bartel(Alpha Bodyguard #8)Publication date: June 18th 2020Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance Bodyguard. Shadow. Warrior. The Marines trained me to be a weapon. Tactical warfare was in my blood. I didn’t think twice when I was deployed for the fifth time because I was born battle ready. Then a mission went south and left me with a medical discharge. Too many years downrange, I didn’t fit in the civilian world. Taking a job with the best security firm in the business seemed like a solid plan…until I was assigned babysitting duty for a spoiled little rich girl. The only thing worse than the assignment was the client’s smart mouth. She thought she could run it—all over me—and not suffer the consequences. She was wrong. Now she was about to find out how shameless a bodyguard could be. Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo Author Bio: Sybil Bartel grew up in Northern California with her head in a book and her feet in the sand. She dreamt of becoming a painter but the heady scent of libraries with their shelves full of books drew her into the world of storytelling. She loves the New Adult genre, but…

Today is the day all of you Sybil Bartel fans have been waiting for! It’s cover reveal day for Talon, Book 1 in her new Uncompromising series. *passes tissues for wiping drool* RSS Feed Ok. Now that you’ve spent a day or two staring at that eye candy (I mean, come one, we knew Sybil couldn’t disappoint with TALON, of all people, right?!), read on for more details about the book! You know…the words and stuff. Oh, and in case you were wondering: Yes, that lovely is a Michael Stokes original photo. Mmmhmm. Talon by Sybil Bartel  (Uncompromising Series, #1)  Publication date: March 1st 2016 Genres: Adult, Romance Synopsis:Talon I surf. I fuck. I pretend to smile. Two years ago my life was perfect, until it wasn’t. I scattered my wife’s ashes then walked away from the Marines. I didn’t think I had anything else to lose. I was wrong. The blond showed up at my surf shop, beaten and stabbed. I did what I was trained to do—I stitched her up. I didn’t have a clue who she was and I told myself I didn’t care. Until they came looking for her. I swore I’d take my last breath before I let anyone else hurt her except I…

Well, you guys. The amazingly fantastical Elizabeth Briggs has done it again! Book 4 in her Chasing the Dream series, More Than Once, has just been released, and let me tell you: she accomplished what I thought would be impossible. Curious? Read on for my review! More Than Once is the story of Becca–the alcoholic former Villain Complex bassist who seems to have a knack for screwing things up–and Andy. Now, I’ll be completely honest and say that I absolutely loathed Becca in the other books in this series. I found her to be quite spiteful and not a little skanky, and I truly wouldn’t have even considered her as a redeemable character who could be set forth as the heroine of her own novel. Of course, that’s what I get for underestimating Elizabeth Briggs. Clearly. “God, this girl was dangerous. I’d spent the last few months completely dead inside, yet somehow she’d jolted me back to life in a matter of minutes.” Wait. What? Is Andy describing Becca here? Alcoholic, nasty Becca? How did she manage to bring part of Andy back to life?  “And my god, Andy was incredible. I’d never been with someone who was both so tender and caring, yet so…

The third and–for those who have read the first two–much anticipated installment in the Cambio Springs series from Elizabeth Hunter is now out! Read on for my review of Allie and Ollie’s story! Allison Smith is a fox shifter with four kids, two jobs, and a huge pile of debt left by her gambling husband when he disappeared. Luckily for her, she’s got “people”–one of whom is quiet bear shifter Oliver Campbell.  Ollie has been in love with Allie since high school. Now that her husband is gone and Allie is in danger, Ollie’s protective instincts rise to the surface, and claiming Allie is on the forefront of his mind. “Ollie couldn’t handle being a way station for her. He wasn’t being dramatic. he just knew that he’d break if she tried him on and discarded him because she wasn’t ready. He’d held his peace for fifteen years, and once he had her, he wouldn’t be able to let go.” ​Even when his greatest desire is to claim Allie as his own, Ollie hesitates. He knows that once he takes that step he (and certainly his bear) will never be able to go back. And, despite the fact that I…

If you’ve read my reviews before, you may know that I am a HUGE fan of Zoe York’s Pine Harbour series. Which makes today, release day for #4 in the series, Love on a Summer Night, a fabulous day!  If you haven’t read the first three books, check out my reviews here: Love in a Small Town & Love in a Snow Storm Love on a Spring Morning Then, read on for my review of Love on a Summer Night, and prepare yourself to want to stay home absorbing the awesomeness of Zander and Faith! Faith Davidson is a successful author and a widowed single mother. Even after 4 years, she has yet to venture back into the world of dating, and she knows she certainly won’t do so with anyone who lives dangerously–she’s been there, done that, and got the widow card to prove it. Then, she meets Zander Minelli, who is all the things she tells herself she couldn’t and shouldn’t want. He’s tall, dark, handsome, and dangerously appealing.  The first aspect of this book that jumped right out and impressed the hell out of me was the realism.  As a mother and writer, I found myself continually laughing out…

Desecrating Solomon, the newest release from author Lucian Bane, is a romantic thriller with a uniquely dark twist.  Read on for my review! *Warning: This book contains some violent content and victimization that could be triggering. Please read it, and my review, with caution.* Chaos has been raised in a life of pain, punishment, and discipline. She knows only the truth of the Order and the purpose she serves and for which she has been prepared her whole life. “She was a bucket of bleeding raw insides. There was no cleaning this. There was no bringing comfort to these wounds, no mending this kind of broken mess it had all somehow become.” ​Part of fulfilling that purpose is finding Solomon Gorge and presenting him for Desecration.  Solomon, still unrecovered from the pain and tragedy in his own life, has moved back home to West Virginia to take on the role of caretaker for an elderly woman–a role assigned him by the church. “Solomon looked at her. A perfect image of young, beautiful innocence standing right there before him. She’d called him when she was half dead. He’d heard. He’d answered. Yes, he’d do it. In a heartbeat. He’d give his…

Hailee and Corwin last saw one another 10 years ago, at their high school graduation. In those 10 years, Corwin has been a regular feature in Hailee’s dreams, so when she runs into him again, she has to pinch herself to be sure she’s awake.  Are Hailee and Corwin being handed another chance to be together, and will they be able to overcome secrets that will be revealed? Read on for my review!  Perfectly Aligned is a sweet friends-to-lovers type romance. I say sweet because, for much of the book, Hailee and Corwin have the type of relationship you might expect more from innocent high schoolers than from experienced adults–one rife with timidity and miscommunication “I found a secret, foolish pleasure in the thought that his dog liked me.” Oh, and also that silly tendency we all had when we were younger (I mean…I certainly don’t do things like this now. Uh uh. Nope. Not this lady…) to try to find meaning and secret signs in every little action and interaction.  “I recognized that he no longer felt alone in life, and by knowing his secret, neither did I.” At times, I found this juvenile dynamic incredibly frustrating and unrealistic, especially in…