Monthly Archives: September 2024

Played by Naima Simone-review

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Played by Naima Simone-review

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / Amazon.au /

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date September 3, 2024

Being a firefighter isn’t easy. Especially for a Black woman. Working with family helps a little. But when somebody from your company doesn’t come back from a call, it’s brutal—as in, “How’m I supposed to go on?” brutal.

And one death took me to a really dark place.

A year later, I’m at the Pirates’ hockey training facility. Just another day on the job. Until I find a charred journal. I look inside for the owner’s name, but the words on the page punch me in the gut. It’s like reading my own thoughts. Reliving my own pain.

The journal belongs to Solomon Young, left-winger for the Pirates—a father and widower. When I return it, I’m racked with guilt for the invasion of privacy. The look Solomon gives me is cold as ice.

But damn if that man isn’t hot as hell.

Now he’s stuck in my brain. And fate seems intent on making us face off.

••••••

REVIEW:PLAYED by Naima Simone is a stand alone, contemporary, adult, POC, erotic, hockey / firefighter romance focusing on thirty year old professional hockey player and single dad Solomon Young, and firefighter Adina Wright’s story line.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Adina and Solomon) PLAYED follows the building but reluctant romance and relationship between our story couple. Solomon Young has loved and lost, and struggles to move forward especially when he is has become co-dependant upon his in-laws for support in the wake of his wife’s death but his father is the team owner, and Solomon is about to cross a line as far as his former in-laws are concerned, a line that involves our story line heroine. Adina Wright is a firefighter, as are most of her family and siblings but Adina has also loved and lost knowing the pain of which Solomon continues to hide. A perceived act of betrayal threatens any hope of friendships, pushing Adina to the side, until a young boy discovers there is more to life than waiting on the sidelines for his father to come home. What ensues is the building romance and relationship between our story line couple, and the potential fall-out as emotions get the best of everyone including our story line hero.

The world building follows several paths. Adina is struggling with harassment at work: Solomon is battling his own guilt ; someone else is targeting our story line couple, and the fall-out is affecting Solomon’s play and his private life.

The relationship between Solomon and Adina begins acrimoniously as Solomon accuses Adina of a horrible betrayal. Not only does Adina feel threatened and abused but vengeance will come in many forms, threatening our heroine’s personal and work life. As Solomon and Adina begin to build the relationship, someone else give Solomon reason not to trust the woman with whom he is falling in love. The $ex scenes are provocative and impassioned.

The secondary and supporting characters include Solomon’s teammates, his son Khalil, as well as his in-laws Nate and Caroline; Adina’s siblings Malik, Malcolm, her mother professor Viviane Wright, her father Captain Nolan Wright; as well as her best friend Noni Crawford, and several other members of the Providence Firefighters squad including Matt and Jared. I hope the author has plans for several more stories.

PLAYED is a story of power and control, grief and guilt, family and friendships, relationships and love. The thought provoking premise is captivating and engaging; the romance is seductive but struggles with issues of trust and guilt; the characters are dynamic, determined and animated.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

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Passions in Death by J.D. Robb – a Review

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Passions in Death by J.D. Robb – a Review

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Description:
On a hot August night, Lt. Eve Dallas and her husband, Roarke, speed through the streets of Manhattan to the Down and Dirty club, where a joyful, boisterous pre-wedding girls’ night out has turned into a murder scene. One of the brides lies in a pool of blood, garroted in a private room where she was preparing a surprise for her fiancée—two scrimped and saved-for tickets to Hawaii.

Despite the dozens of people present, useful witnesses are hard to come by. It all brings back some bad memories for Eve. In her uniform days, she’d suffered an assault in the very same room—but she’d been able to fight back and survive. She’d gotten justice. And now she needs to provide some for poor young Erin.

Eve knows that the level of violence and the apparent premeditation involved suggest a volatile mix of hidden, heated passion and ice-cold calculation. This is a crime that can be countered only by hard detective work and relentless dedication—and Eve will not stop until she finds the killer who destroyed this couple’s dreams before the honeymoon even began…

 

 

Review:

Passions in Death by J.D. Robb is the 59th book in her fantastic Eve Dallas series.  I have noted previously that I am a huge fan of this wonderful series, having read every book and novellas. I also love Eve and Roarke, who I still consider the best literary couple. Passions in Death was another fantastic addition to this series.  I will never have enough of this series, and marvel how Robb continues to give us fascinating stories at 59 books later.

The story begins at the Down & Dirty Club, where a pre-wedding bachelorette party are dancing and drinking the night away, celebrating two women’s upcoming nuptials. Shauna Hunnicut and Erin Albright are getting married in a few days. Erin slips away to a private room to fix up a special surprise for their honeymoon; where she ended up being murdered, lying in a pool of blood, having been garroted.

Eve is called, with Roarke accompanying her to the Down and Dirty club, as someone has been murdered.  This was also a memory from Eve’s past, as it was the same room when she was attacked the night before her wedding to Roarke. With Eve and Peabody on the case, the evidence looks like a premediated murder from someone possibly close to Erin and Shauna. Eve begins to investigate all of their close circle of friends. Who within the group is the killer?  In a short time, Eve will lean toward two suspects who are clear suspects, with both having unhappy and angry pasts.

It was great to see many of the wonderful secondary characters, besides Roarke; Peabody, McNabb, Mavis, Bella, Summerset, Feeney, and of course Galahad. As always, I love Roarke, as he was many times with Dallas during interviews.  They are an amazing couple.

What follows is an intense, exciting, non-stop action filled race to find out who the real killer was; with edge of your seat suspense. To say too much more would be spoilers, and this is too great of a story to ruin it for you. 

Passions in Death was a compelling, captivating, horrifying thriller from start to finish. J.D. Robb once again gives us another masterpiece to this wonderful series, which I hope keeps on rolling for many years to come. Passions in Death is another masterpiece to this amazing series, which is always so very well written by J.D. Robb.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

 

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Return of the Alpha/ Buying the Omega by Jade Marshall-reviews

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Return of the Alpha/ Buying the Omega by Jade Marshall-reviews

RETURN OF THE ALPHA
(Katu Wolves 8)
by Jade Marshall
Genre: adult ,contemporary, paranormal, romance

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date August 22, 2024

Can the animal I have become take a step back and allow the man inside to reclaim his life?

For so many years I have been locked up, caged like the beast I had always been accused of being. My rescue comes from an unexpected avenue, but I couldn’t be more grateful. Not only have I been reunited with my daughter, but I have also been welcomed into a new pack, and the Goddess has seen fit to bless me with a second chance at life and love, with a new mate.

Even though I am happier than I have been in years things are never simple. My mate is not what she seems and will not simply fall at my feet. This may be the hardest I have ever had to fight for anything.

••••

REVIEW: RETURN OF THE ALPHA is the eighth instalment in Jade Marshall’s contemporary, adult KATU WOLVES erotic, paranormal, shifter romance series. This is forty-eight year old, Alpha James, and twenty-one year old April’s story line. RETURN OF THE ALPHA can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary.

Told from dual first person perspectives (April and James) RETURN OF THE ALPHA follows in the wake of the rescue of our story line hero. Years earlier, the Alpha of the Hatcher Pack lost his mate, and eventually lost his way. Believing their Alpha was dead, the Pack endured abuse under a self-appointed Alpha but most left, becoming part of the Katu wolves. Fast forward to present day, Alpha James is rescued from a lab that experiments on shifter species, a rescue that brings James up close and personal with the past, and a new mate. Enter twenty-one year old April, best friends with James daughter Peyton, and the woman that pulls James towards a happily ever after.

The world building focuses on the past, losses and loves, forgiveness and acceptance. James struggled in the wake of his first mate’s murder but never expected to find a second chance, and a possible ready made family.

The relationship between April and James is a fated mates; an age gap romance in which April battles between head and heart believing an imminent rejection from her mate and the people she had come to call family and friends. James knows April is his second chance at a happily ever after but April has a secret that may threaten any chance. The $ex scenes are provocative-there is a bit of a daddy-kink between our story line couple.

We are reintroduced to several members of the Katu Pack including James’ daughter Payton, and her mate Alpha Caine.

RETURN OF THE ALPHA is a story of secrets and lies, power and control, family and acceptance. The fast paced novella length premise is entertaining; the romance is seductive; the characters are desperate and dynamic.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

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BUYING THE OMEGA
(The Sanctuary 2)
by Jade Marshall
Genre: adult ,contemporary, erotic, romance

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date September 10, 2024

The Sanctuary is my way out, a way to escape my father and the strangle hold he has on my life. I don’t want to be sold into a loveless marriage to help my father further his agenda and grow his wealth.

But standing in an empty room, waiting to meet the man who paid for the pleasure to strip me of my virginity, I know I have made a mistake. It is too late though. There isn’t a way for me to walk back what I have done so I will have to live with the consequences.

What I wasn’t expecting was to find the one man that wanted to free me from my father’s hold, only to cage me in his own.

••••••

REVIEW: BUYING THE OMEGA is the second instalment in Jade Marshall’s contemporary adult THE SANCTUARY erotic, romance novella series. This is forty-seven year old, former personal security guard ,and Alpha Jonah and twenty one year old, Omega Autumn’s story line. BUYING THE OMEGA can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty Any important information from the previous story line is revealed where necessary.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Jonah and Autumn) BUYING THE OMEGA follows Autumn as she signs herself up for the Omega auctions in an effort to avoid a forced marriage arranged by her father. Sold to the highest bidder, Autumn finds herself the temporary property of Alpha Jonah, a man who is familiar yet not. Jonah is desperate to claim Autumn as his own, Jonah must first protect our heroine from her controlling father.

The world building follows Autumn as she sets into motion a plan to escape an unwanted future. Jonah only has eyes for our story line heroine, and is determined to claim our heroine from the start. Autumn is desperate to escape the restrictions back home, and Jonah is the perfect foil to move on from the past.

The relationship between Jonah and Autumn begins as an arrangement. Jonah’s attraction to our heroine started years before, and he has been planning his seduction for just as long. The $ex scenes are provocative and intense including a little bit of daddy kink.

The secondary and supporting characters are limited. We are introduced to Autumn’s father.

BUYING THE OMEGA is a story of obsession, family and love. The premise is engaging and entertaining; the romance is erotic; the characters are desperate and dynamic.

Click HERE for Sandy’s review of book one OMEGA FOR SALE

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

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WE CAN FOREVER (Silent Journey 1) by Lenna Phoenix-review

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WE CAN FOREVER (Silent Journey 1) by Lenna Phoenix-review

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date September 4, 2024

Michael Greer is a second-generation fire chief and a single dad of a precocious 11-year old, so there’s not much that scares him.

(Admittedly, more because of the second than the first.)

When Pine Island’s new craft shop owner accidentally backs into his car, he takes that in stride too. And does what any fire chief would do.

Invite her out on a date.

It doesn’t take long to figure out that Hannah Lewis is gorgeous, quirky, smart as hell, and…hiding something.

Hannah has learned the hard way to keep the truth about her life as hush-hush as possible.

At best, people don’t understand. At worst, they call her lazy or a liar.

Better to just keep her secrets to herself and keep her distance from almost everybody.

But this tiny town’s sexy fire chief won’t seem to accept her attempt at solitude. He keeps showing up all patient and witty and a great dad. Everything Hannah has ever hoped for if she allowed herself to admit it.

He says he’s ready to fight her battles with her.

Will he still feel that way when he finds out the truth?

•••••

REVIEW: WE CAN FOREVER is the first instalment in Lenna Phoenix’s contemporary, adult SILENT JOURNEY romance series focusing on the small town and people of Pine Island. This is former teacher turned crafter Hannah Lewis, and fire chief / single father Michael Greer’s story line.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Hannah and Michael) WE CAN FOREVER follows the building romance and relationships between Hannah Lewis and Michael Greer. Hannah Lewis moved to Pine Island for the slower pace and to start her own business including a weekly group of like minded crafters and individuals, a support group for Chronic Pain sufferers. Meeting Pine Island’s fire chief Michael Greer was an added bonus but Michael’s life was often dangerous, and Hannah struggled with her own secrets and private affairs. As their relationship slowly turns into something more, Hannah begins to back away, fearing losing the man with whom she is falling in love.

The world building focuses on Hannah’s growing business and her personal health; Michael’s struggle to step out of his father’s shadow; the over protective nature of family; and the busy bodies of small town life.

The relationship between Hannah and Michael begins as a blind date. Michael’s sister is part of Hannah’s support group, and Hannah is the newcomer on Pine Island. Michael is the single, sexy, handsome fire chief, and Hannah struggles to keep up with her love life and health, going forward. The $ex scenes are limited but intimate and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters most of whom live and work on Pine Island. We are introduced to several members of Hannah’s knitting/support group including yarn dyer Flick, art teacher Maya, food blogger Alexis; Hannah’s aunt Carol, and Michael’s daughter Katie, sister Jenny, mother Cynthia, and his friend and mechanic Nathan. Flick’s story is next.

WE CAN FOREVER is a story of secrets, chronic illness, family and friendships, acceptance and love. The premise is endearing and engaging-most of the conflict is personal; the romance is impassioned; the characters are charismatic and charming.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

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