Monday 23 December 2013

Review: Bespelled by Dani Kristoff

This is my review of Bespelled by Dani Kristoff, I was given an advanced reader copy to review by Net Galley.

Publication date: 1st Feb 2014
ISBN: 9780857991218



Synopsis:

This isn't your mum's Bewitched...
Elena Denholm is a mild-mannered half witch. As a favour to her cousin, she agrees to meet with top Sydney lawyer, Jake Royston, to negotiate a property deal. Sparks fly immediately, but before they can even take a sip of wine, let alone explore where the sizzle might go, Jake is hit by a love spell and is helpless against his feelings for Elena. 
Jake may be at her mercy, but Elena is keeping her hands off — exploiting humans is a no-no. But Jake’s good looks and powers of persuasion are breaking down her resolve, and Elena knows she must do something fast. 
Desperate to set things right before her resolve crumbles, Elena begins a frantic search to find the witch or warlock who hexed Jake and return him to his right mind, even if it means breaking her own heart...

Review:

When I was reading the synopsis for this book I was certainly intrigued, I haven't read many romance books with the heroine being a witch!

The book started out ok, I liked the fact that Elena was a smart woman who made her own charms etc to sell and that she seemed really comfortable in her skin. I also really liked Jake, he is a Sydney lawyer and came across as charismatic and a bit of an Alpha Male.

I liked both of the main characters..... until they met each other, and then I didn't! I didn't like the whole love spell scenario and how Jake changed from an Alpha male to a whipped Puppy! it just didn't do anything for me!

Nor did I particularly like the secondary characters, they had no depth and didn't hold my interest.

I won't reveal the end of the book except to say that there was really no reason for the author to take Jake's character down the genetic route she did, it would have been a much more interesting story had she left him as he was.

I'm coming off very negative about this book, but truthfully it wasn't that bad. Did it entertain me? slightly, Was it a lighthearted and easy read? Yes. But I wouldn't recommend this book, nor would I read it again.

Therefore my overall review for this book is:

 2.5 stars out of 5





Sunday 22 December 2013

Review: A Christmas to remember an Anthology

This is my review for A Christmas to remember, a collection of stories from, Hope Ramsay, Molly Cannon, Marilyn Pappano, Jill Shalvis and Kristen Ashley. I was given a review copy to read by Net Galley.

Publication Date: 3rd December 2013





Synopsis:


Curl up with this heartwarming Christmas collection!

Jill ShalvisDream a Little Dream: Melissa has kept every man at a safe distance-especially firefighter Ian, a sexy friend with sexy benefits. But Ian secretly longs for more. Luckily, 'tis the season for giving love a chance . . . 


Kristen AshleyEvery Year: Holidays don't come easy for Shy and his brother, Landon. But with the magic of Christmas, along with a little help from Tabby and her family, the Cage brothers are about to get the gift of a lifetime . . .

 
Hope RamsaySilent Night: Down on her luck and evicted from her apartment, single mother Maryanne hopes to start over in Last Chance. When the snow begins to fall, it looks like her baby might literally spend Christmas Eve in a manger. And Maryanne might celebrate the holiday with a handsome stranger.

 
Molly CannonHave Yourself a Messy Little Christmas: Lincoln is a bachelor who's set in his ways-until a professional organizer dressed up as Mrs. Claus changes his life, one tip at a time. . . 


Marilyn PappanoA Family for Christmas: War widow Ilena doesn't mind spending Christmas alone. But when a new doctor blows into town with the winter wind, will she get her secret Christmas wish?
Plus: Excerpts from upcoming novels!



Review:

As you can probably tell from the title, this book is a collection of Christmas stories from a variety of romance authors. I was really excited to read this book as Kristen Ashley; one of my favourite authors was featured.

Before starting this book I was expecting it to be a sugary sweet collection of books to get everyone in the mood for Christmas, and boy was I right!

With the exception of Kristen Ashley and to a lesser extent Molly Cannon, all of these stories were very fluffy (i.e. a bit Mills and Boony for my taste) and were quite superficial; I suppose you have to expect this really for an anthology, there's only so much you can fit into 60 or so pages!

As previously stated Kristen Ashley is one of my favourite authors, so I was predisposed to like this story; and I did! the two couples in this book (Tack & Tyra and Shy and Tabby) are some of my favourite of this authors characters so I was thrilled to have a snapshot into their Christmas story and catch up with the characters stories.

Molly Cannon's 'Have Yourself a Messy Little Christmas' was a good little read as well, i really liked the characters and storyline but was slightly disappointed in the sickly sweet ending.

Overall, I would recommend this book to fans of the individual authors, but don't expect much depth to the book. It does however get you into the Christmas Spirit!

My rating for this book is: 3 out of 5 stars as I really only liked two of the stories.






Wednesday 18 December 2013

Review: Mafia Girl by Deborah Blumenthal

This is my review for 'Mafia Girl' by Deborah Blumenthal. I was given an advanced reader copy from Net Galley to Review.


Book Release Date: 1st March 2014

Synopsis:

"What's in a name? Everything… if you have my name." At her exclusive Manhattan high school,  seventeen-year-old Gia is the most hated/loved girl in school. Why? Her father doesn't have a boss. He is the boss—the capo di tutti cappi, boss of all bosses. Not that Gia cares. But life gets complicated when she meets a cop she calls  "Officer Hottie" and feels a suprising  chemistry. Then Vogue magazine wants to feature Gia in a fashion spread about real-life bad girls. On top of this, she's running for class president. Can Gia step out from under her dad's shadow and show everyone there's more to her than "Mafia Girl?"

Review:

I got really excited when I read the synopsis for this book as it's something I have never seen before. The ideal of a book being written about a Gangsters daughter is certainly a unique one!

The book started off great as you immediately got the sense that the main character Gia was a fiesty and sassy lady. However after the first few chapters things started to get slightly unrealistic!

Gia, a 17 year old gangsters daughter falls immediately in love with a police officer (who must be over 21 as he drinks) who pulls her over for speeding. She then basically stalks him and tracks down where he lives and hangs out (all within a couple of days) and then confronts him and repeatably throws herself at him. During all of this the male lead is supposedly also in love with her but resisting things! This just seems really unlikely as a) she's only 17 b) she's a gangsters daughter and he's a police officer and c) it's only been 5 minutes since they met and she's been stalking him.....

Gia's family then have some legal dramas which causes the couple to break up. A few chapters go by and then suddenly they are back together, another chapter goes by and the book ends! Really abruptly as well! I can't seem to find any reference on the authors website that this book will have a follow up book but if it does it would make sense as this book just reads as though it is the first part of a story.

This is a Young Adult book so I understand that this is written for a younger audience however that is no excuse for such a week plot!

So overall, even though I liked the general ideal of the book the overall plot and character development just didn't live up to expectations.

My rating for this book is:

1.5 stars out of 5

Tuesday 17 December 2013

Review: Make you See Stars by Jocelyn Han

This is my review for 'Make you See Stars' by Jocelyn Han. I was given an advanced reader copy by Net Galley to review.

Release Date: 15th Dec 2013

Synopsis:

A fresh start…

Determined to have a life of her own, Victoria Weiss flees the safe haven of New Berlin on the planet Mars by accepting an internship on the most remote space station in the solar system. Being the daughter of the Great German ambassador isn’t all glitter and glamour, and Tori needs a fresh start away from her overbearing parents.
But running away from your past isn’t easy when you’ve hidden away the darkest parts. Tori hasn’t trusted men ever since a sexual encounter that left her soul scarred, and when the station’s Chief of Security shows an interest in her, she feels torn between running away from him and allowing herself to open up to new possibilities.

A troubled past…

The last thing Alen Novak expects is to lose his head over an Elite girl. But when Tori Weiss walks into his life, he can’t help but feel she’s different from the Great German leaders who effectively destroyed his Croatian homeland during the Great Wars in Europe. Even though he is the station’s Security Chief, Alen doesn’t command the respect of all his colleagues because of his prison past – and he’s afraid Tori will dismiss him for it right out of the gate. After all, he’s been hurt by a woman he loved before.

Fanning the flames of passion…

There’s no way to avoid working together, though, and the two are irresistibly drawn to each other. Will Tori and Alen learn how to face their darkest fears, or will the past nip their passionate love in the bud?

Review:

I haven't read many of this genre of book before (futuristic New Adult) so I was really keen to start reading.

I was a little disappointed with the start of this book as I didn't think the author explained the history/ back story of the planet very well. The characters were living on a space station but had originally come from mars (i think!, it was a little confusing). She didn't explain why they were no longer living on earth etc for several chapters of the book (there were wars on earth). Apart from that, I really liked the characters as the main female lead Tori was fiesty and confident and the male lead Alen was sexily sarcastic and captured my interest very quickly.

I also really liked the fact that they were living on a self contained space station because it sort of reminded me of the star ship enterprise from Star Trek! (geek alert lol).

Alen was the acting security chief of the space station and Tori was an intern for a science company (she was a physicist or something along those lines, lol). The characters started off clashing and having major misunderstandings in this book and then eventually found themselves falling for each other, I always like this in a book as there usually are some quite funny scenes between the characters and this book was no exception! I found myself laughing out loud at some of their scenes together.

I don't like to reveal too much of a books plot as it would ruin the surprise for a new reader but Tori finds herself involved in a plot to take over a neighboring galaxy and needs help from Alen to sort things out and during this, they fall in love. 

It is always easy to tell whether the reader enjoys the book when they want to read the next in the series and I definitely do! This book overall was an exciting and fun packed book despite the sometimes complicated science/space jargon which I imagine is standard in a futuristic book.

I loved the characters, the setting and the good versus evil plot so would recommend this to any New Adult/ Futuristic fan. I can't wait for the next book in the series to be released!

My overall rating is:
4 out of 5 stars



Monday 16 December 2013

Review: The Summer I Found You by Jolene Perry

Hi all,

This is my review for 'The summer I found you' by Jolene Perry. I was given an advanced copy by Net Galley to review.


Synopsis:

All they have in common is that they're less than perfect. And all they're looking for is the perfect distraction.

Kate's dream boyfriend has just broken up with her and she's still reeling from her diagnosis of type 1 diabetes.  Aidan planned on being a lifer in the army and went to Afghanistan straight out of high school. Now he's a disabled young veteran struggling to embrace his new life. 
When Kate and Aidan find each other neither one wants to get  attached. But could they be right for each other after all?

Review:

This book is from the new genre of young adult books (YA) so my initial reaction to receiving this book was that I was too old for it and would find it silly. How wrong was I! this was a great little read!
The basic story of the book was the developing relationship between Kate (heroine) and Aidan (hero) and their struggle to deal with their changing lives.
Kate's boyfriend had just broken up with her and she had only recently been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes which she is in denial over. Aiden was 19 year old veteran of the war in Afghanistan and was disabled and lost an arm in the war.
I loved the relationship between the two characters and the way that Kate had no filter between her mouth and her brain! I also found their respective struggles with their personal health issues really refreshing to read and happy that the author didn't shy against such difficult subjects. 
Overall this was a lighthearted but touching and emotional story and although aimed at the older teen is perfect for any age.
My overall rating of the book is:
4 out of 5 stars.


Sunday 15 December 2013

Review: Blue Lines by Toni Aleo

This is my review for Toni Aleo's book Blue Lines. I was given a review copy by Net Galley.

Book Release Date: 9th Dec 2013

Blue Lines by Toni Aleo

Synopsis:


Opposites do more than just attract in Toni Aleo’s latest Nashville Assassins novel about a very bad boy and the good girl he can’t resist.
 The instant Piper Allen sees Erik Titov, she wants him—wants his rock-hard body, sure, but the strength and mystery that lie behind that superstar hockey jock demeanor, too. So when he sidles up to her at a bar and slinks his arm around her waist, she’s lost. What follows is the wildest night of her life . . . followed by inevitable heartbreak the next morning. And then, a few weeks later, a very big surprise: two blue lines on a pregnancy test. Only a check to the head could make Erik fall for a nice girl like Piper. But since their crazy-sexy night together, he’s been trying to forget about her alluring body by falling into bed with every woman in Nashville, and it’s not working. So when Piper shows up at his house with a baby-bomb to drop, it doesn’t take much for Erik to suggest the nuclear option: marriage. While it’s supposed to be all for show, the second they say “I do,” the ice between them starts to melt into sizzling steam.

Review:

I have previously read several of this series so I was very excited to get my hands on a copy of the new book and I wasn't disappointed! 

I really liked the female character Piper as she came across as quite kind and caring although I do think she should have told Erik to get lost for most of the book! and as for Erik! well... for about 70% of the book I wanted to hit him over the head with his own Hockey Stick! What an idiot!

He blames Piper for everything going wrong in his life! especially her pregnancy! thank goodness her eventually redeems himself towards the end of the book as we find out his background and realise he really does love Piper.

I loved that the other characters from the previous books were part of this book as well as my favourite book and characters are Elli and Shea from Taking Shots.

This was another great book from the author and a great continuation to the series. I can't wait to read the next book in the series! I would definately recommend this book so why don't you give it a go as the book has now been released and can be purchased from several retailers including Amazon and at only £2.99 for a 380+ page book it's a bargain!

Overall Score is:

 4 out of 5 stars



Friday 13 December 2013

Review: Safe in His Arms by Renee Rose

This is my review for 'Safe in His Arms' by Renee Rose, I was given a copy to review by Net Galley.

Synopsis:

For as long as she could remember, Becca dreamed of a dominant man to take her in hand, and Zac, the handsome Marine she met at her sister's wedding, filled the role with aplomb… for a weekend. Then the fling came to an end, Zac went off to war and died for his country, and Becca learned she carried a child who would be born without a father.

Seven years later, Becca has done her best to move on and forget about Zac… until the day she walks into her kitchen to find the man she believed she would never see again locked in mortal combat with her son’s nanny, and realizes everything she thought she knew about Zac was a lie.

Like all Black Ops agents, Zac doesn't exist in any government record. His life is a series of deadly missions, and relationships of any kind are unsanctioned. But he keeps one secret. He watches over Becca, the beautiful daughter of a rogue agent, and Parker, the six-year-old boy he fathered that fateful weekend. When he spots a known assassin in their apartment posing as a nanny, he's forced to reveal himself and take them to safety… whether Becca likes it or not.

While Becca may have enjoyed his dominance once, bending her to his will again may not be quite so easy. He is
determined to keep her safe, however, and if a long, hard spanking is required, he is more than willing to oblige. Having Becca over his knee rekindles more than his passion, though; even when the immediate danger has passed, he finds it much more difficult to “ghost out” on his family again. Must he resign himself to protecting those he loves from afar, or can he find a way to be the man Becca needs and longs for, the man who is worthy of her
submission and her love?

Publisher’s Note: Safe in His Arms is an erotic romance novel that includes both consensual and non-consensual spankings, anal play, graphic sexual scenes, and more. If such material offends you, please don’t buy this book.

Review:

This book was really not my cup of tea and would not read it again or recommend.

According to the publisher this is an Erotic Romance Novel but in my opinion a 'Romance Novel' even an erotic one needs to have more of a plot than this one!

Around 10% off this book was a plot and the other 90% was dedicated to sex and spankings! If this is your type of book then go for a read but for me there has to be more plot!

I'm not averse to an erotic novel by any means as Fifty Shades of Grey and the Crossfire Books are some of my favourites but this book just didn't cut the mustard.

The basic premise for the book is that the female lead had a one night stand with a guy at her sisters wedding who disappears the next day. She then discovers she is pregnant and is left to take care of her son for the next 7 years on her own until the male lead bursts into her life again to save her life. Through in a female lead with a penchant for spanking and Kinky role play and a male lead with a weird unexplained case of psychic intuition and you have the entirety of the book!

After the first sex scene I found myself skipping most of the others they just didn't interest me or hold my interest and the main story wasn't much better.

So, there's not much more to tell you except my overall rating which is:

1.5/5 stars

1.5/5 stars





Thursday 12 December 2013

Review: Wrecked by Priscilla West

Hi All,

Here's my review for 'Wrecked' by Priscilla West, I was given an advanced reader copy by Net Galley.




Synopsis:

A New Adult Romance Novel by USA Today Bestselling Author Priscilla West
“There would be no happy ending for us. He was too damaged. I was too broken.”
Two years ago, Lorrie’s mother was murdered. But that wasn’t the end of it. Reeling from the tragedy, Lorrie’s father spiraled into alcohol, depression, and finally suicide.
The two most important people in Lorrie’s life are both gone but she’s still alive.
Trying to recover from the tragedy, Lorrie returns to campus, ready to pick up the pieces of her life. All Lorrie wants is to get back to “normal.”
Then she meets Hunter. The man, the legend, “The Hammer.”
Hunter is a cage fighter who takes on every fight like he’s got nothing to lose. His life is a tangled mess of girls, booze, and fist fights. And while it may seem like he’s got a devil-may-care attitude, he’s fighting a private cage-match with a monster he can’t defeat.
Lorrie knows that Hunter is exactly the type of guy she should stay away from, especially in her fragile state, but Hunter has other ideas.
As Hunter and Lorrie grow closer together, will they be able to overcome their pain and heal each other? Or will they both end up wrecked?

Review:

So lets start this review with the cover! it certainly grabs your attention for all the right reasons, a built half naked man on the front is always an automatic pick up for me! lol

I don't usually go for New Adult (NA) books as at 28 I think i'm a bit past the 'New Adult'! but with this book I was pleasantly surprised.

Despite being set in an American college for the whole of the book I didn't feel that it was un-relateable to me at all. Both characters have a depth and maturity to them which would appeal to an reader of any age.

The plot was a typical one for this genre of book, female lead character has a tragic past, goes to college and meets a gorgeous and strong guy who persuades her to take a chance on love. That being said there were definitely a few unexpected twists and turns in the book which takes it past the typical NA book. I don't want to spoil this book for anyone so I won't reveal what these are but there will definitely be trials and tribulations for the characters in the future!

The banter between the two characters was fun and there is a whole sub plot where the two main characters are taking care of some kittens which is cute.

The downsides of this book in my opinion is that it take too long for the female lead to wake up and realise she wants a relationship with the male lead. This may be because this book is a two parter which is another downside!

I'm not a fan of cliffhangers and this book does have one, the second book also isn't out until early next year so if you aren't a fan of the cliffhanger like me wait to read this book until the second comes out.

Overall Plus Points: The depth of the characters, the flirty banter, the book cover!

Overall Minus Points: Cliffhanger, second book not out until next year, female taking to long to get her act together

Release Date: 16th December 2013

If you are a fan of the NA genre you will like this book and if your not, well it might just be worth a read this isn't the typical NA book.

My overall rating is:


3.5/5 Stars