Review: Blue By You by Rachel Gibson

Blue By You: Kasper Pennington and Blue Butler

Purchase on Amazon: Rachel Gibson – Blue By You

Summary:

From Goodreads.com

Rachel Gibson, the New York Times bestselling author of Crazy On You and Rescue Me, once again shows that there’s nothing quite like a man in uniform!

They say you never forget your first time, but there’s nothing Blue Butler and Kasper Pennington would rather forget than their brief but fiery teenage love affair. Yeah, it was hot while it lasted, but then he went off to join the Marines, leaving Blue in New Orleans. She’s tried to block him from her mind for good, but nothing can really erase the feeling she had when she was with him.

And now he’s got the nerve to return—leaner, meaner, and strong enough to pull her into his arms and kiss her senseless. Blue’s a successful businesswoman now, with no time to figure out what went wrong all those years ago. But Kasper knows she’s the one woman for him … and now he’s got to prove it to her all over again.

Review:

Blue By You by Rachel Gibson is another hit in the Rachel Gibson collection. It is no secret, that I adore Rachel Gibson, she is one of my favorite authors because every time I pick up a Rachel Gibson novel, I know I am going to laugh and it’s going to be a heartwarming tale. Blue By You is no exception to this rule. For the first time by Rachel Gibson we are taken to the Louisiana New Orleans area, which I really fell in love with. True to RG style, she gives us a small town that is quirky and fun. The rival families is quite fun and I loved how they joked about their ancestors.

Kasper (loving the name) and Blue had one night together 20 something years ago and now they meet again and the attraction comes back just as strong as it was when they first met. Blue is rightfully pissed about how Kasper hit it and quit it all those years ago, I mean a girl always remembers her first. Kasper is determined to make up for his Houdini act, he is finally ready for the feelings that Blue inspires. He has his work cut out for him, but he is a man determined to get what he wants and he sets out to put in work. I quite enjoyed Blue and her non-conformance attitude; we opened with Blue drinking on her front porch while everyone else was at church. It had my chuckling on the inside. She also doesn’t give into Kasper too quickly; she does make Kasper work a little.

In this novella we flash from the present to the past and back to the present, which for me worked for this book. It gave us the history between Kasper and Blue, which was needed. The past and present plotlines were seamlessly plotted out. There was plenty of humor to keep you chuckling throughout the book. My biggest and really only issue with this book was it was too short; it really needed to be a bit longer for it to really develop. I truly hope that we get more books in this setting. I really enjoyed this setting and hope we get to visit it again.

Rating:

*This book was provided to me through Edelweiss for an honest review, no other compensation was provided.

*This review can also be seen at paranormalromancenovel.com

Review: Feel the Rush by Kelsie Leverich

Hard Feelings Series:

Book 2:

Feel the Rush: Meagan Mitchell and Reed Porter

Purchase on Amazon.com: Feel the Rush: A Hard Feelings Novel (InterMix)

Summary:

From Goodreads.com

The New York Times bestselling author of The Valentine’s Arrangement continues her sizzling series with a new novel of a plan that goes awry—in the arms of a soldier…

Picking the wrong men is a talent Meagan Mitchell has perfected. She’s sweet, confident, beautiful—and single. With her thirtieth birthday sneaking up on her, she needs a new plan. No more Mr. Wrongs or Mr. Bads, it’s time to find Mr. Safe…

Army Captain, Reed Porter, lives for the thrill—he’s an Airborne Jumpmaster with a rush addiction. He’s sexy and playful, and he quickly tempts Meagan with his rich Southern drawl and sinful looks. But slowing down and settling down are not in his agenda, making him exactly the type of man Meagan wants to avoid…

As their undeniable attraction heats up, Meagan has to decide if she’s willing to risk everything on a chance at love with a reckless charmer. Is she brave enough to bet her future—and her heart—on Mr. Thrill? Or will Reed finally learn that the feeling of a safe landing is just as addicting as the rush of the fall?

Review:

What a great story! I read the first book in the series and really liked it, but I got to say this one was better! I had loved Ronnie’s hard ass attitude but adored Meagan soft heart. We met Meagan in the Valentines Arrangement, she was Kale’s friends with benie’s before he found Ronnie. I wasn’t quite sure what to make of her coming into this book, but I found she was a pleasant surprise. She has a great sense of humor, she’s that kind of quiet one that out of nowhere cracks a smart ass comment and has everyone laughing. That’s almost my favorite kind of humor because you never quite see it coming. Romantically, her dating life has been a disaster. She is coming up on the big 3-0 and always thought she would be married with kids by the time she was 30. To escape a bad dating pattern she picks up and moves when her best friend Eva (who I also loved btw) came up on orders. Only, she falls right into the arms of her very first one night stand, Reed Porter, only its 8 years later and he doesn’t recognize her. This time Meagan is determined to break the pattern and to not sleep with the irresistible Reed. But Reed has other plans for her.

Reed is our adrenaline junky! Meagan nicknamed him Mr. Thrill and it fits. He will do anything for a rush, and right now chasing Meagan is giving him a rush of a lifetime, but he’s not a forever type of guy. Meagan has made it clear what she is looking for, but Reed wants to give it a go anyway. Although Reed comes off as a fun loving guy, he has demons of his own. There is a reason he doesn’t form many lasting attachments. When you lose the other part of your soul it leaves a pretty lasting impact. Reed leads on a fun pursuit of Meagan and it is definitely fun to read, the push and pull between these two strong willed characters is entertaining. I didn’t want to put the book down and when I did I couldn’t wait to pick it back up to see what these two get themselves into next. Ultimately I saw the general outcome coming, yet not. Kelsie Leverich definitely threw a wrench in what I thought was going to happen. I have to admit it brought a tear to my eye and I’m sure it will bring others to a full out ugly cry. But this made me love Meagan and Reed all that much more. Ultimately Reed has to decide if his adrenaline filled lifestyle is worth his happiness whether he thinks he deserves it or not.

This was a fun entertaining ride which was enhanced by the side characters. I loved each and every one of them! And I am looking forward to each and every one of their books! So yeah, Kelsie Leverich, Im going to need you to get on these books ASAP!

Rating:

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

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

*And on a side note, I met the lovely Kelsie Leverich at the Naughty Mafia Las Vegas signing and she is a super sweetheart!

Review: Darynda Jones – Fifth Grave Past the Light

Charley Davidson Series:

Book 5:

Fifth Grave Past the Light: Charley Davidson and Reyes

Purchase on Amazon:  Fifth Grave Past the Light (Charley Davidson Series)

Summary:

From Goodreads.com

Charley Davidson may not look like your everyday, run-of-the-mill grim reaper, but she has vowed to reap grimness wherever she goes despite this unfortunate fact. Sadly, she gets sidetracked when the sexy, sultry son of Satan, Reyes Farrow, moves in next door. As he is the main suspect in her arson case, she is determined to stay away from him until she can find out the truth. According to her therapist, however, she lacks conviction.

When dead women start appearing in her apartment – lost, confused and terrified beyond reason – Charley has no choice but to ask for Reyes’s help, especially when it becomes apparent that her own sister Gemma is the serial killer’s next target. With his ability to observe incorporeally, surely he can find out who’s responsible. And even if he can’t, he is the one man alive who could protect Gemma no matter who or what came at her. But he wants something in return: Charley. All of her – body and soul. And to keep her sister safe, it is a price she is willing to pay…

Review:

Aw… How I love Charley Davidson! Seriously?! What is not to love about this series? The quick sarcastic humor, Charley Kicking ass or not kicking ass, non-stop action, the funny supporting crew and they very sexy mysterious Son of Satan Reyes. This book is another wonderful installment of this series, one my favorites so far. This series as a whole is seriously creeping its way into my top ten list, as it is consistently excellent and wildly entertaining.

In this book Charley gets into her usual trouble. There is a grip of tortured ghost woman haunting her place and she needs to solve the mystery of their deaths. The only questions is why after all these years are they all of they suddenly appearing in her apartment? This is a mystery she intends to solve. This book starts off a couple of weeks after the last book ends; Charley has a new neighbor, her sexy Reyes. This book takes their relationship to a new level, the sexual heat is incredible. Reyes is his usual sexy self, he is secure enough that he can let Charley be Charley and not suffocate her, he has more faith in her, then she probably has in herself. When it comes down to it, he stands by her side, always! Her new case is a dozy one, of her most difficult yet. She set about solving this case like all of the others: a lot of bumbling, even more humor, and death knocking on her door at all hours. I found it impossible to not love this book as much as all of the others ranking it in the top three of the series so far! If you haven’t started this series, you need to, like NOW! Who doesn’t love a lot of humor and action? It’s a combo I am not passing up anytime soon.

Rating:

*This review can also be seen on paranormalromancenovel.com

Review: Susan Mallery – Three Little Words

Fool’s Gold Series:

Book 13:

Three Little Words: Ford Hendrix and Isabel Carlisle

Purchase on Amazon:  Three Little Words (Fool’s Gold)

Summary:

From Goodreads.com

Isabel Carlisle thinks she’s cursed in the romance department. Her teenage crush, Ford Hendrix, ignored all her letters. Her husband left her for another…man. So Isabel has come home to dust off her passion for fashion and run the family bridal shop until her parents are ready to sell it. Then she’ll pursue her real dreams. At least, that’s the plan, until sexy, charming Ford returns and leaves her feeling fourteen all over again….

Seeing Isabel all grown up hits bodyguard trainer Ford like a sucker punch. Back when heartbreak made him join the military, her sweet letters kept him sane. Now he can’t take his eyes-or his lips-off her. The man who gave up on love has a reason to stay in Fool’s Gold forever-if three little words can convince Isabel to do the same….

Review:

Another hit in the Fools Gold series, I mean really you can’t go wrong with this series when you are looking for something light hearted that will give you a little pick me up. Like the rest of the books it is quirky and humorous. In this one, Ford a Navy Seal is terrified of no one or nothing except his own mother! TO get her off his back he manages to convince Isabel to be his fake girlfriend. Isabel isn’t quite sure how he gets her to convince her to be his pretend girlfriend but here she is doing girlfriend duty. From the start of the arrangement it doesn’t really feel fake to the reader. The chemistry between Isabel and Ford is anything but fake. I like the angle of Isabel writing to him all of those years and a young girls letters becoming his anchor in the midst of war. It’s very sweet! This whole book is sweet. I really enjoyed how the whole book played out.

As an added bonus we also get Consuelas Happily Ever After. Consuela and Kent get almost as much page time as Isabel and Ford, which really picks up the pace of this book. Two books in one, score! Consuela is tough as nails but has always wanted a normal life, but her’s has been anything but. When she meets Kent she is terrified of him and what he makes her feel. There is no way someone as normal as Kent could ever go for a rough around the edges killer like her. Kent is great! He knows that Consuela has done some things she is not proud of, but he never lets that get in the way. He always treats her like a cherished female. He knows she knows at least 50 ways to kill him, but he trusts her with not only his body but his heart as well. We don’t get to know Kent as well as we do Ford, but you have a pretty good picture of him by the end of the book. This is not our first rodeo with Consuelo so we know more about her. It’s good to see her soften a bit, but not too much because that’s just not her. She stays pretty true to her character.

Three Little Words is another great installment in the Fools Gold seriesthat I thoroughly enjoyed! Great job Susan Mallery, we have come to count on your light hearted romances that will give you a good chuckle!

Rating:

*This copy was provided to me through NetGalley for an honest review, no other compensation was provided.

Review: Thea Harrison – The Wicked

The Elder Races Series:

Book 5.5

The Wicked: Sebastian Hale and Olivia

Purchase on Amazon: Thea Harrison – The Wicked (A Novella of the Elder Races)

Summary:

From Goodreads.com

The adventure of a lifetime might just end in turmoil, but when it includes meeting your future mate, who gives a hoot?

A Novella of the Elder Races

For a librarian with a focus on rare magic books, Olivia’s new job is a dream come true. She has been hired as part of a team to help manage the safe transportation of the collection of books owned by the Vampyre sorceress Carling Severan. The fact that the library is located on a mysterious island in an Other land only heightens the adventure.

Head of security for the expedition, Sebastian Hale is tired of his rootless life of adventure and finds himself attracted to the calm, beautiful librarian. But he is living a personal nightmare. He has been hit with a curse that is slowly taking away his sight, and he doesn’t know if he will survive the results.

But the powerful feelings growing between them, along with Sebastian’s inner turmoil, take a backseat when they learn there is a traitor lurking among their expedition team. With Elder Races politics and a priceless library on the line, they’ll have to rely on each other to survive the experience.

Warning: When a librarian who likes to nest meets an owl Wyr who has always lived for adventure, their romance won’t just be fly-by-night…

Review:

I have to say I quite enjoyed this novella, it was short but sweet. We originally meet Olivia in Oracle’s Moon; she quickly becomes Grace’s friend and is a witch at the largest witches’ library of the Elder Races. She tends to be quiet but is ready for adventure so she takes the opportunity to pack up Carling’s personal library. She never expected that her life was about to get significantly more exciting. Sebastian is under a Curse, as an Owl Wyr his eyesight is one of his greatest strengths; but the curse is winning against his natural defenses and he is slowly losing his site. He is drowning in boredom and misery when he takes the position as head of security to transport Carlings personal library. He never expected that his boredom was about to come to end, but there is still the curse to deal with.

From the moment Sebastian and Olivia the passion smolders but I like how Sebastian keeps his cool. Outwardly you wouldn’t know that he is insanely attracted to Olivia; he’s not one to wear his heart on his sleeve. Olivia is not sure what to make of this man, but she knows there is more than what he presents to the world. When there is a bit of danger towards Olivia all Sebastian’s protective instincts go haywire and he can’t deny his attraction any longer. I like his concern for Olivia, not only protecting her from outside threats but his concern for her on what her life would be like if she got chained to him since he is cursed and all. What I liked even better was Olivias reaction to his impending blindness. She accepted him and what may happen with his eyesight. She was all in, it didn’t matter to her whether he could see or not, even bringing up a seeing eye avian shifter so that he could still fly. I thought that so sweet and thoughtful. Their talk about their future talk had me in an awe moment as well as well as laughing a bit. I forgot how funny Thea Harrison could be. It’s been a while since I had read one of her books so when I broke out laughing a few times, it was like an ahhh… I forgot… moment. Unexpected, but very welcome. There is also a bit of action in this book, not a whole lot, I mean it’s only about 100 pages but Harrison manages to get it in there to keep things interesting. If you enjoy this series, I definitely recommend this novella. It’s a quick fun read that fits in quite nicely with the rest of the series.

Rating:

4.5  Romanticals

This review can also be viewed on www.paranormalromancenovel.com .

Review: Kresley Cole – MacRieve

Immortals After Dark Series: 

Book 13:

MacRieve: Uilleam MacRieve and Chloe Todd

 

 

Purchase on Amazon:Kresley Cole – MacRieve (Immortals After Dark)

Summary:

From Goodreads.com

A Beast In Torment

Uilleam MacRieve believed he’d laid to rest the ghosts of his boyhood. But when a brutal torture revives those ancient agonies and destroys his Lykae instinct, the proud Scot craves the oblivion of death. Until he finds her—a young human so full of spirit and courage that she pulls him back from the brink.

A Beauty In Chains

Seized for the auction block, Chloe Todd is forced to enter a terrifying new world of monsters and lore as a bound slave. When offered up to creatures of the dark, she fears she won’t last the night. Until she’s claimed by him—a tormented immortal with heartbreaking eyes, whose touch sets her blood on fire.

A Full Moon On The Rise

With enemies circling, MacRieve spirits Chloe away to the isolated Highland keep of his youth. But once he takes her to his bed, his sensual mate becomes something more than human, evoking his savage past and testing his sanity. On the cusp of the full moon, can he conquer his worst nightmare to save Chloe . . . from himself?

 

Review:

Kresley Cole has long since earned her place on my auto-buy list as well as the top spot as my favorite author. Every time I pick up a Kresley Cole book it starts this spiral of need to go back and read the rest of the series all over again. I swear I do a re-read of IAD at least once a year. I know without a doubt that if I pick up a Kresley Cole book it will be a minimum of four stars EVERY time. MacRieve is absolutely no exception to this rule. This was not my favorite book of the series but I’d still say Ms. Cole has a winner on her hands. I DEVOURED it, staying up all night to finish and dragging my ass into work with almost no sleep but not caring. PS. I really wish release day was on a Friday or something so this wouldn’t keep happening to me with my favorite authors. LOL

 

As with Lothaire I gotta say MacRieve was kinda a douche in the middle of the book. He showed promise early on but events triggering childhood trauma and massive guilt changed that fairly quickly. I am glad to say that he did see error of his ways and did endeavor to change his attitude but it was some rough going there for a while. MacRieve totally earned his nickname of “Head Case” and I absolutely LOVED that nickname for him; it was so fitting and cracked me up every time someone used it and they called him it right to his face and he couldn’t even get mad since it was true. Lol Coming into this book, I had no idea just how traumatized MacRieve was, in reality we didn’t know much about the twins other then they are Hot and Hotter or is it Hotter and Hot?? A childhood event when he was nine lasting until it came to a head at thirteen shaped the rest of his life and then when he was picked up by the Order that just made everything worse. His torture was extensive as the pet of Dr. Nixon and then after the escape he barely dodged another bullet which dredged up the childhood memories. I couldn’t help but repeatedly say “pobrecito” (poor guy) throughout a lot of the book. He may have been a douche but it was kind of understandable and I couldn’t hate him for it. He even brought tears to my eyes a few times and I don’t think I have ever cried in a Kresley Cole book, because usually I’m too busy laughing.

 

Even though there were a few tears worry not my friends you’ll still laugh in this book because Chloe is quite the smart ass and I adore smart ass characters. Probably one of the reason I love Kresley Cole so much, most of her characters tend to be on the smart ass side and I can’t get enough of it. Chloe is also a pretty tough chica. In the beginning she is just a human professional woman’s soccer player with dreams of the Olympics but soon she realizes that something is happening to her. When her father disappears after handing her the living book of the Lore it is merely weeks when she is kidnapped to be sold to the highest bidder. It seems her father is enemy numero uno amongst the Lore. It is on the auction block when MacRieve finds her and “rescues” her. It is just when she is starting to buy into MacRieve’s matehood when he does a complete 180 after her transition. Chloe is not one to really put up with much shit so she gives back as much as she gets from MacRieve wanting nothing to do with him, but the nature of the beast rears its ugly head and circumstances what they are they have to stick together. What I really liked about Chloe is that she didn’t really freak out about the Lore and her transition. She had a “rub some dirt” mentality and tried to make the best of the situation. She remained her smart ass self and won everyone over including MacRieve. Although, I do wish that she would have been able to compete in the Olympics, it seems a bit sad that she had to give up that dream, but she took it in stride.

 

This book isn’t as action packed as some of the others as MacRieve is still pretty traumatized from being tortured so I think this was a good move, plus we still had plenty of drama with MacRieve and Chloe in their own personal battle between each other and MacRieves’ past. This is probably the steamiest book of the series, almost from the get go. As with all the other books in this series the side characters cannot be dismissed. I adore every single one of them in particular I loved the orphaned brothers. They cracked me up, especially the younger one. I’m drawing a blank on his name right now. We spend more time with Monroe then we ever have before and I like him, it’s looking like his book may be next in the series. He’s little to serious so I hope his mate drives him nuts! Kresley Cole is setting us up for something BIG so I can’t wait to see where we go in this series!

 

Well Done Kresley Cole, Well Done!

 

Rating: 5 Romanticals

This review can also be seen on www.paranormalromancenovel.com .

Review: Kristen Ashley–Fire Inside

Chaos Series:

Book 2:

Fire Inside: Hopper (Hop) Kincaid and Lanie Heron

 

 

Purchase on Amazon: Fire Inside: A Chaos Novel

Summary:

Lanie Heron isn’t looking for love—no surprise, considering her last serious relationship nearly got her killed. So when Lanie propositions Hop Kincaid, all she wants is one wild night with the hot-as-hell biker who patrols with the Chaos Motorcycle Club…

For Hop, Lanie has always been untouchable. She’s too polished and too classy for his tastes. But when she gives Hop the once-over with her bedroom eyes and offers him a night in paradise, he can’t say no. And he doesn’t regret it when he finds that Lanie is the best thing that’s ever happened to him—in or out of bed. Now the trick will be to convince her of that.

Review:

First off I have to say I am a Kristen Ashley fan. Her characters tend to be real, they have flaws and talk like normal people. Her woman tend to have normal women issues like bad hair days, insecurities, flaws, previous bad taste in men and a weaknesses for hot alpha men to are as bossy as they are sweet. Ok, her men, I haven’t met a single dude like the ones she writes but her in lies the fantasy aspect of her stories. Lol We love to love her alpha male, bossy as hell, sexy, protective yet will do anything for his lady men. We get this same fantastic character development in this book.

Lanie is a drama queen; she comes by it naturally as it tends to run in the family lol. When she approaches Hop it is for one night, one night of immense pleasure as it’s been seven years for her. Seven years from that fateful night when everything was stolen from her because of her fiancés bad decisions. As a character I liked Lanie, I didn’t love Lanie but I enjoyed her dramatics and all. She is a confident woman who knows what is important in life. She almost lost her own life and that of her best friend because she stood by the wrong man. Now she is deathly afraid of attaching herself to another man, after hasn’t she shown her trust in men cannot be trusted? The push and pull between Lanie and Hop is entertaining to say the least but I’m not sure I truly bought the romance.

Hop is everything you would come to expect from a Kristen Ashley male. He is dominating, self-assured, a bad ass and knows what he wants. And for years what he has wanted is Lanie Heron, now she is approaching him for a night of pleasure. He knows shit is about to get complicated but this woman is worth it. Hop does all the right things, he says all the right things, he’s a total bad ass who will protect his woman into death. But here again, I liked his character, but I never grew to love him, not like I did Shy in the previous novel in this series. Hop is great, but maybe a little too great? I don’t know, I’m not sure what kept me to truly loving his character. Again, I did like him and he was great to Lanie it was just missing that teeny bit extra.

Overall, this book was very entertaining with typical K. Ashley laughs. There is plenty of drama and a great story. However, I kept waiting for something extra to happen. I don’t know what, but usually in a K Ashley novel there is at least one life threatening action happen, but this one didn’t really have one. There was a quickie but not like I’ve become used to. I kept waiting for it, but it never happened. Besides that, this novel was not lacking in anything else. Oh and I think this is one of her steamier novels. There were lots of romantical times steaming up the pages!

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

Rating: 4 Romanticals

ARC Review: Molly Harper – A Witch’s Handbook of Kisses and Curses

Half Moon Hollow Series:

Book 3:

A Witch’s Handbook of Kisses and Curses: Nola Leary and Jed Trudeau

 

 

Expected publication: May 28th 2013

Purchase on Amazon: Molly Harper – A Witch’s Handbook of Kisses and Curses

 

Summary:

From goodreads.com

Nola Leary would have been content to stay in Kilcairy, Ireland, healing villagers at her family’s clinic with a mix of magic and modern medicine. But a series of ill-timed omens and a deathbed promise to her grandmother have sent her on a quest to Half-Moon Hollow, Kentucky, to secure her family’s magical potency for the next generation. Her supernatural task? To unearth four artifacts hidden by her grandfather before a rival magical family beats her to it.

Complication One: Her grandfather was Mr. Wainwright and the artifacts are lost somewhere in what is now Jane Jameson’s book shop.

Complication Two: her new neighbor, Jed Trudeau, who keeps turning up half naked at the strangest times, a distraction Nola doesn’t need. And teaming up with a real-life Adonis is as dangerous as it sounds, especially when he’s got the face of an angel and the abs of a washboard—can Nola complete her mission before falling completely under his spell?

 

Review:

I freak’n adore Molly Harper! She is on my auto-buy list for a reason. I count on Molly Harper to make me laugh every time I pick up one of her books not a fail. This is the reason I read Molly Harper! With this book I got exactly what I expected, a fun, light humorous book that I didn’t want to put down.

The Half Moon Hollow crew is back in this book in their supporting roles. You can count on Jane and crew to make you laugh, in this book we have newcomer to the crew Nola. She is on a task to find her families artifacts, if she fails, her entire family may lose their magic. Nola, has never been a big practitioner of her own magic but that doesn’t mean that she wants her family to lose their magic, their entire village in Ireland counts on it. Back in Ireland Nola is the most practical of her family; I like that in this book she loses a bit of that out of necessity. Her task in general is a bit crazy so she has to go outside her comfort zone quite a bit to reach her goal. Back home, she has a straight laced boring boyfriend. In Half Moon Hollow she has a gorgeous neighbor that tempts her more then he ought to, especially since she has a perfectly lovely boyfriend back home, or is he? While in Half Moon Hollow, things start falling apart between her and her man. And honestly you can’t even dredge up and remorse for that, not with Jed next door! Jed, is muscled, sexy and good with power tools! Plus he is a savior of small marsupials. I mean really how can you turn that down, for boring? Lola starts asking herself that question on a regular basis.

The romance in the story is a bit slow to start, for a while I was wondering if it was going to happen at all. However, that didn’t really detract from the story for me. I don’t necessarily pick up Molly Harper for the romance, although it is a nice benefit. I pick up Molly Harper because I want to laugh uproariously and that mission was accomplished with this book. I consider that a win! While this book is light on the romance it in heavy on the laughs. So if you want to laugh, pick this one up!

 

*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 .

ARC Review: Susan Mallery – Just One Kiss

Fool’s Gold Series:

Book 11:

Just One Kiss: Patience McGraw and Justice Garrett

 

 

Publication Date: May 28, 2013

Purchase on Amazon: Susan Mallery – Just One Kiss (Fool’s Gold)

Summary:

From Goodreads.com

He won’t hesitate to put his life on the line…but will he ever risk his heart?

Falling for Justice Garrett was a high point in Patience McGraw’s otherwise awkward adolescence. Even after he disappeared, Patience never forgot the boy who captured her heart. Now, he’s back in Fool’s Gold, California, and her passion for him is as strong as ever. But how can she trust that he won’t abandon her again-and her daughter, too?

When bodyguard Justice Garrett was a young man, witness protection brought him to this idyllic town and he never forgot its warmth, or the sweet beauty of his childhood friend. He’s returned to open a defense academy, and the Patience he once knew is all grown up. He can’t resist her smile, or her curves. But Justice’s past doesn’t make him husband, or father, material.

Patience and Justice think they’ll succumb to just one kiss… Then one more… Okay, just one night together. But they might learn that falling in love is beyond anyone’s control.

Review:

A tale of rekindled love! Well kind of rekindled… Well they find each other again after something like 12 years. Once upon a time a young man was in the witness protection program from his own father, for his own safety he was sent to Fool’s Gold. While in Fool’s Gold he broke all the rules and befriended a girl from his school. He’s not supposed to have any attachments but there was something about Patience that called to him and he didn’t fight their growing friendship. Patience found herself on the brink of young love when Justice up and disappeared in the middle of the night. She never forgot about her first real crush… When he steps into her salon years later all grown up and looking like sin she is happy to see her old friend, glad he is alive and well. They pick up their friendship pretty much where it left, only they aren’t kids anymore and they discover a very adult attraction.

Susan Mallery has a formula for this series and she doesn’t really break from that formula. True it is a successful formula and it produces heartwarming, light funny reads, but someday I’d like for Susan Mallery to surprise me and maybe the female will run off from the man. That surprise did not occur within this book. We get the same formula; man has some issues from his past. Woman loves him despite his baggage and just when things are about to get serious man gets scared and runs off only to come to his senses and come back. Where female promptly forgives him and all is well in Fools Gold! YAY!

With formula in place Susan Mallery creates a fun light-hearted story. Patience is easy to love as a character. She is warm and has a natural welcomness about her. She is a single mother who still has the heart to dream! I love that she has a dream and once has the means to go after her dream she goes forward full steam. She has natural dreams of failure but the presence of Justice helps her a lot. He has a calming influence on her. Justice had a brutal childhood. His father would not be winning any father of the year awards. It is because of his father that he had to enter in the witness protection program. Later he joins the Army, becomes a specialist and then a premier bodyguard. Pretty much his entire he has been adrift not putting down roots anywhere but Fool’s Gold and Patience keep tugging at him. When he decides to open a business he decides to check out Fool’s Gold and check in on Patience. Now Patience is all grown up and those feelings he kept under wraps at 18 have a chance to fully develop. The romance between Patience and Justice develops naturally aided by a previous relationship even if it was just friendship. They fall into each easily and it feels good and warm. I love when a couple (in this case not really but kinda) rekindles. It always makes me happy and this is no exception.

Overall, a solid installment in the series, not the best but a good showing, It also sets up nicely for the next three books.

Rating: 4 Romanticals

*Review copy was provided through NetGalley for an honest review.

ARC Review: Kristen Ashley – Own the Wind

Chaos Series:

Book 1:

Own the Wind: Parker “Shy” Cage and Tabitha “Tabby” Allen

Expected publication: April 2nd 2013

Purchase on Amazon: Kristen Ashley – Own the Wind: A Chaos Novel

Summary:

From Goodreads.com

Tabitha Allen has a not-so-secret crush on Parker “Shy” Cage. Shy thinks he knows the path Tabby’s on and it isn’t a good one. So he decides to teach her a lesson to lead her to the right path.

Unfortunately, he was wrong and his actions wound Tabby, breaking her heart. It’s Tabby who then teaches Shy a lesson about casting judgment and Shy Cage learns what it feels like to be invisible. But when tragedy strikes and Tabby’s heart is broken again, Shy does what he can in the background to help. Trying to forget her heartbreak, Tabby finds herself in danger. To keep it secret from her biker family, the Chaos Motorcycle Club, she calls Shy to rescue her. But when she lets him back in, she gets much more than she bargained for.

Review:

I fell in love with Kristen Ashley with the first book I read by her MYSTERY MAN and to date she has not let me down. My love of her books continues to flourish. OWN THE WIND is no exception and is in my list of favorites by her. This book actually spans over approximately four years, the first years go quickly by jumping forward in time in chunks. I thought I would become disoriented by the large leaps in time, but K. Ashley keeps you grounded and I wasn’t confused at all. The reason it spans over such a large timeframe is one due to Tab’s age, I don’t think she would have been ready for that is Shy at 19, nor was Shy ready for the awesomeness that is Tab. Secondly, because of a misstep on Shy’s part and man can Tab hold a grudge.

I was pulled into this book immediately by the characters, we start the book with a human pretzel and it just gets better and better from there. Within the first quarter of the book I had already teared up twice and by now you should all know my rule “You make me cry, you get a five!” . Even if my eyes hadn’t watered, I still would have given this book a 5 Romantical rating. As with all of Kristen Ashley’s previous books you come to care about the characters, they take on their own life and all have very strong distinctive personalities. With some writers one of the characters may outshine the other in the personality or character development department, but I do not find this to be the case in this book. Both Shy and Tab have distinctive personalities and hold their own against each other. Shy is one of Ashley’s “Bad Assess” and man do we love them that way! I know when I want a contemporary Alpha Male type, I can count on Kristen Ashley to provide me with one. I wanted a Shy of my very own. Her females are no slouches either. Some may be feistier than others, but they all can stand up against their “Bad Ass” and don’t let their men walk all over them. I can’t stand a doormat so, I am very glad that Kirsten Ashley so far has not written a doormat character at least not one that I have read yet. K. Ashley really writes a character that you can come to care about and want to know what happens with them. With Shy and Tab you really wanted them to find their “Happily Ever After”. Both had some rough patches in their lives so you really want them to find some peace and happiness. They have a rough start but through tragedy they find their way back to each other.

One of the other things I love about a Kristen Ashley novel is her sense of humor. Quite frankly she is sarcastic and a smart ass and that humor works for me. It keeps me laughing from beginning to end. I know when I pick up a K. Ashley novel I’m going to laugh and again this one is not an exception to this rule. I had some chuckles and some full out belly roll laughs!

Also, with a K. Ashley novel you can count on the side characters to add to the wonderfulness that is the story. A lot of previous characters show back up for their cameos in this book, plus we get all of the brothers from the Chaos MC and there a lot of them! So lots of Bad Assness to be had. Oh and Elvira one of my favorite recurring characters shows up in this one and has a man! Another “Bad Ass” I really really hope that we get their story! I love Elvira; she freak’n cracks me up every time!

All in all, another FANTASTIC installment to the Kristen Ashley catalog! Can’t wait to see what else she has in store for us!

Rating:

5 Romanticals

 

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