Review: Beyond Pain by Kit Rocha

Beyond Series:

Book 3:

Beyond Pain: Bren and Six

Purchase on Amazon: Kit Rocha – Beyond Pain (Beyond, Book Three)

Summary:

From Goodreads.com

A woman with no future…

Live fast, die young–anything else is a fantasy for Six. She’s endured the worst the sectors had to throw at her, but falling in with Dallas O’Kane’s Sector Four gang lands her in a whole new world of danger. They’re completely open about everything, including their sexuality–but she hasn’t survived this long by making herself vulnerable. Especially not to men as dominant as Brendan Donnelly.

A man without a past…

Bren is a killer, trained in Eden and thrown to the sectors. His one outlet is pain, in the cage and in the bedroom, and emotion is a luxury he can’t afford–until he meets Six. Protecting her soothes him, but it isn’t enough. Her hunger for touch sparks a journey of erotic discovery where anything goes–voyeurism, flogging, rough sex. He has only one rule: he won’t share her.

In Bren’s arms, Six is finally free to let go. But his obsession with the man who made him a monster could destroy the fragile connection they’ve forged, and cost him the one thing that makes him feel human–her love.

Review:

BEYOND PAIN by Kit Rocha is one of my favorite books so far this year. To say that I am obsessed with this series and the men and women of O’Kane clan is an understatement. I first read BEYOND SHAME on a whim; I mean come on you just got to see what dystopian erotica is all about. I have to admit I was quite intrigued by the concept. After BEYOND SHAME it was the characters that stuck with me for a while, making me go back and re-read the book. I ended up loving it even more the 2^nd time around. Since then, I have been quite obsessed. Kit Rocha cannot pump out books from this series fast enough for my liking. The women of Sector Four are survivors and tough, they might start the book doubting themselves due to circumstances but you can bet by the end of the book, they bring the tough O’Kane men to their knees. The O’Kane men, man o’ man are you in for a sexy treat, whether you are into the more showy of the men (Ace), the obvious leader (Dallas) or the more undercover bad asses (Cruz and Bren) there is an O’Kane for you! Or you can be like Annie from over at Under the Covers Book Blog and claim all of the O’Kane men for yourself! Lol

For me, I’m more a fan of the undercover bad ass. The person that stays in the shadows and takes care of any business at hand. From the start I was intrigued by Bren, he is Dallas’s shadow. He came from nothing, made his way to the elite guard and was then betrayed by his leader; which brought him to the Sectors. He’s been with Dallas from pretty much the beginning, and would do anything for Dallas which is why his revenge against the one that betrayed him has been on the back burner but not forgotten. Bren is the KING of the cage, pretty much unbeatable, trained to kill; it’s what he knows and what he’s good at. His love of pain doesn’t certainly doesn’t hinder his success in and out of the cage. Bren is a masochist, but don’t mistake him for a submissive because he is all dominate male! He says it best in this line. “I like pain, not submission. I’m in charge, sweetness, or it won’t work.” I thought the pain would pay a larger part in this book, although it is mentioned and does play a part it is minimal; however, his dominate tendencies are front and center. The minute this dominate male tucked a beaten Six in the back of his car he’s felt protective of her. He is determined to bring life back to Six. Little by little he earns her trust and finally gets her into his bed. But with his revenge so very close after so many years he may lose himself to it, or even worse he may lose Six, because he is blinded by something that may not seem so important if he no longer has the one thing that has come to mean more to him then his own life. What I liked about Bren, besides all of his badassness is he doesn’t really fight his feeling for Sex, he knows that he wants her and patiently goes about getting her. He knows she’s damaged and is willing to put in the work to help her put the pieces of herself back together again and then make her stronger. He never tells her she can’t do something, he even helps her obtain it.

When we meet Six in BEYOND SHAME she is beaten into a bloody pulp. She is beyond damaged, she is shattered, both mentally and physically. She doesn’t understand how things work in Sector Four, she is used to a whole different regime where the men take what they want, and abuse is the norm. She doesn’t know what to do with herself in Sector Four, for now she is working in the bar but she still feels like an outsider. When Bren needs her help she eagerly steps up, not only does this bring her closer to Bren, but it manages to make her feel more like one of the O’Kanes. I have a proud momma moment when she steps into the Cage and has the opportunity to beat the shit out of one of the men that just stood by and watched her get abused over and over again. And when I say, beat the shit out of, I mean she really beat his ass! You go girl! Little by little she finds herself worth again. The O’Kanes have a way of taking the damaged and making them stronger in the end in their own way and Six is no exception to this trend. She ends up finding her place with or without Bren.

In BEYOND PAIN more so than the other books of this series has stronger world building. We spend more time building up the world and more importantly some of the O’Kanes. We are introduced to a couple of new characters and build upon some of the others. We are building a strong foundation for future books especially BEYOND JEALOUSLY which will be the next full length book in this series, which I cannot wait for! I think with the world building we do lose a little of the intensity of the first two books, but it’s minimal as I still freak’n loved this book! One thing you can count on with this series is some seriously creative sex scenes. There are lots of one offs but I’ve come to notice that there is one scene that is THE SCENE and you know it when you get to it. Annie and I were telling Sarah from feelingfictional.com that when she got to the scene we were talking about it she would know it. And sure enough, when she got to it, she knew exactly what we were talking about. Lol It was truly creative and HOT HOT HOT! There was this other scene that I had wished we had gotten the end of, there was build up and bam, we are somewhere else. Damn you Kit Rocha for that tease! Guess they will just have to make it up to us in BEYOND JEALOUSLY.

Rating:

*This review can also be viewed on http://paranormalromancenovel.com

ARC Review: Lindsey Piper – Caged Warrior

The Dragon Kings Series:  

Book 1:

Caged Warrior: Leto Garnis and Audrey MacLaren

(How hot is this cover!?!)

Expected publication: June 25th 2013

Purchase on Amazon: Lindsey Piper – Caged Warrior: Dragon Kings Book One (The Dragon Kings)

Summary:

From Goodreads.com

The first installment in this fierce and sensual new paranormal romance series features demonic gladiators, ruthless mafia villains, and a proud race on the brink of extinction.

Ten years ago, Audrey MacLaren chose to marry her human lover, making her an exile from the Dragon Kings, an ancient race of demons once worshiped as earthly gods. Audrey and her husband managed to conceive, and their son is the first natural-born Dragon King in a generation—which makes him irresistible to the sadistic scientist whose mafia-funded technology allows demon procreation. In the year since her husband was murdered, Audrey and her little boy have endured hideous experiments.

Shackled with a collar and bound for life, Leto Garnis is a Cage warrior. Only through combat can Dragon Kings earn the privilege of conceiving children. Leto uses his superhuman speed and reflexes to secure the right for his two sisters to start families. After torture reveals Audrey’s astonishing pyrokenesis, she is sent to fight in the Cages. If she survives a year, she will be reunited with her son. Leto is charged with her training. Initially, he has no sympathy for her plight. But if natural conception is possible, what has he been fighting for? As enemies, sparring partners, lovers, and eventual allies, Leto and Audrey learn that in a violent underground world, love is the only prize worth winning.

Review:

*****WARNING I feel compelled to tell you all that this book does NOT actually contain dragon shifters. I know the name of the series is misleading. There are no actual dragons. THE dragon is their deity and what legends say created the dragon kings. I know this will disappoint some, but they still have cool powers. *****

This is a great new start to a new series. It is not for the faint of heart and is in no way fluffy, it is pretty dark but I like that. As far as the darkness goes, I think it would be comparable to Larissa Ione’s Demonica Series. There is a LOT of violence and mentions of other not so bueno things. Women are treated as men when it comes to violence and when there is violence are not excluded from some pretty brutal fights. They are warriors and just as tuff as the men. No quarter is given; this may not be for everyone but I think that those who don’t mind the dark will really enjoy this series.

The world building is decent, it is not the best that I have read but you get a pretty decent sense of this new world and there are some unanswered questions or maybe to be explained later questions?? Basically there is a race of beings that have extra powers, each clan has its own. The race is dying out and there have been no natural births since Audrey. Audrey and her son are kidnapped and held for testing by a brutal human mafia like syndicate. Audrey is forced to fight in the cages in order to free her son. Her “trainer” is Leto. Leto is in the cages by choice, he fights for his family.

Audrey is heartbreaking, she has had to endure so much. First with her clan rejecting her, then her husband brutally murdered with her subsequent capture with her son. Now she is thrown into the cages to fight, she has to learn to survive in fights in record time. Audrey is definitely no wilting flower, she does what she has to do to survive and she keeps on going. Her main thought to fight, to survive, and to rescue her son. Leto is the key to her survival, the king of the cages she needs him to teach her. What she never expected is to be so brutally attracted to someone she should loathe as their training intensifies so does their attraction.

Leto is brutal; it is the only way he knows how to be. There is no softness in him, until Audrey. Her inner strength calls to him and he finds himself wanting to protect her which is a foreign feeling. In the beginning I really thought I would HATE Leto, but somehow he won me over. Maybe it was his protective instincts or that he was willing to take Audrey’s hate to not only protect her body but her mind as well. He does his best to make sure Audrey survives so that she can get back to her son. Little by little he wins you over. Well at least he won me over.

Overall, I was intrigued and thoroughly engaged in this book from beginning to end. It is action packed and quite interesting. It’s is wonderfully different and sticks out from a crowd. I read this book maybe two months ago and I still remember it which for me and my lacking short term memory, says a lot. I read the first novella in this series and I do recommend that you read it as well before starting this one. It’s not required but the couple in the first series does have a pivotal roll in this book. I would recommend this new series to paranormal readers especially those who like a darker book.

This book was provided to me through Edelweiss for an honest review. No other compensation was provided.

Rating:  4.5 Romanticals

*This review can also be seen at www.paranormalromancenovel.com

Review: Abby Niles – Extreme Love

Love to the Extreme:

Book 1:

Extreme Love: Caitlyn Moore and Dante “Inferno” Jones

Purchase on Amazon: Abby Niles – Extreme Love (Love to the Extreme)

Summary:

From Goodreads.com

New body. New clothes. New men.

Used to the average Joe, Caitlyn Moore is overwhelmed when the supremely masculine Dante Jones walks into her life and expresses an interest in her. At first she pushes him away, refusing to encourage the attention of a cage fighter. Then she learns Dante has a love ‘em and leave ‘em reputation. What better way to fine-tune her non-existent flirting skills than with a male who won’t stick around? But Dante has no intention of being a practice dummy; he’s out for all or nothing. Now Caitlyn must accept Dante—violent career and all—or let him go.

Dante “Inferno” Jones has one goal: win the Welterweight Championship. At a time when focus is crucial, the last thing he needs is a distraction. Yet Caitlyn Moore becomes a challenge he can’t resist. When the light-hearted pursuit shifts to a battle to win her heart, his focus is shot. Faced with losing the biggest match of his career, Dante must decide if his extreme life also has room for Extreme Love.

Review:

Review:

Ok, I’m still kind of pissed about this book, it’s been lingering on my mind for a few days now. Not so much the story (which had some potential) but the author’s representation of bigger women and how they view themselves. Now I know she didn’t mean all women on the bigger end of the spectrum don’t think so low of themselves but to have her “heroine” have such a low self-image is beyond annoying! I’m “bigger” I’ve ranged from a size 8 at my smallest adult size to a size 18 at my largest and no matter my size I have never had such a terrible self-image where I thought so little of myself. As being bigger and dropping a lot of weight I know what the fat girl mentality is like and even after you lose the weight you’re still big in your head. However; I have never let my size dictate how I have seen myself nor how I have let other people see me. I am very disappointed that this is how the author chose to represent my fellow curvy girls and former curvy girls.

Caitlyn had just lost 80 ibs but can’t believe that any “hot guy” would hit on her. To her skinny = beautiful and pretty much maintains that idea for much of the book; which is a load of horseshit if you ask me. Caitlyn and her insecurities, her beliefs and her whining are beyond irritating. If she wasn’t complaining about herself and her weight (which Is a non-stop topic in this book) she is complaining about how awful fighters and the MMA is. I mean really come on! Who seriously has that strong of a reaction to MMA, hiding behind their hands, saying how awful it is. I’m not a huge fan of MMA, boxing or any other violence but her reaction is beyond over the top. Within the first couple of chapters I was ready to chuck the book out the window or at the very least stop reading the book but one thing saved it for me. Dante!

How could you not love Dante, he is a sweetheart, total sexy yet a primitive alpha that loves to fight and is good at it. He is in preparation for the biggest fight of his life and he can’t let anything get in the way of that until he meet Caitlyn who doesn’t seem to know who he is or fawn all over him. Dante proceeds to woo our annoying Miss Caitlyn, he wants more than a hookup and makes sure she knows. He wants her but she throws mixed messages at every turn. He does everything right, he never gives up on her and always gives her the benefit of the doubt. He may be a little but too perfect, but still he’s our Dante and I kept hoping he would ditch Caitlyn and find someone with a little self-esteem that wouldn’t throw him off at every turn because of her own insecurities.

Oh other annoyance with the book for me was the ending, I mean come on, really?!?! I really want to say what happened but I can’t give it away but it was beyond ridiculous. And the dude gets away with it, no cops, no FBI no consequences? No one noticed? Stupid. I do have to admit the 30% towards the end but not the ending was not as annoying as the first half nor as bad as the ending. It was somewhat decent. Some may end up loving this book and won’t have a problem with Caitlyn others will probably feel the same as me. Overall this book fell; flat however, I may read the second book in the series. I do kind of want to see how the best friend situation will turn out.

Rating: 2.5 Romanticals

*This book was provided to me through NetGalley for an honest review. No other compensation was provided.

Review: Jamie McGuire – Walking Disaster

Beautiful Series:

Book 2:

Walking Disaster: Travis Maddox and Abby Abernathy

Buy it on Amazon:  Jamie McGuire – Walking Disaster: A Novel

Summaries:

From Goodreads.com

Walking Disaster-

Finally, the highly anticipated follow-up to the New York Times bestseller Beautiful Disaster. Can you love someone too much?

Travis Maddox learned two things from his mother before she died: Love hard. Fight harder.
In Walking Disaster, the life of Travis is full of fast women, underground gambling, and violence. But just when he thinks he is invincible, Abby Abernathy brings him to his knees.

Every story has two sides. In Beautiful Disaster, Abby had her say. Now it’s time to see the story through Travis’s eyes

Beautiful Disaster-

INTENSE. DANGEROUS. ADDICTIVE.
Abby Abernathy is a good girl. She doesn’t drink or swear, and she has the appropriate number of cardigans in her wardrobe. Abby believes she has enough distance from the darkness of her past, but when she arrives at college with her best friend, her path to a new beginning is quickly challenged by Eastern University’s Walking One-Night Stand.

Travis Maddox, lean, cut, and covered in tattoos, is exactly what Abby wants—and needs—to avoid. He spends his nights winning money in a floating fight ring, and his days as the ultimate college campus charmer. Intrigued by Abby’s resistance to his appeal, Travis tricks her into his daily life with a simple bet. If he loses, he must remain abstinent for a month. If Abby loses, she must live in Travis’s apartment for the same amount of time. Either way, Travis has no idea that he has met his match.

Review:

***Will contain spoilers***

Ok first of all this is misleading. Abby does drink (like a fish) and swear and she’s not a good girl. Travis is obsessive with her, he’s promiscuous and they’re as the name says…a disaster. But there are aspects to it that are addicting. There are a few scenes that are really intense. Before they officially get together, he gets upset by something she says about not dating him. He in turn goes out, gets drunk and brings home 2 girls who he bangs in the living room while she’s in the bedroom. It was one of those “OMG no he didn’t” kind of things. You really felt it. In his book WD, the author decides to make him not remember doing this, because he was too drunk, and although he realizes he did something, she skips over the whole scene. It went from being one of the best to a WTF was that. It felt like a cop-out.

When the one month bet is up and she’s going to go back to the dorm, she sleeps with him. He thinks this is it for them. That they’re together now. She leaves in the middle of the night and wont answer his calls or talk to him. He freaks out and trashes his apartment. Then after him begging and her being a bitch and torturing him and dating a dude he hates they get back together.

As for the Vegas thing… her father is a famous poker player who blames her for him losing his luck when she turned 13. She on the other hand cant lose and grew up in Vegas. She moved to Eastern to get away from the lifestyle and people who knew her. They end up there because her father borrowed money from a dangerous loan shark/mobster and put the debt on her.  Travis beats up his goons when she is short on the money so Travis fights for him since his fighter cant and the debt will be settled. Loan shark offers him tons of cash to go to Vegas and fight for him again.  Travis wants to do it and instead of talking to him and telling him anything she just runs out and wont talk to him.

The only scene that carried over and IMO was even better from his pov, was after they get back from Vegas and she’s broken up with him, he finds her outside on campus and begs her to take him back. Going so far as to get down on his knees and plead with her. It was heartbreaking.

He begs her to go home to Thanksgiving dinner with his dad and 4 brothers cause he didn’t want to tell them they broke up. She goes and cooks, they have a good time. He tells her he still loves her, they end up sleeping together. The whole time she’s thinking she loves him and wants to get back with him too but she doesn’t because he says that he’ll make an effort to be her friend because he wants her in his life. This somehow translates to her that he just wants to be friends. Yes, its as stupid as it sounds and an obvious plot device to keep the story going. Abby is annoying, petty, selfish and childish. Seeing it from his pov only makes those faults even more obvious. So they go months of him pretending to be her friend, her dating that other dude that Travis hates until one night her and her bff America (who is Shepley girlfriend, Travis’s cousin and roommate) has to get something from the apartment. They run into Travis who is drunk and with a girl coming into the house. Its the same scene in both books, both are stupid. Travis asks why she’s there begs her not to leave, she gets all bitchy, saying things like her lipstick is on your face, he tells her he’s lonely, been dying without her. America throws a shitfit saying how could he, he’s such an asshole, yada yada. Mind you they’ve been broken up for months. He hasn’t done anything that whole time but try to be her friend and not harass her. America ends up smacking him in the face and attacking him when he tries to talk to Abby (who does nothing) then gets mad at her bf Shepley cause he tells her to calm down. She tells him he’s on the wrong side, again yada yada. They speed off and then Shepley punches Travis in the face and Travis thinks to himself, I deserved that. What? I know.

They eventually get back together again when he carries her out of a frat party. They go to one of his underground fights where the basement room catches on fire. His brother was there watching Abby while he fought but they get separated and Travis and Abby get out alone. They eventually find the brother, he’s fine.

Now in BD, right after this, Travis and Abby get engaged then call from Vegas telling America they’re married and getting tattoos. Yes its that abrupt. The End.

In WD we get a longer ending. The whole discussion and then telling his father and their friends etc. Then there is a ridiculous epilogue that takes place 11 years later where Travis is an undercover FBI agent and kills the loan shark/mobster from Vegas. We learn his oldest brother is the same and they hand picked him to be this undercover operative out of 1000’s of applicants, and he didn’t even have to apply. It is their anniversary and they now have twins (boy and girl) and Abby has no idea what he does. When he flies home she gives him a gift which is emails between her father and the loan shark.  So Travis can take down her father. Turns out she’s known what he does for a while and I guess she’s also a crazy hacker or some shit. IDK. The End. It doesn’t even feel like the same book. Which of these endings does not belong? kind of thing.

Main issues: Travis ‘s thoughts do not come off as a 19 yr old promiscuous guy who was raised with no female influence. His mother dies when he’s 3, that’s the prologue of WD. He makes several comments about sluts and how he doesn’t respect them if they sleep with him. They obviously don’t deserve any because what self respecting girl would sleep with a guy on the first date or at all really. He doesn’t clarify what makes sluts, slutty exactly just that 90% of women are. There are numerous comments like how if they sleep with a guy then they don’t respect themselves so why should he deign to give them any respect. All girls in both books besides Abby and America are either stupid sorority sluts who are jealous and mean or smart ugly chicks who are also mean. There’s really only one of the smart uglies and its because she’s Abby’s roommate.

Example of Travis thought process. A girl he sleeps with comes up to him and Abby at a bar and he thinks this…

“Ho 101: If the man in your sights is on a date or with a female friend, force him to admit lack of commitment. Creates insecurity and instability.”

I’m sorry but dudes don’t think that way. All of his opinions come off the way a catty female thinks of other women. It actually reads like her personal opinions on women and its crazy offensive and ridiculous. One of the WORST male pov’s I’ve ever read. EVER.

So like I said the scene transitions are really confusing since it obviously fills in the blanks of when Travis was away from Abby but it was done poorly. Its seriously hard to keep up and some of the scenes were completely off. As in her timeline was totally wrong. In between the maybe 2 scenes I mentioned it was pretty boring as well. I kept putting it down. You could not read this without reading BD first and even then you need to read them close together so the scenes are very fresh in your mind.

I gave BD 4 stars and I gave this 2. And that was being nice.

Rating:

2 Romanticals

A Guest Review from Tina

*This review copy was provided through NetGalley for an honest review. No other compensation was provided.

ARC Review: Kit Rocha–Beyond Control

Beyond Series:

Book 2:

Beyond Control: Dallas O’Kane and Alexa Parrino

Expected publication: March 19th 2013

Summary:

From Goodreads.com

She refuses to be owned.

Alexa Parrino escaped a life of servitude and survived danger on the streets to become one of the most trusted, influential people in Sector Four, where the O’Kanes rule with a hedonistic but iron fist. Lex has been at the top for years, and there’s almost nothing she wouldn’t do for the gang…and for its leader. Lie, steal, kill—but she bows to no one, not even Dallas O’Kane.

He’ll settle for nothing less.

Dallas fought long and hard to carve a slice of order out of the chaos of the sectors. Dangers both large and small threaten his people, but it’s nothing he can’t handle. His liquor business is flourishing, and new opportunities fuel his ambition. Lex could help him expand his empire, something he wants almost as much as he wants her. And no one says no to the king of Sector Four.

Falling into bed is easy, but their sexual games are anything but casual. Attraction quickly turns to obsession, and their careful dance of heady dominance and sweet submission uncovers a need so deep, so strong, it could crush them both.

Review:

O’Kane for life! If I lived in this dystopian world, I would totally be an O’Kane! (I even ordered my O’Kane logo stickers off of Kit Rochas website. It’s free you should get yours too!) They are hedonistic, loyal, ruthless and sexy as hell! This is only the second book in the series but I’ve been hooked since the first! In the book we get Dallas, the leader of the O’Kanes. He is rough, tough and sexy. He knows what he wants and he always gets what he wants. Lex, has been leading him on a merry chase for years, but his time has finally come. Lex, wants Dallas with every fiber in her being but with Dallas comes strings, control, his… and she doesn’t know if she can give him that.

These two don’t do anything in half measures! They are explosive from beginning to end. The sexual tension between these two in the first book was insane! You knew it would have to come to a head at some point and you knew when it did you would have to watch out for the explosion that would follow and we were not disappointed. This book was HOT HOT HOT!!! One of the most insanely hot books I have ever read. The sex was a big part of that, there are some serious fantasies going on in this one, but the characters are a big part of it too. All of them, each and every O’Kane or other supporting role is just F’n hot and sexy. I’m always going back and forth which O’Kane I want more and damned if I could pick. But the good thing with the O’Kanes id you don’t really have to pick because they share. LOL. Well most of them do, Dallas is a bit more possessive then some of the others. I can tell you this, whatever your kink, this book has a little something for everyone. There is some light BDSM , some M/F, F/F, M/M, M/F/M and there is this one fantasy, I’m not going to give too much away but holy WOW! Whatever your pleasure, this books got it and a few surprises!

Ok so there is a lot of sex, I mean it is erotica and all. But more than that there is an actual story too. This is one of the reasons that I love this series so much. Although, it can be pretty hardcore, Kit Rocha remember that they are supposed to be telling a story too. So this one takes place a month or two after the last one left off. Dallas is searching for the man that shot Lex, he needs his vengeance. Sector Three is in chaos and Dallas is looking to make his move there. But first he has to survive a meeting with all of the other Sector Leaders and that’s always a gamble. With everything else that is going on, Lex makes a move that he has been waiting for and now is his time to MOVE! A challenge was issued and he responds. When his mind should be on the game, it’s on Lex and he makes some missteps with her. Lex and Dallas stay true to their characters, which I am thankful for, because I liked who they were. We also learn more about some of the other O’Kanes. Maddox, Bren and Ace are around a lot in this one and Jasper and Noelle haven’t gone anywhere. So if you didn’t get enough of them in the first book you won’t miss them in this one. One of my issues with the first book was I thought it was missing a bit on the world building. I think that Kit Rocha stepped it up in this book and beefed up the world. I felt like I knew more about the inner working of this world after reading this book. So, I don’t have a single complaint with this book. I will be impatiently waiting for the third book in this series and I hope I don’t have to wait too long.

*This book was provided through NetGalley for an honest review. No other compensation was provided.

Rating: 5 Romanticals

*This review can also be viewed at http://www.paranormalromancenovel.com .

ARC Review: Brenda Novak – When Summer Calls

Whiskey Creek Series:

Book 3:

When Summer Comes: Callie Vanetta and Levi McCloud

Release Date: January 22nd 2013

Purchase on Amazon:  Brenda Novak – When Summer Comes (Whiskey Creek)

Summary:

From Goodreads.com

One day, Callie Vanetta receives devastating news

She needs a liver transplant. But her doctors warn that, in her case, the chances of finding a compatible donor aren’t good.

Determined to spend whatever time she has left on her own terms, she keeps the diagnosis to herself and moves out to her late grandparents’ farm. She’s always wanted to live there. But the farm hasn’t been worked in years and she begins to fear it’s too much, she’ll have to return to town.

One night, a stranger comes knocking at her door…

He’s an attractive and mysterious drifter by the name of Levi McCloud who offers to trade work for a few nights’ shelter. Callie figures she doesn’t have anything to lose. He needs a place to stay until he can fix his motorcycle; she needs an extra pair of hands. The arrangement seems ideal until what was supposed to be temporary starts to look more and more permanent. Then she realizes she does have something to lose — her heart. And, although he doesn’t yet know it, Levi stands to lose even more.

Review:

Warning this one is a tear jerker! By the end I definitely had tears streaming down my face and was choking up. I finished this book last night and I am still feeling the residuals, I am fighting to not pick this book up and re-read it again. I think this is one of those books that is going to linger on the brain for a while, I got that attached.

So basically Callie is dying, she has approximately 3 months to live if they cannot find a donor liver for her. She wants to savor her last couple of months so she moves out to her grandparent’s farm alone and refuses to tell anyone about her condition. Her story is heartbreaking and I completely get that she just wants to be treated normal for whatever days she has left. At the same time it’s sad that she is so alone and without support, but really who wants to always be looked at with sadness and sympathy in their eyes. She is such a good, kind hearted person that you can’t help but love her. You know when people say why do such bad things happen to such good people? Callie would be the epitome of that statement. Callie is alone one night when someone pounds on her door, she gets past her fear to address the pounding because heck a quick death is better than a slow one after all. What she finds in the vagrant Levi is not what she expected; he is young, handsome and proud he refuses to much off of her and finally agrees to work for her as an exchange for her help. She sees a wounded soul in him and she decides that if she is going to die she can at least show him a kindness and help to heal his broken soul. Callie doesn’t try to fight her attraction to Levi for long, she is on limited days. I like that she was going for it even if Levi wasn’t always cooperating with her; which made for some awkward yet endearing scenes between the two. She tries so hard to keep an emotional distance from Levi, but that becomes increasingly difficult. Her walls start crumbling one after the other and she knows just how disastrous that is for both her and Levi.

Levi is such a wounded and broken soul and a tad bit mysterious. His life has been less than stellar, his father was abusive and pushed him to be a MMA fighter. To get out of his father’s grips Levi joins the military which in turn broke him even more (if you want to know the details you gotta read the book). For two years since he got out of the military he has been drifting, running, from one place to the next. His time with Callie is the longest he probably stayed in one spot in the last two years. He is a proud man and does not take hand outs. He works for whatever he has, which isn’t much, but he likes it that way. At least he does until Callie. Her kindness little by little helps heal some of his wounds. His heart slowly starts to come back alive. As he come more and more to life he starts to think about a future, but he has no idea that Callie has no future and her days are numbered and his past is starting to creep up on him.

I absolutely adored this story, I loved both Callie and Levi. They in turn broke my heart and then put it back together. This book will take you on emotional ups and downs, but you’ll care. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, what could be better?

The whole gang from Whiskey Creek makes appearances in this book so you’ll get to catch up with some of the others. Baxter is around a lot and I really liked him and he has his own little continued saga. Eve can be a little overbearing but she means well. Cheyenne and Dylan are around as well and you get an update on Cheyenne’s pregnant sister. Would I recommend this book as well as this series? Heck Yes!

ARC provided through NetGalley for an honest review. No other compensation was provided.

Rating:

5 Romanticals

Lori Foster – Simons Says

SBC Fighter Series:

Book 2:

Simons Says: Simon “Sublime” Evans and Dakota Dream

Summary:

After Simon catches his girlfriend of 5 years of cheating he makes the decision to return the ring after a several year absence. His training is the most important thing and the last thing he wants is a distraction. Dakota hates Barnaby Jailer her step father, he knows the exact buttons to push to guilt trip her into helping him find his son, SBC legend Simon Evans. As a huge fan of SBC Dakota can’t wait to meet Simon, she just hates the reason for it. At first glance of Dakota Simon calls dibs, there is just something about her, even though she wants the impossible from him and she is a distraction he just can’t let her go. When Dakota’s past catches up with her both her and Simons life could be in jeopardy!

Review:

Simon is every woman’s dream man, he is incredibly good looking, sexy, dangerous, and surprisingly thoughtful for a man. He is not afraid to commit and is basically a one woman man. He understands what Dakota needs and makes sure to give it to her. Dakota can kick some serious arse. She went through some serious issues when she was younger and made some bad decisions which she is still paying for. She made sure that she can take care of herself and that would never happen to her again. She was able to walk into a gym of hardened SBC fighters and win them all over; you know you have to be pretty special for that to happen! Dakota’s friend Barber is introduced in this book and I also really enjoyed his character a lot and hope to see more of him in future books and we also get cameos from the first book with Dean and crew! You will fall in love with all the fighters introduced in this book along with Dakota and Simon!

Rating:

4 orchids out of 5

Lori Foster – Causing Havoc

SBC Fighter Series:

Book 1:

Causing Havoc: Dean “Havoc” Connor and Eve Lavon

Summary:

Dean hasn’t seen his sisters (Cam and Jacki) since his parent’s death when he was 9 when his aunt kicked him out and sent him with his uncle. Now 20 years later he is one of the top fighters in the SBC an ultimate fighting sport. After a brutal match he receives a letter from his long lost sister requesting that he come visit. With misgivings he decides to make the trip to see what his sisters could possibly want after 20 years. When he arrives in Harmony, Kentucky the first person he meets is Eve and the sparks fly immediately.  He had hoped she would have taken him home that night but Roger the owner of the bar they were in got in the way. The next day, with mixed emotions Dean went to his family’s house to see his sisters, but as luck would have it the beautiful Eve was there visiting his sister Cam and helped to avoid a very potentially awkward moment. Upon talking to Cam he realizes that his sisters didn’t even know about him, his *itch of an aunt attempted to destroy all evidence of his existence. Dean is not sure how he feels about his sisters but its clear Cam is determined to bring Dean into the familial fold. Dean is sure about what he feels for Eve and that is pure lust! He cannot wait to get his hands on her. Dean and Eve’s affair heats up but as that does all of the sudden “accidents” start happening. It is clear someone wants Dean gone from Harmony…

Review:

This is my first foray into Lori Foster and I have to say it’s a good place to start! I really like the SBC world that L. Foster has created. The men are alpha’s with tattoo’s and rock hard bodies and know how to do some serious damage. Dean is currently one of the top fighters in the SBC, he is called Havoc because it seems like there is no method to his madness in the ring. But with Dean everything is calculated. He is used to being cool, calm and collected and nothing gets through until the woman of Harmony. They are all making him feel things he never thought he would feel again. It is great to watch as his ladies start cracking his façade! I also really liked Eve, nothing seemed to phase her. She was perfect for Dean, she understood him better than he understood himself sometimes. She understood his life style and his conflicting emotions with his sisters and always managed to get him on the right path. Dean’s sisters also have a huge part in the book and you will also like them. Cam is the girl next door type , she is very loving and accepting. You can’t help but love her. Jacki is fiery and a wild child! She has a whirlwind Romance with SBC fighter Gregor which I personally really enjoyed. I wish they would have had their own book as well. Foster kept the story moving and you never got bored, and I am excited to move onto the next book!

Rating:

4 orchids out of 5