A Soul To Take (Soul Eaters Trilogy: Book 1) by Emily Taylor

A Soul to Take (Soul Stealers Trilogy, #1)

Title: A Soul To Take

Author: Emily Taylor

Publisher: REUTS Publications

Date of publication: April 4th, 2017

Genre: New Adult, Futuristic, Urban Fantasy

Number of pages: 481

POV: 1st person

Series: Soul Stealers Trilogy

A Soul To Take – Book 1

Where you can find this book: Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

The world has changed: demons of legend now live among humans, integrated into society through Government programs, wishing for peace.

Elixia Albelin, however, isn’t sold. As an Agent-in-training, she knows firsthand the blood-thirst of demons and isn’t jumping to befriend the monsters plaguing her dreams.
But when a mission sours, Elixia’s sister is caught in the crossfire: taken. Abandoned by those meant to protect her family, Elixia is left with only one option if she wants to retrieve her sister—a taboo option that goes against everything she believes in.

She must sell her soul.

Now, bound to a beast and living on borrowed time, Elixia has to navigate the demonic world to find her sister within a cesspool of human traffickers and serial killers. Enemies control her fate, the simplest truths are questioned, and misperceptions must be shattered. Only one thing remains consistent—Elixia must find her sister before time runs out. Or become the very thing she fears most: a soulless monster.

Gritty, powerful, and exciting, A Soul to Take is a gripping début that explores prejudice, justice, and the consequences one family faces when those two collide.

My review:

I have been on the fence about New Adult books. I have read some that could have been classed as a true Young Adult and then others that made me wonder why it was classed as New Adult. Not that I didn’t like reading those books, I did, but I thought that they were miscategorized. Luckily, A Soul To Take definitely fits into this category.

I really liked Elixia. She just didn’t stop….even when she was told too. She was determined to find Shellie (Sarafina) after Shellie was abducted from their shared apartment by demons. During that same abduction, Elixia was basically killed but brought back and Marked by an unknown demon. Her being Marked had unexpected ramifications. She was put on leave at her job and had to cover the Mark up. She was also reckless and took unnecessary risks. But that is what made the book, in my eyes. She also had a bad temper and was basically persona non grata at any of the events that the noble’s had.

The whole demon aspect fascinated me. To me, the demons acted like vampires. They needed blood to survive, like vamps, but unlike vampires, they could go out in the sun. Actually, according to the book, they loved the sun and had a whole nation in the sunny part of the world (where Elixia lived was kinda like Seattle….always raining and gloomy). They had saved humankind during a war and all they asked was to be fully integrated into human society. Not that they weren’t bad, I mean they are demons after all, but some weren’t as bad as others….if that made sense. The evil demons, called The Network, ran human trafficking rings where children and adults were sold to the highest bidder. All for their blood. These same demons were the same ones who kidnapped Shellie and when Elixia found out, I could totally understand why she was frantic to get her back. See, those adults and children were only used for their blood. They were drained, or Kissed, and discarded. So totally understand Elixia’s fear.

Sebastian/Damien was such a tease during the book and I loved it. I loved how the author kinda strung you along with him. I mean, you know nothing about him except he was a very powerful demon and he worked for Elixia’s Maker. It took until about 40% into the book or so for the author to drop a couple of big bombshells about him (read the book if you want to find out what). I also couldn’t figure out if he had feelings for Elixia or not. I thought I had it figured out when he fed on her but he wiped her memory and the next chapter picked up after she blacked out. Drove me absolutely bonkers but again, I loved it.

The sub-storylines in the book (all of them) were all wrapped up by the end of the book except the one with Angelica and the humanoids. That should make things interesting in the second book because of what the humanoids contain (again read the book if you want to find out what). Angelica was also very interesting and kinda creepy. I am going to go out on a limb and say she will be in book 2, along with the humanoids.

The last part of the book, notice I didn’t say ending, had a few plot twists that I didn’t see coming. A couple of them are huge and I am wondering about those (don’t want to spoil the book!!) and how they will play out in the trilogy.

How many stars will I give A Soul To Take: 4

Why: This was a great, action-packed book with an awesome take on demons. While some people might think that it’s too long, its 418 pages, I thought that it was the perfect length. The characters are intriguing (notice I didn’t say likable because some of them weren’t) and the storylines were compelling. Definitely looking forward to reading the next two books!!

Will I reread: Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes

Age Range: Older Teen

Why: Violence, some mild language, and one sexual situation

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

Beastly Lights by Theresa Jane

Beastly Lights

Title: Beastly Lights

Author: Theresa Jane

Publisher: Inkitt

Date of publication: April 5th, 2017

Genre: Romance

Number of pages: Unknown

POV: 1st person

Where you can find this book: Amazon

Book Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Gambled away by her brother, Freya is now bound to the music world’s resident bad boy Liam Henderson as his live-in maid.

Freya Coleman is a struggling artist who can hardly get by. With a past, she would rather not revisit and a future that didn’t extend past her next cup of coffee, something had to change. Freya just didn’t know how much.

Liam Henderson lives in the spotlight. His wild nights and latest conquests make every woman want him, and every man wants to be him. The rockstar has a carefully constructed persona to keep everyone out. That is until a drunken night gets out of hand and he finds himself with the winning hand in a poker game, and the prize is a feisty redhead. A prize who just might break down the walls he has been so desperately hiding behind.

Thrown together, these two are a disaster waiting to happen. A disaster the world is eager to watch and comment on until their fingers drop off. What starts off as a fake relationship to improve Liam’s image, blossoms into so much more, and Freya is swept up into the world of bright lights and illusions. Everyone has an opinion when the lights are shining on their beloved rock god Liam Henderson, and they are eagerly waiting to tear down anyone who is bathed in the famous glow.

Can happily ever after exist when the whole world is watching?

My review:

This book was not what I expected. I was expecting a typical billionaire rock star romance with lots of hot sex, a heroine that was feisty but mysterious and a hero who was just as mysterious but had a heart of gold. Boy, was I wrong. What I got instead was a story about two polar opposite people trying to have a “normal” relationship while dealing with the hero’s suffocating clinginess, his career as a famous rock star and his drinking problem and dealing with the heroine’s issues. It is that story that blew me out of the water. Put it this way, I stayed up until 12 am reading because I got 110% into the story and lost track of time.

Freya had my sympathy for the entire book. She had been through so much before hooking up with Liam. She was with her mother when her mother was fatally shot, dealt with her brother and father blaming her for her mother’s death and treating her terribly. She also picked up the pieces of her father and then her brother’s life when they started drinking….dealing with so much verbal abuse it wasn’t even funny. I couldn’t even begin to understand why she kept Mason around except for the reason that he was family. I honestly wished that she had told him off sooner in the book because he totally deserved it. Then she had to deal with Liam and his issues, which were many.

Speaking of Liam, I felt awful for him too. He was 100% screwed up. I mean, he was this rock god who had everything at his fingertips….except friends and family. He also self-medicated by drinking himself into a stupor each night so he didn’t have to live with his memories. He was a hot mess who thought that everyone who loved and cared about him left. He also didn’t let anyone close because he felt that they would just end up leaving him. Then he met Freya and he was forced to let her in. Forced to stop drinking (well until his tour) and forced to start interacting with the few people that he let into his inner circle.

The love story between Liam and Freya was intense and to be honest, I wasn’t sure if it was actually true love until the last chapters of the book. She went from being his maid to being his fake girlfriend to being his real girlfriend in a short while. Even Freya wasn’t sure about how she felt about him or if he even cared about her. While he said he did, to me it looked like he was more afraid of being left alone than actually caring about her. And that, along with other things, was what ultimately hurt their relationship.

I will be honest, I am glad that sex was held off until the last half of the book. I think that it would have taken away from the story if they had sex earlier in the book. I also liked that the sex wasn’t really discussed in-depth. Only a few paragraphs and it wasn’t explicit. Which was really nice.

The secondary characters did make up a huge part of the book too. I never mention them but in this book, well the book wouldn’t have been as good as it was without them. They added depth to Freya and Liam’s characters and made it easier to understand why each of them acted the way they acted.

I also liked the chapters that were written like you were reading an online article about Liam and Freya’s relationship or lack of one. I was dying laughing at some of the comments by fans and nonfans.

The ending and the epilog were great if not predictable. While I loved the epilog, I kinda wish that it didn’t go the way it went. But it made sense with the changes that Liam made during the end of the book.

How many stars will I give Beastly Lights: 4

Why: I enjoyed reading this book. It had in-depth characters with real-world problems (anxiety, alcoholism). I could relate to both Liam and Freya, which is a first for me.

Will I reread: Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes

Age range: Adult

Why: Violence, language. Also, a couple of scenes where Freya was attacked and traumatized. They might be triggers for some people.

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

Billionaire for Christmas by Em Brown

Billionaire for Christmas: An Erotic Billionaire Romance

Title: Billionaire for Christmas

Author: Em Brown

Publisher: TCK Publishing

Date of publication: February 6th, 2017

Genre: Interracial Romance, Erotica, Romance

Number of pages: 167

POV: 3rd person

Where you can find this book: Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads): 

Who knew a male escort could be so much fun?
Audrey Jones can’t believe her best friend gave her a gift card to a male escort service for Christmas. A successful finance executive, Audrey doesn’t feel like there’s anything missing in her life. But when she finds herself alone for the holidays, she decides to take a chance and embark on a personal journey that is both unexpected and highly erotic.

For billionaire Rance Durand, women have always come easily into his life, so why can’t he seem to get the time of day with the woman whose apartment unit is right next to his? When he overhears her calling the escort service, Rance decides to take their place, but he only has three days to seduce her.

More About the Book

In this contemporary erotic romance, billionaire bachelor Rance Durand, owner of a luxury boutique hotel, decides to impersonate a gigolo to seduce his workaholic neighbor. But what he thought would be a good joke turned into something he never expected.

When Audrey Jones, who hasn’t had the best luck with romance, decides to have a weekend of sex with a stranger, she gets the erotic experience of her life.

Neither expects to fall in love, but when Audrey is presented with a promotion that will take her across the country, both of them have a big decision to make.

This erotic billionaire romance book contains frequent and explicit sex scenes.

My review:

I used to have a ban on reviewing erotica. The reason: I was embarrassed about advertising that I read these books. Then one day, I had an epiphany. Why be embarrassed about reviewing books that have all sorts of sex in them? So I dropped my restrictions on no erotica and I am happy I did.

Billionaire for Christmas takes place over Christmas in San Francisco, which instantly I liked. San Fransisco is a city that I have always wanted to visit and seeing it featured in a book was awesome. Audrey and Rance did visit a few well-known areas (read the book to find out)!!

I really liked Audrey and how relatable she was. She was packing extra weight, she didn’t hold to her New Years Eve resolutions, she was very picky about men and she was a very hard worker. She also had a crazy bestie who gave her a gift card to an escort service. Which made me laugh out loud when I read that and made me wonder….if there even such thing as gift cards to an escort service. There probably is, now that I think about it….lol. I actually couldn’t believe that she called. But hey, she wanted to go out with a bang for her last couple of nights in San Fransisco. She asked for Denzel but instead got Colin (which made me laugh my butt off).

Rance was so hot but I wasn’t a fan of his deception at first. I mean, he lived next door to Audrey. How hard would it have been for him to actually just go, knock on her door and talk to her? But no, he had to pretend to be from the escort service. I was almost waiting for him to say her real name, not the fake one that she gave when they were having sex or out on dates. I did like that he was made to be a decent person too. He was the best man at his friend’s wedding, he had family that he talked to all the time in France (and yes, I read the book with him having a very slight French accent) and he was a great friend.

The sex scenes, they are written in great detail, were hot. Burning off the page hot. Like, fan myself because I was getting flushed hot. They had anal sex, vaginal sex, public sex (the one against the window….oh lordy) and unprotected oral sex (her going down on him). They couldn’t get enough of each other.

The ending, which was a HEA, had me going for a minute because I thought that it wasn’t going to be one. So I was very surprised when it ended up the way it did.

How many stars will I give Billionaire for Christmas: 4

Why: Besides the obvious hot sex, I thought that the backstory was fantastic. This is definitely a book that you should read at home, though. The sex scenes and there are plenty of them, are pretty descriptive.

Will I reread: Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes but with a warning about the ultra hot and very descriptive sex scenes.

Age range: Adult

Why: Sex and language

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

Defy the Stars (Defy the Stars: Book 1) by Claudia Gray

Defy the Stars (Defy the Stars Series Book 1) by [Gray, Claudia]

Title: Defy The Stars

Author: Claudia Gray

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Date of Publication: April 4th, 2017

Genre: Science Fiction, Young Adult

POV: 3rd Person

Number of pages: 513

Series: Defy the Stars

Defy the Stars – Book 1

Where this book can be found: Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

Noemi Vidal is a teen soldier from the planet Genesis, once a colony of Earth that’s now at war for its independence. The humans of Genesis have fought Earth’s robotic “mech” armies for decades with no end in sight.

After a surprise attack, Noemi finds herself stranded in space on an abandoned ship where she meets Abel, the most sophisticated mech prototype ever made. One who should be her enemy. But Abel’s programming forces him to obey Noemi as his commander, which means he has to help her save Genesis–even though her plan to win the war will kill him.

Together they embark on a daring voyage through the galaxy. Before long, Noemi begins to realize Abel may be more than a machine, and, for his part, Abel’s devotion to Noemi is no longer just a matter of programming.

Continue reading “Defy the Stars (Defy the Stars: Book 1) by Claudia Gray” →

The Door to Forever (The Land of Magic: Book 2) by Shirley Martin

The Door to Forever (The Land of Magic #2)

Title: The Door To Forever

Author: Shirley Martin

Publisher: Books We Love Ltd

Date of publication: November 9th, 2016

Genre: Fantasy, Romance

Number of pages: 218

POV: 3rd person

Series: The Land of Magic

The Door To Forever – Book 2

Where you can find this book: Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

As a teenager, Kaylee suffered an attempted sexual assault. Now a woman, she remains fearful of men. She vows she’ll avoid the opposite sex.

When her dreams take her to an alternate world, a land of peace and harmony, she wishes she could stay in this world. There, a psychic with a crystal ball tells her she will find love, for he sees a man reaching out to her. He tells her she must learn to trust men.

Kaylee has no idea who this man is, and she knows she can never put her faith in a man. The memory from her teenage years is too painful.

Then she meets Logan. Will he be the man to change her mind? World-weary and cynical, Logan declares a respite from women. When he meets Kaylee, he knows she is a woman like no other. His head tells him to stay away from her, but his heart refuses to listen.

My review:

I really didn’t know what to expect when I started reading The Door To Forever. I honestly, don’t think that the blurb does this book justice at all. There is more meat to the story than what is described. This is one instance that I would say, don’t go by what the synopsis says….read the book.

Kaylee did have some major issues at the beginning of the book. She was deeply scarred from an attempted rape at 13 and then another attempted sexual assault when she was in college. After those experiences, she didn’t trust men. Which I don’t blame her. But then she starts dreaming of a land that she can only get through by opening a door in a dark, dismal forest. The land is called Vestoria and it is the home of elves. On her first journey there, she meets an elf called Nemek. After a few visits, she tells Nemek about her tragic past and he is appalled that men are allowed to treat women that way in her society and not be punished. It was at this point that I put the book down and applauded the author for putting this in because it is the truth. Sexual assault and attempted sexual assault are not like other crimes and only a small handful go to trial.

Vestoria is a land of peace and tranquility. Just reading about it made me wish that Vestoria was real. Violence towards women (or anyone really) was not tolerated and was swiftly dealt with. But it was a backward society. Women were expected to stay at home until they found their lifemate (ie got married). But it called to Kaylee (like me). After a few visits, she was granted visitation with the king and he told her that she needs to heal. To learn to trust men again and to find love.

I think Logan was the right person for her. He was the 1/2 owner of the restaurant she worked at and he taught English at the local university. He also came from money but he didn’t rely on his parents to pay his way in life. He was attracted to Kaylee but he didn’t want to go too fast because he sensed that she had been hurt in the past. He was the one to find out who was behind all of Kaylee’s mishaps at work and he was the one who stuck up for her when his friend wanted to fire her. Which he should have. I mean she didn’t come into work for a few days.

The romance between Kaylee and Logan was very sweet. To be honest, I was surprised when certain events happened because, honestly, I didn’t think it was going to happen. I really thought that Kaylee was going to end up with Nemek or someone from Vestoria.

The bad guys in the book, Gitta and Drummond, kinda annoyed me. Drummond seemed like he was a tool and Gitta, well she was power-hungry and didn’t double-check to see if the people she killed were really dead. Because she was surprised when she met up with her arch nemesis, Zurina, a witch from the first book. I was also a tad disappointed at how easily Gitta was defeated. But, Drummond escaped and I know he will make an appearance in the next book.

I liked the ending and loved how everyone was so happy. Normally I am a poop and I don’t like super happy endings but I loved this one!!

How many stars will I give The Door to Forever: 4

Why: I really liked this book. This is one of those books that you could read at the pool or a beach. The plot wasn’t too involved and the characters likable. While rape and attempted rape are mentioned, it wasn’t thrown in your face the entire book. It was part of who Kaylee was and the author didn’t dwell on it.

Will I reread: Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes

Age range: Older Teen

Why: Some violence and both of Kaylee’s attempted sexual assaults were kinda graphic. There is one sex scene, at the end of the book, but it isn’t very detailed.

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

Beyond the Sapphire Gate (The Flow of Power: Book 1) by R.V. Johnson

Beyond the Sapphire Gate (The Flow of Power, #1)

Title: Beyond The Sapphire Gate

Author: R.V. Johnson

Publisher: Lost in New World Publishing

Date of publication: March 8th, 2015

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult

Number of pages: 438

POV: 3rd person

Series: The Flow of Power

Beyond the Sapphire Gate – Book 1

Beyond Terra – Book 2

Where you can find this book: Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

Raw power. Dark betrayal. A family shattered.

On a world where a frothing river of magic underlies the land, Crystalyn may become Astura’s greatest power if she can master her ability of using symbols though she seeks no glory. She wants only to find the dear sister she raised; the sibling she lost on another planet by her own doing. Dark Users of magic, political Light Users, and a horde of deadly creatures stand in her way. But when had it ever been easy for one afflicted with an unbalanced, broken mind?

The epic first book in the thrilling Flow Of Power fantasy saga!

My review:

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was a welcome change from the books that I have read. A change that was definitely needed.

The world-building in this book was beyond fantastic. This was not a one-dimensional word. It was a three-dimensional world.  It was like an onion. When one layer was peeled back, another aspect of the world was revealed. Which is what made is such a good read. You never knew what was going to be revealed and that, along with other things, kept me glued to the book. I did like small twist towards the end of the book about what Astura was. The way the author explained it was fantastic!!

Crystalyn had to be my favorite character in the book. From the beginning, when she was studying the book with symbols to her journey to Surbo, where the Circle of Light is, she was spunky and wanted to do things her way. When it was decided that she would go to Surbo with Lore Mother, Lore Rayne, Cudgel, Hastel, and Atoi, she started to find out that she could use her symbols in new ways….from healing to defense to attacking. But using them came with a price. I also loved her fascination with Darwin Darkwind. He was a bad boy (I think). Also, I loved Broth. Just saying to have a bond mate who could talk to you in your head is pretty sweet.

Jade was my other favorite character. She was unfortunate enough to end up in the Dark Citidal. Actually in an armory, of all places. She meets Cameo shortly afterward and he decides that he would help her escape after she told him what images she could see in his aura. I think Jade might have had it a bit rougher than Crystalyn about how bad her journey was. Jade had to crawl through a sewer to escape…..yucky. Cameo wasn’t a joy to travel with either. He was so distrusting of her and Burl it wasn’t even funny. It was only when Burl saved both of their hides, that he was coming around.

I wish Garn was featured more in the book and that he was reunited with his daughters at some point. But, I can see why the author chose not to do it and I do hope that he is reunited with his girls in the next book.

The fantasy/sci-fi element was very well written. The magic usage in the book was either very subtle or in your face, depending on who was using symbols. Crystalyn’s magic was in your face while Jade’s was more subtle. It was those differences that kept me glued to the book. I also liked that while there were deadly magical creatures, they weren’t all over the book. The wraiths and spiderbees were really the only ones that were detailed. To be honest, the spiderbees scared me.

The end of the book was a bit of a shocker. I was not expecting certain things and when they were revealed it did throw me for a loop. I do have some questions and I hope that they will be answered in the next book!!

How many stars will I give Beyond the Sapphire Gate: 4

Why: This is a very well written fantasy that I got really into reading. While I did put the book down, I really didn’t want to. I needed to know what would happen with Crystalyn, Jade and everyone else.

Will I reread: Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes

Age range: Young Teen

Why: Violence. Otherwise, it is a very clean book. There is one kissing scene and a couple of scenes where Crystalyn is very aware of Darwin but nothing that would hold me back from allowing a 13-year-old to read.

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

Bossed by Sloane Howell

Bossed

Title: Bossed

Author: Sloane Howell

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Loveswept

Date of publication: March 28th, 2017

Genre: Romance

Number of pages: 203

POV: Alternating 1st person

Where you can find this book: Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

He’s the boss. But she’s ready to take charge.

In this provocative and sexy* office romance, a cheeky new hire tempts a hotshot sports agent to mix business with pleasure.

Jenny: Job interviews are a bitch under the best of circumstances, but when your potential boss is the world’s biggest prick, that’s when you should simply walk away. It’s just that I need this job so badly—and I’m mesmerized by Ethan Mason’s piercing gaze. Men like him aren’t supposed to exist in real life. But under the tailored suits and GQ looks, Ethan simmers with barely restrained ambition. And no matter how hard I work to fight the attraction, I’m going to get burned.

Ethan: You don’t become a top agent without learning how to close a deal. I always get what—or who—I want, by staying cool and in command. Then Jenny Jackson walks into my office with her lush curves and “screw you” attitude and blows away my intentions of keeping things professional. All I can think about is exploring the perfect body hidden beneath those conservative clothes or shutting her saucy mouth with one hot kiss. Jenny’s worth breaking the rules over—if I can convince her to break the rules for me.

*By sexy, we mean sexy. Like, 18+ sexy.

My review:

I was actually looking forward to reading Bossed based on the cover alone. I couldn’t get over the smirk that the model had on his face and hoped that the cover would live up to the book. I wasn’t disappointed on that end. The cover more than lived up to what I thought Mason would look like and to his arrogant behavior. I am just glad that Jenny wasn’t shown on the cover.

I couldn’t stand Jenny. She annoyed the ever-living out of me. I mean, she went into her interview and immediately started verbally sparring with Mason and then every scene with them afterward, at work, she was insubordinate. If she was my employee, she wouldn’t have been hired and if she was, she would have been fired as soon as she screamed at me to apologize to an employee who cost me millions of dollars. She was whiny too. I mean, she had her first orgasm, ever,  in the back of Mason’s car and then checks her phone to find out that her dad, who had terminal cancer, was in the hospital. She flipped out on Mason….like hardcore screaming and yelling at him. I get that her emotions were all over the place but dang, she needed to check it. And when her dad died, her flipping out on him because he went to a business meeting and his cell phone. I can’t even put that at grief. She was acting like a witch with a b. She was the one who sent him on the darn business trip…..with her blessings. There were some places in the book where I wanted to slip her a chill pill. She annoyed me that much.

Mason was just as unlikable at the beginning of the book. But I did like the change him in once he started seeing Jenny. I actually started to like him and by the end of the book, he achieved hero status by dealing with her. But, he wasn’t all nice. I mean, he broke up with her because he assumed that she cost him 10 million dollars on a pitcher when it ended up being information that he gave to her that was incorrect. And how he was at the beginning of the book…..he was a grade A idiot.

The sex scenes were pretty hot but what was hotter was the sexual tension between Jenny and Mason. It blew the book out of the water in that aspect because it made the first time they had sex beyond hot.

I thought the storyline with Jenny’s father was pretty sad and I really thought that he was going to make it. I actually cried when I found out he died.

The end of the book I liked. It was pretty standard with a HEA.

How many stars will I give Bossed: 3

Why: While I liked the story and half of the main couple, I really couldn’t get past Jenny

Will I reread: Maybe

Will I recommend to family and friends: Maybe

Age range: Adult

Why: Sex and language

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

The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley by Hannah Tinti

The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley: A Novel by [Tinti, Hannah]

Title: The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley

Author: Hannah Tinti

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Random House

Date of publication: March 28th, 2017

Genre: General Fiction, thriller

Number of pages: 399

POV: 3rd person

Where you can find this book: Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

A father protects his daughter from the legacy of his past and the truth about her mother’s death in this thrilling new novel from the prize-winning author of The Good Thief.

After years spent living on the run, Samuel Hawley moves with his teenage daughter, Loo, to Olympus, Massachusetts. There, in his late wife’s hometown, Hawley finds work as a fisherman, while Loo struggles to fit in at school and grows curious about her mother’s mysterious death. Haunting them both are twelve scars Hawley carries on his body, from twelve bullets in his criminal past; the past that eventually spills over into his daughter’s present until together they must face a reckoning yet to come. This father-daughter epic weaves back and forth through time and across America, from Alaska to the Adirondacks.

Both a coming-of-age novel and a literary thriller, The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley explores what it means to be a hero, and the cost we pay to protect the people we love most.

My review:

As someone who grew up the next town over from Salem (Peabody), I am always very interested when novels featuring The North Shore are written. I am always a little critical because of the author, usually not from the area, only focuses on Salem or Gloucester and what they are most known for Halloween (Salem) and fishing (Gloucester). It always irks me to read those books because the stereotypes scream from the books. The girl whose ancestors come from Salem and she finds out she has powers (Salem) or the fisherman who battles nature to get the big haul (Gloucester). Usually, I can’t get through the book, I have to DNF it because I want to gag. Happily, though, The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley doesn’t have any of those stereotypes and that itself is refreshing. Also, the author herself is from Salem, so she knows the areas from Rockport to Lynn probably as well I do and that added just that extra touch of authenticity to her book.

I actually had to go to google Olympus and Dogtown. Just to make sure that Olympus isn’t there. Massachusetts is famous for having small towns that you can drive through and miss. Take Hathrone. It is a tiny town between Danvers and Middleton. When I say small, it is teeny. I think that it is actually considered part of Danvers but it has its own zip code and post office. I didn’t know it existed until about 15 years ago….when the guy I was dating actually told me about it….lol. So, googling Olympus to check it out became my main goal. Dogtown, I googled too even though I knew it was real.

I kinda felt bad for Loo at the beginning of the book. She moved around a ton and had a father that kept major secrets from her.  Saying that the moving around didn’t affect her would be lying. When they settled down in Olympus, things got really bad for her. I am glad that the author had Loo react the way she did to bullying. It was real. Nothing was hunky dory after the rock in the sock incident but the kids left her alone. And her anger issues after that. Oh Lordy, she needed anger management classes, therapy or both. Even with her kinda boyfriend, Marshall Titus, she was mean. Put it this way, Loo wasn’t a nice person by the end of the book, even though she tried to be one.

While Loo’s story wasn’t easy to read, Hawley’s story was even worse. The author chose to tell his story by each bullet wound that he got (12 in all). Hawley was not a good man….far from it. But he did try to turn himself around when he married Lily (Loo’s mother) and then they had Loo. But his past criminal life kept sucking him in and it eventually cost him everything. I could see why he was hiding it from Loo. He was protecting her but still. He should have left well enough alone (read the book if you want to know what I meant by that).

Hawley’s story and Loo’s story was seamlessly brought together towards the end of the book. The events that happened at the end of the book did leave it up in the air. You don’t know if there will be a HEA or what. That was pretty refreshing. I can see people complaining about it, though, saying that all books need clear-cut endings. But with this book, nothing was clear-cut so why should the end be?

How many stars will I give The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley: 4

Why: An engrossing book that kept me turning the pages until well after my bedtime. The characters were very complex and their relationships with each other and other characters were complex too. This is not an easy read, so be warned. I liked it because it was different from what I usually read and like I said above, the characters were complex.

Will I reread: Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes

Age range: Adult

Why: Violence, language and some sexual situations.

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

Stripped Bare (Vegas Millionaires: Book 1) by Heidi McLaughlin

Stripped Bare (Vegas Billionaire, #1)

Title: Stripped Bare

Author: Heidi McLaughlin

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Loveswept

Date of publication: March 28th, 2017

Genre: Romance

Number of pages: Unknown

POV: Alternating 1st person

Series: Vegas Billionaires

Stripped Bare – Book 1

Can be read out-of-order from series: Yes, 1st book in series

Where you can find this book: Amazon

Goodreads synopsis:

They don’t call it the Strip for nothing. . . .

In this sinfully sexy Las Vegas romance from bestselling author Heidi McLaughlin, a man who has it all reunites with a woman who takes it all off.

Living in Sin City, Finn McCormick is no stranger to one-night stands, but the last person he expects to find losing big on the casino floor is a former high school fling. Even though Macey Webster’s clearly down on her luck, she’s still a knockout, and she’s dressed like a stripper—because she is one. Drunk off an unfamiliar cocktail of lust, pity, and compassion, Finn offers to pay Macey’s debts if she cuddles up to him around town . . . and does whatever he wants between the sheets.

Macey came to Vegas for one reason only: money. She’s got a young daughter to support, and the tips really are bigger in Vegas. But when she blows her earnings on blackjack, her guardian angel is the rich boy who once stole her heart and never called her back. Although Macey would love to turn the tables on Finn, she can’t afford to refuse his proposition—and soon she’s enjoying herself much more than she cares to admit. Macey’s used to bare her flesh, but baring her soul will take far more courage.

My review:

I am going to admit, I had very low expectations for this book based on the blurb. I should have known better than to read the blurb and go to myself “Oh, this book is going to interesting (insert sarcasm here) to read”. I really should have known better…sigh.

Instead of getting two people just banging each other for the entire book and then “falling in love”, there was a story. And the love part of the story, which mainly took part over two weeks, was drawn out. Sure there was sex and sure it was mind-blowing but that wasn’t the whole story.

My heart did break for Macey during the book. She really got the short end of the stick in life. She got pregnant at 17 after a one-night stand at a party, dropped out of high school to have her daughter and restored to stripping at night and waiting tables during the day to help pay the rent and keep a roof over her, her mother’s and her daughter’s head. She felt stuck because she couldn’t make enough money to move out of her mother’s apartment and she was upset because while she was working, her mother took care of Morgan, her daughter. Well if you called getting drunk and having strange men over all the time watching her. Macey feels awful because she has told Morgan to hide in the closet if strange men came over and that is not a way for a child to live. She also lives in fear that Children’s Services will eventually show up at her door and take Morgan away.

So, when she is told about how stripping in Las Vegas is so much better than stripping in the town she lives in, Macey decides to jump at the chance. She is desperate to get Morgan out of that living situation and feels that she has no other option but to go strip in Las Vegas. What a hard situation to be in and then to find out that when she went to the paternal grandmother for help, only to have the door slammed in her face, made it unbearable.

Finn, however, was a jerk in the beginning. When he saw Macey playing blackjack, he not only recognizes her as someone from his hometown but he tells Lamarr, his best friend, that he thinks he slept with her back before he went away to college and he pegs her as a stripper and maybe an escort. He then gets punched by Macey as she is leaving the casino in tears because she lost all the money that she earned. When he follows her, he propositions her. One week with him, doing what ever he wants when he wants for $30,000.

I found it funny that he assumed that Morgan was either Macey’s boyfriend or pimp. And I found it very ironic that Lamarr knew who Morgan was and if Finn had just asked, he would have known sooner and wouldn’t have put Macey through the wringer about it. I have to give her credit, though, she put up with his crap until the end and only because she needed the money.

Macey did get on my nerves, though, when she was dealing with Brandy. For such a strong woman, she was pretty weak about confronting Brandy and calling her out. She never thought to go to Finn and see if he actually said or did the things that Brandy said he did. She would just run back to the penthouse and cry about it until he came back and he explained things. Uggh.

I will say that the sex was very hot. Off the pages hot. I also liked that safe sex (because you know, I have nothing better to do with my life than worry about fictional characters sex lives) was used until almost the end. But by then, a lot of things had changed between Macey and Finn.

Like I said above, I thought the storyline was pretty reminiscent of Pretty Woman….except that Macey wasn’t a hooker, she was a stripper and she had a kid.

The storylines were wrapped up pretty good. I loved that Brandy got what was coming to her. I was in bed by the time I read that scene and I did a double fist pump. She was put in her place and then some!!!

I did figure out who Morgan’s father was by the middle of the book. I mean, the author didn’t try to hide it or throw red herrings out. So when it was revealed who it was, I was like “Yes” and “What’s next”.

The end of the book was a pretty standard HEA and the author made me jealous with the vacation location….lol.

How many stars will I give Stripped Bare: 4

Why: This was a hot read with a good but predictable plot. What I really liked is how strong Macey was. I also did like Finn towards the end of the book but I did think he was a jerk at the beginning.

Will I reread: Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes but with a warning about explicit sex.

Age range: Adult

Why: Explicit sex and language

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

Not Dead Enough: Tales of Windhaven by Watson Davis

Not Dead Enough: A Windhaven Chronicles Anthology (The Windhaven Chronicles) by [Davis, Watson]

Title: Not Dead Enough

Author: Watson Davis

Publisher: Unknown

Date of publication: September 20th, 2014

Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Paranormal

Number of pages: 99

POV: 1st person

Series: The Windhaven Chronicles

The Devil’s Library – Book 1 (review here)

Not Dead Enough – Book 2

Where you can find this book: Amazon

Book synopsis (through Amazon):

A Vampire Assassin and a Book of Evil.

With the Empress’ soul bound into the pages of a book, all Gartan the Cursed has to do is destroy it to be free of her forever, free to wreak his vengeance on those priests and nobles who treated him like a subhuman animal, free to return home to the ruins of a city he ruled centuries before.

But the Empress did not escape from Hell by accepting Her fate, and She is nothing if not cunning.

In this collection of sword and sorcery short stories set in the world of Windhaven, Watson Davis takes us on a harrowing series of adventures through ghost towns and vibrant cities, into the mouths of angry volcanoes and across stormy seas filled with monsters.

Continue reading “Not Dead Enough: Tales of Windhaven by Watson Davis” →