review: A Week for Love to Bloom ~ Scarlet Wolfe

A Week for Love to Bloom by Scarlet Wolfe

3 of 5 stars

I won this on GoodREads.com!!

Is it coincidence or fate that brings Justin Garrison and Lauren Evans together on the same dark, country road one May night?

Twenty-five year old Justin quit his job on an oilrig in California and traveled back to his hometown of Masonville, Tennessee. He intended for his vacation in Masonville to be a pit stop on his path to creating a future elsewhere, but an encounter with the beautiful and independent Lauren Evans turns Justin’s future plans upside down.

After a devastating betrayal by her father, twenty-one year old Lauren is left to manage her family’s garden and nursery business in Masonville. Although guarded from the betrayal, she still longs to find love. After a few chance encounters, Justin and Lauren are unable to resist each other.

The magnetic attraction between them opens their worlds to an enthralling period of lust and passion. Will the intensity be too much for them to trust, or will a secret Justin’s family holds about Lauren destroy their chance at a future together? (Summary thanks to GoodReads)

My Thoughts -

I really liked this story. I read it in a day - signs of a great story. The connection between Justin and Lauren could be felt instantly. I enjoyed their accidental meetings and how their relationship grew. Justin was a great guy and Lauren was pretty cool. Great, great story.

The editing on the other hand...bad. I also didn't like the corny and cheesy things written. I wanted to red pen this and send it back to the author in a bad way. The scene breaks are not distinguished, which causes the reader to be confused at times. Re-edit, replace the cheesy stuff and separate the scenes and I'd give it a 5/5!!

review: Bitter Fruits ~ Sarah Daltry

Bitter Fruits by Sarah Daltry

2 of 5 stars

DRC provided by Net Galley

PARANORMAL EROTIC ROMANCE

Attending a vampire-themed masquerade party seems like a strange way to spend a night, but Nora is sick of frat parties and bars. Meeting Alec was just a bonus. Despite their immediate attraction, however, Alec is wary of involving himself with Nora, and when she pushes it, she discovers that Alec has secrets that could destroy them both. Is she willing to risk everything for a man she hardly knows? How far into darkness will he take her?

When Nora attempts to follow, however, things grow more complicated. Someone is hunting her - someone tied to a secret that goes back to the beginning of man. Soon, Nora finds herself drawn to two men, each with his own agenda. Can she save them both when one is destined to die? (Summary thanks to GoodReads)

My thoughts -
Hmmmm, how do I say this? I really kind of hated it. I was interested enough to finish it, but I admit that it was difficult. Even though the premise of the story is unique and very original, it was hard to read.

I liked the idea behind the story. It just wasn't executed well. Sorry. I didn't connect with any of the characters. Usually there's one, in this - none. I also thought there were too many kinds of SUPs in the story, even though they were all kind of the same thing. I also thought getting it on on a deserted grassy knoll, not once but twice, in the middle of campus was a bit weird.  I felt that at times, some of the wording was cheesy and not current. I wanted to print it out, red pen it and send it back - that's all I'm sayin'.

review: Lick (Stage Dive #1) ~ Kylie Scott

Lick by Kylie Scott

4 of 5 stars

DRC provided by NetGalley

Evelyn Thomas’s plans for celebrating her twenty-first birthday in Las Vegas were big. Huge. But she sure as hell never meant to wake up on the bathroom floor with a hangover to rival the black plague, a very attractive half-naked tattooed man, and a diamond on her finger large enough to scare King Kong. Now if she could just remember how it all happened.

One thing is for certain, being married to rock and roll’s favorite son is sure to be a wild ride.

My thoughts -

From the moment this story starts to the moment it ends - it's awesome!! I really loved the connection Evelyn and David have.

Evelyn is and up and down character for me. At times I thought she was an idiot, at times I could understand how she was feeling and other times when I wanted to be her. David, I loved him. Sure, he had his d-bag moments, too - but they were more form hurt than just being a d-bag in general.

Their chemistry was off the charts when they got together. I admired David's persistence when trying to win back Ev. He made a mistake but worked hard to make up for it. That takes courage and dedication, not to give up.

This is a great start to a series and I hope to hear about more of the guys from the band. Great work and keep up the excellent writing.

review: The Bet ~ Rachel Van Dyken

The Bet by Rachel Van Dyken

4 of 5 stars

DRC provided by NetGalley

"I have a proposition for you..."

Kacey should have run the minute those words left Seattle millionaire Jake Titus's mouth. Instead, she made a deal with the devil in hopes of putting her past behind her once and for all.

Four days.
She could do four days!
But she wasn't counting on Jake’s older brother Travis being there to witness their farce of an engagement.
One thing is for certain.
One brother is right for her.
One wants a lifetime.
And one is in league with the devil.
She should have gotten Jake’s signature in blood.

(Summary provided by GoodReads)

My Thoughts -

I liked this story a lot. I enjoyed the teasing between Kacey and Travis and I adored how the brother's family loved Kacey so much.

Kacey was a big push over when it came to Jake, but a total hard-ass when it came to Travis. I kind of wanted to smack her when she agreed to do the things she did for him. Travis was always there to rescue her when the situation turned awry. Jake was a d-bag, a big big d-bag. I really felt Travis was my favorite person in the story - beside Grandma, she was a hoot!

I felt this was easy to read, fast paced and all around a great story. The love scenes were hot and the chemistry between Travis and Kacey was intense. I want to read Jake's story next - I have a feeling that might be 'pee your pants from laughing' worthy.

review: My Favorite Mistake by Chelsea M. Cameron

My Favorite Mistake ~ Chelsea M. Cameron

4.5 of 5 stars

DRC provided by NetGalley

Two secrets. One bet. Who will break first?

Taylor Caldwell can't decide if she wants to kiss her new college roommate or punch him.

On the one hand, Hunter Zaccadelli is a handsome blue-eyed bundle of charm. On the other, he's a tattooed, guitar-playing bad boy. Maybe that's why Taylor's afraid of falling in love with him, or anyone else. She doesn't want to get burned, so she needs him gone before it's too late.

Hunter himself has been burned before, but Taylor's sexy laugh and refusal to let him get away with anything make her irresistible. Determined not to be kicked out of her life without a fight, Hunter proposes a bet: if she can convince him she either truly loves or hates him, he'll leave the apartment;and leave her alone.

But when the man behind Taylor's fear of giving up her heart resurfaces, she has to decide: trust Hunter with her greatest secret, or do everything in her power to win that bet and drive him away forever. (thanks GoodReads for the summary)

My Thoughts -

Loved it! Another book I read in one day. I think NA (New Adult) is my new favorite genre. I liked the realistic/modern language used in the book. Sometimes authors make their character cheesy by writing things no normal per would ever think or say - Miss Cameron did a great job in not doing that.

Taylor's character was complex. She's experienced something traumatic and really couldn't seem to move on from it. I liked that she wasn't afraid to be brass and candid but I didn't like her attitude in general. Hunter was wicked cool. I liked him most in the story. He was a good guy and helped Taylor move past her ordeal. I loved the room mate situation - quite funny.

I think what could have made this book better would have to be maybe seeing Hunter's side of the story, instead it all being 1st person Taylor. I also didn't feel as much love for Taylor that I did for Hunter. This story is easy to read, fast paced and will make you want to read it all in one sitting. This is a steamy, intense story - definitely will not disappoint romance readers.

review: Awakening The Warriors by S.E. Gilchrist

Awakening The Warriors ~ S.E. Gilchrist

3 of 5 stars

DRC provided by NetGalley

Set in the world of the bestselling title Legend Beyond the Stars, an erotic novella about two warriors who have lost the ability to desire, and the human woman who is about to wake them up.

Fran must have been crazy to leave her ordinary, safe life and volunteer as a colonist to terra-form a new earth. Now she is trapped in a prison cell on an alien planet a zillion miles from home and bound for a hideous death in notorious research chambers.

She has one chance of escape: awaken the long dormant sexual urges of the Darkon Warriors shackled in the next cell.

It’s a desperate job, but someone has to do it. (thanks to GoodReads for the summary)

My Thoughts -

Well, this was one steamy, wild ride. Fran didn't give a hoot about how she would escape captivity, she just knew she'd do anything to do so and she did - 2 of them. Fran had her very own Twilight Imprinting moment when she and 2 different as night and day warriors have to get it on they the warriors can go berserker and get her and all of the other prisoners out of dodge. Seems too crazy to work, but it did and in a great way. I liked this short but spicy read. More in this series is welcome to my Nook anytime!!

review: Touching Melody by RaShelle Workman

Touching Melody ~ RaShelle Workman

4 of 5 stars

DRC provided by NetGalley

Sometimes life isn't pretty, but you have to close your eyes and let go...

***************

Maddie Martin's first weekend at college is nothing like she's used to. It's wild, like the wilderness on which the University of Bellam Springs sits. Roped into going to a fraternity party, she literally runs into Kyle Hadley. The boy she's loved since she was nine. The boy she promised all of her firsts to. But that was before his father killed her parents.

Determined to stay away from him, she throws herself into her music. Practicing piano eases her heavy heart, calms the sadness, and pushes away images of Kyle's face.

Until it doesn't.

Her music professor asks her to play a duet for their annual Winter Gala. Doing so means she'll be assured another full ride scholarship. It's an opportunity she can't pass up.

But Kyle is the other half of the duet. And that means hours and hours of practicing.

Weeks of seclusion - just the two of them. And it's more than just music. It's passion like Maddie never believed was possible.

The inevitable happens. She falls in love with him all over again.

But, will loving him be enough to erase all the hate in her heart for his father? Can she look at him, and not see the evil in his family tree?

And maybe it's all a set up. Maybe Kyle is only pretending to care so he can finish what his father started, and kill her too. (thanks to GoodReads.com for the summary)

My Thoughts -

I thoroughly enjoyed this short story. It was short, I read it in one sitting and would have liked it to be longer. I loved all of the characters, except of course for the crazy cousin and theh rest of Luke's family.

I understand where Maddie's Aunt and Uncle were coming form, but I think what they did was wrong. I think Maddie and Kyle were awesome together and really felt their connection when they met again at college after so many years apart.

Maddie was in a tough situation, one of the toughest, but survived it and made a life for herself. I didn't like her preconceived notions about what Luke might be like, but I think that maybe her A&U were to blame for that. I felt bad for Luke - he was in the dark, but he never really gave up. I think he maybe should have had a clue to about what his family was up to, but he was a good guy and the perfect guy for Maddie.

This is a great, fast-paced, easy to read story that I wash was longer. I couldn't get enough of these two. I look forward to reading more from this author!!

review: Twisted by Rebecca Zanetti

Twisted ~ Rebecca Zanetti

2 of 5 stars

DRC thanks to NetGalley

Maggie is a wolf shifter who was captured and experimented on by the Kurjans. Now that a cure has finally been found for shifters (although not for vampire mates or witches), she can concentrate on creating a new life for herself and finally accepting that her memories are gone forever. Most memories, that is. Sometimes in the hazy world between dreams and dawn, she hears a Scottish voice, dark and deep, that sounds suspiciously like wolf-shifter Terrent Vilks. A man she happened to anger by kidnapping a few years back. Hey, it was for a good cause.

Terrent Vilks knows more than he’s let on for the past several years. After digging for answers, he knows exactly why the demons want Maggie dead. And he remembers his past with Maggie…very well. She is finally where he wants her. Now all he has to do is discover what exactly the Kurjans did to her, beat the demons into so much submission they leave her alone, and get her to fall in love with him. Again. Good thing he’s used to wrangling monsters. (thanks to GoodReads for the summary)

My Thoughts -

This story is a fast paced, steamy, easy to read book. Even though I felt a bit lost, because I haven't read any of the other books in the series, I still enjoyed this story quite a bit. Maggie was strong for surviving a horrifying experience. I think at times she was a bit wishy-washy and didn't stick to her guns like she said she was going to, but in the end she found herself. Terrent was a patient and domineering man. I loved the cheerleaders and hated the Alpha's d-bag son. I think, for me, because I was so lost in the story - I had to give it a low rating. Had I been more invested in the series, I most likely would have rated it higher. This novella interested me enough to where i want to read more of the series though:)

review: Training Their Mate by Vella Day

Training Their Mate ~Vella Day

3 of 5 stars

**Erotic Romantic Suspense, Werewolves, BDSM, MFM, menage

DRC provided by NetGalley

Liz Wharton has one goal—to kill the man who raped her mother. Had she known Harvey Couch was a werewolf, she never would have tried to take him on by herself.

Determined to put an end to the pest bent on revenge, Harvey sends his goons after her. When two wolves attack her, Liz is sure she’s hallucinating. Good thing Trax Field is there to stop them.

Trax and Dante Field, members of the Pack, have devoted their lives to stopping bad shifters like Harvey Couch. Saving Liz would have been just an ordinary day, but when Trax finds her huddled in an alley, bruised and shaken, he’s convinced she’s his mate.

To keep her safe, Trax and Dante hold her captive in their loft apartment. When they aren’t searching for Couch, Trax and his brother spend the night training their future mate in the art of bondage and sensual pleasures. How will they be able to convert her into embracing not only their lifestyle but also their animalistic side? (thanks to GoodReads.com for the summary)

My thoughts -

I liked this book until the BDSM stuff began. I really, really liked it before that and then I didn't. After all of that started, I could have stopped reading. It wasn't needed. I though the three of them had great chemistry and they characters all fit in perfectly with each other. It was a short, quick easy to read story that had great characters and some hot lovin'.

Sinful Sunday - 2pm - 6.9.13

So 2pm, a Korean pop group, has caught my eye lately.  I really like a few of their new songs and have decided to dedicate this SS to them!!

2PM

 Chansung 찬성

Jun K. 준케이

Wooyoung 우영

Nichkhun 닉쿤

Taecyeon 택연

review: Ink by Amanda Sun

Ink ~ Amanda Sun

3 of 5 stars

DRC provided by NetGalley

"I looked down at the paper, still touching the tip of my shoe. I reached for it, flipping the page over to look.  Scrawls of ink outlined a drawing of a girl lying on a bench.  A sick feeling started to twist in my stomach, like motion sickness.  And then the girl in the drawing turned her head, and her inky eyes glared straight into mine."

On the heels of a family tragedy, the last thing Katie Greene wants to do is move halfway across the world. Stuck with her aunt in Shizuoka, Japan, Katie feels lost. Alone. She doesn’t know the language, she can barely hold a pair of chopsticks, and she can’t seem to get the hang of taking her shoes off whenever she enters a building.

Then there’s gorgeous but aloof Tomohiro, star of the school’s kendo team. How did he really get the scar on his arm? Katie isn’t prepared for the answer. But when she sees the things he draws start moving, there’s no denying the truth: Tomo has a connection to the ancient gods of Japan, and being near Katie is causing his abilities to spiral out of control. If the wrong people notice, they'll both be targets.

Katie never wanted to move to Japan—now she may not make it out of the country alive. (Thanks to GoodReads for the summary)

My Thoughts -

I really liked the idea behind this story. I though it was unique and very interesting.  Japanese mythology, Asian culture and young love...great combo.

I'm not sure if I really liked Katie or not. She wasn't really that interesting to me. Her story was compelling, but she wasn't written in a way that I really cared about her. Tomohiro was the one I really liked. I almost wished the story was from his point of view - or maybe they could have flip-flopped chapters. I would have liked more of the Kimi story to have more of an idea of how powerful these beings were.

I enjoyed reading about a different culture. I'm into Korean stuff but do watch a few Japanese shows, so nothing was a big shock/change for me - but I still liked seeing it. I liked the Japanese words throughout the story and appreciated the reference in the back - but I think the Kanji would have been cool to see for those words, too.

Overall I liked the story; it had good and rough spots.  It was a bit slow at times, but I think it's a great read for someone open to new experiences.