You Had Me at Hockey by Kelly Jamieson-Review & Excerpt Tour

You Had Me at Hockey (Bears Hockey) by Kelly Jamieson-Review & Excerpt Tour

 

 

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date December 8, 2020

Can a spirited, down-to-earth influencer get an uptight hockey player out of his shell?

Josh
I am a warrior. That’s been my motto since I recovered from a near-death accident when I was younger. Now I enjoy my nice, settled life in Dallas playing pro hockey—a boring life is better than being dead. I’m not a party guy or an adventurer; I like my routine and peace and quiet. So being traded to New York is the worst possible change that could happen. And meeting unfiltered and fascinating Sara Carrington throws my life into even more chaos.

Sara
I’ve been considered weird my whole life, which is why I’m still a virgin, but I’ve turned it into a career with my YouTube videos. Who knew people would love watching me talk about my zits, taste test meatless burgers, and try to learn TikTok dances! Now I’m launching a podcast. Getting hockey star Josh Heller as a guest will help gain listeners for sure. I expect a bearded jock with no teeth and nothing to say, but I get a hot as H-E-double-hockey-sticks grouch with a surprisingly dirty mind. My mission to make him laugh is successful, but I want to know why he’s so uptight underneath that panty-dropping smile. Maybe I can teach Josh to have some fun . . . and maybe he can teach me a thing or two along the way.

••••••

REVIEW:YOU HAD ME AT HOCKEY is the second instalment in Kelly Jamieson’s contemporary, adult BEARS HOCKEY erotic, romance series focusing on the New York Bears of professional hockey. This is defenseman Josh Heller, and podcaster/youtuber Sara Carrington’s story line. YOU HAD ME AT HOCKEY 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 (Josh and Sara) YOU HAD ME AT HOCKEY follows the building romance and relationship between defenseman Josh Heller, and podcaster/YouTuber Sara Carrington. Josh Heller was surprised when he discovered that he had been traded from Dallas to the New York Bears, but with surprise came trepidation, not only about a new city and a new team, but a former friend who he has struggled to forgive and forget. An interview with media personality Sara Carrington finds Josh slowly easing into life in the Big Apple but Josh never expected to fall for the spunky podcaster. As life with Bears began to take shape, Josh struggled with a former friendship that died years before. What ensues is the building romance and relationship between Josh and Sara, and the potential fall-out as misunderstanding, miscommunication, ego and frustration push Sara out of Josh’s life.

The relationship between Josh and Sara begins as an assignment as Sara is scheduled to interview the Bear’s newest team player. Josh battles between head and heart as the newest arrival to the New York Bears but keeps secrets his trepidation as it concerns a former friendship, and the fall-out from an accident years before. Sara Carrington is a bit of a free spirit, who speaks the truth, and refuses to change in an effort to fit in. Meeting Josh Heller gives Sara the ‘warm and fuzzies’ but Sara has a secrets that is about to be exposed. The $ex scenes are intimate, erotic 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 as well as the return of hockey player Easton Millar, and former hotel hospitality manager Lilly Evans (Must Love Dogs and Hockey #1), as well as team members Jamal Jordan aka Jammer, Jay aka JBo, Owen Cooke aka Cookie, Russ aka Evan, Igor Barbashev aka Barbie, Wendell aka Wendy, and Colton aka Gunner. We are introduced to model Layla Young, and Sara’s friends Kaylee, Brandon and Nate.

YOU HAD ME AT HOCKEY is a story of friendships, relationships, acceptance and love. A story of misunderstanding and hurt, heart break and pain, love and happily ever after. Once again, Kelly Jamieson pulls from real world events in both the junior and professional hockey leagues including racism and the tragedy of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash of 2018. The premise is engaging and emotional; the romance is seductive and energetic; the characters are energetic, flirty and fun.

CLICK HERE for Sandy’s review of book one MUST LOVE DOGS AND HOCKEY

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

 

I ask the driver to wait while I go inside to get her. I texted her to let her know I’m here and she said she’s on her way down. I enter the red brick building through brass doors beneath a small canopy and wait in the lobby. I study the marble tiles and woodwork and the art on the walls under the watchful eye of the doorman.
She emerges from the elevator and I watch her walk toward me, her faux fur coat hanging open. My gaze wanders from a chunky gold necklace shining at her throat, down over the short black dress to her excellent legs, and then lower to sexy black shoes with impossibly skinny heels.
Whoa.
What a contrast from the girl I hung out with the other day. But when I meet her eyes, it’s the same person, those sea green eyes dancing with life and humor. “Hi.”
“Hi. You look gorgeous.”
“Thanks. You look gorgeous too.” She touches the lapel of my black wool coat.
“The taxi’s waiting for us.” I set my hand on her low back and usher her out as the doorman opens the door for us. We slide into the back of the bright yellow car and I give the driver the restaurant address.
Sara shifts so she can face me. “I’ve heard of this place but never been there. This’ll be fun!”
We make small talk on the way there. I discover she watched the game last night, which startles me. Although . . . I like it.
“I have questions,” she announces. “So many questions.”
“About?”
“Hockey. I mean, I didn’t understand much. You guys move so fast out there! They drop the puck and wham, everyone’s skating all over the place.”
“Uh, yeah.” I’m amused by her description.
“They were talking about you.”
“Who was?” Clearly, her mind zips all over the place.
“The TV guys. They seem to think it was a good deal to get you from Dallas. They said . . . hell, I don’t remember what they said, but they were complimenting you.”
My mouth twitches into a near-smile. “Oh yeah? Were they talking about my passing and shooting skills? My controlled entries?”
She frowns. “Why does that sound dirty? How do you make hockey sound dirty all the time?”
“It’s one of my hidden skills. They probably didn’t talk about that.”
She snorts. “No! They didn’t.”
“It must have been my amazing skating. My hockey sense? My high compete level?”
“Well, they weren’t talking about your modesty.”
Goddamn, she makes me laugh.
“They probably said all those things,” she admits. “It sounded really good anyway. I thought how cool it was that I know you.”
I like that she’s maybe a little impressed with me since I’m kind of intimidated by her.
Traffic is nuts. We’re barely moving. The driver keeps honking, but there’s nowhere for the cars in front of us to go, so I don’t get the point of it.
We keep talking, but after a while I pull out my phone to check the time. It feels like we’ve only traveled two blocks. “Shit,” I mutter.
“What’s wrong?”
“Our reservation is for seven. This traffic is nuts.”
“Of course. It’s Saturday night in Manhattan.”
I hate being late. I hate rushing. I hate not being in control. “We could get out and walk there faster.”
She laughs softly and pats my leg. Well, that’s distracting. “Not in these heels, dude. 


 

Kelly Jamieson is a USA Today bestselling author of over fifty romance novels and novellas. She writes the kind of books she loves to read–sexy romance with heat, humor and emotion. Her writing has been described as “emotionally complex”, “sweet and satisfying” and “blisteringly sexy”. She likes coffee (black), wine (mostly white) and shoes (high!). She also loves watching hockey. She is the author of the popular Heller Brothers Hockey series, Aces Hockey series, and the Rule of Three trilogy.

Connect with Kelly

Facebook: https://bit.ly/3oqDFet

Instagram: https://bit.ly/37x0pTe

Amazon: https://amzn.to/33MTofY

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/33Njsb2

BookBub: https://bit.ly/39LQaxm

Website: https://www.kellyjamieson.com

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The Russian Bodyguard (Krasnov Brothers)by Rie Warren-Review Tour

The Russian Bodyguard (Krasnov Brothers 3) by Rie Warren-Review & Excerpt Tour

 

 

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date December 7, 2020

I am her bodyguard.
I’m her only hope.
I’m going to break her, teach her, train her.

I cannot stand this prissy brat who practically throws herself at every guy she meets. Yet I’m tasked with babysitting her. The pakhan’s daughter tests my patience, makes me want to break out in uncontrolled violence, or maybe just throw her down to show her what all her teasing does to a real man.

She’s untouchable. Until a Russian rival mafia comes seeking revenge. I’m about to teach the printsessa a lesson she’ll never forget, and I guarantee she’s the one who will be taking my orders from now on.

••••••

REVIEW:THE RUSSIAN BODYGUARD is the third instalment in Rie Warren’s contemporary, adult KRASNOV BROTHERS erotic, Russian Bratva, romance series. This is youngest Krasnov brother, twenty-nine year old, Zolotov bodyguard/ sharp shooter Maksim Krasnov, and twenty-three year old Bratva heiress/ printsessa Sashenka ‘Sasha’ Zolotov’s story line. THE RUSSIAN BODYGUARD can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous instalments is revealed where necessary.

TRIGGER WARNING: THE RUSSIAN BODYGUARD contains strong, adult language as well as scenes of spanking/discipline, graphic violence, sexual assault, and torture, and may not be suitable for more sensitive readers.

SOME BACKGROUND: As young children, Maksim Krasnov and his brothers Arkady and Kirill found themselves abandoned on the streets of Mother Russia. Fighting to stay alive, the brothers, led by eldest Arkady became a gang unto themselves until they tried to shake down a member of the Russian Bratva, a man who once ruled the notorious gulag. Seeing something in the boys, and without any male heirs of his own, Yury Zolotov adopted the young boys, and raised them as his own, preparing their way to rule the criminal underworld.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Maksim and Sasha) THE RUSSIAN BODYGUARD focuses on the tempestuous relationship between twenty-nine year old, Zolotov bodyguard Maksim Krasnov, and twenty-three year old Bratva heiress/ printsessa Sashenka ‘Sasha’ Zolotov. The wedding of Arkady Krasnov and Lucia Leone (The Russian Savage 2) was a grand affair but the abduction of Sasha Zolotov sent Maksim into overdrive when the woman with whom he had always loved found herself the target of revenge against her father Yury Zolotov. Forcing his hand, Zolotov Bratva leader Yury Zolotov ordered Maksim to marry his daughter Sasha, in an effort to protect the Bratva heir, believing her to be safe through the code of honor. What ensues is the acrimonious, turbulent, highly sexual and impassioned relationship between Sasha and Maksim, and the potential fall-out as Sasha becomes payment for sins of the past.

The relationship between Maksim and Sasha has always been heated, emotional and intense. Maksim has been Sasha’s bodyguard for several years but our heroine pushed all of Maksim’s buttons as she continue to defy her father’s and our hero’s orders of protection. Maksim never thought he would be worthy of love but marriage to Sasha brought out a side to Maksiim he never expected. The $ex scenes are erotic, provocative, dramatic and energetic but I struggled with the use of a certain four-letter word, and the some of the sexual descriptions used by the author.

There is a large ensemble cast of colorful secondary and supporting characters including Kirill and his wife Joanna (The Russian Thug #1), Arkady and Lucia (The Russian Savage 2), their ‘grandmother’ Svetlana, as well as the head of the Bratva and ‘father figure’ Yury Zolotov, and Joanna’s brothers Lucky, Kelly and Dex O’Sullivan. The requisite evil has many faces including Oleg Kamenev and his underboss Feliks .

THE RUSSIAN BODYGUARD, like the previous two instalments, is a story of family, relationships, power, betrayal and revenge. The premise is dark, dramatic and intense; the romance is provocative and edgy; the characters are charismatic and intense.

Reading order and previous reviews
The Russian Thug
The Russian Savage

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

 

NOTE: Excerpt intended for mature readers 18+ due to strong language and content.

 

Maksim’s chest heaved as he read me the riot act. “You are fucking impossible.”
“And you are the worst man I could ever have been shackled to!”
His hand snapping out, he squeezed my cheeks hard.
I tried not to flinch, but his grip was vise-like.
Maksim lowered his face to mine, his gunmetal irises just this side of demonic. “I really will beat your ass if you ever attempt to go out on your own again.”
“Do it!”
Releasing my face, he yanked me into his unyielding embrace. His mouth crashed over mine with a fury I’d never tasted before.
I struggled, kicking at anything I could reach.
He speared his tongue into my mouth, wildly claiming what he thought was rightfully his. Holding me caged against him, he drove a hand into my hair, angling my neck, trying to conquer me.
I let out a strangled growl then let the rage and arousal explode out of me.
Wrath, lust . . . I despised him.
Desire, rage . . . I wanted some part of him.
Maksim grunted when I licked between his lips, drawing me up his body so we collided in all the right ways—for once.
We kissed so ferociously, clawing at each other, practically tearing into one another to get some kind of upper hand out of this pure madness.
And still the heat roared.
We broke apart just as forcibly as we’d clashed together, both of us breathing hard.
“I hate you with every single fiber of my being,” I scathed.
“That makes two of us.” A hard sneer crossed his lips that had just been slanted across mine.
Then, Maksim struck.
He grabbed both sides of my blazer and ripped it open. Buttons popped off, pinging across the room. I looked down at my ruined leather jacket just as he tore if off my back.
Breasts thrust against the corset that remained, I saw him through a haze of red when he slung the jacket aside like it was no more than a piece of rubbish.
I launched back to smack him right across his face, but he captured my wrist in an iron grip.
He towed me inexorably against him again, and all my feral instincts went into meeting his wild kiss.
A loud groan thundered from his chest when I rolled my tongue over his then nipped at his bottom lip. His hands roved from my arms to my ass, and he cranked me right against his undeniable erection, which threw me back into that heady spiral of hate and lust.
His sculpted features came slowly into focus when he drew back.
A filthy grin the likes of which I’d never seen played across his lips that—goddamn him—had felt perfectly voracious against mine. “Shall I tell you what I’ve been thinking about?”
“What?” All the breath caught in my chest, my voice emerging raspingly.
His smirk widened. He paced backward a couple of steps. Without taking his eyes off mine, he removed his tie. With a shift of his strong hands, he unbuttoned his shirt from top to bottom. A shrug of ropey shoulders, and he eased the material from his muscular tattooed torso.
Then his fingers—the ones that had bit into the fleshiness of my ass—dropped to his trousers.
The belt slithered and hissed like a snake when he removed it. He stepped out of his shoes, toed off his socks, went for the closure of his pants.
His voice the same gruff timbre as always, he unzipped, saying, “I have been thinking about my cock in your mouth, Sashenka.”Excerpt twoClean and showered, I left the steamy enclave with a towel notched around my hips to see Sasha had woken.
She looked softer in the morning light. Sleep-tousled and inexplicably sensuous, unfortunately. Her lips became even puffier in repose, as opposed to when she was biting out snippy criticisms or cranking me up.
Lifting her arms, she yawned lazily, and one nipple came dangerously close to escaping the confines of her top. “What time is it?”
With my back to her, I dropped the towel.
Her hiss of breath was not missed on me.
Hiding a smirk, I stepped into clean briefs before turning. I didn’t care that she saw another thick boner outlined in the fabric that my meat stretched to the maximum.
“Time for you to get up, lazy.”
“Lazy!” She screeched, but her voice had a sleep-husky quality, and she kept looking.
She did not get out of bed though. With another stretch and a spine-tingling purr, she sat up.
I refused to fall into the trap of her seductress’s tools and tricks.
“I slept surprisingly well.” She fluffed up a pillow and rested against it.
“Da. I know you did.” I finished putting on my clothes, tugging on a T-shirt and tying my military boots.
I wore suits only when I needed to.
“What does that mean?” The female in my bed gathered the covers loosely around her waist.
Ranging closer with a belt dangling from my hands, I reached out for her.
She immediately shrank from me, which was funny considering she’d spent the night snuggled up to me like I was her comfort blanket or something.
Perhaps she thought I was going to crack the thick leather belt across her lush body.
Maybe I would, but that was not my intention at the moment.
I closed the gap between us, and that time she remained still.
After running a lone fingertip down her cheek, I swiped across her bottom lip. “I know you slept well because it turns out you are a bed hog and you drool.”
Sasha immediately reared back as if I had struck her with the belt. “I do not drool, zasranec!”
She called me an asshole, back to her biting ways.
I latched onto her arm and dragged her from the bed. “It is also time for you to make me breakfast.”
“I’m not making you shi—”
Doubling up my belt, I snapped her sharply across the ass.
Crack!
She jumped and shrieked.
The wail of leather smacking her would sound so much better on her bare ass.
“Maksim!” She rubbed her posterior, shooting a glare at me.
“Quickly now. Shower and do whatever else you need to do to make yourself presentable.”
Her glare turned even more brittle.
“I am hungry, Sashenka.”
Her hands clenched. Her delicate jaw tensed.
She kept her mouth shut.
A first.


 

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Badass, sassafras Rie Warren is an OG Amazon All Star author of Bad Boy books and MC romance. She delivers five-star sex, suspense, and the best banter around. Her stories are one hundred percent original, do not contain fluffy plots or virgin brides, and wring every last emotion from readers to leave them with a satisfied smile. Rie’s tough alpha males are never brought to heel, but are instead healed by the feisty femme fatale of their perfect match.
She grew up in Maine, went to college in Iowa (Iowa, what?), lived in Scotland, and married in Englishman. In true roundabout fashion, they came back to the States, settled in South Carolina’s lowcountry, putting down southern roots and pursuing their arty endeavors. Tale spinner and character diviner, Rie is a lover of sleep, wine, and rude memes often involving either Disney characters or Winnie the Pooh. She is raising two teen daughters along with an entire brain full of unruly characters.

Rough-talking alpha men? Rie has that on tap.
Stubborn sassy heroines? You bet.
Smoldering sex scenes that’ll set your Kindle on fire? Check, check, check.

Keep a fan handy, you’ll need it.

 

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Layla by Colleen Hoover-a review

Layla by Colleen Hoover-a review

 

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ABOUT THE BOOK:Release Date December 8, 2020

When Leeds meets Layla, he’s convinced he’ll spend the rest of his life with her—until an unexpected attack leaves Layla fighting for her life. After weeks in the hospital, Layla recovers physically, but the emotional and mental scarring has altered the woman Leeds fell in love with. In order to put their relationship back on track, Leeds whisks Layla away to the bed-and-breakfast where they first met. Once they arrive, Layla’s behavior takes a bizarre turn. And that’s just one of many inexplicable occurrences.

Feeling distant from Layla, Leeds soon finds solace in Willow—another guest of the B&B with whom he forms a connection through their shared concerns. As his curiosity for Willow grows, his decision to help her find answers puts him in direct conflict with Layla’s well-being. Leeds soon realizes he has to make a choice because he can’t help both of them. But if he makes the wrong choice, it could be detrimental for all of them.

••••••

REVIEW:LAYLA by Colleen Hoover is a contemporary, adult, paranormal romance story line focusing on musician Leeds Gabriel, and the woman he loves, Layla.

Told from first person perspective (Leeds Gabriel) using present day and memories from the past LAYLA follows the building romance and relationship between musician Leeds Gabriel, and the woman he loves, Layla. Leeds Gabriel was struggling with his music career, standing in the shadows of the man in charge but meeting Layla, a bit of a free spirit, gave Leeds a hope for the future. Months together would end with an attack on their lives, an attack that changed everything moving forward. With Layla’s mental, physical and emotional health in the balance, Leeds would meet another free spirit named Willow, a young woman who stirred something deep within our story line hero. As Layla’s health continued to deteriorate, Leeds would call in help from an unlikely source.

LAYLA is a story of what-ifs: what if the person you loved no longer was the person with whom you fell in love? From a one-night stand to a promise of forever, destroyed by jealousy and revenge, resulting in dual pathway of questions and confusing answers. Colleen Hoover pulls the reader into a familiar but suspenseful, imaginative and fantastic story of mystery and the supernatural set against a backdrop of friendship and love.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

Colleen Hoover is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of several novels, including the bestselling women’s fiction novel It Ends with Us and the bestselling psychological thriller Verity. She has won the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Romance three years in a row—for Confess (2015), It Ends with Us (2016), and Without Merit (2017). Confess was adapted into a seven-episode online series. In 2015, Hoover and her family founded the Bookworm Box, a bookstore and monthly subscription service that offers signed novels donated by authors. All profits go to various charities each month to help those in need. Hoover lives in Texas with her husband and their three boys. Visit www.colleenhoover.com.
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From Our First (PromiseMe 4) by Carrie Ann Ryan-Review Tour

From Our First (PromiseMe 4) by Carrie Ann Ryan-Review Tour

 

 

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GOODREADS LINK: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48748289-from-our-first

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date December 8, 2020

Nate Brady and Myra West have been keeping a secret, though not just from their group—also from each other. Getting married when they were barely adults wasn’t in the cards when they made their plans for their future. Divorcing one another amidst pain and heartbreak wasn’t either.
Years have passed, wounds have scabbed over and scarred, but their anger remains.

If the two can open themselves to the impossible, they might be able to take that second chance. Only they’ll also have to fight their fears, the lies between them, and the desire they thought long gone.

Except they aren’t alone in their secrets, and if they aren’t careful, they may just be taking them to their graves.

•••••••••

REVIEW:I love me some second chance love stories!!

Ms. Carrie Ann Ryan is a Goddess with stories and I always enjoy myself when I read her work. From Our First is the fourth and I -Think- final in the Promise me series. From book one, I have been DYING to get Myra and Nathan’s story, and it did not disappoint.

Nate and Myra’s story picks up right where the last books ends, C.A.R dropped that killer hook at the end of the last book had me screaming for the next one LOL. Nate and Myra have a past, one that is now affecting the new lives they have struggled so hard to rebuild. They both have family and friends together and now run in the same circles. Can they manage to put the past behind them and try to move on from the hurt in their pasts?

In their first year of college, with their first taste of being an adult, Nate and Myra feel in love and got married. Head over heels in love with one another, they wanted nothing more than to finish school and live their lives with one another. Unfortunately, life doesn’t always work the way we want it to. Divorcing, bitter pain and hurt cause Nate and Myra to hold to the hate, over time their wounds scab over and scar.

Now, after so many years have passed, the truth has been revealed and their chance to heal has finally come. Will they take it? Will Myra let go of the past and move on? Will Nate be able to forgive himself for the pain he has caused? Now that they know the cause of their pain, now that they know the truth can they wipe the slate clean and move on together?

Yahoooo!

Myra and Nathan, what can I say about these too…both so stubborn, both so young when the pain hurt. They trusted people who they thought were their family, and that backfired. Myra’s parents are the worst, trash and the bottom of the bin and I truly hope they get what’s coming to them. For Myra and Nathan though, you can tell how much they still care about one another, but neither are willing to take the jump to heal the breach. -Shakes head- From Our First is an awesome read filled with raw emotion, pain and healing, love and growth, spicy moments and loving ones that warm the reader’s heart. Five stars and a must read for any reader that loves a second chance love story!

Previous reviews
Forever Only Once
From that Moment
Far From Destined

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sarah S

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Carrie Ann Ryan is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary, paranormal, and young adult romance. Her works include the Montgomery Ink, Redwood Pack, Fractured Connections, and Elements of Five series, which have sold over 3.0 million books worldwide. She started writing while in graduate school for her advanced degree in chemistry and hasn’t stopped since. Carrie Ann has written over seventy-five novels and novellas with more in the works. When she’s not losing herself in her emotional and action-packed worlds, she’s reading as much as she can while wrangling her clowder of cats who have more followers than she does.

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Whisky and Wishes (Dark Kings 19) by Donna Grant-a review

Whisky and Wishes (Dark Kings 19) by Donna Grant-a review

 

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date December 7, 2020

Return to New York Times bestselling author Donna Grant’s Dark King world for a special holiday novella.

Finally free of the dangers surrounding him and the burden of pining after his mate, the King of Dragon Kings is ready for some peace—time to enjoy the woman he loves without interruption. Sure, the matter of accessing the clans across the Dragon Bridge still looms, as does the ultimate Fate of Con and his brethren. But for now, Con plans to enjoy the people he loves and celebrate the holidays with those closest to him. Why borrow from tomorrow’s problems? When the time comes to confront what’s next, they will do it. Together.

••••••

REVIEW:WHISKY AND WISHES by Donna Grant is a holiday novella found in the author’s Dark Kings series following the revelations in book eighteen INFERNO.

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

Told from third person perspectives WHISKY AND WISHES focuses on the rekindling relationship between Constantine, King of Kings, and his mate, Fae warrior Rhiannon. With Con and Rhi’s relationship starting anew, the other Dragon Kings and their mates have booked time away to allow Con and Rhi to rekindle their love but the approach of the human holidays aka Christmas, Hanukkah, and the New Year, Rhi sets about to decorate the castle, preparing for a welcome home celebration for the Kings, the Reapers and the Fae, but there continues to be heart break and pain as Rhi and Con have not heard from the other Dragons and their loved ones, who were sent to the other realm. As Rhi and Con come to a decision, the Kings struggle to locate one of their own.

WHISKY AND WISHES is a quick read; a fast paced novella that bridges between the Dark Kings and Donna Grant’s new spin off series beginning with Dragon Revealed (Varek, King of Lichens) in January 2021. The premise is entertaining; the romance is spicy and seductive; the characters are numerous and familiar. WHISKY AND WISHES is a bit of a filler between series, setting up for a new adventure with the dragons and their mates.

Previous Reviews

Dark Craving
Night’s Awakening
Dawn’s Desire
Darkest Flame
Fire Rising
Burning Desire
Hot Blooded
Night’s Blaze
Soul Scorched
Dragon King
Passion Ignites
Smoldering Hunger
Smoke and Fire
Dragon Fever 9.5
Firestorm
Blaze
Dragon Burn 11.5
Constantine: A History Part 1
Heat
Constantine: A History Part 2
Constantine: A History Part 3
Torched
Dragon Night 13.5
Dragon Fire
Dragon Claimed
Ignite
Fever
Dragon Lost
Flame
Inferno

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

 

Donna Grant is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the sizzling Dark King series featuring dragons, immortal Highlanders, and the Fae.

She was born and raised in Texas but loves to travel. Her adventures have taken her throughout the United States as well as to Jamaica, Mexico, and Scotland. Growing up on the Texas/Louisiana border, Donna’s Cajun side of the family taught her the “spicy” side of life while her Texas roots gave her two-steppin’ and bareback riding.

Despite deadlines and voracious reading, Donna still manages to keep up with her two children, four cats, and one long haired Chihuahua.

WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | NEWSLETTER SIGNUP / TUMBLR / PINTEREST / GOODREADS

 

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Banshee Song (Blood Fae Chronicles 2) by Jen Katemi-a review

Banshee Song (Blood Fae Chronicles 2) by Jen Katemi-a review

 

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date December 7, 2020

Her banshee song is her weapon… will it be enough to save those she loves?

My voice is my gift and my weapon.
As a banshee, I carry the song of life and death within me.

Now, crazed, magical beasts want my blood, and my true fae name, or so he says.
A warrior from Faerie’s Winter Court has come to protect me from this supposed supernatural threat.

The sexy fae won’t relent, says his heart is frozen. No chance.
With every kiss, heat rises and ice melts, and I forget everything, but fire and desire.

But now, I need that winter warrior’s protection more than anything.
With no training, no allies, and nowhere to go, I’m on my own.

My voice isn’t enough to protect myself or the ones I love.
They’re about to drain me of my blood, my life.

And I have nothing to save me, but my love.
My warrior.
Is it too late, for us both?

•••••••

REVIEW:BANSHEE SONG is the second instalment in Jen Katemi’s contemporary adult BLOOD FAE CHRONICLES erotic, paranormal/fantasy series focusing on the hybrid offspring( part human / part fae) of Lady Renna of the Fae. This is banshee Indigo (Indigosturianawella), and winter warrior Tarrien. BANSHEE SONG can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous instalment is revealed where necessary.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Tarrien and Indigo) BANSHEE SONG follows Winter warrior Tarrien as he is tasked by Lady Renna to guard and protect our story line heroine but Indigo wants nothing to do with supernatural protection until an ‘abomination’ of hybrid ‘wear and human’ targets our heroine for capture and control. What ensues is the quickly building relationship between Tarrien and Indigo, and the fall-out as Indigo finds herself imprisoned in a world she knows nothing about.

Indigo has only ever met her mother once in her life, and as such knows very little about the life and culture of the mythical Fae but our heroine knows she is a Banshee, and uses her voice to entertain the crowds but when death is imminent, our heroine is unable to control the cries, cries that warn of death and dying. Tarrien knows that to protect Indigo is to protect the woman with whom he is falling in love but Tarrien finds himself struggling in the aftermath of an attack wherein someone more powerful is controlling the behind the scenes.

The relationship between Tarrien and Indigo is one of immediate attraction but Indigo refuses Tarrien’s help and order of protection. Tarrien battles between head and heart knowing to get involved with Indigo could mean losing his ability to remain powerful and cold. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

We are introduced to Indigo’s friend and assistant Dreya; Prince Rhodri; former Queen Rhiannon; Tarrien’s father, as well as Indigo’s mother Lady Renna.

BANSHEE SONG is a story of betrayal and vengeance, power and control, family, relationships and love.The fast paced premise is exciting and engaging; the romance is captivating; the characters are colorful and energetic.

click HERE for Sandy’s review of book one BANSHEE CRY

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

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Upside Down (Breaking the Rules 3) by AM Madden-Review Tour

Upside Down (Breaking the Rules 3) by AM Madden-Review Tour

 

 

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

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date December 7, 2020

I’ve always been known as the hopeless romantic … the nice guy … the sweetheart.

Everything in my life supported this persona. My students loved my easy personality. My colleagues admired the way I handled myself in the classroom.

But something was always missing.

Like so many relationships before it, my current attempt at love felt like a dead end. When she gave me an ultimatum, I couldn’t promise to give her what she wanted.

So, she ended it.

Explaining another breakup to my family was the last thing I wanted. But doing it on a luxury yacht at my brother’s wedding lessened the hardship.

I never imagined that trip would change everything… and I certainly wasn’t prepared for him to change everything.

Upside Down is a sister’s best friend, sexual awakening, m/m stand-alone romance that contains adult content.

••••••

REVIEW:UPSIDE DOWN is the third instalment in AM Madden’s contemporary, adult BREAKING THE RULES erotic, romance series. This is businessman and cruise ship partner Ricky Burrows, and twenty-eight year old, New Jersey, English Literature professor Cooper Stanton’s story line. UPSIDE DOWN can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous instalments is revealed where necessary.

NOTE: UPSIDE DOWN is a M/M story line with graphic same sex scenarios that may not be suitable for more sensitive readers.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Ricky and Cooper) UPSIDE DOWN follows the building romance and relationship between businessman and cruise ship partner Ricky Burrows, and twenty-eight year old, English Literature professor Cooper Stanton. Cooper Stanton is a romantic at heart, and seeing his family and friends fall in love was something Cooper wanted for himself but his most recent relationship ended without fanfare or tears, and Cooper struggled with the possibility that there was no one that called to his heart.

Ricky Burrows is a man who knows what he wants, and he sees a kindred spirit in Cooper Stanton, his business partner’s brother in law, and a man clearly conflicted about his sexuality but it was Cooper who will make the first pass at Ricky Burrows then immediately deny there was anything between them. What ensues is the building romance and relationship between Ricky and Cooper, and the potential fall –out as Ricky’s past comes looking for a possible second chances, and Cooper’s time in Florida comes to a close.

Cooper Stanton was spending his summer vacation in Florida in an effort to help his sister with her expanding family but found himself thinking about the ‘kiss’ with Ricky Burrows, a kiss that stirred something deep within our story line hero. Never thinking he was gay, Cooper struggled with the direction of his thoughts, thoughts that continued to focus on Ricky Burrows. Ricky suspected Cooper Stanton was a closeted gay or at the very least either bisexual or pansexual but never expected Cooper to make the first move considering it was Ricky himself who suggested that Cooper may be attracted to men rather than women. Not wanting to force Cooper into a relationship he doesn’t want, Ricky allows Cooper to come to him while spending his time in Florida.

The relationship between Ricky and Cooper begins acrimoniously as Cooper denies that he is attracted to men. Ricky says his ‘gaydar’ is never wrong but Cooper struggles with his failed relationships and his new found attraction to a man who is all kinds of wrong. As Ricky ‘mentors’ Cooper in his new found sexuality, Cooper finds himself falling for a man who was hurt by his previously love. The $ex scenes are intimate, erotic and intense without the use of over the stop, sexually graphic language and text.

There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters including Cooper’s ex-girlfriend Riana; his sister Rebecca and her husband and cruise line owner Marco Puglia (Love on the Horizon #1); Cooper’s brothers Griffin Stanton, Dean, and Sam Stanton and Lydia (Hostile Workplace #2); sister Janis; their parents; as well as Ricky’s mother Cindy, and her boyfriend John Miller.

UPSIDE DOWN is a story of family, friendships, relationships and love; a story of confusion and acceptance; romance and love. The premise is entertaining and inviting; the romance is spicy and imaginative-the sexual chemistry is palpable; the characters are energetic and realistic.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

 

USA Today BESTSELLING ROMANCE AUTHOR

A.M. Madden’s romance debut is The Back-Up Series, consisting of Back-Up, Front & Center, and Encore.

A.M. Madden is a wife, a mother, an avid reader of romance novels and now an author. In Back-up she aspired to create a fun, sexy, realistic romantic story. She wanted to create characters that the reader could relate to and feel as if they knew personally.

A self-proclaimed hopeless romantic, she loves getting lost in a good book. She uses every free moment of her time writing, while raising teenage boys.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

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

To celebrate the release of Upside Down, A.M. Madden is giving away a paperback and a $25 Amazon gift card. Stop by her Facebook page to enter:

https://www.facebook.com/authorammadden/

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Bonus Kisses by Freya Barker-Review Tour

Bonus Kisses by Freya Barker-Review Tour

 

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

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date December 7, 2020

Free-spirited black sheep, Taz Boran, has worked tirelessly as a nurse bringing efficient medical care to Africa for the past eight years. But when her sister Nicky is told she doesn’t have long to live, she immediately flies home to small-town Eminence, Missouri.

Unfortunately, taking care of Nicky means being around her husband, Rafe; the one man Taz could never forget. Rafe is not only her brother-in-law but also took over the family veterinary clinic from her dad.

As Taz becomes Nicky’s home health care nurse—working closely with Rafe to make her sister comfortable—their latent attraction comes sizzling back to the surface. They won’t betray Nicky, but if her dying wish is to see them get the happy ending they always deserved, can they really keep fighting what’s meant to be?

•••••••

REVIEW:BONUS KISSES by Freya Barker is a contemporary, adult, stand alone, erotic, romance story lines focusing on thirty eight year old, nurse Natasha ‘Taz’ Boran, and forty year old, veterinarian Dr. Rafe Thomas.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Taz and Rafe) BONUS KISSES follows the second chance romance and relationship between thirty eight year old, nurse Natasha ‘Taz’ Boran, and forty year old, veterinarian Dr. Rafe Thomas. Ten years earlier sisters Natasha and Veronica aka Nicky fell in love with the same man but Nicky got pregnant, and Taz, refusing to watch her sister move on with the man that she loved, left Eminence Missouri in search of something more, travelling the world, working for Doctors without Borders. Fast forward to present day wherein having never returned home in close to a decade, Taz receives an emergency call from a friend saying her sister does not have long to live. Knowing her life will never be the same, having to face the people she left behind, Taz heads back to Eminence Missouri in an effort to make her sister’s last few days and weeks as comfortable as possible. Enter Dr. Rafe Thomas, the man that Taz has never stopped loving. What ensues is the rekindling romance and relationship between Taz and Rafe, as the couple must contend with the small town gossip, and Taz’s mother’s rejection of their second chance romance, a previous romance very few people knew little about.

Rafe and Taz fell in love ten years earlier but Taz’s sister got pregnant with our hero’s child. Having never stopped loving Natasha Boran, Rafe went through the motions with the mother of his children, motions that felt forced and not real but Nicky did not have long to live, and with it, Rafe had to face to the woman whose heart he destroyed ten years earlier. Natasha ‘Taz’ Boran found herself playing several roles upon her return to Eminence Missouri-aunt, mother, daughter, sister, nurse, lover, friend and the target of small town gossip but with the exception of her sister Nicky, Rafe Thomas, and her best friend Kathleen, no one knew the truth about her previous relationship with Rafe Thomas, a relationship that was now the fodder for her mother’s vitriol and pain.

The relationship between Rafe and Taz is one of second chances. Rafe and Taz have never stopped loving one another but Rafe broke Taz’s heart, and with it destroyed any chance for their own happily ever after. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

We are introduced to Taz and Nicky’s parents Ed and Sarah Boran; Rafe’s children Sofie and Spencer; Taz and Nicky’s best friend Kathleen; and several townies who attempt to make Taz’s life miserable.

BONUS KISSES is an emotional and heart breaking story of loss, love and second chances. The premise is tragic yet uplifting; the romance is spirited, sensual and seductive; the characters are energetic and dynamic. BONUS KISSES is a realistic and reflective look at choices and actions.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

 

USA Today bestselling author Freya Barker loves writing about ordinary people with extraordinary stories. 

Driven to make her books about ‘real’ people; she creates characters who are perhaps less than perfect, each struggling to find their own slice of happy, but just as deserving of romance, thrills and chills in their lives.

Recipient of the ReadFREE.ly 2019 Best Book We’ve Read All Year Award for “Covering Ollie, the 2015 RomCon “Reader’s Choice” Award for Best First Book, “Slim To None”, and Finalist for the 2017 Kindle Book Award with “From Dust”, Freya continues to add to her rapidly growing collection of published novels as she spins story after story with an endless supply of bruised and dented characters, vying for attention!

Facebook: http://bit.ly/FreyaFacebook
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Bookbub: http://bit.ly/FreyaBookBub

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