Tag: romance

Alpha’s Mates (Bear Shifter Billionaire: Book 2) by A.J. Tipton

Alpha's Mates: A MFM Menage Paranormal Romance (Bear Shifter Billionaire Book 2) by [Tipton, AJ]

4 Stars

Publisher: Savvy Storytelling LLC

Date of publication: March 18th, 2015

Genre: Paranormal, Romance, Erotica

Series: Bear Shifter Millionaire

Alpha’s Heir — Book 1 (Review Here)

Alpha’s Mates — Book 2

Alpha’s Domain — Book 3

Alpha’s Christmas Flame—Book 4

Where you can find this book: Amazon

Book synopsis: 

A CEO under attack by a vengeful coven. Two farmhands with a ranch in trouble. Can these three save each other?

Cleo has everything under control: she’s a wildly successful CEO, Alpha of a powerful bear shifter clan, and a total knockout. When a business deal puts her on the wrong side of powerful witches, she’s exiled to the middle of nowhere. Cursed to be unable to interact with electronics, Cleo has to trust the kindness of two handsome ranch hands to get back to her old life.

Titus, a cursed dragon shifter, and Connor, gifted with supernatural intuition, are not used to company. When their ranch–a sanctuary for magical creatures–is threatened, the men must rely on their strength and Cleo’s resourcefulness to save the day. Will Cleo be too distracted by her own plan for revenge to realize she may have found her true loves?

Alpha’s Mates is an MFM paranormal romance novella in the “Bear Shifter Billionaire” series, a set of stand-alone stories that sizzle and satisfy. If you like steamy romance, wet and wild firefighting, and a literal roll in the hay, then you’ll love this breathtaking book.

My review:

Cleo had pissed off a coven of witches by suggesting that they use magic to keep an ice hotel frozen during the summer months and, when the coven refused, offering it to another coven instead. They had been pelting her office windows with hate mail (paper mail to be exact). Cleo wasn’t backing down, no matter how sacred that the Moon Glow coven says that magic is.

She was rummaging through her purse, talking to her assistant and looking for her car keys. When she touches the door to her car, she is transported to the middle of nowhere. When she tries to use her phone, she finds out that it is hexed. She decides to shift to her bear form. While she is deciding where she should go, she finds a captivating scent and decides to follow it.

Titus and Connor are ranch hands on a ranch that is a sanctuary for magical creatures. Titus is a dragon shifter who was cursed when he was 6. When his family discovered that he couldn’t shift, they exiled him. Luckily, Connor, who can see a magical being’s true form, found him. He was able to see Titus’s true form and was able to convince his family to take him in. They have been best friends ever since.

They were alerted that something or someone was coming because the animals in the sanctuary were spooked. What they saw was Cleo running towards the ranch.

Cleo asks if she could use their phone and asks about the sanctuary. She goes into the house, shifted as a bear, and had a close encounter with Daisy, a hell-hound. After changing back to human form, Cleo uses the phone and discovers that if she touches their cell phones, she shorts them out. But if she hands them back to Titus and Connor, they become charged again. Also, if they dial the phone for her, static overtook her voice. If she went near their truck, it would stall and die but worked fine for the boys.

To ease her anger, Connor decides to give her a tour of the ranch. She is in awe seeing animals that she had thought a myth. She went over to pat the unicorns and were met by the centaurs. These centaurs were the wise centaurs that Cleo had heard about. These were, well, not smart.

That night, over dinner, Connor and Titus fill Cleo in on their backgrounds. They tell her that they barely date because they like to share their women, and they can’t find many women that are willing to be in a menage. They also tell Cleo that it is hard to keep the ranch afloat with all the expenses and debt that they have.

Later that night, the centaur and unicorn’s stable catches on fire because of a phoenix flying over. Both men had been lax in keeping track of the molting cycle, one was flying around, and it dropped one of its feathers onto the stable. Connor was able to contain the fire enough to get the unicorns out, but the centaurs were still trapped. They were calling for help (which made me so sad to read). As Titus and Cleo attempt to rescue the centaurs out, 4 of them escape, leaving one in the barn. Titus runs into the stable to save the last one, and Cleo is stunned. She forgets that he is a dragon, and he can’t get burned.

Cleo is so relieved that she decides, on the spot, to have sex with both. On the ground, while covered with soot and in front of the centaurs. That sex scene was beyond hot.

I thought Cleo to be a complete bitch at the beginning of the book. I felt that she deserved what she got when she was transported to the middle of nowhere at the beginning of the book. But then, I changed my mind. She needed a break from her hectic lifestyle, and she needed to rethink how she treated people (I know a few people who need to do that).

I liked Connor and Titus. They both had soft hearts (running a sanctuary for supernatural animals), and they both are good looking. Plus, Titus can walk through fire and not get burned.

The sex scenes, as always, were hot, hot, hot. With there being two guys and one woman, every scene was a scorcher.

The end of the book was what I expected but sweet at the same time.

I would give Alpha’s Mates an Adult rating. There is sex. There is language. There is mild violence. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I would reread Alphas Mates. I would recommend it to family and friends.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**

Alpha’s Heir (Bear Shifter Billionaire: Book 1) by A.J. Tipton

Alpha's Heir: A BBW Paranormal Romance (Bear Shifter Billionaire Book 1) by [Tipton, AJ]

4 Stars

Publisher: Savvy Storytelling LLC

Date of publication: February 12th, 2015

Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Erotica

Series: Bear Shifter Billionaire

Alpha’s Heir – Book 1

Alpha’s Mates – Book 2

Alpha’s Domain – Book 3

Where you can find this book: Amazon

Book synopsis:

A sexy billionaire controlled by his clan. A voluptuous chef who’s never felt good enough. Will they find the freedom that only love can bring?

Handsome billionaire shifter Orson has everything a man could want — money, looks, respect — except the power to control his own life. His father, the clan’s alpha, has arranged for Orson to marry a woman from another clan for strategic purposes, leaving him trapped in a life without passion. That is until he meets the curvy woman of his dreams…

Casey is a talented chef who dreams of having her own catering business. But the only real passion she’s been able to find is in giving people pleasure through the food she cooks.

When Orson invites Casey to his home, a misunderstanding gives way to a life-changing passion that could change both their lives. His freedom comes at a high price… but has Orson finally found a love that’s worth the cost?

Alpha’s Heir is a BBW paranormal romance novella in the “Bear Shifter Billionaire” series, a set of stand-alone stories that sizzle and satisfy. If you like steamy romance, drool-worthy cooking, and harrowing shifter battles, then you’ll love AJ Tipton’s breathtaking book.

My review:

Alpha’s Heir starts with Orson’s father, Nikolai, trashing his house after finding Orson in bed with a human woman. Nikolai looks down on Orson because, while he has padded the coffers for the clan. Nikolai keeps telling Orson that he had defeated the Alpha of the clan at his age and seems to think he is weak because he sells computer software. Nikolai is just waiting for the day that Orson breaks and challenges him, which Orson refuses to do.

Nikolai is also dead set on keeping the arranged marriage between Orson and Cleo, the Alpha of another clan. Both Cleo and Nikolai are dead set against marrying each other but cannot find a way out. That is until Orson meets Casey.

Casey works at a supernatural bar called Audrey’s as a waitress and has become friends with Audrey, the proprietor, and Lola, another waitress. Casey meets Orson one night after he wins the Shift Challenge (think of a Tough Mudder competition but for shifters). She talked to Lola and Audrey about the truck full of food that she has parked outside because someone canceled on her. Orson, overhearing her with his keen shifter hearing, follows her out and pays for the food.

Orson has always been attracted to Casey and was excited to find out that she doesn’t date. He starts fantasizing about her and well, starts pleasuring himself. Which is excellent but with a greasy fried chicken hand? All I can think of is the smell. Just think, cum and greasy chicken. Yum.

Anyways, Cleo walks in and talks to him about making a move on Casey and ending the engagement. Cleo thinks that he should challenge his father for Alpha, in two weeks. She also feels that he should make a move Casey.

Which he does.

The sex was hot, hot, hot. Orson and Casey were all over each other from the minute they were both undressed in Orson’s bedroom, and it just didn’t stop.

I couldn’t stand Nikolai. He came off as an abusive jerk who was a very sore loser. What I couldn’t understand was why he felt the need to trash Orson’s place every time he was there (mainly to break up sex and scare the humans). I felt, at the beginning of the book, that he was the ultimate cockblocker.

For a short story, this packed a lot of punch and I liked that there were really no other storylines except the Orson/Casey/Nikolai one. The one between Orson and Cleo was wrapped up rather early. I do have to say that I liked Cleo.

The end of the story was cute and perfect for the book.

I would give Alpha’s Heir an Adult rating. There is sex. There is language. There is mild violence. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I would reread Alpha’s Heir. I would recommend it to family and friends.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**

The Aureate Spectacles by Eliott McKay

The Aureate Spectacles: A Vampire Romance Novel by [McKay, Eliott]

4 Stars

Publisher: Inkitt

Publication date: December 31st, 2016

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance

Where you can find this book: Amazon

Book synopsis:

Michaela was a seemingly normal high school senior, hiding behind a pair of hideous spectacles that masked her true identity. When she’s abducted by an intriguing werewolf, she learns that her father was a powerful vampire, and she has been chosen to protect his city from her predatory kin.

As the situation grows dire, the fate of the city rests in her hands, and she must choose between peace for her people or the man she’s growing to love.

My review:

Michaela has lived with her Aunt Hazel for as long as she could remember. Her parents were killed in a hiking accident when she was three years old, and Hazel had raised her since. Hazel was an icy, uncaring person who ignored Michaela unless she had to pay attention to her. It was a lonely existence made even more so because Michaela had to wear hideous, rhinestone-encrusted, yellow lens spectacles.

The glasses were a bane of her existence. The older she got, the more hideous the glasses got. She was bullied relentlessly and had no friends. By the time Michaela was almost 18, she had somewhat resigned herself to her life until she found a pocket watch with a miniature portrait of a beautiful dark-haired woman in it.

The portrait made her feel loved and filled by looking at it. During this time, she started having dreams of a mossy pond in a courtyard of stone and a voice that called her name, Kayla. She would also hear a song that she couldn’t quite catch and would hum the melody. But once she realized what she was doing, the song would disappear.

Then there came the night that Aunt Hazel woke Michaela from a nightmare. One where she was talking French and calling for Conrad. During Aunt Hazel’s interrogation, the pocket watch was discovered and Aunt Hazel went nuts.

Aunt Hazel freaked out. She fitted Michaela with what she considered a dog muzzle with straps coming out of it. That apparatus was to hold the glasses in place while Michaela slept. Aunt Hazel upped up security around the house to an almost wild pitch. She went as far as to board up Michaela’s windows, made it so the door locked from the outside only and was outfitted with a triple lock. Michaela had no idea why, but she believed that it had something to do with why she had to wear those ugly glasses all the time.

She ends up making a break for freedom after Hazel takes to locking her in her room. Getting rid of the spectacles, she is a hit at school. After school, as she is walking down the street, she runs into a mysterious young man whom Michaela feels that she knows and who knows more than he is letting on.

Returning home, she has a confrontation with Hazel that was a long time coming. She learns that her mother had sent her to Hazel. Her mother believed that she would be safer with Hazel. The man who delivered Michaela to Hazel told her that she would be safer if her eyes were hidden and faked Michaela’s death. Michaela was able to pry out her mother’s name and her father’s name from Hazel. Hazel also told her that her last name was fake. Instead of Morley, it was Mohrlock. Hazel also implies that Julian is still alive.

The next day Michaela was whisked away by a mysterious man. After being out of commission for four days, Michaela wakes up to find herself on a boat in the middle of the Black Sea. What the man tells her, stuns her.

She is the heir to a land called Mons Maledictio Ruwa (rough translation: Cursed Mountain of Thunder), and her name is Michaela Alandria de Mohrlock Comptesse. She is the daughter to Julian Philip Benoit de Mohrlock and Marguerite Emmaline Fitzwallis…both deceased.

It is after she arrives at the castle that her adventures begin. After attempting to escape the castle by climbing down the side (and getting stuck), she is put right away into intrigue. Every year, she is supposed to go to a summit with the people who live on the other side of the mountain. They are called the Sylva, and they have a shaky treaty with Michaela’s people.

Michaela was a hoot to read, and I loved her character. She was loyal, loves deeply, and is willing to do anything to protect her people from the Sylva. I loved her misadventures.

Conrad was such a mystery, and I liked how the author drew out Conrad’s secrets. He was also perfect for Michaela.

The romance between Michaela and Conrad was cute to read. Painful in some parts but very cute.

The secondary characters are what made this book. They were well written and didn’t fizzle off into the background once their storylines ended. The author kept them in the story. When the bad things happened in the book, and yes, some pretty upsetting things happened, these same secondary characters were right there with Michaela and Conrad.

The end of the book was bittersweet. I wish that there was an epilogue that followed up with the characters. Some of the storylines were not wrapped up, including the V and W storylines. I wonder if there will be a second book. I have questions about certain characters that I would like to see answered.

I would give The Aureate Spectacles an Older Teen rating. There is sex. There is language. There is mild violence. I would recommend that no one under the age of 16 read this book.

I would reread The Aureate Spectacles. I would recommend it to family and friends.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**

Unexpected (Athletic Affairs: Book 1) by April Fire

Unexpected: Secret Baby of a Star Athlete (Hot and Sweaty) by [Fire, April]

4 Stars

Publisher

Date of publication: November 22nd, 2016

Genre: Romance, Erotica

Series: Athletic Affairs

Unexpected—Book 1

Cutting Ice—Book 2 (Review Here)

Hit Hard—Book 3

Knockout—Book 4

Where you can find this book: Amazon

Book Synopsis:

A ruined wedding. A star athlete. Paparazzi.
And… a secret baby.

What could go wrong?

Dumped at the altar…
Betrayed by my maid of honor…

Still reeling from the shock of my life, when an old crush sweeps me off my feet and onto the sticky, hard surface of an empty bar counter.

Was I destined to be a single mom, trapped in a small town, or would my well-muscled hero come to my rescue?

My review:

It is the day of Kyra’s wedding and her husband to be, David, has just told her that he couldn’t marry her. After running to her hotel room, in a reasonable state of extreme upsetness, she texts her best friend and maid of honor, Tam.

Tam shows up a few minutes after the text, and before Kyra could start saying “Why did he do this to me,” she reveals that she and David were together, and she was the reason David canceled the wedding, which leaves Kyra in a state of disbelief. So, what does she do, she starts drinking and ignoring everyone who comes to her door except for Jones.

Jones is a football star and happens to be David and Kyra’s friend from high school. He was supposed to be David’s best man but, like everyone, was left stunned when David called the wedding off at last-minute and left with Tam. Jones is concerned for Kyra and suggests that she goes to where the reception was going to be held and have a few drinks.

That ended up with Kyra and Jones having sex on the bar and then moving to her hotel room. He left Kyra in the morning with a note, and she moves on with her life. She has gotten over David and Tam’s betrayal and Jones’s not such a smooth move the morning after.

Then she realizes that she hasn’t had her period and she is always like clockwork. So she goes, buys a pregnancy test, and takes it. Guess what, she’s pregnant, and Jones is the father.

She contacts Jones intending to tell him. Instead, they spend a week screwing each other’s brains out. Then, in a fit of anger, after Jones said to her that he was seeing someone else, she tells him. He doesn’t take the news very well and she heads home intending to be a single mother.

I loved Kyra. I wondered how she didn’t just go nutso on her scumbag ex and her ex-best friend. I really don’t because if it were me, I would have killed them. Well, I wouldn’t have gone that far but I would have at least beaten Tam down. I do think that her sleeping with Jones was part of the shock of what happened, at first. And her reaction when she found out she was pregnant, I think every single woman who has had an unplanned pregnancy can relate.

Jones came across as a tool until the restaurant scene. I thought that he wasn’t going to step up by his reaction when Kyra told him that she was pregnant. But, thinking about it, how would you react if you were told by a girl that you had just spent the week having awesome sex with that she was pregnant because the condom failed.

The sex between Jones and Kyra was off the wall hot. And it seems that Kyra was into having sex in public places.

The end of the book was great. I do love HEA’s .

I would give Unexpected an Adult rating. There is sex. There is language. There is mild violence. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I would reread Unexpected. I would recommend it to family and friends.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**

For the Children (Cameron, Utah: Book 2) by Margaret Watson

For the Children (Cameron Cowboys Book 2) by [Watson, Margaret]

4 Stars

Publisher: Dragonfly Press

Date of publication: October 7th, 2016

Genre: Romance

Series: Cameron, Utah

Rodeo Man – Book 1 (review here)

For The Children – Book 2

Cowboy with a Badge – Book 3

The Fugitive Bride – Book 4

The Marriage Protection Program – Book 5

Where you can find this book: Amazon

Book synopsis:

His assignment is FBI agent Damien Kane’s worst nightmare – guarding two young children who witnessed a murder. Since he lost his family, Damien goes out of his way to avoid children. Now he’ll spend every day and every night with two of them. Their aunt won’t let the girls out of her sight – which means Damien is also spending every minute with Abby Markham. That wouldn’t be a problem, except the emotions, Abby stirs in Damien are feelings he thought he’d buried long ago.

Abby’s only goal is keeping her nieces safe until their mother comes home. She’s determined not to be distracted by the sexy FBI agent assigned to guard them. But in spite of Damien’s cold façade, she longs to ease the pain in his eyes and lose herself in the warmth he tries to hide.

Damien won’t let himself love again. Abby can’t give in to her desire for Damien. When love and danger collide, will either of them survive the explosion?

My review:

Abby is not a stranger to watching her sister’s twin daughters when she went on business trips. But something was different this time. Her nieces were suffering from nightmares, were clingy, and had personality changes. What is concerning Abby even more, she cannot get a hold of her sister.

Everything changes when Abby hears some strange noises in her basement. Terrified, she leaves with them to eat ice cream and calls the police to her house. Abby is scared because she noticed a person sitting in a car outside her home, watching her, the day before. She doesn’t know what is going on, but she has a feeling that her sister and nieces are somehow involved in it.

Her questions are answered when an FBI agent shows up at the ice cream parlor to escort her house. The agent, Damien Kane, believes that her nieces saw a murder at her sister’s job (she worked at a construction site), her sister found out and was able to get her daughters’ to Abby before being whisked off for a “business” trip out of the country.

Damien is there to protect the girls until they are ready to tell him what they saw that day. So, after a disastrous trip to the FBI psychologist, Damien decides to take Abby and the girls to Cameron, Utah. He figures that there is no safer place than there. Well, it doesn’t end up that way. The killers somehow follow them there, and from that point on, it is a game of cat and mouse.

Damien was such a tortured person for most of the book. The author did a great job of not telling everything about what made him so tortured. All I knew, until almost the end, was that he tragically lost a child three years before. But, when the full story was revealed, I cried. No wonder he shut himself off, and no wonder that Maggie and Casey affected him so much.

Abby irked me. While she came across as one of those people who took in strays, people, and animals, she didn’t act like it at times. I understand she was scared for her nieces, but she hindered the investigation when she put off letting the psychologist talk to them. And when he did and made the girls cry, she swooped in and put an end to it. But, I can understand where she was coming from. She just found out that they might have seen a murder and she can’t get in touch with her sister. She was scared to death.

The romance between Damien and Abby was bittersweet. Damien was caught up in his grief that he couldn’t give Abby anything but sex. Abby, however, started off the same way but quickly fell in love with him.

The sex scenes between them were great. The only thing that I got weirded out about was when he was feeling her up when they took the girls swimming. That made me go kinda “Eh” when I read it. But the other sex scenes were fantastic, and they were boiling.

The ending was standard but pretty good. I did like that Damien had to go looking for Abby and the surprise that she had waiting for him and his reaction got me teary-eyed as did the reason she didn’t contact him. The other storylines were wrapped up in a pretty satisfactory way.

While this is a book 2 in the Cameron, Utah series, you can read it as a standalone. There are mentions to book one, but, and I liked this, this book was taking place at the same time as the events in Rodeo Man. You know something is going on, but the focus is on the events going on in this book if that makes sense.

I would give For the Children an Adult rating. There is sex. There is language. There is mild violence. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I would reread For the Children. I would recommend it to family and friends.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**

Lost in Time (The Fine Art of Deception: Book 3) by Alyssa Richards

Lost in Time: A Time Travel Romance Book Series (The Fine Art of Deception 3) by [Richards, Alyssa]

4 Stars

Publisher:

Date of publication: November 22nd, 2016

Genre: Romance, Suspense, Mystery, Paranormal, Thriller

Series: The Fine Art of Deception

Undoing Time – Book 1 (Review here)

Somewhere In Time – Book 2 (Review here)

Lost In Time – Book 3

Where you can find this book: Amazon

Book synopsis:

Searching for the answers she needs, will Addie lose everything she has?

Adeline “Addie” Montgomery is searching for the truth. As she and Blake travel back to 1922, she expects her nemesis Otto is behind a string of art forgeries. The only problem is that the villain has completely disappeared. Addie must now find Otto without blowing her cover to keep the past intact, as long as a lover from a past life doesn’t get in the way…

Blake Greenwood wants nothing more than to catch Otto and return to the present with Addie, the love of his life. When his mother goes missing as well, he leaves Addie alone with his half-brother to save his family. As the future begins to change in unexpected ways, Blake and Addie begin to question everything. Can they find Otto and save their relationship before what they had disappears for good?

Lost In Time is the third book in an absorbing series of paranormal romance time travel novels. If you like museum capers, psychic powers, time travel, and steamy romance, then you’ll love Alyssa Richards’ thrilling conclusion to the Fine Art of Deception Series.

My review:

Lost in Time starts two years after Addie, Blake, and Philippe were sent through a painting by Otto. After making sure they weren’t able to get home, Otto then kidnapped Carolena, Blake’s mother and disappears. Blake has searched tirelessly for the paintings. Also, in the past with them are Addie’s father and grandfather, also banished there by Otto.

Addie and Blake have been cautious about who they talk to in the past. They do not want to change future events. That comes to a head when Blake meets Sarah, who Addie is reincarnated as in the future, and Addie meets Jack, who is Blake reincarnated in the future. Taken by surprise by a kiss, Addie warns Jack to be careful. What happens with those words changes her and Blake’s future and present in a big way

Addie also has become very irritated by her relationship with Blake. In the two years that they have been there, he has become very focused on finding his mother and a way home, leaving Addie feeling alone and abandoned. The only way that they connect these days is when they have sex, and even then, Blake is holding a piece of himself back.

Then they get word that Carolena is definitely in Paris, and they all head there to get her. Meanwhile, back in the future, Addie’s grandmother notices that a weird cloud is covering Blake in every single picture that they have. She finally realizes that something must have happened in the past for Blake to start being erased and sends word to Addie through the first edition of an F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book. They use that book to communicate with everyone.

I loved that the author chose to make Blake and Addie got through relationship difficulties, instead of everything is peachy keen. The ups and downs of their relationship were so realistic and added so much to the book. I mean, even Addie pleading with Blake to please open up, to please let her in, is something that everyone is relationships have said at one point.

Addie was a fish out of water in the early 1920s. I don’t know if I would have been able to pull off what society expected a woman in the era to be, and I give her props for doing it.

I was a little disappointed that we didn’t see Addie’s gifts in full force in this book. I mean, she did talk to 2 ghosts, she was able to pick up on Carolena just by touching a tub, and she used her abilities to see if the paintings were a forgery or not (and her other gift was also used). I just wanted to see her interact more with the ghosts. I know, weird.

Blake had the weight of the world on his shoulders, and I felt terrible for him. He was trying to protect (or control, depends on how you look at it) Addie, find his mother, find Otto, and find the paintings that can bring them home. Blake has been at it for two years, and I am surprised that he didn’t crack under pressure. He was at one point in the book, starting to act just like his father. I wanted to reach through and give him a smack on the back of the head and tell him to knock it off.

The sex scenes between Blake and Addie was as hot as ever. Those scenes scorched the pages; they were so hot, which was very good.

The end of the book was sad, in places, and it was what I expected. All of the storylines were resolved in a very satisfactory way. I will say that I didn’t expect the people to stay in the past who stayed. Looking back, there were signs, but I was still surprised.

The series as a whole was excellent. I think I learned more about art from this series of books, then I expected.

I would give Lost in Time an Adult rating. There are sexual situations. There is language. There is violence. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I would reread Lost in Time. I would recommend it to family and friends.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**

Devil’s Honor (The Devil’s Keepers: Book 1) by Megan Crane

Devil's Honor: The Devil's Keepers by [Crane, Megan]

3 Stars

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Loveswept, Loveswept

Publication Date: November 1st, 2016

Genre: Romance

Series: The Devil Keeper’s

Devil’s Honor – Book 1

Devil’s Mark – Book 2

Devil’s Own – Book 3

Where you can find this book: Amazon

Goodreads synopsis:

In the start of a sizzling new series, bestselling author Megan Crane takes readers deep into bayou country, where the sultry swamp has nothing on the heat of Louisiana’s fiercest bikers: the Devil’s Keepers.
 
Merritt Broussard grew up knowing she had two choices if she stayed in Lagrange: run with the outlaws or get left in their dust. So she got the hell out, leaving behind a bad-boy biker and scorching memories of their summer fling. Now Merritt’s back, with trouble on her tail, and the sergeant-at-arms of the Devil’s Keepers is the one person she can still trust. But Greeley isn’t the boy she remembers. He’s harder now, more dangerous—and even more alluring.
 
Joseph “Greeley” Shaw loves two things: his bike and his club. At eighteen, he escaped a rough life, found the Devil’s Keepers on the wrong side of a bad weekend, and never looked back. Greeley swore to live and die by their code: Devil’s Keepers first, Devil’s Keepers forever. No one comes between him and his brothers—except for the tantalizing woman who touched his soul. Greeley’s the kind of man who honors his commitments . . . and Merritt is one promise he’s determined to keep.

My review:

Merritt Broussard had vowed that she would never return to Lagrange, La after finally escaping it when she was 18. She was briefly tempted when she was 22, about to go to law school, and came home on break. What, or should I say, who lured her? A biker named Greeley, who was a member of the Devil’s Keepers, the local biker club that ran Lagrange. She was hellbent on getting out of Lagrange and getting away from her swamp rat roots, and she left, breaking Greeley’s heart.

Five years later, and Merritt is returning to the one place she vowed she would never go back. Lagrange. She didn’t even return there when her father died, that’s how much she hated her hometown. The only reason she is returned is that she has an abusive ex-boyfriend and her hometown is the last place that he would look.

But Greeley is in Lagrange, and Merritt knew that it would be a matter of time before he showed up. The last time she saw him, he warned her about coming back.

Greeley is at the club’s clubhouse when another brother tells him that Merritt is back in Lagrange and staying at her father’s house. He leaves the clubhouse and has a confrontation with Merritt that almost ends with sex. Almost because right as he was sliding home, the phone rings, and he has to go back to the clubhouse.

Merritt and Greeley do hook up, and oh boy, is it hot. The pages burned when they had sex. And, of course, they do it bareback. If you have been reading my blog for any length of time, you know how I feel about that. Like I have said in previous blogs, I really should start a movement: Safe Sex For Fictional People (SSFFP)….lmao.

Anyways, back to the review.

The plotline with Merritt’s abusive boyfriend was anticlimactic. After what Merritt told her best friend, I thought that Antony would be more of a badass. Instead, when he did make an appearance, he came across as flat. I don’t know how to describe it. I was expecting Greeley to kill him and was a little put off that he got away with just a beating (hey, I’m bloodthirsty sometimes).

The end of the book was pretty good. All the storylines got wrapped up, and there is a HEA for Merritt and Greeley. I am pretty excited to read the other two books in this series once they come out, and I do hope that the author doesn’t stop with just 2. There are a few characters that I would like to read their stories.

I would give Devil’s Honor an Adult rating. There are sexual situations. There is language. There is violence. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I would reread Devil’s Honor. I would recommend it to family and friends.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**

King’s Lament by Lilia Blanc

King's Lament by [Blanc, Lilia]

4 Stars

Publisher: Inkitt

Date of publication: December 10th, 2016

Genre: Fantasy, Romance, LGBT

Where you can find this book: Amazon

Book synopsis:

Betrayed by his advisors, only the love of two mysterious men can rescue Inea and save his kingdom.

After the death of his father, Inea finds himself the unprepared king of a country at war. When his council forsakes him, and he’s thrown into the dungeons of his own castle, the young man manages to escape only with the help of the intriguing stranger Ansyn.

After one year in hiding, Inea, driven by desire, seeks out Ansyn and discovers that there is more to his savior than he could have ever hoped for. Joined by their new ally Kaedon, passion builds, and they find themselves in a romance that helps fuel their plan to reclaim the throne.

My review:

This book was fantastic and I loved reading it. I usually read at night, after the kids go to bed, but this book got escalated to daytime reading.

I am going, to be honest, I couldn’t stand Inea. He came across as a sheltered, spoiled kid who had no clue how to take care of himself. He was always crying over something. I wanted to reach through the book, smack him, tell him to stop crying and start working on how he was going to get his kingdom back – which he eventually did. He also was constantly getting hurt, which baffled me. You would think, with the experienced men/women around him, that he would have been better at defending himself (because they would have had some sort of lessons with him) or that they would be better at keeping him from getting hurt. But, he wasn’t. I mean, Ansym and Kaedon did eventually teach him to defend himself but still.

He did have some good, redeeming qualities. He cared about his people and wanted to get his throne back from the Queen. He loved with all of his heart. He had to have been the most kind-hearted main characters that I have read in a while. But like I said above, I couldn’t get past how he acted in the first half of the book. Drove me crazy go nuts.

I loved Ansym. He is a badass. He could play the violin like a pro and used that talent to stir up a small amount of civil unrest about the Queen’s rule He was also a trained assassin and I wouldn’t want to be on his bad side. Nope, no way. What he does to his enemies (thinking about the boy, Dae, here) is something I wouldn’t wish on my most hated enemy.

He doesn’t show a soft side in the book until he meets Kaedon. At first, what was between them was just sex but you could just see Ansym falling in love with him. I loved watching his walls come down and seeing him fall for someone. Then Inea was added into the mix and seeing him try to battle his feelings for Kaedon and Inea was heartbreaking. When you find out why then you can understand why he was afraid of falling in love.

I do wish that Kaedon did come clean to Inea and Ansym a little earlier in the book. It could have saved Inea an injury/heartbreak and Ansym heartbreak if he did. But on the other hand, I can see why he didn’t.

The sex between all three men was crazy hot. I thought the first time between Kaedon and Ansym was hot but the threesome between Inea, Ansym, and Kaedon was burning and every sex scene after that was just as hot.

Ansym and Kaedon’s ages were a big surprise. For some reason, my mental image of Ansym was of an older man. It was fueled by how he talked about himself and how the others in the party treated him. So, yeah, I was surprised when he finally revealed his age.

The end of the book was pretty routine and the main storyline (plus the other storylines) got wrapped up in a pretty dramatic way. Giving away a small spoiler here but the last battle scene was fantastic and the way it ended. Let’s just say that I felt very, very satisfied after reading it. I like it when a book makes me feel like that.

I would give King’s Lament an Adult rating. There are explicit sexual situations. There is language. There is violence. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I would reread King’s Lament. I would recommend it to family and friends.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**

Can’t Forget (Solum: Book 2) by Colleen S. Myers

Can't Forget: If she can't forget her past, she won't have a future. (Solum Series Book 2) by [Myers, Colleen S.]

3 Stars

Publisher: Champagne Books

Date of publication: June 6th, 2016

Genre: Romance, Fantasy

Series: Solum

Must Remember – Book 1

Can’t Forget – Book 2

Distant Memory—Book 3

Before the Fall—Book 4

Where you can find this book: Amazon

Book synopsis:

Like Roswell meets Lost in Space.

Four months have passed since the E’mani—those pale alien freaks—destroyed the Earth and scooped up the remains. Elizabeth “Beta” Camden was one of those taken. But she escapes and confronts her prior captors successfully with the help of their enemies. Yet she knows the E’mani won’t forget about her. She should stay vigilant and ready. Her heart refuses to listen. Beta falls in love with Marin—he of the hot hands and slit eyes.

Too bad she was right.

This time the E’mani don’t come in force. This time the E’mani slip in silently. And any hope she had of a peaceful life is lost. Beta knows what she has to do and it isn’t playing house. She leaves in the dead of night to find the E’mani stronghold and end them once and for all. But love is a tricky bitch. And Marin refuses to let her throw her life away. It takes a threat to his safety to make her realize, if she can’t forget her past, she won’t have a future.

My review:

I have been spoiled lately. Up until this book, all of the books that I have gotten that have been second books in a series have been standalone. I could read those books and not have to worry about the back story. Then I read this book and broke my streak.

From what I can gather, Elizabeth Camden (aka Beata) was involved in an attack against the E’mani (creepy pale aliens). Her allies are the Fost, long-time enemies of the E’mani. I am going to go out on a limb and say that this book starts a few weeks after that attack.

I could not connect with Beata and actually disliked her during a good part of the book. She came across as abrasive and insecure. My feelings did change towards her but I had to struggle not to let them slide back into the dislike category.

I did feel bad for her during her flashbacks. Back to when she was with the E’mani. I actually shuddered when reading those scenes, they were bad. I wouldn’t wish what she went through on my worse enemy.

The middle of the book is when I started changing my feelings towards Beata. To suffer such a tragedy was unthinkable and I cried with her. But to go off and not tell her husband, not the best decision she made. Then all of the assumptions that she was making about Marin and the other Fost woman were immature. I could see that nothing was happening with Marin. I wanted to reach through the book, slap her and say “Stop being silly before you lose him for good.”

The end of the book was fantastic, with a ton of action and one heck of an ending.

I would give Can’t Forget an Adult rating. There are sexual situations. There is language. There is violence. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I am on the fence if I would reread Can’t Forget. I am on the fence if I would recommend it to family and friends.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**

Throne of Novoxos (Van Laven Chronicles: Book 1) by Tyler Chase

THRONE OF NOVOXOS: VAN LAVEN CHRONICLES (Book 1) by [Chase, Tyler]

4 Stars

Publisher: Tyler Chase

Date of publication: July 15th, 2014

Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Romance

Series: Van Laven Chronicles

Throne of Novoxos – Book 1

Shadow Reign – Book 2

Where you can find this book: Amazon

Book synopsis:

All she wanted was to save a life, even if he was her sworn enemy. She didn’t mean to make him fall in love. She didn’t mean to make him break his vow to his people. And sparking a war was the absolute last thing she ever wanted. But all this and more confronts Vaush as she embarks on an epic journey to restore order to the Empire and to take her rightful place with him by her side.

My review:

Another example of me judging a book by its cover/blurb. I really need to stop doing that because I always end up making a fool out of myself when writing the review.

This is a Romeo and Juliet type love story coupled with some good old-fashioned science fiction and fantasy elements mixed in. The only way that it differs from Romeo and Juliet is that Comron and Vaush do not die a star crossed lovers’ death. They come close a few times but they don’t die.

Comron and his father, Crausin, have one of the most complex and disgusting relationships that I have read. They are telepathic, which was fascinating. Especially something major was revealed to Vaush from Comron towards the end of the story. They didn’t use their telepathy to always talk to each other. Crausin used it to take over while Comron is having sex. So, a telepathic threesome. They also shared their women in the physical sense too.

Vaush is the youngest daughter of Larrs Bastionli, the Duke of Tir-Laros. She is also Comron and Crausin’s mortal enemy. Vaush is a woman who loves nothing more than to stay out of her father’s path and do what she loves, which is helping others less fortunate than her.

Vaush and Comron’s paths cross when the transport that she is on is attacked by a terrorist. A bomb explodes, causing the transport to crash. Vaush is largely uninjured but Comron is gravely injured. Vaush finds him in the wreckage, discovers who he is and decides to save him. Comron returns the favor after a panther attacks Vaush in the jungle.

While they are trekking towards the east coast, and hopefully rescue, Vaush and Comron fall in love and do the dirty. They vow to keep seeing each other, on the down-low, after they are rescued.

Once they are rescued, a huge secret about Vaush comes to light. She is the legal heir of the Emperor’s throne. The Emperor took her mother as his first wife, much to the dismay of his ex-wife and their children. When her mother got pregnant, she disappeared and was assumed to have died and her child along with her. Which wasn’t the case. Her transport was waylaid by Larrs Bastionli, her mother severely injured but kept alive to deliver Vaush and then were either killed or died after her birth. Larrs kept Vaush and raised her as his own child. But with the plan that when she old enough, that she will become the Empress and Tir-Laros will have the backing of the Empress.

Only, it didn’t quite turn out that way. There is murder and mayhem once her secret is leaked. The only true ally that Vaush has is Comron but even that is questioned when huge secrets from his past are revealed to her.

I never thought that I would ever say this in a science fiction/fantasy but the sex scenes are insanely good. Each sex scene was better than the next. I loved it!!

The ending of the book threw me for a loop and made me question Comron and his loyalty to Vaush. There were other instances that made me go “Eh” but when I read what I read at the end, I went “Ooooooo….no he didn’t!!” I am actually going to buy the 2nd book because I want to know what happens next.

I would give Throne of Novoxos an Adult rating. There are sexual situations. There is language. There is violence. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I would reread Throne of Novoxos. I would recommend it to family and friends.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**