Watch Me by Jody Gehrman

Watch Me

2 Stars

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin

Date of publication: January 23rd, 2018

Genre: Mystery, Thriller

Where you can find Watch Me: Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Book Synopsis (from Goodreads):

“Riveting, chilling, and page-turning. Be prepared to stay up all night.” — New York Times bestselling author Lisa Scottoline

For fans of dark and twisty psychological thrillers, Watch Me is a riveting novel of suspense about how far obsession can go.

Kate Youngblood is disappearing. Muddling through her late 30s as a creative writing professor at Blackwood college, she’s dangerously close to never being noticed again. The follow-up novel to her successful debut tanked. Her husband left her for a woman ten years younger. She’s always been bright, beautiful, independent and a little wild, but now her glow is starting to vanish. She’s heading into an age where her eyes are less blue, her charm worn out, and soon no one will ever truly look at her, want to know her, again.

Except one.

Sam Grist is Kate’s most promising student. An unflinching writer with razor-sharp clarity who gravitates towards dark themes and twisted plots, his raw talent is something Kate wants to nurture into literary success. But he’s not there solely to be the best writer. He’s been watching her. Wanting her. Working his way to her for years.

As Sam slowly makes his way into Kate’s life, they enter a deadly web of dangerous lies and forbidden desire. But how far will his fixation go? And how far will she allow it?

A gripping novel exploring intense obsession and illicit attraction, Jody Gehrman introduces a world where what you desire most may be the most dangerous thing of all.

Trigger Warning: Stalking, School shooting

Continue reading “Watch Me by Jody Gehrman” →

Bought by the Boss by Stacey Kennedy

Bought by the Boss

3.5 Stars (rounded down to 3 for Goodreads, NetGalley, Barnes and Noble and Amazon)

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group, Loveswept

Date of publication: February 13th, 2018

Genre: Romance, Erotica

Number of pages: 200

Where you can find Bought by the Boss: Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

What’s better than one bad-boy boss? How about two?

In a duet of naughty novellas, a charity date auction turns into all-out war when a pair of powerful corporate lawyers each buy the other’s assistant for a weekend of seduction.

HIS PRICE
I’ve wanted Aria Finley from the moment I met her.
We flirt, we laugh, we connect. It could be perfect.
She’s even best friends with my assistant.
Problem is, she works for my archnemesis—Jackson Keller—and she’s the kind of girl who stays loyal unless you give her a reason not to.
Besides my hard-on, there’s something hot between us, and I won’t rest until I put my finger on it.
So when I get the chance to buy Aria for the weekend at a charity auction, there’s no limit.
I’m going to take her home and take what I want because I’ll make her want it too.
And by Monday, she’ll know she’s mine.

DIRTY MONEY
Liam Maxwell thinks he can get to me through my assistant, Aria.
Well, two can play that game.
Now Mallory Beckett—Liam’s assistant and Aria’s best friend—is mine for the weekend.
Only she has no idea who bought her at the charity auction.
This is going to be worth every penny.
But soon I realize that Mallory has been waiting for my touch all along.
What starts as a fling turns into something more.
From the beginning, I was so focused on stealing her away. 
I never thought about the fact that I’d drown if I lost her. 
Now the game has changed. And she needs to know that she belongs to me.

Trigger Warning: None

Continue reading “Bought by the Boss by Stacey Kennedy” →

Surprise Me by Sophie Kinsella

Surprise Me

4 Stars

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Random House, The Dial Press

Date of publication: February 13th, 2018

Genre: General Fiction, Romance

Where you can find Surprise Me: Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

After being together for ten years, Sylvie and Dan have all the trimmings of a happy life and marriage; they have a comfortable home, fulfilling jobs, beautiful twin girls, and communicate so seamlessly, they finish each other’s sentences. However, a trip to the doctor projects they will live another 68 years together and panic sets in. They never expected “until death do us part” to mean seven decades.

In the name of marriage survival, they quickly concoct a plan to keep their relationship fresh and exciting: they will create little surprises for each other so that their (extended) years together will never become boring. But in their pursuit to execute Project Surprise Me, mishaps arise and secrets are uncovered that start to threaten the very foundation of their unshakable bond. When a scandal from the past is revealed that question some important untold truths, they begin to wonder if they ever really knew each other after all.

Trigger Warning: None

Continue reading “Surprise Me by Sophie Kinsella” →

A Bloodline’s Echo (The Avadi Series: Book 1) by M.R. Pilot

A Bloodline's Echo (The Avadi Series Book 1)

4 Stars

Publisher: 

Date of publication: December 29th, 2017

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Series: The Avadi Series

A Bloodline’s Echo – Book 1

Where you can find A Bloodline’s Echo: Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

Cori discovers she has a strange ability. An unpredictable stranger lets her know she’s not the only one.

When her will is tested in the face of the unexpected: romance, friendships, betrayal, and a mysterious connection to an equally mysterious ancestor, how will she prevail? 

Join Cori on her journey of finding out who she really is.

Eighteen-year-old Cori has been tucked into a corner of Verbena her entire life. With no memory of a father and an abusive mother, her escape came in the form of living and working in her town’s inn, a place that happens to be owned by her best friend. Cori was all but resigned to the uneventful and dutiful life as a barkeep. That is until a hooded stranger showed up – just in time to witness an incident Cori herself cannot believe – and changed everything. Now Cori must leave Sagebrush, the only place she has ever known, setting off to discover love, adventure, heartbreak, and more about herself and the world she lives in than she could have ever imagined.

Trigger Warning: Child Abuse memories, Domestic violence memories

Continue reading “A Bloodline’s Echo (The Avadi Series: Book 1) by M.R. Pilot” →

Gilchrist: A Novel by Christian Galacar

4 Stars

Publisher: 

Date of publication: October 17th, 2017

Genre: Horror

Where you can find Gilchrist: Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

Bag of Bones meets Stranger Things. . .

Gilchrist is as beautiful as it is terrifying—a novel of mounting suspense, with an unsettlingly human heart at its core. . . black as it may be.

Two years after losing their infant son to a tragic accident, Peter Martell, a novelist with a peculiar knack for finding lost things, and his wife, Sylvia, are devastated to learn they may no longer be able to have children. In need of a fresh start, and compelled by strange dreams, the couple decide to rent a lake house in the idyllic town of Gilchrist, Massachusetts, a place where bad things might just happen for a reason. As bizarre events begin to unfold around them—a chance encounter with a gifted six-year-old boy, a series of violent deaths, and repeated sightings of a strange creature with a terrifying nature—Peter and Sylvia find themselves drawn into the chaos and soon discover that coming to Gilchrist may not have been their decision at all.

Set against a small New England town in the summer of 1966, Gilchrist is a sinister tale about the haunting origins of violence, evil, and the undying power of memory.

Trigger Warning: suicide, child death, spousal abuse, talk of rape

Continue reading “Gilchrist: A Novel by Christian Galacar” →

The Forgotten (Zola Flash: Book 2) by T. Marie Alexander

The Forgotten (Zola Flash, #2)

 4 Stars 

Publisher: Lateaikia Alexander

Date of publication: June 7th, 2016

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Fantasy

Series: Zola Flash

Zola Flash – Book 1 (review here)

The Forgotten – Book 2

Where you can find Zola Flash: Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Book Synopsis (from Goodreads):

ZOLA HAS LOST SO MUCH.
Her family
Her home.
Her sense of self.

BUT SHE HAS ALSO GAINED.
Friends.
Another home.
And Pin, the Payohlini she loves above all else.

With Renz gone and no one to command the Payohlini army, Zola assumed everything would go back to normal. Well, as normal as life could be for someone like her. The war should be over and her planet and people should be safe. Having accomplished what she set out to do—getting revenge for her family’s murder, she even dares to dream of days spent as a normal girl, of dates with Pin without them looking over their shoulders for flying swords. No more hiding, but living the kind of life she always thought she’d have.

With new responsibilities come new problems, though—as well as a Flash from her past that she didn’t see coming. 

One that threatens to change everything.

Zola thought she had nothing else to lose. Unfortunately, she’s about to get a galactic awakening.

No one ever said being a princess would be easy.

Trigger Warning: None

Continue reading “The Forgotten (Zola Flash: Book 2) by T. Marie Alexander” →

Zola Flash (Zola Flash: Book 1) by T. Marie Alexander

Zola Flash (Zola Flash, #1)

3 Stars

Publisher: 

Date of publication: October 30th, 2015

Genre: Young Adult, fantasy

Series: Zola Flash

Zola Flash – Book 1

The Forgotten – Book 2

Where you can find Zola Flash: Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

EVEN THE INNOCENT CAN BE MARRED BY WAR.

Zola is a Victian. And for as long as she’s been alive, her planet has been at war with the ruthless, demeaning Payohlini.

After witnessing the gruesome murder of her family, Zola Flash decides it is time to escape with the one person she was taught to hate before she meets the same fate. Earth seems to be the perfect place to hide out – to pretend her whole life didn’t come crashing down.

While on Earth, fitting in and making new friends are Zola’s main goal. It’s what she wants. A family to call her owns. But then, Zola uncovers family lies and the true reason behind this never-ending war. 

Now it’s up to Zola and the enemy, who is swiftly stealing her heart, to save her people and gain retribution for her family. But when revenge and protecting her people mean relinquishing her freedom, she’s left with a difficult choice.

Trigger Warning: None

Continue reading “Zola Flash (Zola Flash: Book 1) by T. Marie Alexander” →

Tarnished City (Dark Gifts: Book 2) by Vic James

Tarnished City (Dark Gifts, #2)

4 Stars

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group, Del Ray

Date of publication: February 6th, 2018

Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy

Number of pages: 416

Series: Dark Gifts

Gilded Cage – Book 1 (review here)

Tarnished City – Book 2

Bright Ruin – Book 3 (no expected publication date)

Where you can find Tarnished City: Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

A corrupted city. A dark dream of power.

Luke is a prisoner, condemned for a murder he didn’t commit. Abi is a fugitive, desperate to free him before magic breaks his mind. But as the Jardines tighten their grip on a turbulent Britain, brother and sister face a fight greater than their own.

New alliances and old feuds will remake the nation, leaving Abi and Luke questioning everything – and everyone – they know. And as Silyen Jardine hungers for the forgotten Skill of the legendary Wonder King, the country’s darkest hour approaches. Freedom and knowledge both come at a cost. So who will pay the price? 

Trigger Warning: reference to rape

Continue reading “Tarnished City (Dark Gifts: Book 2) by Vic James” →

The Kings Peace by Kevin Hammond

The King's Peace

4 Stars

Publisher:

Date of publication: October 6th, 2013

Genre: Fantasy

Where you can find The King’s Peace: Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

The Kingdom is young and yet it stands in great peril. Dark tales of the unnatural have reached the King’s city. The King is slain in his bed and the storm on the horizon brings black ships closer to the coastal city of Erenon. Nathaniel, a clever thief has stumbled upon a job that brings him to the home of the King when he is slain and Nathaniel is unwillingly dragged into the quest to reach the southern garrison which has gone quiet in recent months. Strange powers are helping and hindering him and the small company of soldiers dispatched to that garrison as war comes to the city. 
They will find those horrors that plague the common man, an ancient dragon legend will unravel, and deception so epic in scale it involves the Gods. The whole world of man and nations who live on the other side of the mountain range known as the Great Divide will come together in a war no one really understands and as the kingdom fights to survive it will face an enemy they know nothing about.

Trigger Warning: None

Continue reading “The Kings Peace by Kevin Hammond” →

Off Limits by Clare Connelly

Off Limits

3 Stars

Publisher: Harlequin (US & Canada), Harlequin Dare

Date of publication: February 1st, 2018

Genre: Romance

Where you can find Off Limits: Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

“I want to taste you tonight.”

With chemistry this hot, it’s worth getting burned… 

Billionaire Jack Grant is totally off-limits to Gemma Picton. He’s wild, deliciously dangerous…and her boss. When working late turns X-rated, it’s better than her wildest imaginings—and Gemma’s imagined a lot! But Jack has major emotional baggage, so when Gemma starts wanting to heal his heart as well as enjoy his body, she knows she’s in big trouble…

Trigger Warning: None

Continue reading “Off Limits by Clare Connelly” →