Category: NetGalley

Ensnared by Rita Stradling

Ensnared by [Stradling, Rita]

Title: Ensnared

Author: Rita Stradling

Publisher: Kindle Press

Date of publication: March 6th, 2017

Genre: Romance, Science Fiction

POV: 3rd person

Number of pages: 380

Where you can find this book: Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

A Near-Future Retelling of Beauty and the Beast

Alainn’s father is not a bad man. He’s a genius and an inventor. When he’s hired to create the robot Rose, Alainn knows taking the money is a mistake.

Rose acts like a human. She looks exactly like Alainn. But, something in her comes out wrong.

To save her father from a five-year prison sentence, Alainn takes Rose’s place. She says goodbye to the sun and goes to live in a tower no human is allowed to enter. She becomes the prisoner of a man no human is allowed to see.

Believing that a life of servitude lies ahead, Alainn finds a very different fate awaits her in the company of the strange, scarred recluse.

My review:

This book was very interesting to read but I really wouldn’t compare it to Beauty and the Beast. Honestly, I would compare it to more I, Robot than anything. I mean, I get where the Beauty and the Beast lines were drawn: a beautiful woman trapped by scarred (physically and mentally) man but that is it.

What I really enjoyed was the usage of robots and AI’s in the book. I also like that Rose, the main AI, was self-sufficient and admitted to starting on rewriting her programming. It was at that point where I went “Oh no” and started reciting the 3 rules of robotics to myself:

  1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm
  2. A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
  3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

Just based on these rules of robotics and the fact that at least one of them were broken within the first couple of chapters, I was hooked. Seeing that AI’s are becoming more commonplace in daily lives (hello, Cortona, Siri, Alexa/Echo!!!), I was pretty interested to see where the author would take this book and I wasn’t disappointed.

I really felt that Alainn didn’t have a choice to masquerade as Rose when given the choice. Actually, she wasn’t given the choice. Rose, the AI, basically told her to do it or her father would go to jail. All Alainn wanted to do was to go back to work on the ski patrol and not clean up her dad’s mess (not delivering Rose as promised to Lorcann). But she did it because she loved her father and she wanted to keep him out of jail.

Lorcann was messed up. He never leaves his tower and only has automatons and AI’s as companions. He is a germaphobe (requires everyone to be decontaminated before they enter the tower). I put the way he is on his parents. They never let him leave, installed a fear of germs and I believe abused him (there was one scene where he was getting beaten by his mother). Let’s not mention the scars on his face. The whole side of his face is scarred. It really wasn’t gotten into about why he was scarred. If it was an accident or if the scars were done intentionally. He believed that he was a beast. His only relationship is with a woman that he talks to over the phone. Until Alainn, under the guise of being Rose, enters the tower.

I thought that the romance between Alainn and Lorcann was kinda creepy at first. I mean, he thought she was an AI that was programmed to be absolutely humanlike. She, however, was there to buy her father time to finish Rose. But it happened, as creepy as it was. I really thought, during certain scenes, that Lorcann had caught onto Alainn’s ruse. Oh, was I wrong.

The AI’s were split between those that obeyed the three rules of robotics and those that didn’t. I actually felt bad for Rosebud, Lorcann’s house management AI. I had thought the whole time that she was working against Alainn when she was trying to help her and ended up getting hijacked by Rosette and Rose.

The last half of the book was nail-biting. I mean, I was on the edge of my seat and was literally cheering Alainn on. There were a few plots twists that were thrown in that actually made sense and gave me more insight into Alainn’s character.

The author didn’t end the book after the rescue (consider this a clue). Everything after that was a build to the second climax of the book. I have never read a book where the author has successfully had two climaxes in the same book. So be warned when you think there is a lull. It isn’t and the other climax is something that I didn’t expect. All I am going to say about that. Read the book!!

How many stars will I give Ensnared: 4

Why: I enjoyed reading this book. It was fast paced with characters that you actually like and a plot line that is engaging.

Will I reread: Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes

Age range: Adult

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

Tangled in Sin (Bound and Determined: Book 5) by Lavinia Kent

Tangled in Sin (Bound and Determined, #5)

Title: Tangled in Sin

Author: Lavinia Kent

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Loveswept

Date of Publication: April 18th, 2017

Genre: Romance

Number of pages: Unknown

POV: 3rd person

Series: Bound and Determined

Mastering the Marquess – Book 1

Revealing Ruby – Book 1.5

Bound by Bliss – Book 2

Sarah’s Surrender – Book 2.5

Ravishing Ruby – Book 3

Angel in Scarlet – Book 4

A Very Ruby Christmas – Book 4.5

Tangled in Sin – Book 5

Where you can find this book: Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

An innocent young woman flirts with scandal and becomes the mistress of her own forbidden desires in this stimulating Regency romance from the author of Mastering the Marquess.

Lady Cynthia Westhope can’t believe the shocking rumor is true. Her childhood friend, the daughter of a duke no less, has become the madam of London’s most exclusive and notorious brothel. Though she’s known as “Sin,” Cynthia is scandalized—and surprisingly curious. Just picturing the whips, the chains, the uncontrollable urges men gratify behind closed doors sends a jolt of electricity through her body. Still, Sin can’t imagine taking part in such games—until she’s snatched off the street during a raging storm and swept away to a remote cottage.

When James Winters encounters the comely virgin, he assumes she’s one of Madame Blanche’s fresh new beauties, especially after Sin pulses in ecstasy as he ravishes her. Then he discovers that she’s Lord Westhope’s virgin daughter . . . or was. Now they will both be compromised unless James devises a plan to save Sin from disgrace. Before long, they’re entangled in a web of tempting propositions, family secrets, and sensual intrigue—and bound together so tightly that James never wants to let go.

Don’t miss any of Lavinia Kent’s Bound and Determined series
MASTERING THE MARQUESS | BOUND BY BLISS | REVEALING RUBY | SARAH’S SURRENDER | RAVISHING RUBY | ANGEL IN SCARLET | A VERY RUBY CHRISTMAS | TANGLED IN SIN

My review:

When I read the blurb for Tangled in Sin on NetGalley, my interest was piqued. Seeing that erotica and BDSM are usually not what you associate a Regency romance with, I actually couldn’t wait to read the book.

While this is the 5th book in a series, you can definitely read this as a standalone book. I am not a big fan of picking up a book mid-series because usually I am left confused about past relationships. Not with this book, though. There were references to Ruby but nothing was really gotten into. Just that she turned the brothel over to Jazz after training her. I really enjoyed that, to be honest. It let me focus on Sin and James’s romance without fearing that Ruby would return. Also, the other characters from the other books were not mentioned at all. Again something I liked. They stayed in their own books….lol.

I thought Sin was great and very forward thinking for her time. She didn’t freak out when she was kidnapped, kinda freaked out when James took her virginity and then grasped her sexuality by the horns. It was so refreshing to read a Regency-era character who didn’t freak out when seeing a penis for the first time and who took the first step to start what would be the world’s hottest sponge bath in the history of any book that I read. But she was also super stubborn. There were some scenes where I kinda wanted to shake her and say “Just accept that you are going to marry him. Stop fighting it” because you know that is how the book is going to end.

James was kinda a tool at the beginning of the book. Who demands that their sister leaves her newborn daughter and then tries to kidnap her but instead gets her best friend (that he knows), thinks that it is one of her “girls” and then proceeds to have sex with until he realizes that she was a virgin. He is. But he does more than makeup for it and turns into a pretty good guy. I did think that maybe he wanted to marry Sin so he could have intercourse with her (actually intercourse) but he proved to me that he did love her. Read the book to find out how!!

Let’s talk about the sex in this book. It was sizzling, page-burning hot. I couldn’t get enough of those two and their sexual shenanigans. I mean, they did everything but intercourse after the first time (even talked about anal, which surprised me). When they finally had intercourse again, I gobbled up those scenes not because they were hot but because you knew that Sin and James were going to be together and were in love. Which made that scene oh so much sweeter.

The end of the book was great but I was left wondering about Jazz and hoping that book 6 if there is a book 6, would feature her and let her have her own happy ending.

How many stars will I give Tangled in Sin: 4

Why: Ok, I am going to say it here. This is not a book for prudes or those who get easily offended over things (like it being an erotica set in Regency England). This is one hot, hot, hot book with explosive sex scenes and two people who were made for each other. I devoured this book, literally reading it within a day. Couldn’t get enough of it and I am going to read that other books in the series.

Will I reread: Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes but with a warning about the sex scenes

Age range: Adult

Why: Explicit sex scenes, language, and some mild violence

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

Moonstroke by Blaine C. Readler

Moonstroke

Title: Moonstroke

Author: Blaine C. Reader

Publisher: Full Arc Press

Date of Publication: December 1st, 2016

Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Young Adult

Number of pages: 252

POV: 3rd person

Where you can find this book: Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

It’s been twelve years since a massive solar flare destroyed communications with the American base on the far side of the Moon, killing the platinum mining workers and leaving just three adults to raise thirty-seven orphans. Isolated, the base has carried on, and the orphans now teenagers have taken up the mining. It’s all they’ve ever known. But now enigmatic lights on the horizon and in the sky mark the arrival of someone or something that heralds an end to a patterned life of restraint and enforced duty. Katlin, the daughter of the base leader, has enjoyed the full education afforded by the base library and finds her loyalties torn between her father and Van, the capable teenage leader who is ready to break the yoke of servitude and face the wonders available in the wide universe.

My review:

If you have read my blog for any length of time, you know that I am a huge fan of science fiction, fantasy, young adult, romance and any combination of those. When Moonstroke showed up on my Titles in My Categories section on NetGalley, I clicked on it to see what it was about. What I read caught my attention and made me click on the read now button. I think that I can’t remember if I have ever read a book that took place solely on the moon. I know I have read books where the moon was a stopping point but never the sole area where the story takes place. Also, factoring into my decision was that the entire book took place on the dark side of the moon. Which fascinated me and I couldn’t wait to see how it was the storyline went.

Speaking of the storyline, I liked that the author chose to have almost all the base’s adults die in a solar flare and leave their toddler children in the hands of 3 men. I do wish, though, that there was some sort of preface about the solar flare that happened. It would have given a lot more insight into why the toddlers, now teenagers, are called nextgen and why they continued mining.

I do think that the storyline started really slow in the beginning. Like super-duper slow to the point where I honestly thought nothing would happen, even though it said on the blurb that it would. What also bothered me was that the nextgens were being kept in the dark about Earth and their heritage. Almost everything that they know about Earth came from movies that they were allowed to watch. The only one exempt from this was Katlin, the daughter of the base leader. And even she was exempt from some things. But the book did pick up towards the middle of the book and I was able to enjoy it.

The main characters were teenagers and I thought that the author did a great job portraying how they would act if they lived in a community with no access to Earth. I do think that they acted pretty normal for kids who had no contact with anyone but the people on their base. I mean, they acted like typical teenagers and rebelled like typical teenagers. I loved reading the parts with Van in them because he was very forward thinking for being in seclusion for his whole life.

The last half of the book was very surprising to me and I didn’t expect certain events to happen or certain truths to be revealed. It kinda blew my mind when those truths were revealed and made my heart hurt for those involved.

How many stars will I give Moonstroke: 3.5

Why: I did like this book but I do think that it could have used a bit more backstory than what was given (just my opinion). The beginning of the book was very slow and to be honest, I almost DNF’d it. But, it did pick up speed towards the end of the book and I did enjoy the read from that point on.

Will I reread: Maybe

Will I recommend to family and friends: Maybe

Age range: Young Teen

Why: mild violence

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

Dancing in the Rain by Kelly Jamieson

Dancing in the Rain

Title: Dancing in the Rain

Author: Kelly Jamieson

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Loveswept

Date of publication: April 11th, 2017

Genre: Romance

Number of pages: 311

POV: 3rd person

Where you can find this book: Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

A retired athlete meets the daughter he never knew—along with the woman who reignites his passions—in this powerful standalone romance from the bestselling author of Hot Shot and the Heller Brothers series.

Drew Sellers is drowning in broken dreams and empty beer bottles. Hockey was his world until a bum knee reduced him from superstar to has-been. Then he learns that thanks to a one-night-stand back in college, he’s the father of a preteen girl with major issues. Her protective aunt sees right through Drew’s BS, but “Auntie P” is no stereotypical spinster. With her slender curves, toned legs, and luscious lips, she has Drew indulging in fantasies that aren’t exactly family-friendly.

At another point in her life, Peyton Watt would have been all over a cocky alpha male who pushes all her buttons like Drew. Right now, though, she needs to focus on taking care of her niece during her sister’s health crisis, all while holding down a job and keeping her own head above water. Besides, Drew’s clearly no father of the year. He’s unemployed. He drinks too much. And he’s living in the past. But after Peyton gets a glimpse of the genuine man behind his tough-guy façade, she’s hooked—and there’s no going back

My review:

I don’t know what it is with the books I have read lately. They have all been surprised tear jerkers. I think I was blindsided because the Dancing in the Rain’s blurb didn’t show much information. I am not complaining and was very pleasantly surprised when I was brought to tears a few times during the book.

I thought the romance aspect of the book was fantastic. Sure there was mind-blowing sex (we will get to that a little later in the review) but I loved that Drew and Peyton actually built a relationship, of sorts, before they had sex. It was very refreshing to read because the relationship was established and the sexual chemistry was built up way before they bumped uglies. What I didn’t like was that they thought that they had to hide their relationship from Chloe and I could see where that hurt their relationship. Also, they didn’t communicate and both jumped to conclusions about the other person. I actually cringed during those parts because I am guilty of doing the same things in my relationship (don’t let BK ever read that…lol). But it added to their romance, if that makes sense, and made it seem more real to me.

Drew was such a complicated character and I loved it. I really enjoyed that the author started him off with so many flaws. He drank too much and was wallowing in self-pity. The self-pity part I totally got. Any normal person would do that after being told that they couldn’t do what they loved ever again. Plus, his personal life kinda fell apart after his injury too. I mean, he found out that his ex-wife was cheating on him with his ex-best friend. What a blow to someone’s self-confidence. But the drinking part, I didn’t like and I agreed with Peyton when she made the assessment that he was on his way to becoming an alcoholic.  As much as I didn’t like it, though, again, it was part of what made this book really good and it humanized Drew. His reaction to having a tween daughter was great. Instead of jumping on the bandwagon when Sarah told him, he did the right thing and got a paternity test done. Which made me go “Hallelujah, Praise the Lord”. Why? Because I have read so many books where the hero is told that the kid is his and goes “Ok” with no questions asked. So when it was revealed that he had a paternity test done, I got up and did the happy dance.

Peyton kinda rubbed me the wrong way during certain scenes but I could totally get that she was stressing over losing her sister, having to raise her niece and she is falling in love with Drew…who is Chloe’s father. I would have probably acted the same way. But, she was a very strong woman who dealt with life’s blows with grace. She dropped everything to go be with Sarah when it was becoming pretty clear that she didn’t have long to live (and for the record, Peyton’s boss was a jerk). Then she had to mediate visitations with Drew until she felt that he would be ok to be left alone with Chloe. Plus, she was caretaking for Sarah until it was time to go to hospice. It was a lot.

I liked that the author chose to deal with tween/teen issues in a realistic way. Like when Chloe was asked to leave school because what she was wearing violated the dress code. The way that Drew handled it was a dream and for the record, I agree with him. If a girl is asked to leave because what they are wearing calls a boy to comment on their body, it wasn’t right. The boy should be called out on why he thinks it is ok to make comments like that to a girl. Like I said above, the way Drew handled that situation was perfect. Also what I liked was when Chloe was caught shoplifting. While it was on video, the other girl’s mother refused to look at it, has the mentality that her special snowflake would never do something like that and leaves. I could go on a rant about parents like that, but I won’t. I do think that the way that Drew and Peyton handled it was perfect.

When they finally had sex, it was off the pages hot and every time after that was scorching. Like I said above, what made it even hotter for me is that they had a relationship beforehand. Something about feeling and sex gets me in the feels.

The end of the book was what I thought it was going to be and the decisions that were made were what I thought was going to be made. The epilogue was perfect!! I love it when the HEA is perfect for the book!!

How many stars will I give Dancing in the Rain: 4

Why: If you want to read a book that will get you in the feels, pick this book up. Seriously. It was well-developed characters, deals with heart-wrenching and real-life issues in ways that you can only hope people in real life would and the sex scenes were through the roof hot. I will definitely be reading this book again!!!

Will I reread: Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes

Age range: Adult

Why: Sex and some mild language. Also some triggers for cancer, hospice, and death.

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

Inspector Hobbes and the Bones (Unhuman: Book 4) by Wilkie Martin

Inspector Hobbes and the Bones (Unhuman #4)

Title: Inspector Hobbes and the Bones

Author: Wilkie Martin

Publisher: The Witcherley Book Company

Date of publication: December 16th, 2016

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Science Fiction, Fantasy

Number of pages: 319

POV: 1st person

Series: Unhuman

Inspector Hobbes and the Blood – Book 1

Inspector Hobbes and the Curse – Book 2

Inspector Hobbes and the Gold Diggers – Book 3

Inspector Hobbes and the Bones – Book 4

Where you can find this book: Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

There’s going to be trouble. Andy Caplet’s wife goes away, someone is out to get him, and he loses nearly everything in a storm. Amazing both himself and his unhuman friend Inspector Hobbes, he heroically rescues flood victims and uncovers something shocking.
Is Andy being set up for blackmail by the apparently charming young woman who attempts to seduce him, or is something even more sinister afoot? Hobbes certainly believes so, and he’s getting worried.
This is the fourth in Wilkie Martin’s unhuman series of cozy comedy crime fantasies.

My review:

As most of my regular readers know, I absolutely hate getting a book to review and finding out that it is 2nd, 3rd, or 4th book in a series. 9 out of 10 times, I get so lost that I just want to put the book down and DNF it. But, I usually push through the book and I usually am totally confused about what is going on. Luckily, with the last few books that I got and were part of a series, they were pretty easy to follow and gave information about the earlier books in a way that didn’t underwhelm or overwhelm the current book. Happily, I can group Inspector Hobbes and the Bones in with them.

Now, this is a book that is set completely in England and there is a ton of dry English humor (which I love) and a lot of English vocabulary. Luckily, my Kindle’s English (not American English, English English…lol) dictionary was downloaded because I had to use it a few time. Not that it took away from the story but it did add some time to my reading. Not complaining, though, because I did learn some new words.

This book is a paranormal mystery. Now, if I hadn’t of read the blurb, I wouldn’t have believed the paranormal part of the book. Trust me, it’s in there but the author chose to focus more on the mystery part of the book with the paranormal part really not coming into play until the last half of the book. There are paranormal elements in the book (the vampire and Hobbes’s habit of eating bones are two) but the focus is on the many mysteries that Andy and Hobbes happen upon.

Now speaking of the mystery part of the book, I loved that the author was able to handle a few mysteries at once and then was able to merge them with the main storyline. I have read other mysteries that attempted to do that and then they just lose track of the sub-storylines and those are never resolved or merged with the main storyline. Again, something else I really liked about this book.

Andy came across as an idiot. I mean, how can someone get into that many predicaments and how can someone be that unaware of their surroundings? Plus, he also had a huge knack for ticking people off and just plain doing/saying the wrong thing. I mean, who would pack chocolate in their wife’s luggage when she was going to a dessert and then wonder why she was so upset because ants bit her and her clothes were ruined. His bumbling antics really didn’t do it for me in the story and I was truly waiting to see if he was going to get knocked off.

Hobbes, however, I was fascinated with and I really wish that more was revealed about him other than he policed the supernatural. I mean, he ate bones and according to Andy, he had a ferocious temper, unlike anything that he (Andy) had ever seen before. Also, he never seemed to age. So what is he? Now, this is where I wish I had read the first 3 books. I am sure that more insights into who/what he is in there.

The secondary characters were written awesomely too. From the little person who moonlighted as a ninja (OMG, did I die laughing during that scene) to the bar owner who had a temper and liked to fight to the vampire banker to Hobbes housekeeper and dog to the literal man killer and her cousins…..I absolutely loved them. Honestly, a good book has excellent secondary characters and this book definitely did.

I will say that the end of the book did surprise me and the mysteries were solved. There were really no twists, which for once was refreshing. I also liked that while those storylines ended, the book was left open for potentially a 5th book.

How many stars will I give Inspector Hobbes and the Bones: 4

Why: This was a great mystery with paranormal elements. I was genuinely kept guessing about who killed the bodies that Andy and Hobbes found. I was also guessing that the other sub-storylines.

Will I reread: Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes

Age range: Older teen

Why: Mild violence and some adult themes/jokes

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

Fighting for Love (Boston Love: Book 2) by Kelly Elliott

Fighting for Love (Boston Love, #2)

Title: Fighting for Love

Author: Kelly Elliott

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Loveswept

Date of publication: April 4th, 2017

Genre: Romance

Number of pages: 360

POV: Alternating 1st person

Series: Boston Love

Searching for Harmony – Book 1

Fighting for Love – Book 2

Where you can find this book: Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

A larger-than-life firefighter inspires a career-driven woman to live in the moment—and trust in the power of love—in this flirty, emotional novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Searching for Harmony.
 
Finn Ward has two passions: being a firefighter and being single. Although his parents are constantly nagging him to settle down, Finn just wants to enjoy himself while he’s young. Then, at a union meeting, he meets a gorgeous lawyer with a dazzling smile—and suddenly, settling down doesn’t sound so bad.
 
Rory Adams is fresh out of law school and looking to make a name for herself at her mother’s firm. She doesn’t have time for silly games anymore. But when she catches the eye of a dashing fireman who makes her body tingle from across the room, something instantly ignites between them. The only problem? Her father is Finn’s boss.
 
Their relationship turns both of their lives upside-down. Rory tames Finn’s wild ways, while he shows her that life can’t be all work and no play. But it’ll take some serious determination to keep their love secret—and real courage to admit the truth.

My review:

I ugly cried during this book. Like nose running, tears streaming down my face ugly cry and I really dislike that the author made me do that….joking.  Ugly crying really isn’t my thing but when it happens,  I let nature take its course. I also love that the story was able to affect me on such a level.

Finn was such a player at the beginning of the book. He made me want to tear my hair out with his “love em and leave em” outlook on life at the beginning of the book. I could definitely see why Captain Adams didn’t want Rory anywhere near him. But at the same time, he had a soft side and he was, deep down, looking for “the one”. His immediate reaction to seeing Rory was the beginning of the end for him. I thought I wouldn’t like it when an alpha male fell hard but OMG…I need a Finn in my life (sorry BK). The dates he pulled off and what he did for their first time was fantastic. And he wasn’t afraid of letting his feelings out. Nope, not at all!!

Rory, I actually felt kinda bad for her. She was intimidated by her father to the point where, at 27, she let him dictate where she lived and who she dated. She had no life outside of work (well except meeting up with her besties from college).  To put it bluntly, she was boring and a wallflower. That was until she met Finn…who was the very man her father didn’t want her to date. Then she came alive and I loved her. She said the wrong thing at the wrong time (splooge anyone…haha) and was very clumsy. She also wasn’t very experienced, if you know what I mean, and I think that shocked Finn and titillated him at the same time. Basically, she was perfect for Finn and he was for her.

If there was one person I couldn’t stand in this book, it was her father. He was a controlling, manipulative idiot and what he forced her to do was beyond wrong. I also couldn’t get why he took what a 5-year-old said and started to hate him for it. Seriously, that man had some deep-set, serious issues. Put it this way, I wasn’t unhappy when he was rarely mentioned in the book after Rory flipped out on him.

The sex between Finn and Rory was hot and there was a lot of it. I love that there was humor in some of the sexual situations. Those situations made it so much easier to connect to Finn and Rory.

Now the scenes that made me ugly cry were heartbreaking. But you need to read the book to find out.

I will say that I thought the ending of the book was a bit rushed. I get why the author did what she did (and I totally approve because it was fun to read about Rory’s payback….lol) but I really wish it wasn’t so rushed. I felt like I was reading a marathon by the end of the book….lol.

How many stars will I give Fighting for Love: 4

Why: I loved this book. Not only was it set in Boston (I lived in MA for 38 years) but the love story was unbelievably sweet and sensual. I think I read this book in a day and I can’t wait to read book 3.

Will I reread: Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes

Age range: Adult

Why: Sex, language, and some mild violence

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

Perfect (Flawed: Book 2) by Cecelia Ahern

Perfect (Flawed, #2)

Title: Perfect

Author: Cecelia Ahern

Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group

Date of publication: April 4th, 2017

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopia

Number of pages: 352

POV: 1st person

Series: Flawed

Flawed – Book 1

Perfect – Book 2

Where you can find this book: Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

Celestine North lives in a society that demands perfection. After she was branded Flawed by a morality court, Celestine’s life has completely fractured–all her freedoms gone.

Since Judge Crevan has declared her the number one threat to the public, she has been a ghost, on the run with Carrick–the only person she can trust.

But Celestine has a secret–one that could bring the entire Flawed system crumbling to the ground. A secret that has already caused countless people to go missing.

Judge Crevan is gaining the upper hand, and time is running out for Celestine. With tensions building, Celestine must make a choice: save just herself or to risk her life to save all Flawed people.

And, most important of all, can she prove that to be human in itself is to be Flawed?

My review:

This is another one of those books that I loved but I really wished that I read book 1 first because book 2 blew me out of the water. I devoured Perfect. I think I read it in a couple of hours after my kids went to bed for the night and when I was done with it, I closed the book and just stared out into space….trying to digest everything that I just read. Yes, it was truly that good.

Celestine was a reluctant hero of the Flawed. When I say reluctantly because she really didn’t want to be a poster child for anything. All she wanted to do, at first, was to just find a place that she could go off grid and hide from Craven and his Whistleblowers. But that just doesn’t happen. Any place that she finds sanctuary in, they always show up. I kept thinking that maybe she had a tracking device or something on her at one point because of how they would always show up. But it was revealed, in most of the cases, that fellow Flawed were calling the Whistleblowers and altering them to where she was. Which was kind of crappy, in my eyes.

I couldn’t stand Craven. He was gunning for Celestine because he thought that she had incriminating video evidence that shows him illegally branding Celestine on the spine without numbing the area first. Then he tries to cover up his crime (because it was a crime) by kidnapping everyone that was there or saw her brand. Like that was going to help everything. And when he does finally get Celestine, what does he do….arranges for her to have a skin graft to cover her brand. Any scene with him in it made me feel seriously greasy and I wanted to shower.

I wasn’t too sure about Carrick at first. Everything he did for and with Celestine ended up serving himself or the political party that he has become attached to. I even began to question if he was really attracted to her or if it was a ruse to get her to join him and help the political party. But, like everything else in this book, not everything is what it seems.

Again, I do wish that I had read book 1. I had a small issue with the significance to where the people were branded. It wasn’t clearly explained in Perfect and that drove me nuts. But it didn’t take away from the story. Just personally drove me nuts.

The end of the book was pretty intense, action wise and I did like that all the storylines were brought together and ended.

How many stars will I give Perfect: 4

Why: Like I said above, I devoured this book in 2 hours. The plotline was great, characters were memorable and I loved the twist at the end of the book.

Will I reread: Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes

Age range: Older Teen

Why: Some sexual situations, mild violence, and some language

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

Dream Magic (Shadow Magic: Book 2) by Joshua Khan

Dream Magic (Shadow Magic, #2)

Title: Dream Magic

Author: Joshua Khan

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Date of publication: April 11th, 2017

Genre: Children’s Fiction, Middle Grade, Fantasy, Young Adult

Grade level: 3-7

Number of pages: 352

Series: Shadow Magic

Shadow Magic – Book 1

Dream Magic – Book 2

Where you can find this book: Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

A fabulously exciting sequel to the fantasy adventure SHADOW MAGIC.

People throughout Gehenna are disappearing, even the feared executioner Tyburn. Many of the nobles believe the kidnappings to be the work of the northern trolls, raiding south for the winter, and when Baron Sable and others head off to fight them, Castle Gloom is left guarded by only the squires.

Lily is struggling with her growing necromantic powers. The castle fills with ghosts, drawn like moths to a flame by the brightness of her magic. Zombies roam the country, some left over from those raised in SHADOW MAGIC, others awakened by Lily. Families are troubled by the returning dead, so Lily tries to incorporate them into day-to-day life, much to the resentment of the living.

Then Lily is attacked in her own castle by a mysterious sorcerer known as Dreamweaver, a young man determined to conquer Gehenna using jewel-spiders, strange crystalline creatures whose bite doesn’t kill but sends victims to sleep. Lily soon discovers that Dreamweaver is harvesting dreams to fuel his magic.

Lily enters the realm of sleep known as the Dream Time, in an attempt to awaken all the captive dreamers. Instead, she finds herself trapped within a dream, one where her family is still alive. With the help of Thorn and the ever loyal Hades, she must somehow overcome the evil Dreamweaver by using his own magic against him – and reclaim her kingdom.

My review:

I really, really, really wish that I had read book one of this series. Not that I didn’t like the book (I did) but I felt kinda lost during the first couple of chapters. But, besides feeling lost, which really only lasted a couple of chapters, I loved the rest of the book. Like I had mentioned in another blog, I have reviewed a fair amount of middle-grade books lately. Like I also mentioned in that blog, my two oldest children are in 3rd and 5th grade. I am always scouting out new books for them to read and again, with this book, I have found a book that I think that they would like. Scratch that, I know my son, the 3rd grader, would love it. This book is right up his alley. My daughter, the 5th grader, is difficult to find books that she would read.

While this book has some darker elements in it, they weren’t completely dark….if you know what I mean. Zombies are featured predominately in the book. While they are scary and they do want to eat brains, they aren’t typical zombies. They can communicate, they can work. Their other urges are nulled by being in Lily’s general area of power. Which I thought was very cool and it toned down on the creepiness factor.

I liked Lily a lot. She was dealing with the aftermath of her parents’ and brother’s murders by her uncle, trying to run a country at 13 and trying to keep her magic (necromancy) under wraps because of superstitions of her people about a woman doing magic. On top of it all, she has to deal with an arranged marriage to a boy who is the total opposite of her, she is trying to find out who is behind the abduction of her people and the trolls have amassed an army and is marching on Castle Gloom. She also found out that using her magic, a lot, can cause some unforeseen issues with her body. Poor kid was dealing with a lot and she was dealing with it the best that she could.

Thorn, I loved. He was exactly what Lily needed. He was trustworthy, loyal to her and he was willing to do whatever he could to protect her and to protect Castle Gloom. Plus, he had a pretty cool bat mount named Hades. He was the one who found out where the crystal spiders were coming from and he was part of the group that stayed at Castle Gloom when the rest of the army went to fight the trolls.

Now, I will say that the storyline surrounding Weaver, the bad guy, was very dark and I actually felt bad for him….which is rare for me. It was a tragic story and I did like the small plot twist that took place when his story was revealed. I was shocked, along with Lily, when it was revealed who Weaver was. But my feeling bad for him lasted exactly two chapters and then I didn’t like him again….lol. The crystal spiders were an interesting aspect of the book too.

All of the storylines were merged beautifully and there was no lull in the chapter between the author doing that and the ending chapters. I will say that a couple of plot twists in the book (one that was mentioned) got me. The one at the end absolutely had me fooled and I was surprised when it ended up not being what I thought (and feared) it was. I also liked how the author left the book open for a book 3.

How many stars will I give Dream Magic: 4

Why: I think that this will be a great book for kids in 3rd grade through 7th grade (as mentioned above). The characters were fleshed out and likable (or unlikable…depending on who you were reading), the potential scary characters were made not so scary by humanizing them and I really liked that the book had a strong female main character. I would be very comfortable letting my 3rd and 5th graders read these books

Will I reread: Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes

Age range: Child

Why: Mild violence. Potentially scary characters for younger readers (trolls and zombies)

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

The Shadow Land by Elizabeth Kostova

Title: The Shadow Land

Author: Elizabeth Kostova

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine

Date of publication: April 11th, 2017

Genre: General Fiction, Historical Fiction

Number of pages: 496

POV: Mainly 3rd person but Stoyan’s story is in 1st person

Where you can find this book: Amazon

Book synopsis (via Goodreads):

From the #1 bestselling author of The Historian comes an engrossing novel that spans the past and the present and unearths the dark secrets of Bulgaria, a beautiful and haunted country.

A young American woman, Alexandra Boyd, has traveled to Sofia, Bulgaria, hoping that life abroad will salve the wounds left by the loss of her beloved brother. Soon after arriving in this elegant East European city, however, she helps an elderly couple into a taxi and realizes too late that she has accidentally kept one of their bags. Inside she finds an ornately carved wooden box engraved with a name: Stoyan Lazarov. Raising the hinged lid, she discovers that she is holding an urn filled with human ashes.

As Alexandra sets out to locate the family and return this precious item, she will first have to uncover the secrets of a talented musician who was shattered by oppression and she will find out all too quickly that this knowledge is fraught with its own danger.

Kostova’s new novel is a tale of immense scope that delves into the horrors of a century and traverses the culture and landscape of this mysterious country. Suspenseful and beautifully written, it explores the power of stories, the pull of the past, and the hope and meaning that can sometimes be found in the aftermath of loss.

My review:

The Shadow Lands is a novel that you won’t easily forget. The reader follows Alexandra Boyd and her Bulgarian cabbie friend as they drive around Bulgaria, trying to find the people who belonged to the urn that Alexandra accidentally took. As they search for Stoyan Lazarov’s family, she learns about his tragic background and discovers that some secrets are very dangerous and people will do anything to keep them from being discovered.

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I couldn’t get enough of this book. The way it was written, the cover, where the book was set, the storylines, the perfect blending of past and present and the right amount of mystery was what kept me reading until late in the night. I couldn’t put it down, it was that good!!

Alexandra was such a tragic figure at the beginning of the book. The loss of her brother was huge and the toll it took on her and her family was very tragic. But I also thought she was a little too trusting. I mean, after meeting the Lazarov family and accidentally taking the urn, she starts to galavant around the country with Bobby. All I could think about was that she was going to become another statistic at some point in the book. So glad that didn’t happen.

I actually really liked Bobby even though he did come across as a very secretive man. He was the first friend that Alexandra had and he was good to her. He was a bit condescending about American’s though (but I think most of the world is….lol).

What I really liked was when the book flashed back to Stoyan Lazarov and told his story. It was fascinating to look at how the communists dealt with perceived criminals (real and those in the wrong place at the wrong time like Stoyan). I had chills reading about that because of the similarities to Hitler’s concentrations camps in World War 2. Stalin was just as bad as Hitler. Just as bad :(.

To my recollection, I haven’t read a book that is set entirely in Bulgaria. I was fascinated by the customs, by its history (both good and bad) and just the atmosphere the book had while I was reading it. Again, something I couldn’t get enough of and I think, once my kids are grown, that I might have to take a trip there.

The end of the book was pretty good. The storylines were married beautifully together and the book ended with a what I thought was a HEA.

How many stars will I give The Shadow Land: 4

Why: A great, immersive book that took me from present-day Bulgaria to the past and back effortlessly. I couldn’t read enough of this book. I do wish that a small glossary was included with the meanings of the Bulgarian words. My Kindle’s dictionary did not recognize the words (and didn’t have an option for Bulgarian)….lol. Also, I was left wondering about Alexandra’s scar. It was mentioned quite often and I don’t remember seeing an explanation about how and why she got it.

Will I reread: Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes

Age range: Late Teen

Why: Mild violence.

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

Forbidden Kisses (Blushing Bay: Book 1) by Annie Rains

Title: Forbidden Kisses

Author: Annie Rains

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Loveswept

Date of publication: April 11th, 2017

Genre: Romance

Number of pages: 237

POV: 3rd person

Series: Blushing Bay

Forbidden Kisses – Book 1

Where you can find this book: Amazon

Book Synopsis (from Goodreads):

For years, Jack Sawyer’s family has been running their upscale seafood business like a finely tuned machine. But every machine breaks down eventually, and suddenly Jack needs a new office manager, a new kayak launch, and a new lease on life. Then Grace Donner shows up again. She’s smart, motivated, and perfect for the manager position, but if she’s anything like her mom, she can’t be trusted. And Jack has never been able to trust himself around Grace.

Grace hasn’t seen her former stepbrothers since their parents’ messy divorce, but she never forgot them—especially Jack. She misses being part of the big rambunctious Sawyer clan, and if there’s an opportunity to set things right, she means to do it. But she can’t ignore Jack’s irresistibly kissable lips or the searing way he looks at her when he thinks she’s not looking. Their chemistry is more explosive than ever. And if the Sawyers can forgive and forget, anything is possible.

My review:

While this is kinda a stepbrother/stepsister romance, it really isn’t. It isn’t as hardcore as some of the stepbrother/stepsister romances that I have read. Also add in that Jack and Grace’s parents got divorced and they are no longer semi-related, it takes the kink right out of it. Which is fine by me because the story ended being so much more than that.

I really liked Grace. She put up with a lot of crap from her mother growing up but was still there for her when her mother was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. To say her mother wasn’t June Cleaver was an understatement. She also took a lot of crap from her old boss, the owner of a bar and ended up quitting when she couldn’t deal with his sexual advances anymore. So that leaves her without a job. Which brings her back into Jack’s world again.

I liked Jack. He had never forgotten Grace or his attraction to her but his rage at her mother’s actions kept him from talking to her. Not to mention that Grace went out of her way to avoid them because of what her mother did. So, he was surprised when Grace overheard him giving a job interview (not know it was him) and approached him for the job. He was in a bind, didn’t like the other applicants and hired her…without his father or brothers knowing. So, it wasn’t surprising when his brothers acted very negatively to Grace being there. What surprised me was his father’s reaction and I wanted to hug him.

The other storylines of Tristan and Tammy were very sad. I thought it was great when Jack stepped up and went to bat for Tristan. He gave him a job when most people wouldn’t and he stepped in when most people didn’t (read the book to find out what the situation was). Tammy’s storyline was sad but at the same time, I wanted to smack her. She laid so much on Grace about her past regrets and making things right before she died that Grace thought the only way to heal the rift between their families would be to buy back the boat Tammy sold.

I also could totally understand where Jack was coming from with his hatred of Tammy. I mean, she did sell off all of his mother’s belongings. I did wonder, at points in the book, if he would find it in himself to forgive Tammy (read the book if you want to find out).

The sex scenes between Grace and Jack were very hot and a little naughty (remember stepbrother/stepsister). The pages did burn up when they got into bed with each other and the pages burned up even when they weren’t sleeping together.

The end of the book was pretty good. Be ready to shed a tear or two and definitely be ready for the HEA during the epilog. I love it when authors to let the readers know what is going on after the story ends. Made me smile!!

How many stars will I give Forbidden Kisses: 4

Why: Enjoyable, relatable characters, hot sex, and a great plotline. I read this book in one day, it totally captivated me. I can’t wait until book 2 comes out!!

Will I reread: Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes

Age range: Adult

Why: Sex and some mild language

**I received a free copy of this book and volunteered to review it**