Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Review: Homefront

Title: Homefront
Series: Homefront, #1
Author: Jessica Scott
Self-Published
Release Date: April 7, 2015
Pages: 274
Buy Links: Amazon | iBooks | BN | Kobo | Google Play

Blurb:

He’s always loved her… 

First Sergeant Gale Sorren waited a war and half a lifetime for a chance to get stationed near the ex-wife who left him years ago. When he finally musters the courage to see her, the life he imagined she was living was nothing close to the reality. 

She’s never stopped loving him… 

Melanie never stopped worrying about Gale each time he headed off to war. But he’s never been there when she needed him and she’s had fifteen years to steel her heart against him. 

But when Gale moves to Fort Hood, he finally has a chance to make things right with Melanie and the daughter she raised without him. 

Can Mel trust her heart to a man who has always let her down?




My favorite Jessica Scott novel yet!

This story was so realistic, that it was actually funny! Reading about Gale's struggle to be a father was so entertaining. Honestly, I would continue reading this book if it happened to be 600 pages, simply because I loved the way that the characters interacted with each other.

This book certainly did not disappoint. It was not predictable, which was good. Also, the attraction between Gale and Melanie was real from the very start. It was interesting to ponder the idea that a divorced couple would fall for each other again. 

Check out some of my favorite quotes/scenes from Gale below:

Talking to his daughter:
"...I would like to keep my illusions that you're not ready to hit the stripper pole just yet, if that's okay with you."

"And if you value my freedom at all, you'll keep horny boys away from you so that I don't go to prison for beating any of them up."

Talking to his commander, Teague:
Gale: "I'm having an existential parenting crisis."
Teague: That's a hell of a sentence. Can you even spell 'existential'?"

Gale's thoughts:
Maybe it was the military that had been drilled into the fiber of who he was, maybe he was just fucking old, but the multicolored hair had to go. And the black nail polish. That shit, too.


Overall, this book was a must-read! I was literally laughing to myself while I read this book!


Arianne

Sunday, April 26, 2015

Promo: Parisian Amour

Title: Parisian Amour
Series: Touchstone, #3
Author: Beth Barany
Publisher: Firewolf Books
Release Date: May 26, 2014
Pages: 78
Buy Links: Amazon | BN | Kobo
                Smashwords | iBooks

Blurb:

What if a dragon lived under the city of Paris? 

A sweet paranormal romance novella by award-winning author, Beth Barany. 

Sarah Redman, a bank project manager up to her neck with work, wants some adventure in her life. A career opportunity in Paris seems like a dream come true, but once she gets there nothing goes as planned. The job interview she thought she wanted falls through and her dreams about a crying dragon trouble her. To top it off, she gets lost in the tunnels of Paris with a man who attracts her more than she wants to admit. 

Trainer extraordinaire, Josh Kleine, needs to pull off a successful presentation at the Paris Transportation Conference to land more clients and save his company. But strange events in the tunnels under Paris drive him to distraction and into a strange, profound sadness. In search of answers under the city, he gets trapped below ground with a gorgeous woman who he desires like none before. But will the sadness tear him apart before he can convince himself and her that love does not only exist in fairy tales? 

Together they may hold the key to the strange disasters striking the City of Lights. Can Sarah unravel the secrets of the city and of her heart in time to save them all?






Collar up against the rain, cap low on his forehead, Josh Kleine strode across the bridge and cooed to his Bernese Mountain dog, Sally, at the other end of the phone line, back in Oakland, California. Then without warning, his best friend and housemate Liam took the phone away from his dog and teased Josh about his habit of talking to his dog, especially long distance.

“Whatever, man. You know I love Sally more than you. I gotta get some shut eye to get up early for the conference tomorrow,” Josh said. “I’ll call you later.”

“Sure. Take care. And go meet some French women, will you? Sounds like you need to get laid.”

“Hey, where did that come from? Speak for yourself.” Josh shook his head.

Liam barked a laugh and clicked off the cell phone.

Josh slipped the phone back into his coat pocket and passed a beautiful woman strolling on the bridge. Under her hat, she had long brown hair flowing over her shoulders, seemingly not minding that her hair was getting wet. She had a faraway look in her eyes. In that moment, passing only a few feet away from her, he could swear that he smelled the hot air of roasting chestnuts. A whoosh of hot air surrounded him. He’d smelled and felt that the day before in the behind-the-scenes tour of the Paris Metro. Strange.

He wasn’t underground in the Metro. He was on the bridge. With her.

He caught himself staring at the woman and glanced away. And sighed. Too bad. She was so his type—tall and gorgeous. He saw them—his arms around her, holding her close to him, those long legs that could wrap around his body… He did a double take.

Their gazes locked. His heart sped up.

She strode by, her boots clicking against the pavement.

The rain gusted.

It had been a long time since he’d been with a woman.

But that was on purpose. He always fell too hard, too fast, and the relationships always crashed and burned.

The last relationship had nearly ruined his business too. No. Relationships were bad news to his heart and his career. He didn’t trust himself to make the right choices as far as relationships went. He’d let Melanie into his life and his apartment and his business. Then only months ago, she’d stolen his biggest client and dumped him, all on the same day.

He turned around toward the Left Bank. Time to get back to his affordable room he was renting in an apartment, located up the street from the conference near the Saint-Germain Boulevard.

He had to get up early to meet with his prospective clients and prepare his presentation for the transportation conference. He needed to get those clients to keep his consulting and training business afloat. He was still recovering from the Melanie disaster.

He had no time for women, French or otherwise.


About the Author
Award-winning author, Beth Barany has been making up fantasy and adventure stories all her life. She writes in two genres: young adult fantasy and sweet paranormal romance. She loves creating magical tales of romance and adventure to transport readers to new worlds where anything is possible.

In her off hours, Beth enjoys capoeira, reading and watching movies, and traveling, with her husband, author and singer/song writer Ezra Barany.

Beth Barany lives in Oakland, California with her husband, two cats, and over 1,000 books.



Review: Yours at Midnight

Is it just me or does the male model look kind of like Joseph Morgan from The Originals?


Title: Yours at Midnight
Author: Robin Bielman
Publisher: Entangled: Bliss
Release Date: December 17, 2012
Pages: 140
Buy Link: Amazon

Blurb:

Lyric Whetsone only had eyes for Quinn Sobel's brother Oliver, until a car crash took Oliver's life on New Year's Eve. Then, a moment of shared grief between Quinn and Lyric became something more impassioned, something that frightened Quinn so much he ran from Lyric's bed and her life, disappearing for four long years.

Now Quinn's back for another New Year's Eve, struggling for closure, desperate to leave his grief in the past and make amends with the girl of his dreams.

But Lyric has a secret—one that could drive Quinn from her life forever. Will Quinn run away from the love and acceptance he's always wanted...or will he claim his New Year's kiss and make her his at midnight?


Oh my gosh, where can I get my own Quinn?

I wanted to know what the secret was right from the beginning, but the more I read, the more I put the pieces together. It wasn't that hard to guess, really. Nonetheless, I enjoyed this book so much!

Quinn was gone for four years, and now that he was back, he wanted to make amends. I loved the way that he was with the many children in Lyric's family. I thought it was romantic that his feelings never changed no matter how many years had passed.

Lyric, first of all, had an interesting name. Second, I couldn't quite decide if I wanted to sympathize with her. It sounded like she had an amazing family, so I didn't understand why she would keep a secret from them.

On the other hand, the chemistry between Quinn and Lyric was explosive! I kind of wish the story was longer so I could read more about the sexual tension between them. I loved their banter, most of all.

If you want a light read that's cute and romantic, I would highly recommend this book.


Arianne

Friday, April 24, 2015

Promo/Giveaway: Unexpected Eden

There's nothing hotter than fire, do you agree? Well, from the looks of it, today's main character has more than just fire setting her aflame ;)

Title: Unexpected Eden
Series: The Eden Series, #2
Author: Lexi Post
Self-Published
Release Date: April 24, 2015
Pages: 322
Buy Links: Amazon | BN | iBooks | Kobo | ARe

Blurb:

Serena Upton wonders if she’s been transported into one of the science fiction movies she works on with her pyrotechnics skill. It certainly seems so when she’s rescued by three hot, naked men from another planet. She’s whisked away to Loraleaf, their home in the jungle of Eden, with the expectation that she will become their beloved. As they cater to her in every way, she begins to understand what it means to be their chosen one. 

Jahl and Khaos risked everything, even the brother of their heart, to bring Serena home, but grief and self-doubt, etched in stone by their own families, seems insurmountable. Their only hope is that she can fill the void in their lives. They succeed in sweeping her up in their erotic passion, but they are unable to capture her heart. 

Though Serena cares for Jahl and Khaos, she’s convinced she’s not the answer to their damaged souls. It’s better that she return to her family on Earth before she cares too much. That is, if she doesn’t already. 



About the Author
Lexi Post is a New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of erotic romance. She spent years in higher education taking and teaching courses about the classical literature she loved. From Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Masque of the Red Death” to Tolstoy’s War and Peace, she read, studied, and taught wonderful classics.

But Lexi’s first love is romance novels. In an effort to marry her two first loves, she started writing erotic romance inspired by the classics and found she loved it. Lexi believes there is no end to the romantic inspiration she can find in great literature. Her books are known as “erotic romance with a whole lot of story.”


Lexi is living her own happily ever after with her husband and her cat in Florida. She makes her own ice cream every weekend, loves bright colors, and you will never see her without a hat.




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Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Review: Two For Love

Title: Two for Love
Author: Lynne Silver
Self Published
Release Date: April 21, 2015
Pages: 121
Buy Link: Amazon

I was provided an ARC copy. All opinions are my own.


Blurb:

Cruising for Love 

When Andi Greene heads out on a cruise, she’s pumped for a fun week of sun bathing with her best friend. Little does she know her best friend has surprises in store. The first is the cruise’s theme of BDSM. The other? Ship’s doctor Jonah Coleman, Andi’s first love, her high school boyfriend —the boy she thought she’d marry before he moved across the country and dropped her cold. But there’s nothing cold about their reunion. Sparks fly, and Andi’s relaxing cruise turns into a week of hot loving. 


Jonah can’t believe he’s getting a second chance with Andi , who might need more than he knows how to give. But he’s willing to put everything on the line to find out if the heat between them is just the remnants of teenage love or more. And even though he has to let her go again, he’s determined she’ll never forget him. 



Waiting on Love 


After a disastrous vacation breakup with the man who was supposed to be The One, KK O'Brien decides she’s done. Love will find her when the time is right. On her flight home, she’s seated next to a male soldier, Aidan Dominguez, whom she ignores, because one: he is male, two: he’s younger than her, and three: he’s on his way to be deployed overseas. When weather grounds her flight, she agrees to a drink with Aidan. After all, he’s leaving the country and she’s done projecting wedding bells onto encounters with men. KK knows this is nothing more than a one-night stand with a sexy soldier. It’s her patriotic duty to send him off to war with a good last memory. 


Aidan and KK have a great night together and they part with the expectation that they’ll never see each other again. A few weeks later, the first email from Aidan arrives. Once she replies, another arrives, and soon an epistolary love affair blossoms where love was never meant to grow. 






Cruising for Love was a cute story about childhood lovers that found each other again on a cruise ship. Andi and Jonah went their separate ways only because they didn't think a long distance relationship would be good for either of them. Being apart for so many years didn't dull their spark though. They were still hot for each other, and it was interesting to read about their encounter.

Jonah thought Andi was into BDSM so he tried to act dominant. I think what men needed to understand about women was that just because we liked a BDSM read, it didn't mean we wanted to re-enact the scenes from the book.

I also really liked the friendship between Andi and KK. That was the kind of friendship I strive for every day.


Waiting on Love was an unexpected story because it involved a younger man.  One thing I loved about reading books in general was that there was no age limit. Reading this story made me forget the age difference for a little bit because the character chemistry was explosive!

This story made me think to myself that if I was KK, I would feel as sexy as if I was the same age as the younger man.

I really liked the humor that was injected in this story. KK was naturally funny and I enjoyed her conversations with Aidan. I mean, even his name was sexy.


If you are looking for a light romance read, I would suggest giving this bundle a try!


Arianne

Saturday, April 18, 2015

Promo: Dark Stranger

Hi everyone! Today's book is a paranormal, erotic romance all about shifters, vampires, and gargoyles! I hope you find it interesting!

Title: Dark Stranger
Series: Chateau Seductions, #3
Author: Lisa Carlisle
Self-Published
Release Date: April 21, 2015
Pages: 155
Buy Links: Amazon | BN | Kobo | iBooks

Blurb:

Wolf shifters come to Chateau seeking a missing pack member. During an altercation, Cameron Stevens, the manager of the art colony, is separated from the others. He ends up alone with Nadya, one of the female shifters. 

Together, in the forests of DeRoche Island, they struggle against conflicting feelings. In addition to battling each other as well as their mistrust, they fight a powerful, inexplicable attraction to one another—one that leaves them irrevocably entwined. 

They're mates? Cameron can’t comprehend or accept such a thing is possible. They’re two different species and their worlds don’t mesh. He can't fight the heated desire burning between them and her touch is impossible to resist. His heart and mind aren't on the same page where she's concerned. One thing is certain—Nadya is stamped on both. 




Want to read the previous books?


About the Author
USA Today bestselling author Lisa Carlisle loves stories with dark, brooding heroes and independent heroines. She’s honored to be a multi-published author writing in different genres since she’s wanted to be a writer since the sixth grade.  For much of her professional career, she’s written non-fiction — but she’s discovered writing romance is the most fun. Her romances have been  named Top Picks at Night Owl Reviews and All Romance Ebooks.
When she was younger, she worked in a variety of jobs, moving to various countries. She backpacked alone through Europe,  and lived in Paris before returning to the U.S. She owned a bookstore for a few years as she loves to read. She’s now married to a fantastic man, and they have two kids, a cat, and many fish.

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Promo: Your Wild Heart

To be honest, I would read this book immediately only because the cover model is absolutely gorgeous! Don't judge me ;)

Title: Your Wild Heart
Series: Black Hills Wolves, #14
Author: Dena Garson
Publisher: Decadent Publishing
Release Date: April 10, 2015
Pages: 98
Buy Links: Amazon | iBooks | ARe
                 BN | Google | Kobo

Blurb:

While tracking a wolf from Georgia to South Dakota, wildlife biologist, Isabelle Acker, meets sexy park ranger, Wyatt Powell. His Wolf sits up and takes notice of her, but when he learns why she came to the park, he becomes wary of her intentions. After all, as far as the general population knows, there are no wolves in the Black Hills. 

Ordered by his Alpha to keep an eye on the smoking-hot biologist, Wyatt finds it difficult to keep his hands to himself. He wants to possess her, to share everything about his life, but that might endanger the Tao Pack. But the attraction proves too great and, unable to deny his Wolf, he takes her with a passion he didn’t know he possessed. 

However, their sexual bliss is short-lived, and on the night of the full moon, more than one secret is revealed. When all is said and done, they must each decide—is what they have between them true love or just hot sex? 







About the Author
Dena Garson is a Process Redesign Specialist by day and a writer and jewelry designer by night. She is raising two rowdy boys who play lots of sports which forces her to spend way to much time on the practice field and/or sidelines. Thankfully she has a loyal and loving Labrador Retriever to listen when she complains and a spoiled cat who reminds her daily she is merely a servant.


Arianne

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Review: Hard to be Good

Title: Hard to be Good
Series: Hard Ink, 3.5
Author: laura Kaye
Publisher: Avon Impulse
Release Date: April 14, 2015
Pages: 99
Buy Link: Amazon

I was provided an ARC. All opinions are my own.

Blurb:

Hard Ink Tattoo owner Jeremy Rixey has taken on his brother's stateside fight against the forces that nearly killed Nick and his Special Forces team a year before. Now, Jeremy's whole world has been turned upside down--not the least of which by a brilliant, quiet blond man who tempts Jeremy to settle down for the first time ever.

Recent kidnapping victim Charlie Merritt has always been better with computers than people, so when he's drawn into the SF team's investigation of his army colonel father's corruption, he's surprised to find acceptance and friendship--especially since his father never accepted who Charlie was. Even more surprising is the heated tension Charlie feels with sexy, tattooed Jeremy, Charlie's opposite in almost every way.


With tragedy and chaos all around them, temptation flashes hot, and Jeremy and Charlie can't help but wonder why they're trying so hard to be good...




This was my first M/M novel. Honestly, I only read it because Laura Kaye wrote it. Boy, was I glad I did! It was so cute and so heartwarming!

Jeremy was the kind of guy that I would totally have a crush on. He was such an open book and also very positive and humorous. He chased after what he wanted and he gave without expecting anything in return. In short, he had a big heart.

Charlie was the guy that was kidnapped and tortured. He was a computer genius, but his father didn't accept his homosexuality. Unlike Jeremy, Charlie was very shy and unsure of himself. Jeremy was a good influence on him, though.

I would be honest and say that it was weird reading about two men getting it on. However, since this was a book, and a well-written one at that, all I saw was love and I was all for love. It was so romantic and I really felt for the characters when they had a little conflict. Ooh, I just wanted to hug them both!

I urge you to have an open mind and read this book. I think you will enjoy it as much as I did. 



Arianne

Thursday, April 2, 2015

Review: His Million Dollar Risk

Title: His Million Dollar Risk
Series: Take a Risk, #3
Author: Robin Bielman
Publisher: Entangled: Indulgence
Release Date: February 9, 2015
Pages: 168
Buy Links: Amazon

Blurb:

Determined to make his latest preservation project on Route 66 a success, Connor Gibson will take any good press he can get. Even if it means spending a week with a reporter. And even if it’s one from a publication he has good reason to hate. Connor certainly isn’t expecting a spontaneous and undeniably attractive blonde who makes him seriously hot for the press...
Charlize Beckett is in deeeep trouble. This is her one chance to prove to her publisher dad that she's a serious journalist, even if she has to pretend she's someone else. Worse though, is trying to maintain any objectivity with the way too charming Connor. She can't help but get into all kinds of sexy trouble with him. But by going off the record, Charlie is putting both her reputation and her heart on the line...



Lying was never a good idea, but Charlie had a good reason to pretend to be someone else. 

Connor was the kind of guy that commanded every room he entered. Something about him made everyone stop what they were doing and notice him. When Charlie didn't try to flirt with him, it was a good sign that she wasn't most women who only wanted his money and prestige.

Charlie was such a lively woman. I loved that she was young-at-heart and she was not afraid to have fun. Connor was a little uptight at first, but Charlie had that way about her that loosened up Connor without him knowing it. I wish I could be like Charlie!

This book had the cliche "I don't want to tell him, it's not the right time yet" idea. I kept rolling my eyes at Charlie, but I tried to understand why she couldn't just tell Connor the truth. The revelation of the lie was a bit cliche, too, but hey, I enjoyed the book nonetheless.

Another favorite of mine was that Connor had nicknamed Charlie "Goldilocks." I thought it was the cutest sentiment! 

If you want a light read with a cute romance and sexy bed scenes thrown in there, I would highly suggest this book!


Arianne