ARC Review: False Match

I am really loving the Coded for Love series by Lynne Silver, and today, I want to tell you all about the second book, False Match!

Title: False Match
Series: Coded for Love, #2
Author: Lynne Silver
Publisher: Beyond the Page
Release Date: April 3, 2016
Pages: 190
Buy Links: Amazon | iBooks | BN
ARe | Kobo | Google Play

Blurb:

Kidnapped with her son and forced into helping a rogue scientist with his experiments, Dr. Samara Jones saw no escape. Until the day she was rescued by a group of elite soldiers from the Program. Now under the protection of the Program, Samara is working to prove her innocence—and struggling to control the burning need she feels for Chase Stanton, one of her rescuers. 

As laid-back as he is deadly, Chase is a well-honed solider who always responds to the call of duty, whether it’s a life-or-death mission or a scorching night of passion. When he’s assigned to protect Samara, he’s immediately drawn to the smart, headstrong woman, and confides a dark fear to her—despite feeling torn by his suspicions that she could be a double agent. Duty demands he resist temptation, but desire has its own demands . . . 

Humorous, romantic, and overall heartwarming. I loved this book!

Chase was seriously one of the most lovable book boyfriend that had ever been created. He was so sweet, so charming, and sexy. He was Mr. Popular on campus with his surfer guy look and his reputation with the ladies. What's not to love?

"I like all women, baby. You included. Consider it a genetic defect that I'm going to flirt with you. It's too hard for me to fight it, so I won't bother. I see a pretty woman, I flirt. Nothing mysterious about it."

Dr. Samara was the most uptight woman that ever existed in this world that Lynne had created. I understood it, though. Being kidnapped would do that to people. Poor thing, sometimes I wanted to reach into the book and hug her myself.

"Stop glaring at me, Jonesie. I'm not going to molest you. I'm bored and want some company."

Luca was the most adorable little kid ever! I'd consider having a kid if the child turned out something like Luca. He was so cute and so loveable! 

Luca: "Mommy? Can I get in bed with you?"

Samara: "Sure, baby. Climb in. You can sleep with me tonight, but tomorrow night you go back to your own bed."

Luca didn't respond. He was too busy arranging his ragged stuffed puppy next to him. He was over on the edge of the bed, opposite her, which was unusual.

Samara: "You can scoot a little closer. Puppy doesn't need that much space, does he?"

Luca: "I'm leaving room for Chase."

There were a few things that I thought were missing from the story, though. Described in the blurb as "laid-back as he is deadly," I felt like I didn't get enough action in this book. I wanted to read about Chase being badass and fighting to protect his woman. Also, I wanted the ending to be longer, maybe even just one or two more pages. 

Lastly, the epilogue of the book was short, and I had expected that the character in that epilogue would be the star of the next book, but unfortunately, a completely different character would be explored. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure it'd be great, but I really did want to read this character's book already. But alas, I am resolved to read this series in order. I bet the torture will be so worth it, though ;)

Despite the wishful musings above, I would still highly recommend this book. I was bombarded with all kinds of emotions when I was reading it--joy, sadness, love.

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ARC Review: Ride Hard

Ever since I became one of the lucky ones to be granted an ARC every time Laura Kaye releases a new book, I have read the entire Hard Ink series, and I cannot wait to read the whole Raven Riders series! I hope you'll stay with me as I review my way through Laura Kaye's masterpieces. Let's start with the first book of her new series below.

Title: Ride Hard
Series: Raven Riders, #1
Author: Laura Kaye
Publisher: Avon
Release Date: April 26, 2016
Pages: 384
Buy Links: Amazon | BN | iBooks | Kobo

Blurb:

Brotherhood. Club. Family.
They live and ride by their own rules.
These are the Raven Riders...

Raven Riders Motorcycle Club President Dare Kenyon rides hard and values loyalty above all else. He'll do anything to protect the brotherhood of bikers--the only family he's got--as well as those who can't defend themselves. So when mistrustful Haven Randall lands on the club's doorstep scared that she's being hunted, Dare takes her in, swears to keep her safe, and pushes to learn the secrets overshadowing her pretty smile.

Haven fled from years of abuse at the hands of her criminal father and is suspicious of any man's promises, including those of the darkly sexy and overwhelmingly intense Ravens' leader. But as the powerful attraction between them flares to life, Dare pushes her boundaries and tempts her to want things she never thought she could.

The past never dies without a fight, but Dare Kenyon's never backed down before...

Laura Kaye did it again! This book was riveting and I couldn't put it down!

First of all, let's take a moment to appreciate one of the most beautiful covers I've ever seen. From the moment she revealed the cover until now, I'm still in love with it.

Haven was such an interesting character. She was strong and the most amazing baker that ever existed, apparently! I honestly wish I had the talent to make such heavenly creations like she did in the book. 

Shaking away the thought, Dare elbowed his way to the table. "Y'all are a bunch of goddamned vultures," he said, diving in for another and taking two more for good measure.

As per Laura's signature, there was just the perfect amount of humor in this book. I really did enjoy the camaraderie among the riders. I could really sense the unity and their love and respect for each other. It was written so well that these factors were simply jumping out the pages.

Eyes still down, Dare shrugged. He saw it. He saw her. "Doesn't really matter, does it?" Something hit him in the forehead. He flinched as a pencil tumbled down his front and fell to the floor.

Dare: "Ow, you fucker. Coulda taken my damn eye out."

Maverick: "Uh-huh. Stop shitting me for a minute."

Dare: "What do you want from me, Maverick?"

Maverick: "You like her."

Dare: "Mav--"

Maverick: "You fucking like her."

The big idiot grinned. Like there was anything good about Dare's errant feelings.

Dare: "Good-bye, Maverick. Don't let the door hit ya in the ass on the way out."

Dare wasn't the kind of alpha male that growled and marked his territory, because come on, he's the club president. He kind of already had the automatic respect from everyone. I also liked that Haven was stepping out of her shell. It reminded me a little bit of myself the way she was sheltered. Also, the way that she grew up; only knowing about pain and fear, and not about acceptance and kindness.

Don't get me wrong though. Nothing's hotter than a dangerous-looking Dare. Oh wait, there is, actually. A badass Haven. I can't say anything more than that because those details would be spoilers, so you'll just have to read the book.

"...[she] guarded you like a lioness guarding her cubs."

JUST ABSOLUTE BRILLIANCE!

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Book Signing + LA Times Book Festival 2016

Hi everyone! I thought I'd do something different today and talk about the book events I attended this past weekend.

The first event was Linda Thomas Sundstrom's book signing and release party at the Mysterious Galaxy bookstore in San Diego, CA on April 9. I love coming to the bookstore because of the intimate setting. I also love that they always have sweets whenever someone is signing!

Linda Thomas Sundstrom is known as the literary girl of paranormal romance because her books are so rich. A fun fact about her is that she also teaches Pilates and some of her students came to support her during the event.

Linda talked about having no control on her covers, and she told stories of which covers she preferred and even compared covers from different countries for the same book.

I might have fangirled a little bit when she mentioned me by name at least twice. Thanks for the shoutout, Linda!

Lastly, she mentioned that the most recent book she released and signed at the event, Immortal Redeemed, was one of her favorite books out of the 28 that she had already released. Congratulations on a successful writing career, Linda!

On April 10, me and my friend drove to USC in Los Angeles to attend the LA Times Book Festival. It was my first time and I honestly had a great time, even though I only went to a few booths and spent only an hour at the event.

I was mainly there so I could meet Carlene Love. We had previously chatted on Twitter and I was excited to finally meet her. She writes contemporary romance about rockstars and exotic dancers thrown into the real world apart from their careers. She was such a sweetheart and a joy to chat with.

The next author I met was Tracy Reed. She was very passionate about her books and really believed in them. It was quite inspirational to witness an author's pride about her books. We chatted for a long time and laughed as well. It was a pleasure to meet her and hope that we'll meet again soon--online or in person.

Overall, I enjoyed my time at the book festival. If you want to see what else I got up to plus interviews of the authors mentioned here, check out the video below!

Have you been to a book signing or a book festival before? 

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Review: What You Want

Hi everyone! Today, I have a very lovely story to share. I love the 1Night Stand stories so when I saw that the author was looking for reviewers, I jumped at the chance. Check out my review below.

Title: What You Want
Series: Desperately Seeking Submissive, #2
Author: Landra Graf
Publisher: Decadent Publishing
Release Date: March 25, 2016
Pages: 60
Buy Links: Amazon | ARe | Kobo | Smashwords | BN

Blurb:

When her sister gets sick on the night of her 1Night Stand date, Laney Malcolm is asked to fill in and pretend to be her twin. Treating it as a lark, she looks forward to an adventurous event with a free dinner and not much else. She isn’t prepared for the fierce attraction nor the urge to help the Hawaiian, tattooed submissive she’s introduced to. 

Kanoa Mahelona has spent the last year trying to find himself, but he’s tired of random hook-ups and women who only want him for his bad-boy image. Madame Eve helped his boss, so he turns to her for assistance. Attractive and damn good at breaking through his barriers, the blonde Domme challenges him in a way he can’t seem to turn down. 

Only she’s not who she appears to be, and, once the truth comes out, it may be too late to go back. 

Romantic and straightforward. If there was such a thing as softcore BDSM, this would be it.

I love a good twin story. To be honest, I've always wanted a twin because it would be fun to fool people sometimes. This time around, it was necessary. Laney agreed to pretend to be her sister for one night, not knowing how the date would go. Wow, she was definitely in for something exciting.

I'm usually not into island men, but hey, Kanoa sounded really hot. He had a lot of tattoos and each of them had a story. I loved his explanation for his tattoos, but what I enjoyed most was the fact that Laney was interested in each of them.

The chemistry between the two characters were apparent from the beginning, and I loved that they didn't beat around the bush. Straight to the point and honest. I really enjoyed their conversations.

As for the sex itself, it wasn't as intense, but I certainly enjoyed reading it. It was like BDSM injected with love. Overall, I can't wait to read more of this author's books! I do love discovering new authors :)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Landra Graf has been crafting stories since the tender age of too-young-to-watch-rated-R. When she finally got old enough for adult material, she believed adult meant anything besides the smexy. Then she discovered erotic romance and all things kinky. Since then it’s been a journey down a rabbit hole. Landra writes BDSM erotic romance and historical erotic romance, among other less smexy offerings.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest | Amazon

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Review: Heated Match

Ready for another amazing book that will totally rock your socks off? Check out Heated Match! Lynne Silver is re-releasing the whole series and this time around, I was lucky enough to read the first book to review!

Title: Heated Match

Series: Coded for Love, #1

Author: Lynne Silver

Release Date: April 5, 2016
Publisher: Beyond the Page
Release Date: April 4, 2016
Pages: 249
Buy Links: Amazon | iBooks | Kobo | ARe

Blurb: 

The Program: an organization of elite soldiers with superior strength, agility, and intellect. These men put their lives on the line to execute the government’s most dangerous missions.

Journalist Loren Stanton wants nothing more than to break a big story that will catapult her career. But the only item that’s caught her eye lately is Adam Blacker, a soldier whose rugged sexiness sets her pulse racing. When rumors surface that he’s part of a classified government program, Loren has every excuse she needs to get as close to him as possible, no matter what it takes.

As team leader of a covert ops group, Adam steers clear of all journalists, but there’s no denying the blazing passion Loren stirs in him. A scorching night together convinces him their connection is more than skin-deep, still, he’s not ready to let down his guard—his genetic enhancements make him an exceptional soldier, but what woman would want to commit to his high-risk life?

When a dangerous enemy from Adam’s past resurfaces and Loren insists on joining the fight rather than running, he’s forced to face a dark truth. This courageous, loyal woman moves him in ways he never imagined possible. And now that Adam knows she has his back, he also knows that he has to win.

Such a fun read with unexpected twists and turns and an explosive romance!

This book reminded me of why I love Lynne Silver. At first, I was a bit thrown off by the term "genetically enhanced" and I thought the soldiers weren't human. Eventually, I understood the concept and everything was like an adventure since then.

Although the main characters were Adam and Loren, I was instantly hooked by Xander. Something about him was so intriguing, but I would have to wait and read his book later.

I loved the humor. It felt like a light read, but with the intensity of a romantic suspense. Does that make sense? Basically, it's my perfect book. Adam and Loren couldn't keep their hands off each other, and to be fair, I didn't want them to ;)

I loved the strength that the program represented, but also the mystery. What woman could resist that? It's hard to explain without spoiling the book, so you'll just have to take my word for it. This book is brilliant and will keep you reading until you reach the end. 

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