Friday, October 31, 2014

Review: Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover



                                                                                     Ugly Love
                                                                                         Colleen Hoover
                                                                                         August 5th, 2014
                                                                                             Atria Books



Synopsis:
 When Tate Collins meets airline pilot Miles Archer, she knows it isn’t love at first sight. They wouldn’t even go so far as to consider themselves friends. The only thing Tate and Miles have in common is an undeniable mutual attraction. Once their desires are out in the open, they realize they have the perfect set-up. He doesn’t want love, she doesn’t have time for love, so that just leaves the sex. Their arrangement could be surprisingly seamless, as long as Tate can stick to the only two rules Miles has for her.

Never ask about the past.
Don’t expect a future.

They think they can handle it, but realize almost immediately they can’t handle it at all.

Hearts get infiltrated.
Promises get broken.
Rules get shattered.
Love gets ugly
.


Tanya's Review:


     Colleen Hoover has done it again and at this point I think I would read anything she wrote, even if it was about a chicken and his harrowing journey to cross the road.This book had me hating and loving Miles Archer. When we first meet him, he is a drunken mess, seems heartless and he treats Tate not so great. 

" I just don't want to  like you. I don't want to like anyone. I don't want to date anyone. I don't want to love anyone. I just...." 

You know something horrible had to have happened to him as the story alternates between present and past and you get glimpses of this wonderfully romantic and emotional guy.

 I didn't think God would make someone go through that much physical pain. I didn't think God would make someone suffer like she suffered. I didn't think God was capable of making someone go through something so ugly."   But then I met you, and every single day since then, I've wondered how someone could be so beautiful if there wasn't a God. I've wondered how someone could make me so incredibly happy if God didn't exist. And I realized...just now...that God gives us the ugliness so we don't take  the beautiful things in life for granted.

I adored the "before" Miles and I had  to keep reading, I had to know what could have happened to this man to destroy him so completely. Needless to say I was up later than I should have been as I just kept reading and reading. And then bam, talk about destroying a guy and breaking a readers heart, no wonder he is a broken man.


Tate is a great leading lady, she is strong, self sufficient, driven and has a huge heart.I liked her from the get go. And like her, I slowly fell for the mysterious Miles, the enigmatic guy that seemed so heartless but would buy a blanket for a homeless man.


This is an emotional roller coaster of a read, be sure to have tissues handy because Colleen Hoover definitely knows how to make a reader feel. I strongly recommend this book to anyone that can read from the age of 15 to 115. This is my favorite read of the year so far. 


Ugly Love:  5/5 stars


Thursday, October 30, 2014

Review and Giveaway: Keep Me Safe by Maya Banks




Keep Me Safe
Slow Burn # 1
By: Maya Banks
Releasing October 7th, 2014
Avon



Blurb
A sizzling story of a woman who risks her life and her heart to find a wealthy man’s missing sister—the first novel in a sexy new romantic suspense series from #1 New York Times bestselling author Maya Banks
When Caleb Devereaux's younger sister is kidnapped, this scion of a powerful and wealthy family turns to an unlikely source for help: a beautiful and sensitive woman with a gift for finding answers others cannot.
While Ramie can connect to victims and locate them by feeling their pain, her ability comes with a price. Every time she uses it, it costs her a piece of herself. Helping the infuriatingly attractive and impatient Caleb successfully find his sister nearly destroys her. Even though his sexual intensity draws her like a magnet, she needs to get as far away from him as she can.
Deeply remorseful for the pain he’s caused, Caleb is determined to make things right. But just when he thinks Ramie's vanished forever, she reappears. She’s in trouble and she needs his help. Now, Caleb will do risk everything to protect her—including his heart. . . .

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20910177-keep-me-safe?from_search=true

Buy Links


Author Info
Maya Banks is a #1 USA Today and New York Times bestselling author whose chart toppers have included erotic romance, romantic suspense, contemporary romance, Scottish historical romances. She is the author of the Breathless Trilogy, the KGI novels, the Sweet series, and the Colters Legacy novels.

She lives in the South with her husband and three children and other assorted babies, such as her two Bengal kitties and a Calico who’s been with her as long as her youngest child. She’s an avid reader of romance and loves to dish books with her fans and anyone else who’ll listen! She very much enjoys interacting with her readers on Facebook and Twitter as well as in her Yahoo! Group.

Author Links



Laura's Review: 

This book is a complete departure from what I've come to know of Maya Banks. It still had the sexy romance we know she is oh-so-capable of producing, but it also had tons of dark suspense and just a hint of the paranormal. It was a little hard to read because there is a lot of pain and suffering - it felt like Ramie was being tortured at times, but Caleb is such a strong hero, he makes it that much more bearable. This book got my interest from the bang of a start, and kept me reading until the end. Looking forward to the next in this series!

Keep Me Safe: 4/5 stars


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Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Review & Giveaway: Rocky Mountain Romance by Vivian Arend




Title: Rocky Mountain Romance
Author: Vivian Arend
Release Date: October 21, 2014
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Summary

Second chances are the sweetest—and the hottest.

It took a spectacularly embarrassing break-up to knock Steve Moonshine Coleman off his lazy butt. In the ten months since that night, he's changed his ways. Now that Melody's back in town, it's time for this sweet-talking cowboy to convince her to get back in the saddle with him.

A return to her veterinary position in Rocky Mountain House was always in the cards for Melody Langley. Getting back together with Steve? Never part of the plan. He had lots of potential but zero ambition, and there's no way she'll accept anything less than a man who can keep up with her, in and out of bed.

But the new-and-improved cowboy is impossible to resist, so Melody issues a challenge. Three months to prove he's reformed. Three months of Steve orchestrating one sexual indulgence after another--‪wicked distractions from the old boys' club Melody faces at work and Steve's growing responsibilities‬.

He's got one shot to prove with more than words what's in his heart and soul.

Buy Links

Barnes and Noble - http://bit.ly/BNRockyMt

Goodreads Link


Author Biography

Vivian Arend in one word: Adventurous. In a sentence: Willing to try just about anything once. That wide-eyed attitude has taken her around North America, through parts of Europe, and into Central and South America, often with no running water.

Her optimistic outlook meant when challenged to write a book, she gave it a shot, and discovered creating worlds to play in was nearly as addictive as traveling the real one. Now a New York Times and USA bestselling author of over 40 novels and short stories in both contemporary and paranormal genres, Vivian continues to explore, write and otherwise keep herself well entertained.

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Tanya's Review:
       Sexy cowboys a plenty in this the 7th installment of the Six Pack Ranch series by Vivian Arend. She brings the reader back to this wonderful world of the loving family of sexy cowboy/ranchers that work hard and play harder. This book is Steve and Melody's story, their second chance at love. These 2 casually dated for two years before Steve screwed it up and she dumped him by pouring a pitcher of beer over his head then leaving for veterinary school for a year. Now Melody is back in town to be the new vet and Steve wants her back. He knows he screwed up with her and its sweet to watch him figure out along the way everything he did wrong previously and make it a real relationship this time.Melody is a smart, strong and independent woman who knows what she wants and she made sure this time Steve was what she wanted. 
   I enjoyed this one a lot, I have not read the whole series just the first three but I had no problem remembering this wonderful family of smoking hot cowboys. This is one of my favorite cowboy series out there and I would totally recommend it to any romance reader that enjoys second chance romance and stubborn males. Save a horse and ride a cowboy :).

Rocky Mountain Romance:  3.5/5 stars



Laura's Review: 
Unlike Tanya, this was actually my first experience with Vivian Arend's cowboys of Six Pack Ranch. Although I could tell there was a lot of history in this family, I never felt lost reading this one. Ms. Arend gives enough backstory right off the bat to bring us up to speed. This was a great second chance love story that was a perfect example of how people can change and how important great communication can be in a relationship. It was fun watching Steve scramble to make sure he doesn't make the same mistakes twice now that he's gotten the second chance he always wished he had. 

Rocky Mountain Romance: 3.5/5 stars


Excerpt

Melody went with Steve willingly, around the side of the barn to where his truck and a horse trailer waited. He helped her into the driver side and she slid into the middle seat, checking her watch to make sure she didn’t get too far behind schedule. No way did she want another repeat of her hellish Monday.

“I’ve got thirty minutes tops, otherwise I need to phone the clinic and let them know I’ll be late.”

“You won’t be late,” he promised.

They rattled down a short side road but instead of turning toward the highway, Steve took them along a back trail that led through the trees into a clearing at the side of wide-open ranch land. Nothing lay before them but miles of low rolling hills. To the west, the Rocky Mountains rose above to the sky, the craggy peaks decorated with a tiny dusting of white in the highest cracks and crannies. The tree line broke off to expose granite greys and flashes of white quartz.

It was an amazing view, and she was glad it was something she got to see every day of her life.

She was still staring in admiration when Steve parked the truck and jerked open the door.

Melody followed him out, but couldn’t see any signs of an animal that needed attention.

“Do you want me to be a veterinary to the squirrels?” she teased.

He whirled, catching her under the hips and pulling her against his body so he could kiss her fiercely. Her back pressed against the cold metal of the horse trailer as his overheated body met hers.

“You’re driving me crazy,” he confessed when he finally let her breathe. “I’ve been aching to touch you since the weekend. I need to be inside you.”

Melody didn’t have the words to protest, especially not when he put his lips to her neck and sucked. A flash of heat went from his mouth through her entire system, and she clutched his shoulders.

She was in motion again, this time her feet on the ground as his hands scrambled at her belt buckle. “I want you right now,” he demanded.

The clock was ticking, but his hands were doing incredible things even as Melody tried to make the right decision.

“Oh, God. Here? You’re not serious, Steve, right out in the open—?”

He shoved her jeans down to her ankles. He stripped off his shirt, dropping it on top of the wheel guard of the trailer while she stood, pants around her ankles, admiring the broad bands of muscles on his torso.

Then she was on top of his shirt, her knees spread wide as he pulled her forward to his eager mouth. Her ankles were trapped together by her pants, but Steve didn’t seem to care.

Melody shoved her hands into his hair to catch her balance, but there was no catching her breath as he ate greedily. His tongue danced over her clit until she was gasping, the sound loud in contrast to the wind in the trees behind them. Everything that had to be done that day vanished as her world closed on this time, this place.


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Release Day Blitz and Giveaway: Play With Me by Lisa Renee Jones

Play With Me (Stand-Alone Novella)
play with me cover.jpg


Goodreads:  http://bit.ly/1sjeFR8
RELEASE DATE: October 28thplay with me-live.jpg


Blurb
Novella
The warmth of Thanksgiving gives a dedicated reporter and a powerful businessman a chance to count their blessings in this tender, sensual novella from Lisa Renee Jones.
Kali Miller has spent three years reporting fluff stories for a small-town Texas paper, waiting for the opportunity to pen the article that will launch her career to new heights. That dream has never felt further away when she suddenly finds herself out of work, forced to take a job as an executive secretary at a Las Vegas casino. But that’s exactly where Kali meets the subject of what will surely be a shocking exposé: her boss, Damion Ward, the casino’s arrogant and undeniably sexy CEO.
Watching Damion make his cold, calculating business maneuvers, Kali is positive she’s doing the right thing. But after Damion invites her to help him plan a Thanksgiving charity event, Kali begins to see another side of the man. And when she surrenders to the exhilarating tension that’s been simmering between them since day one, Kali becomes part of her own story, which she hopes will have a happy ending.

Play with me teaser 4.jpg

EXCERPT #1


Lisa Renee Jones Play with Me Copyright 2014


“We need to talk,” he says, as if this is a casual event requiring nothing more than a chat, as if I’m not being treated like a felon.
“Talk?” I demand, all the emotions of hours of confinement rising up in me to near bursting. “We needed to talk seven hours ago. Now? Now we don’t need to talk.”
He steps forward, crowding me, forcing me to give him space or let him become a part of mine. I have a rare violent urge to shove him, but I retreat into the room instead. He steps closer and kicks the door shut behind him, and damn him, that delicious scent of him tickles my nose, and the teasing eruption of sensations in my body only serves to make me more angry. I don’t want to feel the way he makes me feel. I don’t want him to be the one man who sparks something in me that no one else does.
“I couldn’t call,” he has the audacity to say. “Just like I couldn’t tell you I knew we had a security breach when you told me what the computer was doing in my office.”
“So you knew what was happening and didn’t tell me?”
“There’s a procedure to—”
“I don’t give a damn about procedures, Mr. CEO, especially from the one who sets the rules I’ve suffered with.” The edginess in me results in me poking my finger at his chest, heat dashing up my arm. “Just tell me one thing. Am I free to leave?”
He looks down at my finger and then his gaze lifts, but there is no anger in his face. There is something else, something I can’t identify. “I got you cleared, but—”
Relief is instant, and I cut him off. “That’s all the talking you need to do.” I try to turn away, intending to gather my things, but he shackles my wrist, more heat ripping up my arm and over my chest.
“Let go,” I snarl, hating a man I barely know who has put me through hell. It’s like I’m a masochist. Why else would I be drawn to yet another powerful asshole?
His lips thin, and I wish I didn’t notice how sensual and perfect they are. “We have to talk.”
“No,” I assure him. “We do not.”
“We’re going to talk.”
“You aren’t my boss anymore, which translates to the end of all conversation.”
His eyes glint hard steel. “What does that mean, I’m not your boss anymore?”
“I quit. Find someone else to treat like crap.”
“I had no choice—”
“There’s always a choice. I just want out of here.”
“You’ll regret this later.”
“I’ll take that risk.”
“You’ve had a rough twenty-four hours, Ms. Miller. You aren’t thinking straight.”
I all but growl at him. “Let me guess. I’m a woman and my emotions must be controlling me.”
“Because you’re human.”
“Why do you even care if I stay?” I demand, and I don’t know how or why, but the air around us shifts and thickens.
“Because I do.”
“You don’t even know me.”
“I want to know you.”
I swallow hard. “Well, I’m sure you’ll know every piece of my DNA after seven hours of being trapped here. Goal achieved.”
“Ms. Miller—”
“Stop with the Ms. Miller. I’m not your damn employee anymore. Let go of me.”
He doesn’t let go. His gaze flickers to my mouth, then lifts. “I won’t let you quit.”
“Call Natalie. I’m sure she’ll come back.”
He tugs me close, his hard body aligned with mine, and I can barely breathe. “What do you know of Ms. Duncan?”
“If you mean Natalie, she was in HR when I was.”
“There were circumstances.”
“Yeah. I get that. Believe me, I get it.”
“No. You don’t. She has nothing to do with you or us.”
Us? What does he mean, us? And why is my hand on his chest? Why can’t I move it? “I’m done. Let me go.”
“You won’t change your mind about quitting?”
“No.”
His fingers tangle into my hair, dragging me closer. “Then why would I let you go?”
Both of my hands have now found the wall of his chest, and I intend to push him away, but I just . . . don’t. “What are you doing?”
“What do you think I’m doing? Finding out if you taste as good as I think you do.” And then his lips are on mine, his tongue licking seductively into my mouth, sending erotic sensations spiraling through my body. I tell myself this is insanity. To push away. We barely know each other. I don’t even like him. Except I know it’s a lie. I know that in the short time we’ve known each other, every shared moment, every mutual look, every touch and tangled word exchange, has been leading to this.
Another lick of his tongue and I am unable to hold back a moan or the desperate need to be closer to him. I arch forward, desperate to feel him against me. Desperate to have him naked and touching me. Me touching him. Desperate to be naked and have him inside me. He is a drug, a wicked, wonderful drug that will finally be the end of my sanity if I allow him to be.
That idea sends a burst of panic and adrenaline through me, and I shove at his chest. “Stop. We can’t.”
His mouth leaves mine, and I am one part relief, one part painful need to pull him back. “Why?” he demands, and his voice is rough, affected.
“You’re my boss.”
“You quit.”
“Right. Which means I leave now.”
“You want to leave?”
No. “Yes.”
His eyes darken to deep pools of green fire and stormy torment, telling me he knows this is a mistake. He knows. I know. Why are we still here? “Tell me you really mean that and I’ll let you go,” he vows. “But just know this: If you stay, I absolutely will fuck you senseless and then do it again.”
“I . . . you . . . we can’t . . .”
“We can. I’m going to kiss you now, Kali.”
“Kali?” I whisper, unbelievably aroused by my name on his lips.
“Yes. Kali.” And then he is kissing me, his tongue caressing into my mouth, seeming to touch every intimate part of my body, stroking deep, and burning through me. Sensations roll through me, teasing my senses, torturing me with how much I want him and how wrong I know this is. But then his hand caresses my backside, pulling me closer, hard against his hips, his thick erection pressed to my belly, and I can’t remember why exactly it’s wrong. I am lost. Lost in him. Lost in what I feel, and I don’t want to let anything else in. Not the past. Not the last few hours. I don’t care anymore.
I wrap my arms around his neck, crushing my breasts to his chest, and gasp as he tears his mouth from mine. Then he is staring at me, searching my face for something I don’t understand. And I don’t know what he sees, or what he finds, but his eyes soften, and he strokes the hair from my face. “I was right. One kiss isn’t even close to enough.” His mouth comes down on mine again, and my fingers curl into the fabric of his shirt, holding on to him, willing him not to stop. This time the kiss is deeper, a dark demand that I answer willingly, eagerly, my tongue stroking against his.
Suddenly his fingers wrap my waist and he lifts me, setting me down on the wooden dining room table, spreading my legs to step between them.
“What are you doing?”
He reaches up and tugs on the front zipper of my dress. “Undressing you.”
A moment of clarity comes to me, and I grab his hand. “You need to know this changes nothing. I’m still furious about today. I don’t even know if I like you.”
“But you want me. That’s a start.”
He tugs on my zipper and I don’t stop him, my hands going to the table, trying to stabilize myself, though I’m not sure that is possible. This man is shoving my bra down and ravishing my breasts with a hot inspection that makes my sex clench and my thighs ache.
“I . . .” I pant, and forget what I was going to say. He’s cupping my breasts, pressing them together, and stroking my nipples with his thumbs.
“You what?”
“I don’t know.”
He nudges me backward. “Let me try to figure it out,” he offers, lowering his head, his dark hair tickling my chin, his tongue flicking against my nipple, sending darts of pleasure through me.
I squeeze my eyes shut, fighting for sanity, but his mouth closes down over one of my nipples, sucking deeply, and I am arching my back, offering myself to him. Silently begging him for more. It’s just been so long, I tell myself. So very long since someone touched me like this. So long since I felt like a woman. This isn’t me radiating toward men who like to hurt me. This isn’t me torturing myself. It’s him torturing me in all the right ways.
My hands go to his hair, but he slips away, going down on a knee and caressing my dress up my thighs. “Now I’m going to officially apologize for what happened today,” he vows


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