Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Review: Truth by AC Bextor




To protect Emma and save Casey, Max continues his battle against Satan's Creed MC and those who dwell within its compound.
This is the final book of the Vengeance Duet and is also categorized as romantic suspense, which includes darker themes. Due to situations and content, this book should not be read by those under the age of 18.

TRUTH.

The players have been identified and the plan is in formation.

Connotation. Inference. Postulate.
To ensure Casey's safety and avenge his sister's death, Max Taylor continues his vow for vengeance against the men who threaten harm to those he loves.

Trueness. Verity. Honesty.

His life within the Creed MC compound is darkening as each day passes. Until now, he's been left without word from those who swore their allegiance to his cause.

Veracity. Credibility. Authenticity.

As the bonds of brotherhood are further tested, Max is soon forced to accept what should ultimately set him free.

TRUTH.



4 Star Review by Jennifer Hagen

Usually I curse my insomnia, but in this case it allowed me to finish a book in one setting without the human garbage disposals vying for my attention or food.  “Dirty” was the predecessor to “Truth” and whereas the first book held the story setting and build up, “Truth” had the execution.  I could not have fallen asleep even if I had tried – there was way too much happening for me to put the book down.  Once again Ms. Bextor has written flawlessly from the character’s voices to the scene progressions.  I can always immerse myself in her writing.  I never have to guess where she is taking me on her journey because she writes with such fluidity that I can forget about everything else and just follow her words.
I can’t find that in all books, but I can find that in all Ms. Bextor’s books.

Casey is 11-years-old and being held behind locked doors at Creed, the local motorcycle club. Her mother is a drug addict and really couldn’t give a care as to how Casey is faring.  She and Hangar are too busy getting high to notice.  Hangar gives me the creeps…he is the club vice president, a junkie and a mean junkie at that.  I wouldn’t trust him even if I could see him.  He just has an evil way about him and he is evil to the core.  He is very brutal with his physical force.  Basically Hangar scares me and can’t be trusted.

Max is a very good guy.  He is dating Casey’s aunt, Em, and he has worked his way into his former club’s good graces to keep his eye on Casey and to try to get her out of there.  There are secrets abounding at the clubhouse.  Why is Casey being held and why are there other women being held? It’s very stressful for Max to play the club knowing that once his game is figured out he will have to face the consequences of betrayal.

“I hate this,” I admit quietly, running my hand through the back of my hair in frustration.  “Every f*ckin’ minute of every g*dd*amn day.  I hate it.”

Max has promised to get to the bottom of Casey’s captivity and he will do whatever it takes to free her.  He loves Em and wants to resolve this issue so that they focus on being a family together.  His quest for answers has overtaken his life and everything else around him seems to be on hold.  He once left the life of the MC and here he is back again seeing vile things that he does not want to be part of.  He will do anything to free Casey.

I’m convinced I won’t find the peace I struggle so badly to gain until she’s free.

With the help from his friends that like to “blow sh*t up”, Max is getting closer to finding the truth behind Casey’s captivity and what it means for her.  Max is playing a dangerous game of conning two sides.  If caught he will be of no help to Casey, and even Em’s life can be used to draw him out of his game plan. Plus there’s the added mystery of what happened to his sister, Marie, that is being used to play him.   We have to hope Max can keep his game face because there are too many innocent lives on the line counting on his well-played deception to free them.   It’s all or nothing…


“This is the truth, my friend.  It’s what you said you were after all along.  But knowing the truth, as you’re about to, will change how you see your life and how you’ve come to accept it.  You can’t go back to being who you were once you know.” 

Release Day Blitz: Loch by Harper Bentley

Title: Loch (The Powers That Be #3)
Author: Harper Bentley
Release Date: Sept 30, 2015
Find on Goodreads
Loch Powers was the hottest guy I’d ever seen in my entire life.

And I hated him with every fiber of my being.

I'd practically known him since birth. Heck, we’d literally shared a crib as babies at his mom’s daycare.

Then I’d crushed on him hard when we hit middle school but he wouldn’t give geeky, glasses-wearing me the time of day. When his mom made him take me to the sixth grade dance, he’d humiliated me and I vowed to never talk to him again.

The next year when my family moved away, I told myself that if I never saw him again it’d be too soon.

Now I’m back and attending the same college, but I’m no longer the skinny, ugly girl who was so infatuated with him. And I’m so over him it’s not even funny.

But now that I’m no longer the ugly duckling, he’s set his sights on me, and I’m just not sure what to do with that.



4 Star Review by Lisa Kane

Simone St. John is transferring to Hallervan University in Seattle. She attended UC Berkeley in Cali for her first two years, but an old friend, Marcy, has an opening for a roommate and now is the perfect time for her to move back to her old town. She was glad to escape Seattle when she was a twelve year old, because the kid she crushed on- Lochlan Powers, was a total jerk to her and publicly humiliated her. All these years later and she still can't get him out of her head. 

Well it turns out (thanks to the heads up from Marcy) that Loch and his brothers have all attended Hallervan and being the hot, gorgeous men blessed with a killer gene pool, they are well known and quite the big deal. Figures huh? Well, (Simone isn't going to let that bother her. She's back to where she considers home and if she should happen to see him, oh well, she can ignore him and move on. 


"You remember Loch as a skinny sixth grader."
I took a bite. "Yeah? So?" I questioned, my voice garbled because of the food in my mouth. Classy, I know. 
"He's hot now."
"He was hot then."
"Yeah, but he's hot now." "Hot as in man hot not little boy hot," she went on to explain.
I was getting ticked off now because what did I care. "so he's hot. Big whoop. He's still an A-hole."

Of course her first day of class the hot guy that is in one of her classes approaches her and turns out to be- Loch. Surprise surprise. She doesn't admit who she is but tells him her name is Celeste. He wants to take her out. She wants to go, but she can't let go of the past. It doesn't help that Marcy comes up with a plan for Simone to make Loch fall for her and then humiliate him by letting him know this was all for revenge. 

There is a lot of back and forth in this story. Simone really likes Loch and Loch has grown up and changed. He admits to her that there was a girl when he was younger that he was awful to and he regrets never having told her that he was sorry. Why he doesn't see any of the younger Simone in Celeste is beyond me. Every time Loch thinks Simone is playing around on him, there seems to be another girl thrown in the mix, but when they work things out, there is never any explanation as to who it was or whether he hooked up with her. That bothered me. 


 Secrets always have a way of being are revealed and then hearts are bruised.

A moment of indecision blasted through me as I stood there biting my lip. I wanted to go after him and tell him what an idiot I was, how stupid I was to even think of hurting him. 
But in the end, I decided it was for the best to let him go. 

 Both Loch and Simone spend too much time angry at each other, but according to Loch, that is a good thing according to Loch. 

"That's three fights in less than a month, Loch. How're we gonna make it? Crap!"
"When we're old and gray I hope we're still fighting like this."
I jerked my head back looking at him like he was nuts.
He smiled, pushing a lock of hair behind my ear. 
"Means we care, babe. If we didn't, there'd be nothing to fight about." 

I haven' t read the first few books in this series, but my curiosity is piqued, so I will have to check them out. 




Harper Bentley has taught high school English for 22 years. Although she’s managed to maintain her sanity regardless of her career choice, jumping into the world of publishing her own books goes to show that she might be closer to the ledge than was previously thought.

After traveling the nation in her younger years as a military brat, having lived in Alaska, Washington State and California, she now resides in Oklahoma with her teenage daughter, two dogs and one cat, happily writing stories that she hopes her readers will enjoy.

Blog Tour: Anchor by M Mabie




I believe in love at first sight. 
Now I know soulmates exist. 

Nothing has ever been easy for us. 
Every fight, every struggle, has been worth it. 

I’m stubborn, but what woman isn’t? 
She’s hard work and I love the overtime. 

He’s frustrating and unpredictable. I hope he never changes. 
I love driving her crazy. That’s half the fun. 

Lou’s sexy curls. 
Honeybee’s pink nose. 

He still looks at me like I’m precious and unflawed. 
She treats me like I’m the center of her world. 

Our future will be full of happiness. 
Despite everything, we’re two of the lucky ones. 

I took the bait. 
She was a lucky catch. 

He is the wind in my sail. 
She’s the anchor that grounds me. 

The wake our love made is beautiful. 
Every day I thank God for her. 

No matter the hurdles, we’ve jumped them side-by-side. 
No matter the obstacles, we’ve made it through together. 

For better or for worse, I’d do it again. 
I’ll love and protect her all the days of my life. 

We made it. 
We always will. 


4 Stars By Lisa Kane

He could heal me, distract me. Replace hurt with desire. Fear with ecstasy. Hate with love. Greedily, I just couldn't resist him.

Anchor provides soothing to my anxious soul. Bait shattered me, Sail calmed me down and Anchor is the salve to my open wounds. It begins just after Grant has done his worst and attacked Blake. Casey is devoted to making sure she heals both physically and mentally and will do anything to make sure this happens. Although make no mistake, Grant still has a few tricks up his sleeve. 

If there was a pill I could take to make him disappear from my memory, I'd take two just in case. My ambivalence to him had changed. Intensified. I didn't just not want him. I hated him.

Once Blake begins the healing process, Casey wants nothing more than to make his honeybee his bride. After so much heartache,  happiness is just within their reach. They have fought for it, and no one deserves it more. 


"We don't mind work is what I should have said, I suppose. We fell in love. It wasn't the right time. It was inconvenient as fuck and, at times, it hurt so bad. It would have been much easier to quit."

This is a time for celebration. Their friends and families could not be more supportive. They were not completely blinded to Blake's indifference regarding her first marriage-but when she is with Casey-she is a totally different woman. 

There just may be an appearance from our resident beer whore Aly. Just typing this woman's name grates on my nerves. She's like a fly buzzing in my ear that I just want to squash. Will she cause trouble again? 

I loved this story-it has a little sour, but every story needs a little angst right? But the sweet-oh,  there are so many sweet parts. Blake and Casey could not be more in love and more confidant that the path they are taking together is the one they were meant to take. Read this, savor it and enjoy! 


"My love for you owns me. It consumes me. It makes me reckless and sane, with it I'm both weaker and stronger than I'd ever be without it."


Bio:
M. Mabie lives in Illinois with her husband. She writes unconventional love stories and tries to embody "real-life romance."

She cares about politics, but will not discuss them in public. She uses the same fork at every meal, watches Wayne's World while cleaning, and lets her dog sleep on her head. She has always been a writer. In fact, she was born with a pen in her hand, which almost never happens. Almost. 

M. Mabie usually doesn't speak in third-person. She promises.

 
Amazon Author page → http://www.amazon.com/M.-Mabie/e/B00JG5A6D6
Goodreads Author Page → https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7420449.M_Mabie
Newsletter → http://goo.gl/forms/917BIwS57v
Website→ mmabie.com
Facebook → facebook.com/AuthorMMabie
...and pretty much everywhere you can be on social media.

Review: The World: According to Graham by Layne Harper





“Love doesn’t follow Einstein’s rules of the universe. It doesn’t march across a linear plane of time. No. Love is other worldly. It doesn’t believe in rules and timelines and logical next steps. My brain kept reasoning with my heart that we couldn’t feel this strongly about Graham Jackson, the guy that I only dated for two weeks, but what I’ve come to learn about the heart is that it doesn’t listen to logic.” 

Rachael Early, the first female White House Chief of Staff, is facing the scariest chapter of her life – the unknown. After discovering that Graham Jackson is one of the Sons of Liberty – a political talk show that is shaking up Washington – she ends their two week, whirlwind love affair. However, fate has other plans, forcing them back into each other’s lives. Rachael and Graham begin their journey to overcome the hurt they’ve caused each other and move forward while struggling to find balance in their new careers. In the conclusion to Rachael and Graham’s story, their relationship is tested in ways that they could have never imagined. In the end, does love really conquer all? 



4.5 Stars!

Review by Jen Hagen 


I will be completely honest – I was not a huge Rachael fan when she was first introduced to us back in Caroline and Colin’s story.  I found her to be self-centered, but when she got her own story I began to tolerate her.  Now in this latest installment I am in Rachael’s corner.  We see a whole new side to Rachael – she is vulnerable, agreeable, and fragile.  I loved Graham from his first introduction and when Rachael wouldn’t stand by him and acknowledge their relationship, my heart broke for this man who had so much to offer Rachael.   This sequel begins immediately following where the first book left off with Rachael meeting Graham at a diner and delivering him some shocking news. 

My inability to put my entire being into our relationship has created the angry, highly emotional man that is gripping the edge of a picnic table so hard that his knuckles are white. 

Graham is ready to take his Sons of Liberty political show on an 18-month tour.  He wants Rachael to come with him on the road so that they can get to know each other on a more personal level since their quick 14-day lust-filled relationship failed to bring out personal details other than they have great sexual chemistry together.   A huge secret broke up their relationship and they are both still reeling from trust being broken, and it’s not just Graham’s fault now.  Rachael has her own secret that needs to be revealed.

“Forgive me, please,” I plead into his back.  “I need you, Graham.  Tell me what to do to make this right.  Tell me what I have to do to make you forgive me.”

Rachael has a plan that involves going to hide out in Texas with Caroline and Colin.  Graham is much more ambitious when it comes to his ingenuity and his plan involves a cross-country trek in a tin can with his black lab in the back seat.  Rachael is in her agreeable mode so she is willing to try.  It’s not like Rachael to be so placabIe and I, along with Graham, didn’t quite know what to make of her new characteristic.  Rachael seems to adjust well to her new daily life that does not include daily presidential debriefings.

As I drift off to sleep, I allow myself to believe that this could be our future, and the smile on my face is so foreign that my cheeks ache from lack of use.    

Graham has a lot on his plate.  His show is struggling, his co-hosts are blaming him for the mix-ups on the tour, and he is balancing travel with show taping.  It would be enough to send me to the prescription pill bottle to reign in my anxiety, but Graham seems to have everything under control.  He has a very strong personality and I admired him for all the backlash he was getting from his partners but yet remained calm and never waivered with his devotion to either Rachael or the show.  But then the rug is pulled out from both he and Rachael…

He takes a seat on the floor next to me. His fingers comb through my strands of wild hair.  “Today has been the worst day of my life,” he states.  

There’s no denying what he is saying...it truly was the worst day of his life, but yet Graham was able to remain calm and controlled.  That man is amazing!  He is so sweet, gentle, and forgiving.  
“Every morning I marvel that I can love you more than when I fell asleep the night before.”

Ms. Harper has never disappointed me with her well-executed stories and plots.  I have loved every book she has written and I look forward to more (as a side note I hope I’m right in my thinking on who the next featured character will be…)






Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Review: Fugly by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff




UGLY IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER...
My name is Lily Snow. I am twenty-five years old, and despite being born with an unattractive face, I have never doubted who I am: smart, driven, and beautiful on the inside.

Until I met Maxwell Cole.

He's handsome, excessively wealthy, and the owner of Cole Cosmetics. It's been my dream to work for this man for as long as I can remember. The good news is he wants to hire me. The bad news is he wants me for all the wrong reasons. Ugly reasons.

In exchange, he's offered me my dreams on a silver platter. The job. The title. A beautiful future. But this man is as messed up and ugly as they come on the inside. I'm not sure anyone can help him, and he just might take my heart down with him.

(STAND ALONE NOVEL- MATURE AUDIENCES ONLY)



4.5 Star Review by Jen Skewes

When I red the synopsis for this book I had to read it.

Lily is smart, and beautiful on the inside and has the perfect body.  But her body and her face do not match.   Her whole life she has been criticized for being ugly.  But she never let that stop her.  Lily is about to interview for her dream job working for Cole Cosmetics.  She has the perfect resume and is more than qualified for the job.  But the minute Maxwell Cole, the owner, sees her, he turns her down. 

Having nothing to lose she confronts him as to why he dismissed her so quickly.  But despite her efforts she still left his office without her dream job.  But when Mr. Cole lands on her doorstep making her a new offer, she has to decide if she really wants to work for a man who can't even look at her.  But then she realizes that he needs her in a way she never expected.  And she also sees that maybe Mr. Cole is not the pompous arrogant ass that she thought he was.  Ok maybe that is stretching it a little too far.  He is sexy, rich, powerful and very arrogant.  But this is her dream job.  This will open up so many doors for her.  So when she tells him what it will take for her to take the job he quickly accepts her offer.  And now she is left wondering what the hell she just did.  And all she knows is that working for Mr. Cole will end up hurting her some how.  But will it all be worth it in the end?

What I loved about this book and these characters is the banter between the two of them.  It was fun, witty, sarcastic and at times abrasive.  But I loved it.  You could see deep down that these two wanted each other.  And that maybe they didn’t dislike each other as much as one would think.    Max Cole may have been arrogant and a pompous ass but I couldn’t help but love the guy.  He had his own ugly issues that he was trying to deal with and overcome.  But he needed Lily’s help to do that.  He felt a connection with her and probably shared more with her than any other woman he has been with.  They were just perfect together despite their differences.  While Lily was beautiful on the inside and considered ugly on the outside, Max was the opposite.  He is hot and sexy and every women’s dream.  But he was very ugly on the inside.  But with the help of this beautiful woman he hoped to get past the ugliness.    

I loved Lily’s character.  She came off as bitchy some times but that is one of the reason’s why I loved her.  She did not take shit from anyone.  Despite being made fun of growing up she had this confidence about her that I loved and admired.  And on top of that she had the most amazing and supportive family.  Even if at times they were just a tad bit overwhelming.  But they loved her.

Fugly is one of those books that I could not put down from the moment I started reading it.  These two characters had me from the start.  I wanted them to be together.  I wanted Mac to be the man I knew he was and be able to get past hiss issues and see how much he was falling in love with her.    And This was a fun and sexy read with a bit of drama added to the mix. 




Blog Tour: Desperate Chances by A Meredith Walters




Sex changes everything.
And love can turn into an enemy…
Mitch Abrams, the bassist for the popular rock band Generation Rejects, has been in love with Gracie Cook for years. But Gracie, a complicated girl with a lot of baggage, was too blind to see how she felt about the man who had always stood by her.
Until one night of passion brought them closer than they had ever been before.
Feeling off balance and out of control, Gracie does the only thing a girl with self-destructive tendencies can do: end things with Mitch before they can really begin.
So Mitch moves on. With his band, his friends, and a new girlfriend.
Yet he can’t seem to forget about the girl who threw his heart away.
Gracie, who is still struggling to build a life after crashing to the bottom, finds it hard to forget about her one night with Mitch. And even as she tries to convince herself it was only sex, her heart knows differently.
But life is full of chances and desperate moments. And when Mitch and Gracie are thrown back into each other’s lives, will they seize at the opportunity to do things right?

Or will the rock star and the less than ordinary girl crash and burn?




4 Star Review by Lisa Kane

Gracie Cook is trying hard to stay on course. It's been over a year since she had a drink, She makes sure she handles her food issues, she is working part time free lancing as a journalist for a garden magazine and she is fending off her over bearing parents' attempts to control her very move. Her biggest regret is the loss of Mitch Abrams from her life. The bass guitarist from Generation Rejects is on tour, but they haven't really talked since she friend zoned him. He wanted more, they had a one night stand and she shut it down. Two weeks later he started dating Sophie Lanier and a year later they are still together. Sophie knows she made a colossal mistake, but it's too late-he's happy with his girlfriend and who is she to mess with that? 

I may have ruined things with Mitch but I'd be damned if I'd ruin the rest of me.

But Generation Rejects is not doing so well out on tour. While their first album was a huge success their follow up was mediocre and their venues are not selling out. They are coming home and going to figure out what to do. There are some credible rumors that their label is dropping them due to their lackluster sales. 

In a moment of weakness Gracie sends a text to Mitch. It takes him a while but he responds with a cute text of his own. But Gracie realizes this was a mistake and she chooses not to answer him. 


And I wouldn't fight for something that was never mine to begin with. I cared about Mitch too much to ruin his current, healthy relationship just so I could find my happiness. 

Gracie reluctantly goes to see one of their last shows and meets up with her girls-Maysie, Vivian and Riley. They are there to see their guys perform-Jordan, Cole and Garrett. Of course Sophie is there with Mitch and has been touring with them the last month. Gracie feels like an outsider, she's the only single one. All of her friends are moving on with their life and their partners and she is alone. 

I was the poor single gal hanging with all of her coupled up friends. I'd be the loser sitting on the couch playing Candy Crush on her phone while her buddies were gettin' it on. 

Little does she know that in spite of his indifferent behavior to her, Mitch is far from over her. He can't help but compare his relationship to the one he has with Sophie. 

A nice girl.

Constant. Always there. 
That's what had been important. 


But Sophie was there to pick up the pieces when Gracie rejected him. She may not inspire the highs for him, but there are no lows that shatter him. She is gentle, has little baggage and makes things easy for him. After living with Gracie and her meltdown prior to her rehab days, he needed simple. But is simple enough? 

Their friends think they should both talk things out. None of them can understand what Mitch sees in Sophie. After a year together, she still rarely talks to his friends or makes any effort to show a real interest in his career or his love of music. 

The more time that Mitch and Gracie are in each other's company, the more they admit to themselves that they miss what they had, and a year later, that void is still there. Now will they just stop being so pig headed and stupid about each other? Will they finally risk their hearts getting broken again on the chance that they can have each other again and the possibility exists that things will be even better than before? 


This is the last book in A Meredith Walters' Bad Rep series. I have loved these rockers and the women who transformed their lives. I wouldn't mind the occasional novella to catch me up with their lives! 



"You are my beginning."
Kiss.
"You are my middle."
Kiss. Kiss.
"You are my ever after."






EXCERPT 1

 I realized I was staring. Mitch knew I was staring.

So of course he purposefully gave his girlfriend his attention, his body angled towards me but his head bent low so that his face was close to Sophie’s. He pushed the hair back off her forehead. His eyes were on her face and he gave her soft smile that I recognized only too well.

A smile that I had thought, at one time, was only for me.

Get over it, Gracie! It’s been a year! What did you think would happen? That he’d pine over you forever? Get a grip!

I started to turn away when Mitch looked back towards me, his eyes locking on mine.

I forgot how to breathe.

My heart thudded almost painfully in my chest.

My mouth went dry and my hands began to tremble. A need that I had almost forgotten about thrummed through my body. My belly tightened and my nipples hardened. The air hummed and sizzled. I was altered completely. Just by a look.

How had I never felt this electricity between us before? The answer was obvious.

I had been totally blind. I hadn’t wanted to see it. Because if I had acknowledged it, everything would have changed. And at that time I couldn’t handle that. The truth was I had been absolutely terrified.

Maysie squeezed my arm but I barely felt it. Jordan was still talking but I didn’t hear him.

All I could see was Mitch.

All Mitch could see was me.

We were locked in a stand off, neither of us moving.

All too soon he broke our intense staring contest. He bent down and kissed his girlfriend almost angrily. It was a harsh press of lips that seemed to take Sophie by surprise. She wrapped her arms around Mitch and held him tenderly even as he ground his mouth against hers.

I looked away. I could barely breathe around the lump sitting painfully in the middle of my chest. A pain that I knew to be jealousy.

And regret.


About The Author:
The New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Contemporary and Paranormal romance including The Find You in the Dark and Bad Rep series as well as the upcoming stand alone romance, Reclaiming the Sand, and a dark new adult series for Gallery Books.

A. Meredith spent ten years as a counselor for at risk teens and children. First working at a Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault program and then later a program for children with severe emotional and mental health issues. Her former clients and their stories continue to influence every aspect of her writing.

When not writing (or being tortured with all manner of beauty products at the hand of her very imaginative and extremely girly daughter), she is eating chocolate, watching reality television that could rot your brain and reading a smutty novel or two.

A. Meredith is represented by Michelle Johnson with the Inklings Literary Agency.

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