Monthly Archives:: June 2014

Summary from Goodreads

Summary from Goodreads

Another review I wasn’t sure how to start. This book kind of took me by surprise. When I first saw it, I was really unsure of reading it, especially since it sounded like it was about cheating. Glad I gave this one a chance because Kennedy Ryan really took a touchy subject and made it so much more.

What I liked…

• The characters. I loved how dynamic and really all of them felt. Kerris was this shy girl who had a hard life growing up a foster kid bouncing from home to home. She finally see’s her life fall together when she starts opening her own business and is planning on getting married. Walsh has a lot on his plate as well, most people see him one way, but in reality Walsh is a really nice guy. He also tries really hard not only to make his mother happy, but also his father. Both of his parents are divorced. Cam is a black sheep. He was kind of ‘adopted’ into the family and had a really rough life growing up. It made him kind of rough around the edges as well, but all he wants is to belong and have a family..
• Emotions. Emotions run wild in this book and there is even a little bit of emotional black mail. I hated how Cam used the wrong kind of opportunity to trick Kerris into marrying him. I hated that Kerris couldn’t get her facts straight and just straight up ask Walsh about things she had been confused about - especially since she had shared so much personal stuff with him to begin with. And Cam, I found myself feeling sorry for him at the beginning until I saw his true colors and kind of questioned how could someone so sweet as Kerris marry someone with so much darkness in him. There was guilt, there was love, and so much more in the middle tied into a perfect package.
• Story line. I couldn’t put this book down. I thought this would be one for my DNF pile. Boy was I wrong. Once I started this, I needed to finish this. I wanted to know what was going to happen and how the hell was all of this going to get sorted. The ending was a bit different and paved an interesting road for book 2.

What I wasn’t so sure about…

• Cam…. Yeah I couldn’t understand what Kerris saw in him. Okay a little I guess. But he was so possessive and what he did to Kerris when he found out that she kissed Walsh… Kissed, not even slept with, was kind of downright disturbing and made me really hate his character. It was humiliating and borderline rapey? 
• The entire situation. Yeah Ryan did an amazing job telling the storyline but I felt like the characters probably could have communicated better and straightened everything out earlier. Seriously… Kerris wasn’t sure about Walsh and the eaky super model, so she felt they belong together because everyone else told her so. So instead of talking to Walsh, she jumps to conclusions and marries Cam because she doesn’t believe she can be with someone like Walsh. But she tells Walsh all her personal secrets, stuff she doesn’t tell anyone else, but can’t ask him about one dumb bimbo?

HF Virtual Book Tours invites you to join Joyce Wayne as she tours the blogosphere for The Cook’s Temptation! Enter the giveaway to win an eBook of The Cook’s Temptation or a $10 Amazon Gift Card!

Publication Date: February 1, 2014
Mosaic Press

Formats: Ebook, Paperback

Joyce Wayne brings to life the complexities of Victorian life, first in County Devon and then in London’s East End. The ‘big picture’ is about one woman’s life, class conflict, religious intolerance, suspicion and betrayal. The central figure is Cordelia, a strong-minded Jewish woman who is caught between her desire to be true to herself and her need to be accepted by English society.Cordelia Tilley is the daughter of a Jewish mother and an Anglican father. Her mother has groomed her for a life in English society while her father, a tough publican, has shown no tolerance for his wife’s social climbing or the conceits of their perspicacious daughter. Cordelia’s mother dies from typhoid fever, she tries to run the family ‘s establishment, she falls prey to a local industrialist, she gives birth to a son, she is tormented by her husband and his family. Finally, she is rescued by suffragette friends and sets off to start a new life in London.The Cook’s Temptation is about a woman who is unpredictable, both strong and weak willed, both kind and heinous, victim and criminal. It is a genuine Victorian saga, full of detail, twists and turns, memorable scenes, full of drama and pathos.

“Joyce Wayne’s debut novel, The Cook’s Temptation, has the stately bearing of a nineteenth century novel – the mercilessness of Thomas Hardy, the black allegory of Nathaniel Hawthorne, the tense marriages of George Eliot. It is a story of how people become what you blame them for being.” – Ian Williams, poet and fiction writer, short listed for the 2012 Griffin Poetry Prize

Joyce Wayne has an MA in English literature, has taught journalism at Sheridan College, Oakville, Ontario, for twenty-five years, and lives in Toronto, Ontario. She was a winner of the Diaspora Dialogues contest for fiction and the Fiona Mee Award for literary journalism. She is the co writer of the documentary film So Far From Home (2010), a film about refugee journalists persecuted for their political views, and various of her other works have been published in Parchment, Golden Horseshoe Anthology, Canadian Voices, and TOK6.

For more information please visit Joyce Wayne’s website. You can also connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads. She is happy to participate in Books Clubs by phone and Skype.

Giveaway ends at 11:59pm on June 27th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
Winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter on June 28th and notified via email.
Winner have 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.

Summary from Goodreads

Oh wow… so yeah humm I don’t know where to start with this one. I am a big huge fan of Son’s of Anarchy. For those that do not know what that is, it’s a motorcycle club show I guess loosely based on Hell’s Angels. And pardon my french has a lot of screwed up sh*t happen on the show. So when I saw Devil’s Game, I was more then happy to pick it up. I don’t know what I expected from it. Maybe something less then what I seen on this show?

Summary from Goodreads

Sexy, fun and delicious.

Adrainne Lee has created a sweet, yummy world, filled with hearty characters and a storyline that makes you swoon and crave for more.

Welcome to Montana. At least that’s where Roxy is going after her hard divorce. Now as her life is falling apart, she is moving back home to live with her mother in hopes to get right back on her feet. It was her first trip back into town that she almost collides with a truck and out comes Wade Reynold.

Wade Reynold is have a tough year. A tough last couple of year really. A widower with a teenage daughter, Wade has a lot of ups and down in his life. He still wears his wedding ring, and has a hard time connecting with other women.

Then Roxy comes along, and everything he thought he could handle with women flew out the window. The passion and the attraction between sends sparks flying. Roxy is nothing like his late wife. She is a fiery red-head, with a loud laugh and is very open. Thought it felt like life had stopped for Wade when his wife died, Roxy managed to wedge herself into his heart rather he wanted it or not.

I loved this story. I loved the attraction between these two. You just cannot help but root for them. Countless of times I found myself wanting to give both of them a little bit of a push and when stuff got in the way it was hard not to smack my hand against my forehead in frustration. It was so cute thought when Wade wanted Roxy to help with his teenage daughter, even cuter when he had no idea what to do with this insane attraction to this fiery spark of a small woman and her cat from hell (lots of funny scenes with the kitty)

It had me laughing, rooting, and even shed a tear of two. The story was entertaining. The characters real and emotionally driven. The support network that Roxy got from her friends was amazing and totally heartwarming. Decadent really was a delightful treat, filled with yummy desserts throughout the book.

 

Summary from Goodreads

A delightful start to a new series!

Nancy J. Parra has done it again. She has created another entertaining, fun and imaginative mystery series that hooks the reader from the very first page. With it’s lively characters and creativity, Engaged in Murder was a read hard to part with. 

Pepper Pomeroy is recently unemployed event planner. So when the opportunity comes along to plan her sister’s proposal, it becomes a perfect chance not only to give her sister the best day of her life - but to also put her skills to a great use. Little did Pepper knew that day would also have her stumbling upon a dead body. To make things worse, Warren her sister’s new fiancé could also be the prime suspect in the murder case.

Great story. Pepper is going to be a fun character to follow. Sure this is book one and like most new characters, she has a lot of work to do with growing. Pepper is smart, creative, with the world of imagination in front of her. When life knocks her down, she finds a way to bring herself back up. With Warren’s encouragement, she is well on her way of starting her own business and really re-evaluating her life. She dumps her deadbeat boyfriend, and in turn ends up with an unlikely man in her life. She jumps into her new business, and get’s plenty of great surprises.

So while trying to plan her sister’s engagement party, Pepper is also snooping around in hopes of putting some ugly accusations of her future brother-in-law to rest, before her sister marries a murderer.

I liked this book. I liked Pepper. There was only a few things I had issues with. First, I couldn’t believe that Pepper stayed with her boyfriend for as long as she did. Seriously, that guy was terrible and I hated him for the few pages he was in.

Second. I was a bit disappointed by not only Pepper’s, but also her mother’s reaction to the murder and in a way, doubting Warren’s innocence. I would kind of assume they would protect their new son-in-law and give him the benefit of a doubt? Instead of trying to find out if he really did it so her sister wouldn’t marry a murderer. I understand wanting to help her family member, but that was a bit strange with me. Also her reaction to Warren’s secret he kept from her sister was also a bit over the top, especially since her sister was totally cool with it.

Besides those few things and Pepper’s really easy start in the first year of business, the story itself was really fun. I liked following Pepper as she looked for clues in hopes of putting the ugly rumors to rest. I also loved the way she took control and did everything she could to make the perfect proposals for some of these women.

So my loveliess. Thanks to the
publisher I have for you today Engaged in Murder (Perfect Proposals #1) by Nancy J. Parra  Just fill
out a really quick raffle and comment below. 

Open to US Address only

Must be at least 13+ to enter

Winner will have 24 hours to claim their prize. Giveaway ends June 13th

Summary from Goodreads

Oh my gosh. How have I never read M. Leighton up until now? Seriously kicking myself a little. I really, really, really enjoyed There’s Wild, Then There’s You. It’s the third book in her The Wild Ones series, but that’ okay, because it can be read as a stand-alone.

The story was fun, sexy, and a whole lot of Jet. Seriously, I hated and loved the guy at the same time. The moment his eyes zero in on Violet Wilson at a Sex Addicts meetings, he is unable to stay away from her. There is something about the woman that’s so librarian innocent, that he finds himself drawn to her. Jet is your typical arrogant lead guitarist - singer at a local band and lives that stereotypical wild lifestyle. He loves his women, he loves his alcohol and does enjoy all of the attention. Jet is also very talented, but his lack of muse recently has been bringing him down. But, here comes Violet and that’s all about the change.

Violet is a wallflower. She never had a truly meaningful relationship and was really at a sex addicts meeting due to her friend that never showed up and she had to stand up in the room full of strangers and lie her butt off - thanks to her fried. I felt sorry for Violet. She is sort of a fixer. If something goes wrong, she goes out of her way to make things right. She’s a bit of a rug for her best friend who doesn’t seem to have the same compassion for Violet as Violet does for her. She tends to take advantage of that and it did make me mad.

The passion and the attraction between Violet and Jet is both sweet and hot. He has to be a completely different man around her, and he actually tries really hard. Unfortunately, both are holding secrets from each other and I thought the reactions for both might have been a little over the top. Especially maybe in Violet’s case. I might be wrong there thought. Yes I was a bit angry at Jet, but… they both lied, so?

I don’t know. Couldn’t relate to that, since never had it happen to me. Regardless, it didn’t take away from the story for me and I really loved it. The characters with their interesting personality, the wonderful writing of Leighton and the plot really made this book for me.

Summary from Goodreads

It’s Christmas in June…

Wait what?

Yup, you heard me right. I am reading a Christmas mystery at the beginning of June! It’s okay, with our current weather in the high 60’s low 70’s in June it just seems like a fit.

Sophie Winston enjoys the Holiday season, but this year there seems to be more mayhem then holiday cheer. Like Horace Scroggins falling off his balcony and on top of his blade during his holiday party. Then her neighbor takes a fall from a ladder while putting up Christmas lights, that makes Sophie question if someone had purposely sawed it. But none of these compared to the a body wrapped in Christmas paper that Sophie accidentally stumbles into, at her ex-husband’s garage.

Fun mystery! I have to admit, the author had come a really long way with her writing. Not only did the structure improved I felt, but her character grew as well throughout the series. Sophie is wonderful, confident, and generally a very warm-hearted person. She has a lot going on in her life, and currently three previous and current romantic interest that seem to be involved.

I truly adore reading this one. Made me kind of miss Christmas, especially a small town Christmas. With everything going on and her own neighbors bring in lots of naughty trouble, this Holiday season Sophie has a lot on her plate. The story didn’t just feature the main mystery, but had a good plot line with lots of little things going on in between. Like the cookie party. Made me crave some cookies. And the towns people dressing up their homes for the lights competitions - which surely sounds like fun? I loved the small town cast of characters that Davis has me coming back to time after time. I enjoy watching them grow and always wonder what mayhem they will find themselves in next.

Sophie’s friends are a great support network. I have a hard time with Natasha myself. If she did have anything to do with Sophie’s break-up with her ex-husband Mars.. I have to give credit to Sophie for keeping the woman around. Yet, overall she does seem like a really good friend.

The book has a list of recipes in the end that I cannot wait to try! Even if Christmas isn’t anywhere near close enough.

Summary from Goodreads

Mila has a big secret. She is a seer. A human with a gift so rare,
that it’s almost too dangerous for the human born with it against other
species, if they happen to get their hands on her. Working with an élite
San Francisco task force, her job was to use her powers and bring
justice to the supernatural that have gone rogue. Unfortunately the fact
that Mila is a seer was leaked, and now the very same people she was
hunting is out to get her.

The only thing Mila wants
to do is die, upon being discovered. But Lise, a woman who seem to be
good at helping out the others has different plans for her. Now, Frenzy
the reluctant grim reaper is forced to baby sit the human turned hybrid
and prevent her from dying or getting into the wrong hands. Easier said
then done.

Great book. I love paranormal, so I was
naturally drawn to it from the moment I saw its announcement. I never
read the first book, but that’s okay - it follows a different set of
characters anyway.

I adore the world that Hall has
created. A paranormal I really enjoyed. The vampires are scary, thus
making some of the stuff in the book a bit cringe worthy. Making this a
slightly more scarier take on some of the paranormal books out there, a
bit more….bloodier, meaner.

Mile and Frenzy are by no
means perfect. She knows that her gift in the wrong hands can be
devastating to the society. When all she really wanted to do was die,
she ends up being saved in a form of a vampire/werewolf hybrid - which
is also slightly original in this book. The last thing she wanted to
become was one of the creatures, so she tries her best at times to put
an end to herself in hopes of saving the human races.

Frenzy
was well.. he is a grim reaper. He isn’t all that glad about his job
and kind of wants out. So when Lise comes to him for his help, the last
thing he wants is to baby-sit a human (a race he seems to hate)

I
liked the story, I found it dark and bloody and overall well put
together. The romance wasn’t perfect, but well done and still sizzled.
You can tell there is attraction, but it’s slow to build at the
beginning as they fumble their way through. What I had an issue with was
there was a lot of talking and discussing what she is and why she wants
to die and why she won’t eat the squire. Seriously like.. for 25% of
the book is just the same conversation. When the action did pick up, I
found it really enjoyable and well paced. Yes, there was some dragging
and slow pace - but it did pick up.

In the end, I will be following more of this series.

Summary from Goodreads

I got a little secret to share. I
have not read a Samantha Young novel before this one. I know, I know. I
kind of regret that now! I know I own On Dublin Street somewhere on my
kindle, I just never have the time to reach for it.

Fall
from India Place thought can be read as a somewhat Stand-alone, I
wouldn’t recommend it. There are so many wonderful characters within the
book that offer a sort of support network, that are very important
to Hannah, that they just kind of want you to know their back stories.

Fall
from India Place is about a young teacher named Hannah Nichols, that
seems to have almost everything she wants from life. She is not only
teaching kids, but also adults how to read. There is only one thing that
seems to be missing from Hannah’s life and we find out what that is
when she stumbles upon an old picture of her old crush. I love the way
Samantha Young handled the storyline. I love how she lead the story up
until the picture and the flash backs that happened afterword in order
to tell Hannah’s and Marco’s story to us people. She handled it pretty
well I thought, leaving us with enough to keep us wondering throughout
the book.

When Marco pops back into Hannah’s life, she
is a complete wreck. Especially remembering the way he had left her. The
relationship between them was complicated. I loved the flashbacks and
learning exactly what their relationship was built on. I felt bad
for Hannah and the way Marco had handled things between them, the
constant pulling and pushing away until the night he walked out of her
life. Now, Hannah has a secret, and she isn’t really sure how she is
going to tell Marco about it. But she believes that until she comes
clean they cannot work otherwise.

The secret thought
was exactly what I expected, still stunned me and hit close to home. The
next thing I knew I was trying to save my book from my tears because
they wouldn’t stop coming. Young’s writing was absolutely beautiful. Her
characters felt real, raw and really well done. The book is both
character and emotionally driven and both is done fantastically well. I
couldn’t believe some of the moments that touched my heart and bought me
to tears both between Hannah and Marco but also between Hannah and one
of her students. You could tell a lot about her with their interaction,
that she genially really cares. She was a really sweet girl, and for a
few chapter I hated Marco for what he had done to her. I didn’t find his
excuse very solid enough, I didn’t feel that Hannah at all deserved it.
Especially if he claimed that she kept him going.

Anyway,
I can talk about this book forever - but at this point I will be
rambling. Overall, Samantha Young nailed this one on the head for me. It
had everything I wanted, plus so much more unexpected that I found
myself speechless after putting it down. The storyline, the attraction
between the two characters. So real, so powerful. I never wanted it to
end. I am looking forward to the next chapter in this series and
hopefully revisiting the ones I missed.

Summary from Goodreads

Marcy and her friends are really looking forward to a new textile exhibit that was to take place at Tallulah Falls museum. Just as the opening night approaches, the museum gets a heads up that a thief might be attending the opening and so they implement extra security.

The day after the opening, Marcy stumbles into a dead body wrapped in one of the kilims that could be from the exhibit and the person no other but the supposed thief himself. Now with the help of her boyfriend and even some of her friends, Marcy is set out to get to the bottom of this mystery.

I liked Marcy, she was a fun character. I love that she has an awesome dog named Angus, who she converses with all the time as if he completely understands her. I like the fact that she owns her own dream shop and have a mannequin that she also has conversations with. Overall, Marcy is likeable and her relationship with Ted is also just as endearing. The scene when she finally meets Teds mother had left me smiling, I think the woman really did bring a side of Marcy out with her boldness.

The mystery was exciting and I had a fun time following the clues through the book. I think I had my mind set on who done it about 40% into the book, and it never really changed. Thought a bit predictable, totally enjoyable. Marcy’s friends was also a real fun cast of characters, and I like how all the different personalities get alone.

Truly a cozy read that had me turning quickly through the pages, immersed in the small town, it’s characters and the mystery.

So my loveliess. Thanks to the
publisher I have for you todayThread End (An Embroidery Mystery #7) by Amanda Lee  Just fill
out a really quick raffle and comment below. 

Open to US Address only

Must be at least 13+ to enter

Winner will have 24 hours to claim their prize. Giveaway ends June 12th