Review ~ Walk Through Fire

Synopsis

Millie Cross knows what it's like to burn for someone. She was young and wild and he was fierce and even wilder-a Chaos biker who made her heart pound. They fell in love at first sight and life was good, until she learned she couldn't be the woman he needed and made it so he had no choice but to walk away. Twenty years later, Millie's chance run-in with her old flame sparks a desire she just can't ignore. And this time, she won't let him ride off . . .

Bad boy Logan "High" Judd has seen his share of troubles with the law. Yet it was a beautiful woman who broke him. After ending a loveless marriage, High is shocked when his true love walks back into his life. Millie is still gorgeous, but she's just a ghost of her former self. High's intrigued at the change, but her betrayal cut him deep-and he doesn't want to get burned again. As High sinks into meting out vengeance for Millie's betrayal, he'll break all over again when he realizes just how Millie walked through fire for her man

REVIEW

 

There are two things that I love when it comes to my reading. Kristen Ashley and second chance romance stories. In the previous Chaos series, we got little glimpses of Logan "High" Judd. What I saw was that he had a quiet intensity to him. An enigma, you may say. He was an puzzle that us readers wanted to solve. In Walk Through Fire, all the puzzle pieces are put together: slowly, brutally, emotionally, lovingly and peacefully.

High met the love of his life early on in life. Millie Cross was a free fun loving spirited soul that caught the attention of High. Through flashbacks we see how they met and how their love grew. We see that they were perfect for each other. Millie unexpectedly breaks off with Logan and they both go through their own version of hell. High has his place in Chaos. He's recently divorced and a father to two girls. Millie is highly successful living a lonely single life. When the time comes for them to meet after many years, it's an emotionally painful reunion. High is still hurt on how everything went down and because of his pain, he lashes out along with the rest of Chaos. Millie has had enough and when she wants to put everything behind her, once and for all, Benito Valenzuela(you know, the bad dude) makes his play and this ultimately brings High and Millie together. As they learn about each other, you see that their love never died. Words are said. Love is to be made. The secret will come out. Paris is to be seen and High and Millie are were they belong, together.

Now. While I enjoyed the story, there were some things that was missing. During the flashbacks, we didn't get to see when Millie broke up with High. I wanted to read about his reaction. What did he say? How did he take it? Did he become a manwhore to erase Millie from his mind? I wanted that. No, I NEEDED that. I wanted that angst and it wasn't there. Another thing was the secret. It's what drove Millie to do what she did with High but I didn't buy it. It was a factor for their future but it wasn't a deal breaker. Lastly was Benito Valenzuela. He made his move and then poof, he was gone. I would love for in the future books, more interaction with him and Chaos. I want that suspense. All in all with Benito was very anti-climactic. I was left unsatisfied.

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New Release ~ What Love Can Do by Virna DePaul

 

 

 

 

Synopsis

 

Ireland has always been home for the five O’Neill brothers, but several tragedies, including the recent death of their mother, have them feeling lost. After making an unexpected discovery, eldest son and former rugby player Quinn O’Neill heads to Forestville, California, in the enchanted river valley where his mother grew up. There, he hopes to learn more about his family and explore the possibility of settling someplace new.

Traveling the world before opening her own bakery is Lillian Parker’s dream, and she’s one step closer to achieving it after winning an internship with a world-famous pastry chef in Miami. Unfortunately, Lillian’s mother is pressuring her to stay in Forestville and help run the family B&B. Then a handsome Irishman blows through the door with charm and sex appeal to spare, and suddenly Lillian’s not sure what she wants.

 

Sparks instantly fly, and Lillian finds herself agreeing to show Quinn around the area. Soon their building feelings have them wishing for more time together. But Quinn’s just beginning to explore the magic of Green Valley wine country, and Lillian needs to stretch her wings. Even worse, exposed secrets pit Lillian’s family against Quinn’s, creating thorns in their blooming love.

 

Can passion survive conflicting family loyalties? And can love bond Quinn and Lillian together forever when dreams of adventure versus home and hearth threaten to keep them apart?

 

 

 

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Cover Reveal ~ When I Was Yours by Samantha Towle

Check out the GORGEOUS cover for Samantha Towle's newest book releasing on November 10th - WHEN I WAS YOURS! Enjoy a sneak peek below and add it to your TBR list!

♥ PRE-ORDER THE BOOK ♥

*When I Was Yours will be available for pre-order for $2.99 and will go up to regular price of $3.99 after release day.*

Amazon US | Amazon UK | B&N | iTunes US | iTunes UK | Kobo

“Marry me.”

“What?” I stared back at him, unblinking.

He moved closer, taking my face in his hands. “I love you, Evie. I look into the future, and the only thing I see clearly is you. Marry me.”

What’s an eighteen-year-old girl who was madly in love with her nineteen-year-old boyfriend say?

Of course, I said yes.

Twenty-four hours later, I married Adam Gunner at a Vegas chapel to the sounds of “Livin’ on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi. Not the best omen. I get that now.

Then, exactly one week later, I left him. I walked out, leaving behind my wedding ring, annulment papers, and my heart, and he never knew why.

I haven’t seen him since. Not in ten long years.

Now, he’s here, standing before me. Looking at me with nothing but hurt and hatred in his eyes, he wants answers.

Answers I can’t give.

Release Date: November 10, 2015

Cover Designed By: Najla Qamber Designs

New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal and international bestselling author Samantha Towle began her first novel in 2008 while on maternity leave. She completed the manuscript five months later and hasn't stopped writing since.

She has written contemporary romances, THE MIGHTY STORM, WETHERING THE STORM, TAMING THE STORM, TROUBLE, REVVED and REVIVED.

She has also written paranormal romances, THE BRINGER and the ALEXANDRA JONES SERIES, all penned to tunes of The Killers, Kings of Leon, Adele, The Doors, Oasis, Fleetwood Mac, and more of her favourite musicians.

A native of Hull and a graduate of Salford University, she lives with her husband, Craig, in East Yorkshire with their son and daughter.

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W

Dirty Promises by Karina Halle

SYNOPSIS

Blood. Sex. Revenge.
It ain't easy being king.
Drug lord Javier Bernal has sliced and diced his way to the top of the Mexican drug trade, presiding over the country's largest cartel. But his rise to power comes at a brutal price: the death of his sister, Alana. Devastated and wracked with guilt, he turns away from his new wife, Luisa, forcing their marriage into a steady decline. But it isn't until she's pushed into the waiting arms of Esteban Mendoza, his right-hand man, that Javier realizes everything he's lost.
And it isn't until he learns the truth about Alana, that he realizes everything there is to gain.
Blood will spill.
Cities will burn.
Heads will roll.
Because Javier will stop at nothing until he gets what he wants.
And what he wants is raw, ruthless revenge.
The most dangerous man is the one with nothing left to lose.

REVIEW

 



Well shit.
Fuck.
Dayum.
Aye Dios Mio.
WTF.
Awwww.
Get him! Get him!

That is the jist of what you'll be thinking when reading Dirty Promises. This book will push at your comfort zone. It's not easy. It's brutally honest on how the cartels work and with how the characters you've come to love or hate portray themselves.

Way back when Karina introduced us to Javier Bernal, we knew how his mind worked. He's conniving, vindictive and dramatic but he's also a lover, a fighter and the king to his domain. In Dirty Promises, Javier is not in a good place. He's losing his family and a little of his sanity(whatever is left of it). He takes us to a dark dark place where we hope he finds the light to bring him out of his hell. Luisa, his wife, is his light. She tries to light the path to Javier back to her even if it takes a little of her soul. Luisa is one the bravest and courageous heroines I've come across. What she endures at the hands of evil men is not comprehensible because of the brutality of it. Javier and Luisa are living in their own secret hell but when they break free; it's to show the world they come out guns and knives wielded out to fuck you back.

Now. One character that I had hoped would get his story was Esteban. Him? I didn't see coming. Yes, I knew he wanted Javier's domain but fuckamotherfuckingfuckduck how did I not see what he was capable of. In the short story Dark Paradise, I thought I saw the good in him. Esteban was just a greedy bastard who got what was coming to him.

As always, I love the way Ms. Halle tells her stories. They're done flawlessly and creatively. You will not read the same story with any of her books. She has the knack for writing and it's highly entertaining.

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Coach by Alexa Riley

SYNOPSIS

Retiring from the NFL was the right decision, and at thirty years old, I've done things most people could only dream of. After all I've accomplished, coaching high school football should be easy...but when you've got a distraction in the form of a nerdy girl with curves, things can get complicated.

She's a student, she's barely legal, and she's my best friend’s daughter.

I didn't know what desire was until Megan. I had no idea obsession could drive someone insane, until I saw her. I wasn't prepared for the fact that once I laid eyes on Megan my life would really begin.

I have to have her, no matter what the cost. I have to breed her and bind her to me so tightly she can't ever get away. She'll be mine, even if I have to take her.

Warning: this book is ridiculous, over the top, completely unbelievable, and pretty much just about breeding the heroine. If you're okay with that, welcome to my dirty, dirty book! Just remember, I warned you.

REVIEW

If you want over the top smut, then Coach is for you. The word breeding is used. In this type of story, breeding means to impregnate quickly. I had no problems with it whatsoever. If you don't like that type of read, then read something else.

The H is a thirty year old former football star who retires early due to injuries. He has taken a job as a coach for a local high school. He is staying with his best friend, who is forty-where they went to college together, and his wife. Their daughter is away and when she returns the H is immediately attracted and ensnared of her. The h, you guessed it, is a barely eighteen year old virgin. She is attracted to him and their love affair blooms. It's raunchy and naughty.

It works people. At least it worked for me.

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Hollywood Dirt by Alessandra Torre

Synopsis

Cole Masten. Abandoned by his superstar wife, Hollywood’s Perfect Husband is now Hollywood’s Sexiest Bachelor: partying hard and screwing even harder. Watch out Los Angeles, there's a new bad boy in town.

Summer Jenkins. That’s me, a small town girl stuck in Quincy, Georgia. I cook some mean chicken and dumplins, can bluff a grown man out of his savings in poker, and was voted Most Friendly my senior year.

We were from different worlds. Our lives shouldn’t have collided. But then Cole Masten read a book about my small town. And six months later, his jet landed on our dusty airstrip, and he brought Hollywood with him.

From the start, I knew he was trouble. For our town. And for me.

Sometimes, opposites just aren’t meant to attract.

Review

 

 

In this enemies to lovers story, we have movie super star Cole Masten who is pushed to leave Hollywood before he falls into a downward spiral after his marriage breaks apart. When he arrives in Quincy, Georgia; he's in chicken hell but what he doesn't know is that he will find his match in Summer Jenkins. Summer is the town outcast after a stunt she pulled that made practically the whole town her enemy. She's wanting to leave town, start a new life and after an opportunity presents itself, Summer accepts but what she doesn't know is that Cole will be the one to set her free.

Cole and Summer's relationship starts out slow. They're both attracted to each other but want nothing to do with each other. Cole and Summer are strong characters. They take no shit and give no shit. What you see is what you get from them both. When they realize that their romance is inevitable and when they finally come together(pun intended), it's real as in the form of it wasn't forced; it transcended perfectly.

It took me more than fifty percent to finally get into the story. The writing is good but I just couldn't get the feel or the flow of the storyline. I think this book is the case of "maybe it's me not you".

*And I won't spoil it but there is an old friend who makes an appearance in the story*

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One ~ Review of Lucky J.M. Darhower

ONE

Release Date: September 1 (limited release, one month only)

Amazon pre-order : http://bit.ly/ONEComp

iBooks pre-order: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/one/id1031547181?mt=11

Authors & Blurbs:

Blind Date by Emma Hart ~ Blind Dates are the work of the devil… especially when your date could be the devil. My name is Bee Donnelly, and I’m a serial one-nighter. Carter Hughes is tonight’s Kryptonite.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EmmaHartBooks?fref=ts

One Night with Harrison by Heidi McLaughlin ~ Alicia Tucker has had her eyes set on Harrison James from the beginning and all she wants is one night to prove she’s the one for him.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorHeidiMcLaughlin?fref=ts

A Vegas Love by Jillian Dodd ~ Boy (so freaking hot) meets girl. On that drunken night, they hook-up (twice), then decide to party in Vegas, and end up getting married. Consummate said marriage (quite a few times) then girl sneaks out in the morning.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JillianDodd1?fref=ts

Lucky by JM Darhower ~ One night. That's all Maddalena Bazzoli has left before family duty kicks in. Tomorrow, she'll be a committed woman, so tonight? Tonight she's getting lucky and throwing caution to the wind.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JMDarhower?fref=ts

One Taste by LP Dover ~ All Luke wanted was one night with the girl he wanted, but didn’t deserve. When he finally gets her, one taste might not be enough. Unfortunately, it’s all he’s going to get.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lpdover?fref=ts

Before the Wreckage by Melissa Collins ~ It’s been eighteen years since David Andrews has seen Grace McCann. One night she’s in his dream and the next she’s in his reality.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MelissaCollins.Author?fref=ts

Hold It Against Me by Alivia Anders ~ Alyssa Grace is determined to settle an age-old score, one that Mason Weston will never forget. They say the easier way to get something out of your system is to indulge in the fantasy.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aliviaanders?hc_location=ufi

Prelude by Anna Cruise ~ After a fight with his on-again, off-again girlfriend, the last thing Nash needs is a mysterious stranger knocking on his door in the middle of the night. Because as beautiful as she is, their encounter will only be a prelude to much uglier things headed his way.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnnaCruiseBooks?hc_location=ufi

Thou Shall Not Fall in Love by AO Peart ~ What happens when a frustrated-with-her-love-life professional matchmaker meets a committed-to-celibacy divorce attorney? An explosive and delicious mixture of wild sex and brazen humor neatly wrapped in a friends-with-benefits agreement.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AOPeartAuthor?hc_location=ufi

Quintessence by Cameo Renae ~ One night. One stolen moment. One complete stranger. One bite. That’s all it took to change Kate’s life forever.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CameoRenaeFanPage?hc_location=ufi

A Frigid Encounter by Jennifer Foor ~ A winter storm brings a woman and man together during dire circumstances.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JenniferFoorAuthor?hc_location=ufi

One Night Wife by Kelly Walker ~ Cole wants one night with a pretty face before he deploys with his unit in two days, but the last thing he expects is for his childhood crush to open the door. With only one night to spend together, can they make up for a lifetime of missed opportunities?

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KellyWalkerAuthor?hc_location=ufi

Only Once by Julia Crane ~ With only months to live, Meghan Clarke throws caution to the wind when she meets an arrogant stranger who makes her feel more alive than she has in years.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/juliacraneauthor?ref=bookmarks&hc_location=ufi

A Night Worth Dying For by Lizzy Ford ~ In a city at the mercy of a serial killer, Alicia Donovan takes a chance on a handsome stranger - and will never be the same again. Erotic thriller.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LizzyFordBooks?hc_location=ufi

Finding Skye by Morgan Black ~ Skye Kellan just wants a body to snuggle up against during the lonely nights that remind her of a dark past. One night with a potential client, is exactly the release she needs. No nightmares when you don’t sleep, right?

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Morgan-Black-Erotic-Romance-Author/533330676677161?hc_location=ufi

Shattering all the Rules by Savannah Rylan ~ A rare night off. A girls night out. When Simon meets Carolina, neither can deny themselves any longer, and both decided it’s time to shatter all the rules.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SavannahRylan?hc_location=ufi

Press Your Luck by SE Anderson ~ Marko Veltriv is used to getting what he wants, but there’s always been one thing he knows even he can’t have. Coogan MacNeal is a stranger with a dangerous temptation--one night, indulging in his risky fantasy. How can Marko possibly resist?

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/SE-Anderson/865155860189661?hc_location=ufi

Surprised by You by Steph Nuss ~ Tessa Wilder is in for a night of surprises when Justin Jameson offers her a ride home.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StephNussAuthor?hc_location=ufi

REVIEW

 

Lucky by J.M. Darhower

 

 

The year of 1998. The movie Shakespeare in Love, was released and there was a scene where Dame Judi Dench won the Academy Award. It was a tiny roll but it left a huge impression and just from this short story, Lucky by J.M. Darhower, it leaves another one. This is the prequel to Twenty to Life, a new mafia themed storyline. If I was to say anything about this story, I would give everything away but I will say this; though it's somewhat predictable the last line will have you saying, WOAH.

 

 



New Release ~ The Lost by Cole McCade

The Lost by Cole McCade

Date of Publication: August 25, 2015

Blurb

 

She's known it her whole life. She knows it every time she spreads her legs. Every time she begs for the pain, the pleasure, the heat of a hard man driving deep inside. She's a slave to her own twisted lusts--and it's eating her alive. She loves it. She craves it. Sex is her drug, and she's always chasing her next fix. But nothing can satisfy her addiction, not even the nameless men she uses and tosses aside. No one's ever given her what she truly needs.

Until Gabriel Hart.

Cold. Controlled. Impenetrable. Ex-Marine Gabriel Hart isn't the kind of man to come running when Leigh crooks her pretty little finger. She loathes him. She hungers for him. He's the only one who understands how broken she is, and just what it takes to satisfy the emptiness inside. But Gabriel won't settle for just one night. He wants to claim her, keep her, make her forever his. Together they are the lost, the ruined, the darkness at the heart of Crow City.

But Leigh has a darkness of her own. A predator stalking through her past--one she'll do anything to escape.

Even if it means running from the one man who could love her...and leaving behind something more precious to her than life itself.

Available From

Amazon (Kindle) Amazon (Kindle) - UK

Excerpt:

Note: This book contains material that may be triggering for some readers

PROLOGUE

“State your name.”

Cold, clipped words, blending into the noise of the police station. Leigh lifted her head from a fixed study of her clenched fingers. Colors whirled around her in a lurid carnival nightmare, too bright, too blurry. On a bench on the far side of the room, a wasted and broken scarecrow woman picked at a scab on her wrist with a certain habitual listlessness, oozing diseased red-brown blood over liver spots. Her tendons were rails under her skin, and the dull gleam of cuffs chained her to the bench. She raised her head and stared at Leigh with yellowed eyes that captured her with a sort of empty, terrifying promise.

Across the desk a policewoman waited, with that compassionate impatience only a half-step from pity and shoulder-to-shoulder with disgust. Her flat blue eyes said she’d been trained to care, but couldn’t be bothered anymore. Leigh swallowed and tugged her hoodie close against the tinny air-conditioned chill. Her mouth had dried to a tacky, sticky mess, gummy pills of lipstick beading on her lips, and her tongue was a bloated and useless organ, this swollen pink thing pushing pointlessly against her teeth.

“Leigh,” she ground out. “Clarissa Leigh…” Her married name scratched sandpaper syllables against her throat. “…van Zandt.”

“And Miss van Zandt, do you know why you’re here?”

She nodded, her neck a creaking wooden puppet-hinge. “I do.”

“Your family’s been worried about you.”

“I know.”

She knew what she should do here. Bow her head in shame and contrition, maybe even sniffle. But she looked for the emotions and they weren’t there; just scraps and tatters, clinging to the empty place where they belonged. She had no feeling left, hollowed out and lost and wondering how she’d ended up here. This didn’t feel real. Instead it was a dream where everyone leered in fisheye close-up, their smiles all teeth and stretched red lips and manic glee. She wanted to run, but somehow she’d gone too numb to do anything but sit here surrounded by the stink of fear-sweat, stale beer, and that particular police-station smell of urine soaked into concrete for decades on end.

“What happened to you?” the officer asked. Leigh didn’t answer, and the officer’s pen tapped against the forms on her desk, rat-tat-tat, rat-tat-tat, Morse code for I’d rather be anywhere but here with this spoiled little runaway princess. “It’s been four years. You were declared legally dead.”

“That’s all right.” She closed her eyes with a laugh that ripped her guts up into her mouth, and buried her face in her hands. Dead. Dead.

Yeah, that was about right.

“Miss van Zandt?”

Stop calling me that.

“Miss van Zandt. I need you to focus on my voice.”

Stop calling me that!

Leigh took a measured breath and opened her eyes. Her shoulders squared. The bolts on the back of the hard, ass-biting chair dug into her shoulder blades. “I am focused. I can hear you just fine.”

“Eyes are dilated.” The officer—her nametag read Maroni, could there be a more clichéd name for a Crow City cop—leaned across the desk, peering at her face. Then she beckoned to the aide hovering over them like a mannequin. “I’ve seen this too many times. Drugs and prostitution.” She talked about Leigh like she wasn’t even there. “We’ll have to clean her up before her husband gets here.”

“I’m not on drugs. I’ve never been on drugs.”

Maroni’s pen-clicking stopped. Her disbelief was a heavy thing, push-push-pushing until Leigh nearly laughed.

“You’re not on drugs.”

“No.”

“Then what happened?”

There it was. The first hint of exasperation. Of frustration, stitched into knitted brows and the purse of lips in just the right shade of I can’t be a woman, I’m a cop mauve. Because like anyone normal, anyone who wasn’t fucking broken to pieces and liked being that way, Maroni needed to make sense of this. Needed to quantify it in a world where the rules worked as normal and everyone wanted to chase that dream of happiness that wasn’t anything but desperation painted over of a frantic tally of things. Things of plastic, things with value created by people whose upper lips curled when they looked down at little girls like Leigh, and demanded she account for herself in sane, rational ways that made proper sense.

Sorry, Officer Maroni.

I’m not the kind of thing that makes much sense.

Maroni pushed a harsh sound through her teeth. “You had a job, a husband, a newborn son. You had a life other people would kill for, and we find you here on the streets. Were you pressured? Kidnapped?”

“No. None of that.” Leigh shook her head.

“You’ll have to explain, then.”

“I left.” She trailed off, lips parted; no words came for long seconds, until she managed, “I…I was afraid.”

“Of what?” Maroni tried to catch her eye, but Leigh looked down at her hands, at her chipped pink fingernails dipped in the sparkles of shooting stars. “Miss van Zandt. If someone was hurting you, you need to tell us now so we can take appropriate steps to protect you.”

“No. No one hurt me. Not like that.”

“I’m afraid you’ll need to be more clear. What were you afraid of?”

“Of…”

She struggled for an answer. Struggled for something this woman would accept, something that would make her sigh with sympathy and pity and relieved disdain that said there, but for the Grace of God…

But again, she found nothing. Nothing but the truth, and Leigh shrugged as she looked up at the policewoman and wondered if she had daughters who might one day be like Leigh, daughters who would cut stark red lines of fingernails in the walls of flesh that caged her in the shape of pop culture’s perfect woman.

“Of the inevitable monotony of it all,” she said.

And smiled.

---

About Cole McCade

Corporate consultant by day, contemporary romance author by night.
Mid-thirties. Coffee addict. Cat lover. Bibliophile. Technophile. Definite sapiophile. Native Southerner. Runner. Country boy turned city suit. Shameless collector of guitar picks, vinyl records, and incense holders. Aficionado of late-night conversations over live music in seedy bars. Browncoat with a secret crush on Kaylee Frye.
Fascinated by human sociology, and particularly by the psychology of sex and gender – and their effect on relationship expectations, the culture of dating, and what it means to fall in love.
Non-smoker. The picture's just a stock photo. A rather broody, dark one for someone who isn't all that broody or dark, but sometimes forgets to smile even when he means to.

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