Brave Enough (Tall, Dark and Dangerous #3) by M.Leighton-Review and Giveaway

BRAVE ENOUGH (Tall, Dark and Dangerous #3) by M. Leighton-Review and Giveaway

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BRAVE ENOUGH
Tall, Dark and Dangerous #3
by M. Leighton
Release Date: April 5, 2016
Genre: adult, contemporary, erotic, romance

Brave Enough

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date April 5, 2016

Is she brave enough to give her heart to a man she only thought she knew?

He was the most charismatic man I’d ever met. Strong, tough, brave. Bold as hell. Something told me Tag Barton could have anything—anyone—he wanted…and he wanted me. It didn’t matter that he was wrong for me in practically every way possible. It didn’t matter that my father would hate it.

I couldn’t resist him. Even if I’d known who he really was and what he was really capable of.

When he suggested we pretend to be engaged, I thought he was the answer to all my problems. He wasn’t. And, in his wake, he left nothing but scorched earth and me, just another casualty of my father’s war.

Can I believe him now when he tells me he loves me? Or is he nothing more than a beautiful, breathtaking lie?

••••••••••

REVIEW: BRAVE ENOUGH is the third installment in M.Leighton’s adult, contemporary TALL, DARK AND DANGEROUS erotic, romance series. This is former Special Ops soldier/ winery foreman Tag Barton, and heiress/philanthropist Weatherly O’Neal’s story line. BRAVE ENOUGH can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty.

Told from dual first person points of view (Weatherly and Tag) BRAVE ENOUGH is a fake fiancé/marriage of convenience trope that focuses on love and a lie from which there may be no return. Weatherly O’Neal is about to be forced into an arranged marriage by her family to keep her family’s billionaire dollar business afloat, and finds herself at the winery where she spent many of her summers growing up. Meeting sexy, handsome winery foreman Tag Barton throws all of Weatherly’s caution to the wind when her father’s plans for the future are interrupted by a man that Weatherly barely knows. What ensues is a story of insta lust/love that finds Tag harboring a secret that will destroy Weatherly’s heart. For this reader, Tag’s secret was easily deduced early on in the story.

The relationship between Tag and Weatherly begins upon a lie-a lie that Tag knows will break Weatherly’s heart and destroy any happiness that the future may bring. Weatherly is running from a forced marriage, and Tag is the perfect foil to prove to her father that she is not a business transaction for her father’s company. The $ex scenes are seductive, intense and hot. Tag knows how to please a woman both in and out of the bedroom.

The world building looks at family, betrayal, love and lies. Although Tag Barton is a former Special Ops soldier, there is little to no connection to the previous two story lines although Keifer Rogan and Katie Rydale (Tough Enough #2) make a cameo appearance both during and after Tag’s fall from grace. The story line focuses on one man’s need to protect his family and home-at all costs.

BRAVE ENOUGH is a sweet story line; a slow build to a happily ever after that sees two people finding love under difficult circumstances. The premise looks at promises of forever and betrayal of love; the characters are colorful, animated and heartbreaking; the romance is provocative and steamy. M.Leighton adds another wonderful story line to her library of go-to reads.

Copy supplied by the publisher

Reviewed by Sandy

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The Reading Cafe and M.Leighton’s publisher is graciously offering a paper copy of BRAVE ENOUGH to ONE (1) lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe.

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Snared (Jaded Regret #2) by L.L.Collins-a review

SNARED (Jaded Regret #2) by L.L. Collins-a review

Snared

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

About the book: Release Date March 1, 2016

BEAU has never known a good life, only the torment that lives inside his head every day. The only way to block out the darkness that shrouds him is through the rhythmic beat of his drums. Knowing what happens when he opens up to anyone, Beau buries his pain deep inside, keeping it all to himself.

APRIL has lived a life of wealth and privilege, full of love and support. Her only insight into what it’s like to have a rough life is through her work with foster children. When she meets Beau, it starts as a challenge to get through to him but quickly turns into much more than either of them bargained for.

TOGETHER, they are mismatched, ill-fated, and COMBUSTIBLE. But when their connection is challenged by the collision of past, present, and future, will they be snared by love…or circumstances?

•••••••

REVIEW: SNARED is the second installment in L.L.Collins contemporary, adult JADED REGRET romance series focusing on the members of the rock band Jaded Regret. This is drummer Beau Anderson, and social worker April Knight’s story line. SNARED can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story line is imparted where necessary.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Beau and April) SNARED follows the building relationship between April and Beau, and Beau’s destructive fall into the abyss. SNARED begins with a look back at Beau’s earlier years-his father’s suicide, his mother’s rejection of her only son, and the mental breakdown of a young boy who would have a difficult time forgetting about the past. Beau is a broken man whose mental and emotional health is a house of cards waiting to fall.

Throughout the story line the reader is up front and personal with Beau’s slow descent into hell. The voices in his head are a constant reminder that he is worthless and imperfect, and in this Beau’s pattern of self-degradation and low self-esteem is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg of psychological problems. But meeting April Knight finds our hero looking forward to a possible future until, once again, the proverbial rug is ripped from beneath his feet.

SNARED is an emotional story line filled with angst ridden inner turmoil and demons from the past. Beau is a man on the cusp of self-destruction, and it is only with the help of his band mates does our hero not implode on a daily basis. April’s introduction into his life keeps some of the demons at bay, but when the past, once again, begins to weave another path of destruction, Beau will be lost to an emotional and psychological fall out from where he may never return.

For those who take issue with story lines heavy on the angst, anxiety and despair, this story may not be for you. The hero’s constant negative outlook, his very low self esteem and inability to see any good in the world, and the turmoil about his past, is as depressing as the character’s mental health. Our hero has been destroyed; he is broken; and his mind is fractured in too many directions.

All of the previous story line characters (including the members of the band) play secondary and supporting roles. We are also introduced to April’s mother and father who know a thing or two about dark demons and emotional break downs.

The world building focuses on family dynamics, the foster care system, and mental health. Music and the band are secondary to Beau’s struggles with reality, and April’s battle to keep safe the man that she loves.

SNARED is a story about one man’s struggle with issues of mental health, emotional abuse, and the possible familial predisposition to pass on the affected genes. The premise is emotional, sensitive and gripping; the characters are heartbreaking and dramatic; the romance is impassioned and tortured.

Reviewed by Sandy

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Illusions of Death by Lauren Linwood-a review

Illusions of Death by Lauren Linwood-a review

Illusions of Death

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date March 2, 2016

Best-selling author Karlyn Campbell is ready for a new start after her recent divorce from a temperamental artist. When she receives word that her father had a stroke, she heads for Walton Springs with mixed feelings. Broderick Campbell wrote Pulitzer Prize-winning literary novels and denounced his daughter’s work as pedestrian and commercial, causing a rift that finally heals on his deathbed. Karlyn chooses to stay in the small Georgia town to write her popular Matt Collins series and decides to try her hand at true crime when Atlanta’s Rainbow Killer, Roy G. Biv, captures her interest.

Detective Logan Warner’s marriage didn’t survive after he lost his twins to a crazed killer who was never caught. He returns to his hometown’s police force and runs for police chief, happy he’s escaped big city crime and corruption. Emotionally dead, his interest in life is renewed when he falls in love with Karlyn and begins to build a new life with her.

But the Rainbow Killer moves beyond Atlanta, leaving a trail of dead bodies painted in bright hues in several towns north of the city. Leaving no trace evidence or DNA and choosing random victims with no apparent rhyme or reason, Roy proves unstoppable. Then he arrives in Walton Springs, threatening the peaceful town with his murder spree. With a serial killer in their back yard, Logan and Karlyn unite with the FBI to find the killer—before he finds them.

••••••

REVIEW: Illusions of Death is a new Mystery/Crime/Romance novel from one of my favorite authors, Lauren Linwood. This deliciously thrilling novel starts off with a serial killer just completing the last of a series of murders, giving chilling insight into the mind of this diabolical murderer. Thinking of these crimes as a particular genius in the spree of child abductions in Atlanta. These included, the kids of a fireman, a school superintendent’s daughter, a cop’s twins (important), and a mayor’s grandson. This latest spree of ‘specimens was a group of high-end prostitutes. While burying the latest victim, a new series of murders presented itself in the appearance of a rainbow. The next mission of murders would be done as the rainbow killer….murdering victims and painting them in the hues of a rainbow…a specific order.

It difficult to summarize this novel in a few paragraphs, as so much goes on. The set up begins with Logan Warner, a detective, who joined the Walton Spring department after leaving Atlanta. He’s divorced and often thinks of his twin children who were murdered a few years prior. He and his partner find Broderick Campbell, famous author having what looks like a stroke on the side of the road. The man having the stroke asked him to “call Karlyn”. He and his partner call for an ambulance and then go find the author’s wife, Martha, and let her know.

Karlyn Campbell, successful author of suspense novels featuring her character Matt Collins, has finished her last manuscript and delivered it to her agent. She’s told her novel and character may be in a movie deal, in which she is given a change at writing the screenplay with the help of a seasoned screenplay writer of her choice. She of course is happy, but it seems her marriage to Mario Taylor is on the rocks…in fact headed for a nasty divorce. She meets Logan when she comes to town to see her dying father in the hospital.

That’s the set-up, I don’t do spoilers but what I can tell you is that this begins a thrilling ride of murders, family drama, budding romance that has the possibility of healing our detective’s and writer’s broken hearts. This story is chock full of twists and happenings, great romance and so much more. It’s a page turner that is very difficult to put down.

Grab your favorite beverage and settle in for a magnificent read!

Copy supplied by the author

Reviewed by Georgianna S

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Bad Boy: An Indecent Proposal #3 by JC Reed and Jackie Steele-Review, Book Tour & Giveaway

BAD BOY: An Indecent Proposal #3 by JC Reed and Jackie Steele-Review, Book tour & Giveaway

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Bad Boy: An Indecent Proposal #3
by JC Reed and Jackie Steele
Release Date: February 23, 2016
Genre: adult,contemporary, romantic suspense

Bad Boy

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date February 23, 2016

I should have seen it coming. Sexy? Handsome? Trouble? Check, check, and check.
Is he messing up my life? Hell yes. All the signs are there: he is a bad boy.
Even his name is a lie. Too bad I married him. I can’t wait to get divorced.
Does this make me sound crazy?
I know I should avoid him, run as fast as I can. However, when a harmless misunderstanding lands me in a foreign prison cell, my dear, lying husband is the only one who can get me out. Crap. I shouldn’t accept.

But how to say no to trouble when said trouble is the one who makes me fantasize all the dirty things he could do to me?

•••••••••••

REVIEW: BAD BOY is the third installment in JC Reed and Jackie Steele’s contemporary, adult AN INDECENT PROPOSAL romantic, suspense series focusing on Chase Wright, and Lauren Hanson. Their continuing story finds Lauren on the run from a man she knows nothing about. BAD BOY should not be read as a stand alone as the events in BAD BOY are as a result of the events in the first two installments.

SOME BACKGROUND: The focus is on Lauren’s need for a ‘fiance’. According to her mother’s will, in order to gain access to a set of letters her mother bequeathed upon her death, Laurie must be in a committed relationship before her twenty third birthday. Enter-handsome and mysterious actor Chase Wright-who easily accepts all of the conditions set out by Miss Hanson. What ensues is a game where Laurie becomes a pawn in a messy financial deal where her step father controls all of the moves, and Chase is the man to take him down.

Told from first person point of view (Lauren) BAD BOY focuses on the lies, secrets and revelations behind Chase’s appearance in Lauren’s life. At the end of book two-THE AGREEMENT-Lauren discovered that everything she thought she knew about Chase was a lie. He is a man with an end game, and Lauren is a means to that end. Lauren is on the run from the only man she has ever loved, and with it comes the truth about Chase’s need to keep Laurie in his life. What ensues is a battle of wills that finds Laurie in some dangerous situations trusting a man she knows very little about.

BAD BOY: An Indecent Proposal slowly reveals Chase’s secrets; his need to keep hidden the truth; and the depths to which he will go to get revenge against the man who destroyed his family and his life. Lauren’s life continues to unravel and with it comes the heartbreaking truth about her mother’s life, her mother’s will, and the man her mother once loved.

The world building continues to focus on Lauren and Chase’s relationship but the focus turns upon Chase’s need for revenge and retaliation. The relationship between our leading couple struggled through most of the story line-Lauren could no longer trust the man she thought she once loved; and Chase placated to the woman who was a business arrangement that would become something more.

I did have a couple of issues with this story line: the quick conflict resolution that fast forwarded the story line fifteen months wherein we know few details about the who, what and why-all of the angst and anxiety is needless in the face of a blanket conclusion; and the appearance of Chase’s brother Kaiden –his role in the story felt more like a ‘red herring’ because there was never any resolution to his relationship with Lauren, and the secrets about his past.

BAD BOY is an entertaining story line but one that should not be read as a stand alone novel. The premise is intriguing; the characters are rebellious; the romance got lost in the story line conflict-sadly I felt the romance never got past a case of contractual duty.

Copy supplied by the author

Reviewed by Sandy

Bad Boy Teaser

Excerpt

Bad Boy Teaser 2

Author Links

Author J.C. REED
Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter

Author JACKIE STEELE
Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter

Giveaway

JC Reed is offering an ecopy of BAD BOY: An Indecent Proposal to TWO (2) lucky commenters at The Reading Cafe.

1. If you have not previously registered at The Reading Cafe, please register by using the log-in at the top of the page (side bar) or by using one of the social log-ins.

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4. Please follow JC Reed on Facebook.

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10. Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY

11. Giveaway runs until February 27 to March 2, 2016

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Fighting Dirty (Ultimate #4) by Lori Foster-a review

FIGHTING DIRTY (Ultimate #4) by Lori Foster-a review

Fighting Dirty

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About the book: Release Date February 23, 2016

He’s the hottest MMA fighter in the game, but one woman is ready to try out a few steamy moves of her own in an unforgettable new novel from New York Times bestselling author Lori Foster…

With the life he’s led and the muscles he’s gained, Armie Jacobson isn’t afraid of anything. Except maybe Merissa Colter’s effect on him. It’s not just that she’s his best friend’s little sister. Fact is, she deserves better. Women pursue him for one night of pleasure, and that’s all he wants to offer. Until rescuing Merissa from a robbery leads to the most erotic encounter of his life.

Good girl meets bad boy. It’s a story that rarely ends well. But Merissa is taking matters into her own hands. No matter how he views himself, the Armie she knows is brave, honorable and completely loyal. And as past demons and present-day danger collide, they’re both about to learn what’s truly worth fighting for…

•••••••••••••

REVIEW: FIGHTING DIRTY is the fourth installment in Lori Foster’s contemporary, adult ULTIMATE MMA, erotic romance series. This is MMA fighter Armie (Quick) Jacobson, and bank manager Merissa Colter’s storyline. FIGHTING DIRTY can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Several of the previous storyline couples and characters play secondary and supporting roles.

Told from several third person perspectives FIGHTING DIRTY follows the building relationship between Armie and Merissa. Merissa is Cannon’s younger sister-Cannon is technically Armie’s boss and best friend-and Merissa is considered off limits by Armie. When Merissa’s bank is robbed, and Merissa is assaulted by one of the robbers, Armie goes into alpha protective mode but fears Merissa’s presence in his home will destroy what little hold he has over his need for the woman he has loved most of his life.

FIGHTING DIRTY focuses on a series of ‘accidents’ in Merissa’s life that Armie blames on himself. If not for his dark and hidden past, Armie believes Merissa would be safe from harm. But Merissa’s past has decided to reclaim what he believes belongs to him, and Merissa becomes a target in a game of ‘winner take all’.

The relationship between Merissa and Armie is a forbidden romance, friends to lovers trope. Merissa and Armie have been dancing around one another for much of the series but Armie conintues to push Merissa away flaunting his bevy of women every chance he can get. As Cannon’s younger sister, Merissa is active with the other wives and girlfriends, and has followed Armie’s career since the very start. The assault during the robbery is the perfect opportunity for Merissa to push her way into Armie’s life. The $ex scenes are erotic, intense, provocative and fun.

The world building continues to focus on the fighters of the MMA: their lives, their loves, their need to protect and their introduction into the world of professional mixed marshal arts. We are witness to the training regimens, the underground gossip, and the matches that prove who is the ultimate fighting machine.

FIGHTING DIRTY has a little bit of everything: humor, fun, romance, love, sex, fighting and conflict. There are some heartbreaking moments when Armie’s past resurfaces, and the parallel lifestyle of a young boy whose own family life is about to implode.

Lori Foster takes the reader into the ring, behind the scenes, and onto the playing field of the fighters of the Ultimate MMA.

Copy supplied by the publisher through Netgalley.

reviewed by Sandy

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Fade Into You (Shaken Dirty #3) by Tracy Wolff-Review and Book Tour

FADE INTO YOU (Shaken Dirty #3) by Tracy Wolff-Review and Book Tour

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Fade Into You

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date February 15, 2016

She’s one addiction he can’t resist.

Wyatt Jennings has been called a lot of things by the media. Bad-boy rocker. Intense drummer. Addict.

Finally out of rehab and desperate for a fresh start, Wyatt rejoins his mega-platinum rock band Shaken Dirty as they prepare for their world tour. But Wyatt’s demons are never far behind, always nipping at his heels for one. More. Fix.

Enter Poppy Germaine, the band’s new social media consultant. A beautiful bombshell who somehow manages to get underneath Wyatt’s skin, Poppy’s an addiction Wyatt can get behind. And even though she’s with the label—and therefore off-limits—he craves her. Needs her.

Except Poppy isn’t actually a social media consultant. She’s the daughter of the label’s CEO, sent undercover to babysit Wyatt and keep him from falling off the wagon again. Proving herself to her father is Poppy’s only goal—until she finds herself in Wyatt’s bed. But if Wyatt discovers the truth, it could send him spiraling all over again

•••••••

REVIEW: FADE INTO YOU is the third installment in Tracy Wolff’s contemporary, adult, erotic Shaken Dirty romance series. The series focuses on the members of the rock group Shaken Dirty. This is record executive Poppy Germaine, and Shaken Dirty’s drummer Wyatt Jennings’s story line. FADE INTO YOU can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty.

Told from dual third person perspectives (Poppy and Wyatt) FADE INTO YOU looks at addiction, lies, and heartbreak as Wyatt Jennings discovers that rehab is only the start on his long road to recovery. Wyatt is an addict-alcohol and heroine are his drugs of choice-but a few hours out of rehab and Wyatt is struggling to stay clean and sober. Enter Poppy Germaine-an executive from the band’s label-but a woman working under the guise of a social media princess. What ensues is the building relationship between Poppy and Wyatt, and Wyatt’s battles with his demons, his past, and the members of the band.

Poppy is on assignment, and with it comes the responsibility of her father’s record label but Poppy is no newcomer to the music scene. As our heroine struggles with her attraction to Wyatt, she finds herself falling in love with a man who battles both internal and external demons.

The relationship between Poppy and Wyatt is one of insta-lust that begins within minutes of Poppy mistakenly making out, in a dark alley, with Wyatt Jennings. Poppy needs to overcome her crush on the band’s drummer to effectively take control of Wyatt’s sobriety but saying and doing are two different things when Wyatt’s need for Poppy is almost as strong as his addiction to alcohol and drugs. The $ex scenes are erotic and intense. There is no denying the intense heat of want and need but the insta-lust/love felt a little too rushed even for an insta-love story line.

The world building continues to look at the band’s infrastructure: their struggle to find a new bassist in light of Micah’s betrayal; Wyatt’s battle with staying clean and sober; and the band’s potential fall out with their recording label.

FADE INTO YOU is an emotional story line about one man’s fall from grace, and the demons he continues to battle from past through to the present. The premise is dramatic and intense; the characters are impassioned and real; the romance is a quick build to a happily ever after.

Series Reading Order and Previous Reviews
Crash Into Me
Drive Me Crazy
Fade Into You

Copy supplied by the publisher through Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

Fade Into You teaser

Excerpt

He was on fire. There was no other way to describe it, no other words to do justice to what she was seeing. What she was hearing. Wyatt was in the back right corner of the stage, but it was like he was the only one out there. Like there was a giant spotlight focused right on him while everyone else was just standing around in the dark.
Obviously, that wasn’t true. The whole band sounded amazing. Ryder’s vocals were right on, Jared’s guitar playing was phenomenal as usual, and Quinn was as close to perfect on the keyboards as a human could get. It was crazy.
More, it was like it had been two days since they’d played together instead of two months. That’s how well they blended together, how well their styles meshed. Sure, Li was a little off, just as she’d known he would be—he was good, but his skills weren’t up to their level and his style was too removed to work with what the others were throwing out. Plus, he wasn’t coming close to keeping up with the drum line Wyatt was laying down, which was a problem considering bass and drums worked hand in hand in most Shaken Dirty songs.
But then again, it wasn’t like keeping up with Wyatt was easy at the best of times. And now, when he was mounting a full-on assault on those drums? Even Jared and Quinn were struggling to stay with him and this was their music. He was their drummer.
But hell, she didn’t think any musician in the world could be on that stage tonight and be anything but overshadowed by what Wyatt was doing. His stick work was so fast, so precise, so fucking brilliant, she wouldn’t be surprised if his whole kit burst into flames right in front of him. There was a part of her that wondered how it hadn’t already.
Music was her life, and rock was the genre she was most passionate about. She could name every member of every halfway decent rock group in the world, could list off the best singers, best guitarists, best drummers and bassists and keyboardists to ever live, along with their best performances. And she would swear that at this moment, no drummer she’d ever heard—not Keith Moon, not Dave Grohl, not Josh Freese, not even Charlie Watts—could hold a candle to Wyatt Jennings. He’d always been amazing, had always been brilliant at making the drums the creative backbone of every Shaken Dirty song, but right now, in this club after two and a half months of rehab, stone-cold sober and wailing away on the tom-toms, he was the best she’d ever seen. The best she’d ever heard.
And she wasn’t just thinking that because it had only been an hour since he’d given her the two most intense orgasms of her life…
Which she still couldn’t believe she’d let happen.
Not with Wyatt.
Not when she had a job to do that so specifically revolved around him.
Not when she’d worked so hard and for so long to prove her father wrong…one slipup, one moment of giving in to the fire she worked so hard to keep tamped down, and she might have fucked it all up.

About The author

Tracy WolffTracy Wolff collects books, English degrees and lipsticks and has been known to forget where—and sometimes who—she is when immersed in a great novel. At six she wrote her first short story—something with a rainbow and a prince—and at seven she forayed into the wonderful world of girls lit with her first Judy Blume novel. By ten she’d read everything in the young adult and classics sections of her local bookstore, so in desperation her mom started her on romance novels. And from the first page of the first book, Tracy knew she’d found her life-long love. Now an English professor at her local community college, she writes romances that run the gamut from contemporary to paranormal to erotic suspense.

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The White Iris (The Harvester #3) by Susanne Matthews-a review

The White Iris (The Harvester #3) by Susanne Matthews-a review

The White Iris

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date February 8, 2016

Time’s running out for Special Agent Trevor Clark and his FBI task force. They’re no closer to uncovering the identity of the Prophet, a dangerous serial killer who has been murdering new mothers and vanishing with their infants. If Trevor can’t unlock the clues, the killer’s threats to unleash what the FBI suspects is biological warfare could mean death for all of them. His only recourse is to swallow his pride and reach out to his former fiancée, the CDC’s renowned virologist, Dr. Julie Swift.

Two years ago, Julie ended their engagement after Trevor abandoned her when she needed him most. Now, faced with the possibility of the greatest epidemic since the Spanish flu, she has to put her faith and her safety, as well as that of countless others, into the hands of a man she doesn’t trust. Can they set aside their differences to stop the Prophet, and in doing so, will they find the love they lost?

From the streets of Boston to the wilds of Alaska, this thrilling conclusion to the Harvester Series takes several turns you won’t see coming!

•••••••••

REVIEW: The White Iris is book three and the final episode in the Harvester Series. This is the story of Trevor and Julie, and the conclusion of the Harvester/Prophet and the cult he ruled. The starting setting is Boston, where Agent Trevor Clark is leading the task force trying to find the Harvester/Prophet before he can make good on his threat to bring plagues upon people until they return his people who were rescued.

The story travels to Atlanta, where Dr. E.J. Swift (Julie) is a virologist for the CDC. We also travel to the great states of Alaska and Nevada as this thrilling tale unfolds. Our characters are working against the clock to stop what the madman calls the Great Burning. This is believed to be a biological weapon he’ll release against the US, or maybe the world.

There are cameo and small appearances of former characters in the other books. Rob and Faye Hallister from the first book The White Carnation along with Jacob Andrews and Lilith Munroe from the last book The White Lily. Each book can stand alone, but enjoyment of the full story is better when read in order.
This story gives us the twisty and suspenseful ride to finding the Prophet/Harvester and stopping the virus that has been designed to kill millions of innocent people for the Great Burning.

As always, this is very well written by the talented author Susanne Matthews. She uses conflict between the hero and heroine to move the story along and entice you into trying to think of ways to keep them together. The twists are many and scary. The plot is so well done and thrilling up to the last page! The pace is fast, but also frustrating as the villains often escape.

This series has been a twisty and terrifying ride. Each book has added to the complete story and none lacked anything on its own.
Grab a glass of your favorite beverage and settle in for a great conclusion to a marvelous story. Enjoy everyone.

Reading Order and Previous Reviews
The White Carnation
The White Lily
The White Iris

Copy supplied by author

Reviewed by Georgianna

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Darkness Raging (Otherworld/Sisters of the Moon #18) by Yasmine Galenorn-Review & Giveaway

Darkness Raging (Otherworld / Sisters of the Moon #18) by Yasmine Galenorn-Review and Giveaway

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Darkness Raging
Otherworld / Sisters of the Moon #18
by Yasmine Galenorn
Genre: adult, contemporary, paranormal romance
Release Date: February 2, 2016

 

Darkness Raging

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We’re the D’Artigo sisters: savvy half-human, half-Fae ex-operatives for the Otherworld Intelligence Agency. My sister Camille is a wicked-good witch. Delilah is a two-faced werecat and a Death Maiden. And me? I’m Menolly, a vampire married to a gorgeous werepuma. As the war in Otherworld arrives, Blood Wyne, Queen of the Vampires, summons me. Apparently, my position as Roman’s consort entails more than I imagined…

As the Demon Lord Shadow Wing creates his own sinister version of the Keraastar Knights—the guardians of the spirit seals—to destroy the portals and free himself from the Sub Realms, his ally, the necromancer Telazhar, leads an assault from Otherworld into the streets of Seattle. And my sisters and I are caught dead center.

Then, on the eve of war, my wife, Nerissa, is captured. The enemy demands we surrender the rest of the spirit seals, or they are going to kill her. I will do anything to save her. Even if it means leading an army of vampires into the very depths of the Subterranean Realms.

••••••••••

REVIEW: Darkness Raging begins with all hell breaking loose with all kinds of rogue portals appearing and all kinds of beastly beings pouring through. Of course, Menolly and her sisters, along with their crew, are called in to help contain and destroy the beings and the portals themselves. As Shadow Wing seems to be stepping up his game with the help of his dangerous ally Telazhar, the unthinkable happens. Menolly’s wife, Nerissa, is kidnapped and taken down into the Subterranean Realms where she is held captive.

The sisters call in favors to aid them in their search and planned rescue for Nerissa. As the threat of war seems inevitable, they know that the party entering the Sub Realms may be futile, but they also know that they will lose Menolly to the dark side of her vampire nature if they don’t get Nerissa back. Decision made, Menolly and a surprise ally, along with a few others, head down to rescue Nerissa. Little did they know that what was about to transpire would change everything. The Spirit Seals come into play in a HUGE way and the tables are turned. The question is, are they turned in a good way or in a bad way?

FINALLY!!!!! Darkness Raging takes us back to what started this series in the beginning. The search for the Spirit Seals. The tides are turning for everyone in this series. And, I mean everyone. Major changes for Menolly happen in this installment. And, for Nerissa. With Camille set to become a Fae Queen and having to move out of the home she and her sisters have shared since coming Earthside, the sense of dread that they feel at being separated is palpable. I’ve kind of complained that I had no idea what Galenorn’s end game was with this series, but I think with this installment, it may have come into view. Awesome! Awesome! Awesome!!! Well done, Yasmine Galenorn!! Very well done.

Copy supplied by the publisher through Netgalley

Reviewed by Vickie

giveaway

In celebration of Yasmine Galenorn’s newest book DARKNESS RAGING (February 2nd, 2016) we’re giving away the following items in a fabulous Yasmine-themed giveaway:

ONE copy of Panther Prowling
ONE copy of Priestess Dreaming
ONE set of character art cards (9 cards total in one set)

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