Room on the Shelf

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…

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…

Publication Date: October 20, 2015 Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance Amazon • iBooks • Barnes & Noble • Kobo “Dark, perverse, and unbearably erotic, Pretty When You Cry is SkyeWarren at her gritty best.” ~ Anna Zaires, USA Today bestselling author of Twist Me A new dark romance novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Wanderlust and Prisoner… I came from a place of dirt floors and holy scriptures. They told me the world outside was full of sin, and the first night I escape, I find out it’s true. Ivan saves me, but he does more than that. He takes me. He makes me his own girl. My conditioning runs too deep. Ivan sees what I am. That’s the thing about showing a mouse to a cat. He wants to play. And it’s terrifying, even for me. Because the only thing darker than my past is his. THE STRIPPED SERIES   About Skye Warren Skye Warren is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author of dark romantic fiction. Her books are raw, sexual and perversely romantic. Website • Blog • Twitter • Facebook • Goodreads a Rafflecopter giveaway

Ok…once you’re done drooling at the gorgeousness of that cover, join me in the next paragraph. 😉  I’m not normally a huge novella fan, but this?  This was the novel version of a perfect snack—sweet and salty, and so delicious it leaves you checking to make sure nobody is looking before licking the plate and scavenging for dropped crumbs. Read on for my full review! “I concentrate on the music, on the feeling of freedom that comes from letting my body move, on the possibilities ahead. Pushing away the thoughts that the music will end, that I will need to face reality, that this feeling of happiness will disappear.” I cannot (without spoilers) count the ways in which these thoughts, which run through Emilia’s head at the beginning of the story, encapsulate A Summer Like No Other.  With her characters and soul-touching words, Elodie Nowodazkij creates a beautiful blend of YA and NA—innocence on the verge of revelation. Emilia is lonely, searching for love and yearning for discovery on so many fronts, and just naïve enough to think that she possesses the power to fix all that is wrong in her world. “If only I could reach the top. If only I could…

Julie Hong is a pre-med student at UCLA with a dream and a plan–albeit, a dream and a plan that don’t necessarily mesh with what her family envisions for her future. After a hot almost fling with the sexy Gavin Bennett (who she soon finds is one of her competitor’s on the fashion reality show Behind the Seams),  her limits are tested. And she learns about a lot more than fashion. He laughed and it set my panties on fire. His voice was like butter, and I wanted it spread all over me. That didn’t even make sense, but it was true. From the minute Julie sees Gavin across the bar, the heat practically singes the pages. I’ll admit, the tats and British accent were a huge appeal to me. Throw in the fact that he’s a gentleman, has an architect’s mind AND is creative? Well, ladies…he’s the whole damn package. I’m honestly a bit jealous of Julie. In Gavin, Elizabeth Briggs manages to create a man who fits beautifully into the fashion world, while being neither gay nor particularly metrosexual. BUT, any romance gets a bit boring without some tension, and boy do Julie and Gavin have tension in spades….

Truth & Temptation is the long awaited story of Teagan, the bitchy friend from the previous Summer Love books Rock & Release and Surf & Surrender. You know, the one who makes us wonder, “What the hell is HER problem?!”. Well, today, July 23rd, we finally get into Teagan’s mind–and what a fascinatingly broken and beautiful place it is! We’ve all wondered about the seemingly irrational bursts of anger that make Teagan explode at the drop of a hat. At least, I know I’ve certainly been intrigued. In my experience, very few people are that blindly and startlingly furious without some sort of back story. Turns out? Teagan is actually quite cognizant of her anger management issues. “My jokes about my sex life might kill Cassidy, but this? This cycle of meaningless anger I can’t find my way out of is what’s killing me.” Curiouser and curiouser. The question remains (even, it would seem, in Teagan’s own mind): WHY is Teagan so disturbed? We know Teagan’s grandparents, with whom she has lived her entire life, are raging assholes. And, obviously, that could cause some emotional issues (I know it’d make me a bit bitchy and unstable to be treated like she is on…

I’m an avid reader of Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance, so when I say this story is uniquely and beautifully crafted, you can rest assured that you won’t be reading it identifying aspects of other popular Urban Fantasy series. Read on for my review! I can’t think of a single thing I didn’t like about this series.  The protagonist, Piper, is a wonderful mix of strong, ass-kicking femme fatale and flawed, human damsel in distress.  Trouble seems to follow Piper around, and although she’s perfectly capable of handling herself in a fistfight, there is much about the daemon world that she does not, in the beginning, yet comprehend. Our leading men, Ash and Lyre, are amazing foils to one another.  Ash is the tall, dark, handsome “bad boy” who stoically handles the shit-storms of life, seemingly without breaking a sweat.  And Lyre is the flirtatiously sexy friend who, on more than one occasion, leaves you wondering, “what if”? I sped through this first installation of Steel & Stone, Chase the Dark, and immediately one-clicked the second book. Where Chase the Dark was a beautifully crafted introduction to the world of the Steel & Stone series, Bind the Soul takes us deeper, into the…

This debut novel from Cindy Thomas is beautifully done, fresh, and will keep you turning pages until the end (and then chomping at the bit for Book 2!).Read on for my review! Karina and her best friend Rainey stumble upon an ugly scene one night that will change (and end) their lives as they know them. When Karina recovers and moves into the apartment she was supposed to share with Rainey, her life is thrown another curve ball in the form of her sexy neighbor, Eli (who I would gladly take off her hands anytime…). From the beginning of the book, friendships play a starring role, and Thomas does a beautiful job of capturing the raw emotions, sacrifices, boundless love, and simple joy of true friendship. My heart broke for Karina and Rainey from the start: Rainey’s life is cut short and Karina loses a lifelong best friend AND an avocation in an instant. The chemistry between Eli and Karina is undeniable and steamy, and I never found the progression of their relationship to be fake or forced, which is one of the major issues I have with many of the NA books coming onto the market lately. Kudos to Thomas for…

I loved the ideas in this book, and it was an easy, quick read. There were lots of great moments of humor, and the ending made me happy. I don’t feel, however, like I ever really got to connect with the characters. I liked the story, but they never felt real to me. I would have liked to see more chances to really connect with the characters and become immersed in their story and struggles. I also often felt like the love scenes were awkward. There were occasional crude anatomical terms thrown in for the multiple “close calls”, but no actual sex scenes until the end of the book, and it seemed like the author was torn on how to approach them. All in all, this was a good, quick fun read, which can be read as a stand alone without reading the first two in the series. You can get your copy of Guarded Passion here! *I received this book from the author for review purposes, but all opinions are my own.*

*I received this set from the author for review purposes, however, all opinions are my own.* **This review contains language that some might find offensive. However, if you cannot read the review, you should not read the books.**First, let me say that there are a LOT of things I love about Elisabeth Grace. From the first line of her stories, her sense of humor and potential as a writer are impressive and apparent. I laughed out loud, multiple times, and I thought there was a lot of promise to the plot and characters. If you are a fan of decent plot with lots of sex, then this is likely an excellent choice for you. Despite the humor and plot, I found the sheer amount of random sex to be obnoxious and distracting. I REALLY wanted to follow the development of the story, but instead, the two main characters were constantly getting naked. I’m also not a huge fan of the crude anatomical terms, but I’m aware that it’s a personal preference and can look past it if story quality permits. However, there were some beautifully romantic scenes that were, for me, ruined by the random insertion (pun completely intended) of “cock”,…