Tag Archives: New Adult

Ruthless Charm (Ruthless Devils 3) by Eve L Mitchell-Review Tour

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?Ruthless Charm (Ruthless Devils 3) by Eve L. Mitchell-Review Tour?

RUTHLESS CHARM
Ruthless Devils 3
by Eve L Mitchell
Release Date: October 6, 2021
Genre: contemporary, new adult, erotic, romance

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date October 6, 2021.

She is his escape. He is her shelter.

Mia’s been on the sidelines her whole life. Her parents have never been interested in her, and the only constant in her life has been her best friend, Ava. But Ava’s gone and fallen for a Devil—and everyone knows the Devils are trouble. In fact, trouble is now knocking on the door, threatening them all.

Mia has no intention of becoming involved in the drama, but she can’t deny she’s worried. So when Ava insists that Mia needs someone to watch over her, she reluctantly agrees.

Enter Ash Santo.

Ash is not Mia’s idea of a knight in shining armour. He’s a player on the field—and an even bigger player off the field. But she finds unexpected shelter in his arms, and she can’t help falling for his charms.

Ash is still reeling from the revelations about his ex-girlfriend and his cousin. Desperate for an opportunity to escape them both, he begrudgingly agrees to watch over Mia.

No one is more surprised than he is when Mia proves to be an enjoyable distraction. She’s flirty, sexy, and fun. It’s problematic because his cousins told him to stay away from her; they already have enough problems without him messing about with Ava’s best friend.

They told him to resist temptation. But what if he doesn’t want to?

And what will happen when the danger stalking them finally emerges from the shadows?

Three guys, three girls, one game. The Devils are playing to win.

•••••••

REVIEW: RUTHLESS CHARM is the third and final instalment in Eve L Mitchell’s contemporary, new adult THE RUTHLESS DEVILS college sports, romance series focusing on twins Gray and Jett Santo, and their cousin Ash. This is college sophomores Ash Santo, and Mia Davis’ story line. RUTHLESS CHARM should not be read as a stand alone as many of the events of Ruthless Charm are as of a direct result of the events in book two Ruthless Desire.

WARNING: Due to the nature of the story line premise, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.

NOTE: If you have not read book two, there may be spoilers in my review.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Ash and Mia) RUTHLESS CHARM follows in the wake of an attack against Quinn (Ruthless Desire) and the lingering threats to our story line heroine. Now that Gray’s girlfriend Quinn, and Jett’s girlfriend Ava, are more or less living part time with their respective loves, Mia finds herself at the mercy and protection of Ash Santo when he is forced by his cousins to live with our story line heroine but Ash and Mia’s previous one-night stand left a lingering emotional upheaval, and their attraction to one another is masked by disdain and anger. While Mia’s freedom is curtailed, she finds herself at a crossroads going forward but the need for personal autonomy forces Mia into questionable actions, actions that may threaten her life going forward. What ensues is the building but acrimonious relationship between Ash and Mia, and the potential fall-out as the cousins begins to unravel the who, what and why of a campus predator.

The relationship between Ash and Mia is tempestuous at best as Mia struggles with the invasion of her privacy, and the potential loss of friendship as her bestie Quinn is quickly pulling away. Ash doesn’t like the separation from his cousins or the forced proximity to the nineteen year old woman that pushes all of his buttons but the palpable, sexual attraction can no longer be denied, and in the end, our heroine will suffer when rumors and innuendo threaten her hard fought stability. Mia’s reputation at Cardinal Saints College is questionable and unwarranted, and in the end, Mia refuses to bow to the smear campaign that could ruin her life. The $ex scenes are intimate and seductive without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text. 

The secondary and supporting characters include the return of Jett and Ava, Gray and Quinn, their brother Onyx Santo, as well as musicians Shane and Wade from Atticus Dawn. The power the cousins wield at Cardinal Saints College reflects in their attitudes; the young men and women are often naïve and immature directing vitriol and hate at every opportunity. I believe the author has plans for a spin off focusing on Onyx Santo.

RUTHLESS CHARM is a story of power and betrayal, vengeance and hate, family, friendships, relationships and love. The premise is edgy and dramatic; the romance is spicy; the characters are wounded, spirited and energetic.

Reading Order and previous reviews
Ruthless Heart
Ruthless Desire

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

FIRST CHAPTER:

https://bit.ly/FirstChapterRuthlessCharm

Social Media links: Goodreads / Website/. Twitter / Facebook / Instagram

Eve L. Mitchell is a USA Today Bestselling author who writes contemporary romance and urban fantasy.

Being an avid reader from a young age, Eve still considers herself to be a reader first. She believes there is nothing better than getting that new book either on your e-reader or in your hands, and the fact she may bring that excitement to a fellow reader, fills her with wonder. She writes under a pen name because otherwise her Secret Agent status will be revoked.

Eve lives in the North East of Scotland, with her three coffee machines and her significant other, Mr. M. She enjoys NFL Football, music and having long conversations with the voices in her head, which sometimes turn into the stories she writes.

NOTE: The Reading Cafe is NOT responsible for the giveaway. If you have any questions, please contact the tour operator.

ENTER TO WIN: A Custom Book Box from Eve! → http://bit.ly/eveinsta

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DARK PRINCE (Bratva Academy 2) by Jagger Cole-Review Tour

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DARK PRINCE (Bratva Academy 2) by Jagger Cole-Review Tour

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date October 6, 2021

This is not a fairytale.

There’s no glass slipper, only shards. Prince Charming is the villain, and happily ever afters are a myth.

Except now, I need to construct one.

Me, the fake princess, with a make-believe happily never after, to the anti-Prince Charming himself.

Coldly beautiful, brutally ruthless, and heir to a criminal empire. Misha Tsavakov hates me, but he’ll be my fabricated prince, for a price:

All of me.

I belong to him now. No limits. No mercy. And no kiss before midnight to end this curse. No kissing at all, actually.

The deeper we get, the darker and more twisted this maze of thorns becomes. There’s no way out. But the harder I fight, the more it might be that I don’t want a way out.

Real or not, there’s one thing about fairytales that no one ever warns you about:

When you put on glass slippers, you’d better tread carefully.

Or you’ll bleed.

•••••••

REVIEW: DARK PRINCE is the second instalment in Jagger Cole’s contemporary, new adult BRATVA ACADEMY erotic, Bratva, romance series-a spin off from the author’s BRATVA’S CLAIM series. This is nineteen year old, heir to one of Russia’s biggest criminal empires Misha Tsavakov, and princess Charlotte Bergendem of Luxlordia, a small Bavarian country. DARK PRINCE can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story line is revealed where necessary.

WARNING: Due to the nature of the story line premise, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers. Although most of the characters are high school aged, and attend a private, boarding school for the elite, Royal, rich or connected, the story line contains adult situations, therefore I do not recommend for anyone under eighteen years of age.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Charlotte and Misha) DARK PRINCE follows the marriage of convenience between nineteen year old, heir to one of Russia’s biggest criminal empires Misha Tsavakov, and princess Charlotte Bergendem of Luxlordia. Two years earlier, following an incident aboard a cruise liner, Charlotte Lawrence’s mother Jessica married King Heinrich Bergendem of Luxlordia, making Charlotte a princess by extension. Life at Oxford Hills Academy is anything but royal when our heroine is taunted and teased as a wanna-be princess but life back home finds Charlotte about to be forced into an arranged marriage with Prince Frederick of Norway, in an effort to save the Luxlordian government from collapse. Enter Bratva heir Misha Tsavakov, one-third of the dark and dangerous ‘savage Bratva heirs’ who rule and control Oxford Hills Academy. Desperate to marry anyone other than the crown prince of Norway, Charlotte drunkenly proposes to Misha Tsavakov, whose hatred for Charlotte cannot be explained, but whose own life back home, is increasingly volatile and dark. What ensues is the acrimonious relationship between Charlotte and Misha, and the potential fall-out as years of secrets and lies reveal a twisted and deadly past that is about to destroy the man with whom Charlotte will fall in love.

Misha Tsavakov knows first hand, the cruel and harsh reality of the criminal underworld, having lived a life of savagery at the hands of his father but Misha’s less than worldly antics and attitude have pushes his father one too many times, and his final f-you is marrying our story line heroine. Believing he had one-upped his father, Misha will quickly discover that his father has plans for the princess back home.

The relationship between Misha and Charlotte is a marriage of convenience; a tempestuous and caustic affair wherein Charlotte refuses to marry someone not of her choosing but in choosing Misha places herself in the hands of a dark, cruel and dominant young heir. Charlotte is an innocent but quickly finds herself falling for a man whose own life is spiralling out of control.

We are reintroduced to Bratva Prince/heir Ilya Volkov and Tenley Chambers (Savage Heir 1), and Lukas Komarov: King Heinrich Bergendem and Queen Jessica; Misha’s father Oligarch Boris Tsavakov, and his second in command Kristoff.

DARK PRINCE is a story of cruelty and abuse; secrets and lies; power and control; freedom and love. The premise is heart breaking and twisted; the romance is dramatic and dark; the characters are charismatic, broken but healing.

Click HERE for Sandy’s review of book one SAVAGE HEIR.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

A reader first and foremost, Jagger Cole cut his romance writing teeth penning various fan-fiction stories years ago. After deciding to hang up his writing boots, Jagger worked in advertising pretending to be Don Draper. It worked enough to convince a woman way out of his league to marry him, though, which is a total win.

Now, Dad to two little princesses and King to a Queen, Jagger is thrilled to be back at the keyboard.

When not writing or reading romance books, he can be found woodworking, enjoying good whiskey, and grilling outside–rain or shine.

You can find all of his books at www.jaggercolewrites.com


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Canary by Tijan-Review and Excerpt Tour

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Canary by Tijan – Review and Excerpt Tour

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

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date October 4 , 2021.

We were on the front lines in that world, the mafia world.

There was nothing soft or glamorous about it.

Who you were before no longer mattered. Names didn’t exist.

I joined anyway. I had no other choice because they took my sister.

Join. Find her. Try and make it out alive.

Then he won me in a poker game.

I hated him instantly, thinking he was like my other bosses before him.

He wasn’t. He was worse.

He wasn’t just cold. He was dead inside.

It didn’t matter that he was gorgeous.

He was the most lethal thing I’d ever met.

He was also the only person who could keep me alive, if he didn’t kill me himself.

••••••••

REVIEW:CANARY by Tijan is a contemporary, adult, dark, erotic, Mafia, criminal underworld romance story line. This is Clay Raize, and Girl/Brooke/Ash’s story line. For followers of Tijan, there is a very slight cross-over with the author’s Bennett Mafia series.

NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Raize and Ash) CANARY follows Girl aka Ash as she works alongside Clay Raize in an effort to find her sister, and take down the people involved but Girl /Ash has a special ability, one that all of the heads of the Mafia/Cartel want, and because of her ability, our heroine has been tagged the ‘canary’, and targeted for what she does. Along with a small crew of hitmen (Jake and Cavers), Raize and Ash find themselves on the run but needing to rescue two lost souls, lost souls who may or may not want to be found. What ensues is the building relationship between Raize and Ash, as our couple must navigate a series of attempts on their lives, and the possibility of betrayal from within.

The relationship between Raize and Ash begins as an established partnership of sorts, one in which, Ash has jumped from the Mafia to the Cartel as she searches for sister she barely knows but Ash struggles with the world in which she has been forced to live, a world where only Raize is able to calm her demons. The $ex scenes are intimate and erotic, without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

The colorful and often questionable secondary and supporting characters include Raize’s current number one and number two Cavers and Jake; Cartel boss Marco Estrada, Bratva head Roman Marakov; and Raize’s half sister Veronica and Abram Basil. The requisite evil has many faces. I am hoping the author has plans for a story for Abram, Veronica, and Cavers.

CANARY is a story of family, relationships, betrayal and revenge. A story of power and control, desperation and obsession, love and moving forward. The character driven premise is haunting, and dramatic; the characters are tragic and controversial; the romance is edgy and intense.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

NOTE: Excerpt intended for mature readers 18+

I…” I didn’t even know. I
“There is no other way.” couldn’t explain what I didn’t know. “Ask me about Jake in a different way.”
“You know there is! Ask it in a different way.” I shoved up to my feet. This was the fight here.
I was sick of the killing.
I could not handle one more body, especially not someone I knew.
My chest heaved. “Ask it in a different way.”
I liked Jake. I was hurt by what he said, but he wasn’t on my list anymore.
I frowned. “What happened with Cavers?”
“None of your business!” he erupted, his hands flying in the air, but he was moving farther away from me. His back hit the wall, and he let me see him, how haunted he was, how stricken. He let it all out for me to see and read, though wasn’t sure he knew it. “I don’t run my decisions through some pussy I like plowing.”
Okay, now I was mad.
I
“Take that back,” I said quietly.
He swore, low and long. Then he moved, flipping a chair into the wall. It impaled there, and the wall held it. It looked like an abstract piece of art.
“Take it back!” I clipped out, folding my arms over my chest.
He looked away.
I didn’t know what was going on here, but fuck him if he didn’t take back calling me pussy he liked to plow.
I screamed, “Take it back!”
“No!” He was across the room and in my face in the next second. I braced myself, but he didn’t touch me.
He stopped just short of it, his breath in my cheek, his eyes taking me in, scanning my face.
He was panicking.
I saw it now, lurking there.
Good! That filled me with satisfaction.
My chest started pounding.
No, that was my heart.
It was thumping in my chest, getting stronger, faster—a steady and powerful beat now. I could feel it all the way to my toes—in my fingers, my neck. His eyes lingered on my lips.
He couldn’t look away.
Stark hunger flashed in his eyes, and he raised a hand, holding it in the air.
It curved gently, as if he wanted to touch my neck, or the side of my face.
But he didn’t move. He just held it there, a few inches from my skin.
His eyes lifted to mine. “You bitch.”
My heart still pounded, trying to reach him. “You’re a murdering asshole,” I whispered back, seething.
“What?”he sneered. “You want to fuck now? Forget you put a fucking gun to your head?”
“Don’t kill Jake.”
He pressed into me, his eyes wild, on the edge of control. “Why?” His breath was hot on me. He bent down, his eyes glittering now.
Then he found his control. He rested one hand against the wall, next to my head. The other found my hip and slid up, moving under my shirt, raising it.
God. I almost moaned.
Wetness flooded me, and I started to throb.
I wanted him.
So fucking bad.
He bent and his lips grazed over mine, my cheeks, my chin. Tingles raced through me.
Jesus.
I wanted him deep inside of me. I shifted, pressing against him, and both of us groaned from the contact.
I began moving, a slow grind, and he was quiet, grinding back.
This was different from the other times.
The terms had flipped. Roles were changing. Everything was being upended between us.

 

Tijan is a New York Times Bestselling author that writes suspenseful and unpredictable novels. Her characters are strong, intense, and gut-wrenchingly real with a little bit of sass on the side. Tijan began writing later in life and once she started, she was hooked. She’s written multi-bestsellers including the Carter Reed Series, the Fallen Crest Series, and the Broken and Screwed Series among others. She is currently writing a new YA series along with so many more from north Minnesota where she lives with a man she couldn’t be without and an English Cocker she adores. 

Connect with Tijan

Amazon: https://amzn.to/30oxe0f

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Tijansbooks/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/tijansbooks

Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/tijansbooks/

Reader Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/TijansFanPage/

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2EcGBqB

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tijan

Website: http://www.tijansbooks.com/

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Fallen Royal (Mafia Royals 4) by Rachel Van Dyken-review tour

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Fallen Royal (Mafia Royals 4) by Rachel Van Dyken-review tour

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

Goodreads: https://smarturl.it/FallenRoyalGR

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date October 5, 2021

“The truth may hurt for a little while, but a lie hurts forever.”—Ryan Bigge

I grew up knowing it would happen one day.
Believing that I would fall into my father’s footsteps and become a monster of my own making.

So I fought it.
I lived.
I loved.
I teased.
And then one day… I destroyed.
And realized I loved the pain.
Obsessed over the feeling.
So I cut again and again and again.

She saw my rage, my madness, and tried to stop me from destroying myself, and I hated her for it, pushing her away past the point of no return.
Izzy Abandonato was supposed to be mine.
But there are some things people can never come back from. I hurt her, she hurt me, and now I’m living a lie. Telling the ones I love that I’m on one side when for years I’ve been forced to play both.

I’m not the hero.
I’m the villain.
And I may single-handedly bring down the Cosa Nostra—by default.

I, Maksim Sinacore, will have my vengeance.
I will win her back.
Even if it means I have to kill everyone in my path.
The pain masks the betrayal.
I never realized that one day—I’d be the very rat that I hated. That I was sent to kill. But once you’re deep in a lie—you’ll do anything to hide the truth.

She fell for the bad one.
She fell for the sinner.
So why does that make me smile?

••••••••

REVIEW: FALLEN ROYAL is the fourth full-length instalment in Rachel Van Dyken’s contemporary, adult MAFIA ROYALS erotic, dark, Mafia romance series-a spin off/next generation from the author’s Eagle Elite series. This is twenty-one year olds, Maksim Sinacore, and Izzy Abandonato’s story line. FALLEN ROYAL can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary but I recommend reading the series in order for back story and cohesion.

WARNING: Due to the nature of the story line premise, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Izzy and Maksim) FALLEN ROYAL follows Maksim Sinacore as he spirals into darkness, pushing the woman he loves, his soulmate, out of his life. Months earlier Maksim, to prove his allegiance to Chase Abandonato and the ‘family’, and his worthiness of Izzy, was sent to do a job, a job that would initiate Maksim’s slide into darkness but with each ‘assignment’ Maksim would lose a little more of himself, leaving a shell of the man with whom Izzy had fallen in love. Not all was well in Maksim’s less than well ordered life, and his shift into darkness was becoming a threat to everyone he loved.

FALLEN ROYAL is an emotional, heart breaking and difficult story line as the reader is pulled into a tale of power and control, family and friendships, issues of mental health, love and understanding.From the outset the author and the characters, circumvent and dance around the reality of what is happening such that the back and forth, up and down of our leading hero is questionable on so many levels. We are up close and personal with Maksim’s descent into madness, a madness from which he may never return but for the love of a woman who slowly begins to understand the man with whom she has fallen in love.

On the flip side, there are a few ‘debatable’ and ‘problematic’ issues with what was happening and how it was handled but this is a story of fiction, and often, we have to suspend reality in an effort to enjoy and feel the story.

Reading Order and previous reviews
.5 Royal Bully
1. Ruthless Princess
2. Scandalous Prince
Destructive King
Mafia King

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

Haven’t started the MAFIA ROYALS series?

ROYAL BULLY is FREE ebook Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo /

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Rachel Van Dyken is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author of regency and contemporary romances. When she’s not writing you can find her drinking coffee at Starbucks and plotting her next book while watching The Bachelor.

She keeps her home in Idaho with her Husband, adorable son, and two snoring boxers! She loves to hear from readers!

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The Naked Fisherman (Fisherman 1) by Jewel E Ann-Review Tour

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The Naked Fisherman (Fisherman 1) by Jewel E Ann-Review Tour

 

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

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Goodreads: https://bit.ly/2UsZIb8

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date September 30, 2021.

It’s official.

I’m eighteen and a young woman with endless possibilities on my way to reunite with my mom in Colorado after five years apart—she had a little weed incident in Nebraska.

At the airport, she springs the news on me … she’s leaving for a month of job training. And me? I’m left on my own in the basement she’s renting from the fisherman, aka her landlord who lives upstairs.

He’s ten years older than me. Never wears a shirt. And makes it hard to remember all the things I learned at Christian Academy.

Did I mention he’s also my new boss?

•••••

REVIEW:THE NAKED FISHERMAN is the first instalment in Jewel E Ann’s contemporary, new adult to adult FISHERMAN romance storyline focusing on eighteen year old Therese ‘Reese’ Capshaw, and twenty-eight year old contractor Fisher Mann.

Told from first person perspective (Reese) THE NAKED FISHERMAN focuses on the age-gap relationship between eighteen year old Therese ‘Reese’ Capshaw, and twenty-eight year old contractor Fisher Mann. Reese Capshaw hadn’t seen her mother in close to five years since her mother’s imprisonment for marijuana possession but taking a gap-year before heading to college, Reese embarked on a journey to get reacquainted with the woman she no longer knew, a woman whose own secrets run silent and deep…but…Reese’s mother Rory is about to embark on a journey of her own, leaving her eighteen year old daughter in the ‘care’ of her sexy and gorgeous landlord. Enter twenty-eight year old, contractor Fisher Mann, and the man with whom Reese will fall in love. What ensues is the back and forth, building relationship between Reese and Fisher, and the fall-out as Reese and Fisher’s time together comes to a close as Reese’s mother’s secrets come to the surface, and Reese takes leave to struggle on her own.

Reese Capshaw has spent the past five years living with her ultra conservative, uber-Christian grandparents and as such her rigid upbringing and belief system is so far right that our heroine struggles with the behaviour and attitudes of the average person. Often battling with the reality of the world, Reese finds herself attracted to her mother’s landlord Fisher Mann, a man who stirs something deep within our story line heroine something Fisher struggles to contain as well. As their relationship begins to take on a more personal agenda, Reese battles between head and heart believing her actions and desire are evil and sins.

The relationship between Reese and Fisher is one of immediate attraction but Reese is a virgin; an ultra conservative young woman whose religious upbringing and beliefs control her every day actions including a range of beliefs thought to be sins. As Fisher tries to control the building lust between our story line couple, Reese is the only one to control how far they will go. Meanwhile, Reese sees green as Fisher’s personal life continues, leaving our heroine to pout on her own. The $ex scenes are exploratory but do not go ‘all the way’ but I dislike the use of a certain four-letter word, used only once, but more for shock value than anything else. The sexual tension is heavy and tight.

We are introduced to Reese’s mother Rory, Rory’s friend Rose, and Fisher’s secretary Hailey.

THE NAKED FISHERMAN is a story of obsession, reflection, heart break, love and passion; a tale of homophobia, discrimination, ultra-conservative Christian beliefs, doubt and desperation. The premise is captivating and compelling; the characters are energetic; the romance is passionate but frustrating. To be honest, I struggled in the early stages of the story , and the overly religious heroine whose strict Christian ideology felt like a catechism lesson at Sunday mass. I am not a fan of story lines with ultra-conservative, far-right, uber religious overtones, and thusly, my appreciation for THE NAKED FISHERMAN may not be the same as everyone else.

THE NAKED FISHERMAN ends on a cliff hanger-you have been warned.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

Jewel is a free-spirited romance junkie with a quirky sense of humor.

With 10 years of flossing lectures under her belt, she took early retirement from her dental hygiene career to stay home with her three awesome boys and manage the family business.

After her best friend of nearly 30 years suggested a few books from the Contemporary Romance genre, Jewel was hooked. Devouring two and three books a week but still craving more, she decided to practice sustainable reading, AKA writing.

When she’s not donning her cape and saving the planet one tree at a time, she enjoys yoga with friends, good food with family, rock climbing with her kids, watching How I Met Your Mother reruns, and of course…heart-wrenching, tear-jerking, panty-scorching novels.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Pinterest

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The Junior (College Years 3) by Monica Murphy-review tour

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The Junior (College Years 3) by Monica Murphy-review tour

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

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date September 9, 2021.

Caleb Burke.

Charming. Funny. Sexy.

Major player – both on the field and with the ladies.

I hate him.

Well, not really. I resist his so-called charms because I recognize them. We’re a lot alike, Caleb and I. He’s afraid of commitment? Me too. A giant flirt? Same here. He knows how to party? I am the absolute queen of the party.

Until I realize it’s time for me to grow up and become a responsible adult. I’ll be student teaching next year, so to save money, I move in with my two new roommates — Eli Bennett and Caleb. Then I find a summer job — where Caleb works. Soon, I’m spending almost every single day with the guy.

He’s growing on me too. We’ve always had this unspoken chemistry brewing between us. When we finally give in to it, it’s just as spectacular as I secretly predicted. The sex, and everything else, keeps getting better and better between us too.

But can I really take this guy seriously? Or am I only setting myself up to fail?

•••••••

REVIEW:THE JUNIOR is the third instalment in Monica Murphy’s contemporary , new adult COLLEGE YEARS erotic, romance series-a spin off from the author’s The Callahans. This is twenty year old, college junior/football player Caleb Burke, and twenty-two year old, student teacher Gracie Hughes’ story line. THE JUNIOR can be read as a stand alone but I recommend reading the series in order for back story and cohesion.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Gracie and Caleb) THE JUNIOR follows the building romance and relationship between twenty year old, college junior/football player Caleb Burke, and twenty-two year old, student teacher Gracie Hughes. Summer break means looking for a job, and Gracie Hughes finds herself working alongside her new roommate and self-professed manwh*re Caleb Burke. Caleb is about to enter his junior year at college, and is looking forward to a summer of one-night stands but the back and forth, acrimonious relationship with his new roommate, finds our hero looking for something more permanent with Gracie Hughes. What ensues is the building romance and relationship between Gracie and Caleb, and the potential fall-out as the ‘friends with benefits’ relationship turns into something more, something Gracie struggles to accept for the long term.

Gracie Hughes knows that her time with Caleb is only temporary; a summer fling with a man/boy whose all about the party and fun-his lack of maturity is a point of contention for our story line heroine. With the end of summer approaching Gracie and Caleb’s relationship jumps to the next level, a level Gracie believes is temporary and doomed to end. Caleb Hughes has a reputation as a love’em and leave’em kinda of guy, and his earlier encounters, bickering with Gracie prove they are doomed as a long-term couple.

The relationship between Caleb and Gracie begins acrimoniously as their constant bickering carries over into their relationship with mutual friends. Agreeing to get along for the sake of their friends, their current living arrangements and of course, as co-workers at the local club, Caleb and Gracie find themselves acting on their attraction but keeping their relationship on the down low. The $ex scenes are intimate, erotic and intense without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

Most of the previous story line couples return. Eli and Ava, Jackson and Ellie, Hannah and Jake, Diego and Jocelyn, Tony and Hayden. Eli and Ava’s continuing story is next in The Senior.

THE JUNIOR is a story of friendships, acceptance, love and trust. The fast paced, character driven premise is captivating and engaging; the romance is heavy and hot-the sexual chemistry palpable; the characters are energetic, and dynamic. THE JUNIOR ends on a bit of a cliff hanger-you have been warned.

READING ORDER AND PREVIOUS REVIEWS
The Freshman
The Sophomore

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

Monica Murphy is the New York Times, USA Today and #1 international bestselling author of the One Week Girlfriend series, the Billionaire Bachelors and The Rules series. Her books have been translated in almost a dozen languages and has sold over one million copies worldwide. She is both self-published and published by Random House/Bantam and Harper Collins/Avon. She writes new adult, young adult and contemporary romance.

She is a wife and a mother of three who lives in central California on fourteen acres in the middle of nowhere along with their one dog and too many cats. A self-confessed workaholic, when she’s not writing, she’s reading or hanging out with her husband and kids. She’s a firm believer in happy endings, though she will admit to putting her characters through angst-filled moments before they finally get that hard won HEA.

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The Breath Between Waves by Charlotte Anne Hamilton- a Review

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The Breath Between Waves by Charlotte Anne Hamilton- a Review

 

Amazon / B&N / Kobo / Google Play / Apple

 

Description:
Penelope Fletcher gave up everything to board the RMS Titanic.

Forced to travel to America for her father’s new job, Penelope left her home in Scotland, her beloved grandmother, and even her girlfriend, who promptly got engaged to someone else. Heartbroken, Penelope isn’t looking forward to the weeklong journey. Or that her parents want her to find a husband in America. To make matters worse, she also has to share a cabin with a complete stranger.

Ruby Cole, her spunky Irish roommate, is unlike anyone Penelope ever met. They become fast friends as they bond over crushing family expectations and sneaking into lush parties together. That Ruby likes women, too, comes as a surprise to Penelope, but she knows their affair can only be temporary. Because as soon as the Titanic arrives in New York, Penelope will have to marry someone of her father’s choosing.

Before long, though, they’ll both have to decide what–and who–is really worth fighting for.

 

 

Review:

The Breath Between Waves by Charlotte Anne Hamilton begins with Penelope Fletcher and her family boarding the RMS Titanic.  Penelope has had to leave her home in Scotland and those she loves behind.  Her father has accepted a job in America and both of her parents expect her to find a husband soon.  Neither of those things is what she wants to do.  To add insult to injury, she must share a cabin on the ship with someone she doesn’t even know.

As Penelope is starting to unpack, her roommate, Ruby Cole, comes into their shared cabin.  Penelope is instantly drawn to Ruby.  The two young ladies become fast friends as they navigate the ship together and spend more and more time together.  Penelope finds herself attracted to Ruby and to her relief, she finds out that Ruby likes women as well.  As they develop feelings for each other, tragedy hits and the two of them get separated not knowing if the other has survived the sinking of the unsinkable ship.

The Breath Between Waves is a creative retelling of the Titanic story.  Both main characters were well written, as were the secondary characters.  The instant (and I do mean instant!) attraction that Penelope had for Ruby was a bit much for me, but I did enjoy them getting to know more about each other.  If I’m being honest, there’s a lot of Jack and Rose in the second half of the book.  With the parties they attended and trying to keep their affair a secret took me back to those scenes in the actual movie.  With all of that said, I did enjoy the book.  If you’re a fan of the genre, as well as stories about the Titanic, you’ll certainly enjoy it as well.

Reviewed by Vickie

Copy provided by Publisher

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Things I Wanted to Say by Monica Murphy-Review Tour

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Things I Wanted to Say (But Never Did) by Monica Murphy-Review Tour

 

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date July 29, 2021.

Whit Lancaster burst into my life like a storm. Dark and thunderous, furious and fierce. Cold, heartless and devastatingly beautiful, like the statues in our prep school gardens. The school with his family name on the sign. He can do no wrong here. This is his domain.

He’s a menace on campus. Adored and feared. Hated and respected. His taunting words carve into my skin, shredding me to ribbons. Yet his intense gaze scorches my blood, fills me with a longing I don’t understand.

When I stumble upon him one night alone, I find him broken. Bleeding. My instincts scream to leave and let him suffer, but I can’t. I sneak him into my room. Clean him up. Fall for his lies. Let him possess every single part of me until I’m the one left a gasping, broken mess.

When he leaves me alone in the dead of night, he takes my journal with him.

Now he knows all my secrets. My hate. My truth. And he promises to use my words against me. I’ll be ruined if my darkest secret gets out.

That’s when I strike a bargain with the devil.

I’ll let Whit Lancaster ruin me behind closed doors instead.

•••••

REVIEW:THINGS I WANTED TO SAY (BUT NEVER DID) by Monica Murphy is a contemporary, stand alone, young adult/new adult/ adult, dark, erotic bully romance focusing on Whit Lancaster, and Summer Savage.

WARNING: Due to the nature of the story line premise there may be numerous triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from dual first person perspectives covering approximately twelve years THINGS I WANTED TO SAY (BUT NEVER DID) follows the acrimonious, bully relationship between Lancaster heir Whit Lancaster, and Summer Savage. At the ages of fourteen Summer Savage met Whit Lancaster at a Lancaster party, and in the ensuing years never forgot that fateful encounter. Three years later, the fall-out of a society scandal found Summer Savage struggling at the prestigious Lancaster Prep School, a school where she would become the target of bullies but more specifically the target of the boy she could never forgot. Becoming persona non grata at a school for the elite, meant Summer awakening each day worried about the who, how and why of each personal attack, attacks seemingly orchestrated by Whit Lancaster. Exiled from most of the school population, it was only a matter of time before the administration took a dislike to Summer Savage. What ensues is the tempestuous and caustic relationship between Whit and Summer, and the ongoing fall-out of betrayal and vengeance, aimed at our story line heroine, as she struggled to move on from the demons of her past.

Summer Savage has struggled with issues of low self-esteem in the wake of her family life spiralling out of control. Following a society and media nightmare, not of her making, our heroine is ‘hidden’ away for all intents and purposes but coming face to face with the boy that has continued to star in her nightmares and dreams was about to push our heroine to the edge of reason, as she battles between head and heart knowing that Whit Lancaster would be her ultimate fall. Whit Lancaster is an entitled bully who controls Lancaster Prep, and in this controls the entire student body and staff. When Whit places a proverbial target on our heroine’s back, it is only a matter of time before the fall-out destroys what is left of Summer Savage. Whit Lancaster uses emotional, physical, and sexual control in his position of power that he lauds over our heroine, and the school, at every opportunity. He is feared and loved in equal measure, using his name and family position to rule at the ripe old age of seventeen.

The relationship between Summer and Whit is angry and spiteful, and I struggle to call it a romantic story line. The bullying, humiliation, emotional and mental abuse is continuous; the sl*t shaming is excessive. Whit Lancaster cannot stop obsessing about Summer Savage, and in this, he is determined to know all of Summer’s secrets in an effort to claim every part of our story line heroine. The $ex scenes are intense, dramatic and not without some question of consent-the relationships and friendships play out like a game wherein Summer Savage is the ultimate pawn.

The mean girls (and boys) and relentless bullying is tantamount to assault; the adults and parents are unforgiving, ruthless and cruel. Summer Savage is not the perfect heroine but an embattled life makes for questionable decisions, decisions that often place our heroine in the direct line of fire. She didn’t deserve the humiliating treatment, treatment that affected her choices going forward, often taking the blame for catastrophic events in her life.

THINGS I WANTED TO SAY (BUT NEVER DID) is a story of secrets and lies, betrayal and vengeance, abuse, bullying, power and control. THINGS I WANTED TO SAY (BUT NEVER DID) may be a difficult story for many readers. I struggle with the bully romances, in general, as the victims and intended targets do not deserve the abuse at the hands of piers, strangers, family or friends, and in the wake of real life, sometimes the bullies hit too close to home. The premise is dark, heart breaking and emotional; the characters are broken and cruel; the romance is questionable on so many levels. Monica Murphy is a gifted writer-she was able to break my heart, and make me cry in a matter of a few pages.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

 

Monica Murphy is the New York Times, USA Today and #1 international bestselling author of the One Week Girlfriend series, the Billionaire Bachelors and The Rules series. Her books have been translated in almost a dozen languages and has sold over one million copies worldwide. She is both self-published and published by Random House/Bantam and Harper Collins/Avon. She writes new adult, young adult and contemporary romance.

She is a wife and a mother of three who lives in central California on fourteen acres in the middle of nowhere along with their one dog and too many cats. A self-confessed workaholic, when she’s not writing, she’s reading or hanging out with her husband and kids. She’s a firm believer in happy endings, though she will admit to putting her characters through angst-filled moments before they finally get that hard won HEA.

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