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Review Round Up #13

Posted April 16, 2020 by Lily B in Reviews / 15 Comments

This book may be unsuitable for people under 17 years of age due to its use of sexual content, drug and alcohol use, and/or violence.
Review Round Up #13Heartbreak Warfare by Heather M. Orgeron, Kate Stewart
Series: Standalone
Published by Self-published on November 1, 2018
Genres: Military Romance, New Adult, Contemporary Romance
Pages: 381
Format: Kindle Edition
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Buy on Amazon
Rating:4.5 Stars
Heat:three-half-flames

Briggs,
Remember when we parted ways in Germany? It was the day I broke your heart. What you didn't know was that I was breaking mine too.
I thought they’d be enough–my husband and my son. That I’d get home and everything would go back to the way it was . . .
Before the war. Before the ambush. Before you.
But, no matter how hard I try, I can’t erase the trauma we shared. I can’t seem to forget the way my heart beat in time with yours.
The truth is I’m lost without you.
I thought the nightmare was over when they pulled us from that hole in the ground, but nothing could have prepared me for the war I’d face at home.I know it’s selfish of me to ask, but, please, I have to see you one last time. . .
All my love, Scottie

I went into this book blindly on the whim. I wanted something different. I want a romance, but I wanted something I’ve never read before. I stumbled onto Heartbreak Warfare and boy did this book take me by surprise.

Emotional, dark and gritty are a few terms that come to mind. The romance is angsty, the characters are amazing and well fleshed out. The two authors take you on a rollercoaster ride from the beginning of how Briggs and Scottie got thrown together, through the horrors they have undergone and how these events eventually frame them as a person.

This romance is not for the faint of heart. It comes with its own trigger warnings, including abuse, cheating, and rape. Some parts were hard to read, some parts were downright heartbreaking and hard to get through. I thought the two authors did an amazing job crafting the story, crafting the characters that felt so real you couldn’t help but care for them. I found myself on the edge glued to the pages wondering how everything would turn out.

I love how the romance was handled, I love the way the authors handled everything. It really makes me want to explore what else I missed from them.

This book may be unsuitable for people under 17 years of age due to its use of sexual content, drug and alcohol use, and/or violence.
Review Round Up #13Dear Ava by Ilsa Madden-Mills
Series: Standalone
Published by Self-published on February 1, 2020
Genres: New Adult, Contemporary Romance
Pages: 376
Format: Kindle Edition
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Buy on Amazon
Heat:three-flames

WSJ bestselling author Ilsa Madden-Mills delivers a gripping enemies-to-lovers, secret admirer, high school romance.
The rich and popular Sharks rule at prestigious, ivy-covered Camden Prep. Once upon a time, I wanted to be part of their world--until they destroyed me.
The last thing I expected was an anonymous love letter from one of them.
Please. I hate every one of those rich jerks for what they did to me. The question is, which Shark is my secret admirer?
Knox, the scarred quarterback.Dane, his twin brother.Or Chance, the ex who dumped me. . .
Dear Ava,Your eyes are the color of the Caribbean Sea.Wait. That's stupid.What I really mean is, you look at me and I feel something REAL.
It's been ten months since you were here, but I can't forget you.I've missed seeing you walk down the hall.I've missed you cheering at my football games.I've missed the smell of your hair.
And then everything fell apart the night of the kegger.
Don't hate me because I'm a Shark.I just want to make you mine.Still.

Mature Content. Recommended for 18+.
A short excerpt of Dear Ava appeared in Team Player 2. (No longer available) This all-new, full-length version is 376 pages and 100,000 words.

An enemies-to-lovers, secret admirer, older high school romance.

Ava used to want to fit into the Sharks world, a bunch of rich and popular kids who ruled Camden Prep until one party that ruined her.

No one believes her when she says she was sexually assaulted, and the last year was supposed to be her way of taking back control of her life, revenge and finding out who hurt her. And then there’s Knox and a secret admirer love letter that keeps appearing in her locker.

Dear Ava, is another gritty romance that tackles sexual assault and how some victims that don’t remember, because she had been drugged, may cope.

Ava and Knox drew me in. I love the whirlwind of emotions between them that had me hooked. I loved the banter. I loved the tension. I thought Ava was a strong character despite everything that life threw at her and I admired her strength and resilience in a world that was stacked against her. I admired Knox and what he did for her as well. I thought the two were great characters.

The characters in this book are both 18 years old, it’s not a high school romance for the younger audiences.

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Review Round Up #6

Posted May 12, 2019 by Lily B in Reviews / 13 Comments

This book may be unsuitable for people under 17 years of age due to its use of sexual content, drug and alcohol use, and/or violence.
Review Round Up #6Deadly Obsession by April Hunt
Series: Steele Ops, #1
Published by Forever on April 30, 2019
Genres: Romantic Suspense
Pages: 416
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Rating:4 Stars
Heat:three-flames

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

“April Hunt’s romantic suspense will keep you on the edge of your seat.”—New York Times bestselling author Lori Foster
Someone is watching their every move.
After a lifetime spent in and out of hospitals, Zoey Wright is tired of playing it safe. She’s ready to take charge of her own life and get out of her comfort zone, starting with a new job as a CSI agent. But when her childhood crush Knox Steele gets pulled onto her case, Zoey needs to put her feelings for him aside or more women will die at the hands of the serial killer preying on her hometown.
Former Army Ranger Knox Steele is back in Washington to help his brothers open an elite private security firm. He never expected to stumble onto a crime scene, or see his best friend’s little sister working it. Zoey is all grown up now, and the attraction between them is electric, despite his best efforts to resist it. But all that changes for Knox when he realizes the victims have one thing in common . . . and Zoey might be next.

After spending most of her life in and out of the hospital Zoey Wright is done playing it safe. She is ready to get out of her comfort zone and take charge of her own life, starting with her new job as a CSI agent. All of that is easier said than done when you have an overprotective, overbearing brother Cade and his friends the Steele brothers. All to whom Zoey has been nothing but a little sister, including Cade’s best friend Knox. But Zoey does not want Knox to see her as a little sister. Knox is just “passing” through and the last thing he wants is to get attached, too bad that Zoey is ready to meet that challenge. Meanwhile, there is a serial killer on the loose called the Cupid Killer who has the tendency to murder his victims and leaving them with a cut the shape of a heart on their chest, and Zoey fits the profile.

I really enjoyed this one more than I expected. I loved all the Steele brothers, especially Roman and Knox and this book was a great start to what is promising to be an enjoyable series.

I thoroughly loved Knox and Zoey. Zoey with her spunky go get them personality, that has undergone so much in her life and Knox with his protectiveness over Zoey as well as his search to find where he belongs. These two made such a cute couple with their touch and go relationship, I found myself really rooting for them.

I did find that the book meandered a bit at times. The action with the serial killer mostly happens in the end, this is mostly a romance novel first and suspense second. Which is fine and works, and it works for what the Steele brothers are trying to do. It wasn’t hard to figure out who the Cupid Killer was, but I still found myself racing through the pages at the end.

I am really looking forward to more books in the series. I am especially looking forward to Cade and Grace’s story that left me wanting more and Roman, who I think at this moment is becoming my favorite.

Review Round Up #6Fire Season by Stephen Blackmoore
Published by Daw Books on April 16th 2019
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 294
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Rating:4 Stars

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The fourth book of this dark urban fantasy series follows necromancer Eric Carter through a world of vengeful gods and goddesses, mysterious murders, and restless ghosts.
Los Angeles is burning.
During one of the hottest summers the city has ever seen, someone is murdering mages with fires that burn when they shouldn't, that don't stop when they should. Necromancer Eric Carter is being framed for the killings and hunted by his own people.
To Carter, everything points to the god Quetzalcoatl coming after him, after he defied the mad wind god in the Aztec land of the dead. But too many things aren't adding up, and Carter knows there's more going on.
If he doesn't figure out what it is and put a stop to it fast, Quetzalcoatl won't just kill him, he'll burn the whole damn city down with him.

Los Angeles is burning and someone is out there blaming Eric Carter for all the mages that are dropping dead. Now he is being hunted by his own people. With a help of a few friends, he might just have enough to find who is responsible for the death of the mages and how it’s linked to the fires that are breaking out throughout the city.

Everything points to the god Quetzalcoatl a mad Aztec wind god, who Carter defied in the Land of the Dead. But things aren’t adding up and it’s up to Eric to put a stop to it, even if it means making a bargain he managed to avoid so far.

I really, really enjoyed this. I forgot how much I love Urban fantasy and this one was great. I liked the use of the Aztec gods, to me personally, that’s a new encounter in Urban fantasy and I found it different and refreshing. I liked Eric, I loved his personality, it was witty and a bit out there, and I found myself giggling more than once.

The world was also great. I thought following a necromancer was different and just a great spin in general.

There is a warning for drug use if it might be triggering.

Overall, I thought the world that Stephen Blackmoore created here is fantastic. This was my first book from this author, so yes, I was starting kind of four books into the series, but I found that I was able to follow everything regardless. Eric has a lot going on. Being married to the Death Goddess is just one of those things. This book has a great cast of side characters as well as some really brave female characters that made my day. The story was fast paced, it was fun and I enjoyed the writing. I will be looking for more.

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Review: Every Little Thing by Samantha Young

Posted March 29, 2017 by Lily B in Reviews / 8 Comments

Review:  Every Little Thing by Samantha YoungEvery Little Thing by Samantha Young
Series: Hart's Boardwalk #2
Published by Berkley on March 7th 2017
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 352
Format: Kindle Edition
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Rating:3 Stars
Heat:three-flames

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Hartwell, Delaware—the perfect place to get away from it all, and find what you never knew you needed…
Bailey Hartwell has many reasons to feel content—her successful business, a close circle of friends, and her steady boyfriend…even if their romance feels staid after ten years without a serious commitment. The only challenge in her life comes in the form of sexy businessman Vaughn Tremaine. She thinks the ex-New Yorker acts superior and that he considers her a small-town nobody. But when Bailey’s blindsided by a betrayal, she’s shocked to discover Vaughn is actually a decent guy.
Vaughn admires Bailey’s free spirit, independence, and loyalty. As his passion for her has grown, his antagonism toward her has only worsened. Every little thing Bailey does seduces him. But when Vaughn’s painful emotional past makes him walk away in fear he will hurt her, it opens an old wound in Bailey, and she uncharacteristically retreats.
Once Vaughn begins to realize he’s made the biggest mistake of his life, he has no choice but to fight like he’s never fought before to convince Bailey that the love they’ve found together only comes around once in a lifetime.

Every Little Thing is a second book in Youngs new series Hart’s Boardwalk. It’s an enemies to lovers story with a bit of angst. Normally I love my enemies to lovers so much, this was not my favorite. Nor was it my favorite of Young.

I admit, I was excited about her new book because I really enjoyed her other series - so maybe I set my bar a bit too high.

The story follows Bailey, who is pretty much the proclaimed princess of Hartwell and Vaughn, a newcomer to Hartwell, who has built a hotel on the boardwalk but not before Bailey gave him a run for his money. The attraction was instant, but Bailey was dating someone and truly believed that Vaughn hated her.

This book was riddled with too many cliches. Seriously, when Bailey had the big break up moment with her boyfriend, you kind of feel what is going to happen coming. I found myself irritated, like come on… How many times we have seen this happen when a woman tries to spice up her failing sex life by showing up at her boyfriends half naked under a coat only to discover he is already well into another dessert. Like, really? Really?

I really loved Vaughn, and maybe that was what made this book enjoyable because I hated Bailey. I found her frustrating, irritating, and immature. I liked everyone in this book BUT her. The secondary characters were amazing. Bailey just kept making stupid decisions at every turn.

Also, what is with the loose ends? Bailey gets attacked in her hotel room and she thinks she knows who it is and there is an investigation, but nothing happens after the cops show up at her place. It’s like everything was forgotten after her and Vaughn get their dirty out of the way. Honestly, the entire scene felt like a cliche set up and there was no follow through after Bailey explodes her frustration vocally in the store and muddles the investigation. Ugh and her background story? That felt random, it felt like it came out randomly just to add more angst and drama to the story. It was unnecessary and it made my head spin. The reasons she couldn’t commit and trust? Hello, you just came out of a long term relationship where apparently this wasn’t an issue.

My thoughts are jumbled. I wanted to enjoy this. I didn’t. It felt frustrating.

Will I read more of this series? Of course. Dahlia’s and Emery’s stories look so promising.

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Review: The Bastard Billionaire by Jessica Lemmon

Posted March 6, 2017 by Lily B in Reviews / 19 Comments

This book may be unsuitable for people under 17 years of age due to its use of sexual content, drug and alcohol use, and/or violence.
Review:  The Bastard Billionaire by Jessica LemmonThe Bastard Billionaire by Jessica Lemmon
Series: Billionaire Bad Boys #3
Published by Forever on February 28th 2017
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 384
Format: Kindle Edition
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Rating:3 Stars
Heat:three-half-flames

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

A BILLIONAIRE BAD BOYS NOVEL
Beauty and the Beastly Billionaire . . . Eli Crane is one tough bastard. After an explosion left him injured and honorably discharged from the Marines, all he wants is to be left alone. Yet his brothers insist he take a greater role in the family business. They've hired him ten personal assistants-and Eli sent each one packing as fast as possible. But when beautiful number eleven walks through the door, Eli will do anything to make her stay. Isabella Sawyer's employment agency can't afford to lose Eli Crane's business. Her plan: to personally take on the role of his PA, and secure her reputation with the wealthy elite in Chicago. But this beauty and her hot billionaire bad boy soon find themselves mixing business with pleasure in the most delicious ways. And passionate, stubborn Isabella won't rest until she tames this wicked beast . . .

Wow, so this one was a doozy. I read and absolutely LOVED the first book in this series, and was naturally curious about Eli the brother serving overseas. I always knew it was coming, since this trilogy features the Crane brothers, so when this one showed up in my mailbox, I had to read it.

Eli is back home from the war after going through a horrific experience. When his two friends die trying to save him from an explosion, Eli not only loses his leg in the incident but himself as well. Now he is back home and Reese, his older brother wants Eli to take over as the COO of Crane hotels - which Eli has no interest in doing.

So Reese hires a company to provide assistants to Eli in hopes of forcing him to do the work, but all the women that show up at his door, go running in terror from the big bad monster holed up in his cave, until of course the owner of the company makes the appearance herself.

Isa doesn’t like that every assistant that she sent over to Eli Crane doesn’t make it past a day or so. Since she has a reputation to uphold the owner decides to do the job herself, if only for a couple of days.

Sparks fly, tempers flare, the two butt heads. Eli has finally met his match.

Guys, let me tell you. I absolutely LOVED the way this book started. I loved Eli and his grumpy bear persona and I loved Isa and her not taking crap attitude. There was a push and pull between them that was so entertaining. I found the entire thing ironic since Isa walked away from her family business and was trying to basically force Eli into his family business. The tension was great and then after they got together everything fell apart for me.

It ended falling flat, a bit boring and overall repetitive. I was expecting more and the way the book started, I thought there would be more. This book had SO much potential, but it almost felt like the author switched gears midway and went back to the comfort of her formula by the end of the book.

There was a plotline in the beginning of the book that was kind of left unexplored. There is a rocky relationship between Isa and her parents, and her parents don’t like the Cranes and how they built their money. Isa’s parents always wanted her to take over the business, but when she didn’t, they gave it to her ex-boyfriend. Well, at the celebration dinner for him, her mother wanted to force the two together, but Isa shows up with Eli to stick it to her parents. I felt like more could have been done here, but there was no more mention of her parents or how disgruntled they are.

I was also surprised where the author decided to take Eli’s future. Eli joined the military and never really had an interest in Crane Hotels, so I didn’t understand nor liked the ending. Eli started his own thing called Refurb and it was a charity for veterans that need help getting around the house. I LOVED that, I was really hoping his future was more focused on that.

And of course, this is where the formula kicked in. Eli doesn’t know what he wants for his future, even though EVERYTHING is going great between him and Isa and like the other book - he ends up hurting her. Big surprise there, I swear I rolled my eyes at that.

I wanted to love this more. The beginning of the book and I started off on a great note, but then it got boring, I started skimming, and some things that actually had potential were left on the sideline and the author went to her safety zone.

Overall, good… Nothing amazing, did not find this mind blowing, but I enjoyed the writing, and the characters and it was a pleasant read for the most part. I enjoyed it well enough to give it 3 stars.

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Review: Mercury Striking by Rebecca Zanetti

Posted February 20, 2017 by Lily B in Reviews / 11 Comments

This book may be unsuitable for people under 17 years of age due to its use of sexual content, drug and alcohol use, and/or violence.
Review:  Mercury Striking by Rebecca ZanettiMercury Striking by Rebecca Zanetti
Series: Scorpius Syndrome #1
Published by Zebra on January 26th 2016
Genres: Romantic Suspense, Post- Apocalyptic
Pages: 384
Format: Paperback
Source: Bought
Buy on Amazon
Rating:4 Stars
Heat:three-half-flames

With nothing but rumors to lead her, Lynn Harmony has trekked across a nightmare landscape to find one man—a mysterious, damaged legend who protects the weak and leads the strong. He’s more than muscle and firepower—and in post-plague L.A., he’s her only hope. As the one woman who could cure the disease, Lynn is the single most volatile—and vulnerable—creature in this new and ruthless world. But face to face with Jax Mercury…
Danger has never looked quite so delicious…

Ninety-nine percent of US citizens have been killed by Scorpius, a bacteria. If a person survives the contagion, they became a carrier and could infect other people who have not yet been infected. Rippers are survivors of Scorpius bacterium, that is known to change brain chemistry. Some became sociopaths, some became serial killers, while other people have not changed in to bad of a way. Vitamin B seems to help keep the body protected from itself and the worst of the brain damage. Lynne Harmony, otherwise known as Blue Heart (because of her glowing blue heart) is the head of CDC and is blamed for being responsible with not only creating the virus but also releasing it.

Jax Mercury is the organizer of a group called Vanguard. An ex gangbanger who had joined a military after given a choice between that or prison.

When Lynne Harmony shows up on his doorsteps asking Jax to kill someone for him, he didn’t expect the woman to also peel away his carefully constructed layers and get under his skin. In the new world, Jax does not feel like he could afford that distraction - especially if he knows that Lynne is hiding something from him, something important.

Woah, this was a ride. I absolutely adored every minute of this book. This wasn’t easy to read at times and a warning in advance, do not get attached to too many secondary characters in this book. Zanetti knows how to craft an interesting, eerily real world of what could happen if some type of infection did spread across the US. Think The Walking Dead, without zombies, where the scariest thing left behind is the mind of an organized serial killer - the most dangerous of the kind.

There was just so much going on in this book. We get the sense that Lynne is hiding something big, and it takes a while to reveal what it is. Meanwhile, there is a whole other bunch of issues going on, mainly the fact that a lot of people in the Vanguard territory believe that Lynne and hers Blue Heart are a carrier of a stronger strain of the bacterium, thanks to the rumors that have been spread. Also, there is a huge price tag on her head and a rival gang member called the Twenty keep attacking their compound. It’s just a world wind of awesome.

I liked Jax. I liked his let’s kick ass and take names later persona, it’s very realistic with the situation he is dealing with. He is in charge of about 500 people and the supplies are very limited. You can tell that he is afraid to open up to the people in fear that he would grow to care for them, even people in his own territory. It seems much easier for Jax if he doesn’t have to get close and then watch the people die, because people do die in this world, sooner than others.

I really liked Lynne also because she stayed true to her character most of the time. She isn’t let’s kick butt type of woman, she needs help most of the time, which is okay with me because it kept her real.

This was so good, the writing was amazing and it brought out so many emotions. Anger, frustration, fear, interest, excitement. It seemed so very realistic and Zanetti was not afraid to hold back punches. I was so shocked and upset by some of the secondary character deaths, some took me by complete shock and surprise and even left me angry. I wasn’t expecting it, but isn’t that what makes it a good writer? It isn’t always easy to let go and some of the most shocking scenes can make or break the story.

Overall, I really liked the world that is being built and I cannot wait to see what happens next. The only thing I had an issue with was with what happened to Wyatt and Lynne’s sudden clumsiness at the end of the book. The next book is Raze’s story and I am for one excited about that one. Raze is this man with very few words who showed up on Jax’s turf out of the blue and is highly skilled at what he does.

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