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Wrecked by Dianna Love – a Review

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Wrecked by Dianna Love – a Review

 

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Description:
Hallene Clarke spends her time finding missing children for other people but now she faces the most dangerous hunt of her life – to rescue her sixteen-year-old half-sister. The girl has been kidnapped, but the ransom isn’t money. She’s being used as a pawn to ensure a deadly attack happens.

Samuel “Party Man” Leclair never found his place in life until being brought into the HAMR Brotherhood and put on the FALCA team. Now his future is in jeopardy after risking his life to help an unknown female operative, Hallene, during the op that failed to extract a kidnapped senator.

Hallene offers him a chance at redemption and will lead Sam to the kidnapper holding the senator if he’ll help her rescue her half-sister and keep his team out of this. This enemies-to-lovers romantic adventure is fraught with assassins, unexpected twists, wild action, and sizzling romance as Sam and Hallene discover the attack planned to strike the US is to force two superpowers into war.

This is a spinoff from the Slye Team Black Ops Romantic Action Adventure series where HAMR Brotherhood was introduced in Kiss The Enemy.

 

 

Review:

Wrecked by Dianna Love is the 1st book in her new HAMR Brotherhood Falca Team series. I was thrilled to find out that Dianna Love was bringing us a spin off of her fabulous Slye Temp series, as she is a master at romance suspense.  You can always be sure that Dianna will give us a thrilling story, filled with suspense, danger, action, excitement throughout.

We meet our heroine, Hallene Clarke, as she is in the midst of searching for her half-sister, who was kidnapped; her career is devoted to find missing children, and now this is close to home. Hellene is on site of where the kidnappers are hiding, and finds herself captured, but someone will rescue her.

Sam Leclair, a member of the HAMR Brotherhood/FALCA team, is also on site to rescue a kidnapped senator, and comes across Hallene, whom he rescues, but the bad men escape; Sam is injured and sent home to recuperate.  To his surprise, Hallene shows up and offers him a job, which will lead Sam to the kidnapper holding the senator, if he will help her rescue her half-sister, and not tell his team.

What follows is an exciting tense adventure with Hallene and Sam, as they were constantly in danger, with us holding our breaths often. I loved Hallene and Sam together, as slowly their attraction began to sizzle, with them trying to control their emotions.  The last half of the book was so exciting and suspenseful, that I could not put the book down.  I will not give spoilers, as there is so much happening non-stop, it would ruin it for you.  This is such a fantastic story, which you need to read from start to finish.       

Wrecked was a fantastic enemy to lover’s romantic adventure, filled with exciting action, suspense, surprises, and a sizzling couple in Sam and Hellene. The ending was a frantic race to the finish.  If you have not read anything by Dianna Love, you are missing a lot. Wrecked was so very well written by Love, and if you like romance, suspense, fantastic characters, great couples, bad villains, excitement, and fun, then you need to read this series.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy supplied for Review

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Wrecked by J.B. Salsbury-Review, Excerpt & Giveaway

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WRECKED by J.B. Salsbury-Review, Excerpt and Giveaway

 

WRECKED
by J. B. Salsbury
Release Date: July 18, 2017
Genre: adult, contemporary, romance

 

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

iBooks / Books-A-Million / Google Play /IndieBound

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date July 18, 2017

When you can’t trust yourself, how can you ask anyone else to?

It’s been months since Aden Colt left the Army, and still the memories haunt him. When he moved into a boat off the California coast, he thought he’d found the perfect place to escape life.

Then Sawyer shows up, and turns his simple life upside down.

Beautiful and sophisticated, she seems out of place in this laid back beach town. Something is pushing her to experience everything she can—including Aden. But as much as he wants her, starting a relationship with Sawyer puts them both at risk.

For Aden, the past doesn’t stay there; it shows up unexpectedly, uncontrollably, and doesn’t care whose life it wrecks.

••••••••••

REVIEW: WRECKED by J.B. Salsbury is a stand alone, contemporary adult, romance story line focusing on twenty four year old Sawyer Forrester , and former US soldier /fisherman Aden Colt.

Told from dual first person points of view (Sawyer and Aden) WRECKED focuses on the building relationship between Sawyer Forrester and Aden Colt. Sawyer’s twin sister Celia is dying-a brain tumor is destroying her life-and she asks one thing of her sister before she dies. Sawyer must return to Celia’s home in San Diego to box up her life but in doing so must pretend to be Celia so as not to worry her neighbors and friends. Enter Aden Colt, the property’s new landlord, and the man with whom Sawyer will fall in love. What ensues is the building love between Sawyer and Aden, and Sawyer’s struggle to keep secret her sister’s dying wish in the face of too many secrets and lies.

WRECKED is a story of secrets, lies, heartbreak and betrayal. Pretending to be her sister Celia, Sawyer finds herself struggling with the truth, and falling in love with a man who believes she is someone else, goes against everything Sawyer believes and observes. Sawyer is the quiet, uptight twin; the one who is afraid to try something new, and lying about her true identity is a struggle for our story line heroine. Aden Colt is a broken man; a soldier who lost everything on his last deployment overseas, and in the ensuing months battles the demons that continue to destroy his mind. Meeting Sawyer (aka Celia) finds our hero accepting what was and what will never be but his PTSD, inability to trust, and growing anxiety threaten his relationship with the woman with whom he is falling in love- a relationship with an end date as Sawyer prepares to pack up and move back home. The $ex scenes are intimate and seductive without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

We are introduced to Sawyer’s twin sister Celia, their parents Tom and Darlene Forrester, Colt’s uncle Calvin Hurtado, and neighbor/ Vietnam war veteran Jenkins, as well as an assortment of friends and acquaintances of Celia Forrester.

WRECKED is an emotional and heartbreaking story line about one woman’s struggle to step out of her comfort zone as she embarks on her sister’s journey one last time, and one’s man battle with the ghosts from the past. The premise is energetic and moving; the characters are colorful, tragic and animated; the romance is fated and passionate. WRECKED is an intense and tearful story from the pen of author JB Salsbury.

Copy supplied by publisher

Reviewed by Sandy

 

 

excerpt

NOTE: Excerpt intended for mature readers due to content and language

 

Oh no, fuck no!
I thought he was kidding. I should’ve known better. Aden’s intentions with me since I stupidly boarded this boat have been my torment for his enjoyment. He loved watching me squirm over the bait tank and when I proved I wouldn’t shy away from a challenge, he pulled out the big guns. From his flirty smiles to his teasing touches, he’s discovered my weaknesses and is exploiting them for his own entertainment.
Now this? Raw fish probably still warm from fighting for its life.
And now I’m God knows how many feet above water sitting on a two-seater bench held up by rusty ladders and staring down a piece of glistening pink meat.
“You have to eat it, it’s a rite of passage.” He offers the meat to my lips and I quickly turn my face away.
“I’m really not hungry.” As if the idea isn’t enough to turn my stomach, watching him clean the fish before sectioning off enough for lunch wasn’t much of an appetite builder.
“Of course you are.” He brings the piece to his own mouth and takes a bite, closing his eyes with a moan as he chews.
I feel a rush of bile hit my throat, or maybe it’s beer, either way it’s warm and it burns. “That’s disgusting.”
“You’re telling me you don’t like sushi?”
My eyes widen. Sawyer would say she’s never had sushi. But Celia’s a different story. She ate a live cricket in the eighth grade on a dare. She didn’t even flinch. “I like sushi, just not directly from the…um…source.”
“Doesn’t get fresher than this.” He takes another bite and I can’t deny that his response to eating it does give it some appeal.
“I think I need soy sauce or that green stuff.” What’s it called?
“Just try it.”
“I really don’t want to.”
“Oh come on.” He smiles in that cute crooked way that makes my heart dip and dive. “Live a little.”
I chew the inside of my mouth debating the cost/benefit of taking a bite of this fresh-out-of-the-ocean fish. On one hand, I’ll impress Aden. That in and of itself is worth the ick factor. But what if I throw up all over his boat? Is the chance of impressing him worth totally humiliating myself? I groan when I realize what I’m doing, exactly what I swore I wouldn’t do. I’m making an internal pros and cons list. I close my eyes and steel my resolve and my spine. Don’t think, just decide. I pop open my eyes followed by my mouth.
“Yeah?” He stares at my parted lips.
I nod, hoping he’ll hurry before I change my mind.
Lifting the rose-colored flesh forward, he places it between my teeth. It’s a small bite so I close my lips around his fingers expecting him to pull away…but he doesn’t. For a moment I’m suspended in his gaze, totally stuck while his hot fingers rest between my lips. This should be grossing me out; after all, I watched him gut this fish with his bare hands and to wash off all the blood he merely dipped them into the ocean. But all the thoughts of raw fish and a stranger’s finger do nothing to stave off the warmth blooming in my belly. My tongue pulls the meat deeper into my mouth, brushing against the rough pad of his forefinger. He bites his lip but finally drops his hand.
He watches intently while I chew and swallow.
“How was it?” His voice is low and gruff.
Lost in the heated moment, I barely tasted it. “Good.”
His hand cups the back of my head and he pulls me toward him, stopping just short of our lips touching. “I can’t fucking take this anymore.” His breath is sawing in and out, bursting against my mouth with impatience. “Let me.” It’s a demand, not a question.
A kiss. I don’t need to channel Celia or flip a coin…I know what I want.
I lick my lips and close the slight distance between us. 


 

About The Author Black and Red

Follow: Goodreads / Website /Facebook / Twitter /Instagram

JB SalsburyJ.B. Salsbury is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. She lives in Phoenix, Arizona with her husband and two kids.

Her love of good storytelling led her to earn a degree in Media Communications. With her journalistic background, writing has always been at the forefront, and her love of romance propelled her career as an author.

She spends the majority of her day behind the computer where a world of battling alphas, budding romance, and impossible obstacles claws away at her subconscious and begs to be released to the page.

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Wrecked / Rescued (Wrecked 1 & 2) by Priscilla West-a review

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Wrecked / Rescued (Wrecked 1 & 2) by Priscilla West-reviews

Wrecked Series
WRECKED (Wrecked #1)
by Priscilla West
Wrecked #1
Release Date: December 2013
Genre: New Adult, contemporary, MMA,
Wrecked

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/ Barnes and Noble /

ABOUT THE BOOK:

“There would be no happy ending for us. He was too damaged. I was too broken.”

Two years ago, Lorrie’s mother was murdered. But that wasn’t the end of it. Reeling from the tragedy, Lorrie’s father spiraled into alcohol, depression, and finally suicide.

The two most important people in Lorrie’s life are both gone but she’s still alive.

Trying to recover from the tragedy, Lorrie returns to campus, ready to pick up the pieces of her life. All Lorrie wants is to get back to “normal.”

Then she meets Hunter. The man, the legend, “the Hammer.”

Hunter is a cage fighter who takes on every fight like he’s got nothing to lose. His life is a tangled mess of girls, booze, and fist fights. And while it may seem like he’s got a devil-may-care attitude, he’s fighting a private cage-match with a monster he can’t defeat.

Lorrie knows that Hunter is the exact type of guy she should stay away from, especially in her fragile state, but Hunter has other ideas.

As Hunter and Lorrie grow closer together, will they be able to overcome their pain and heal each other? Or will they both end up wrecked

••••••••••••••••••••••

REVIEW: WRECKED is the first storyline in Priscilla West’s contemporary, new adult duology Wrecked series focusing on MMA fighter Hunter Jensen and Lorrie Burnham-the woman who has stolen his heart. Both of our leading characters are haunted by their own pasts; mired in the muck that continues to pull them down; and in the end, their demons will rear up and kill any chance of forgiveness and love. This is not a story with a happily ever after-this instalment will leave you reeling and wondering where it had all gone wrong.

Lorrie has recently returned to college following a leave of absence due in part to the death of her parents-two deaths that have affected her life in more ways than the perceived obvious-her mother was murdered by her step father and her father, who still loved her mother, killed himself after leaving a note asking for his daughter’s forgiveness. Lorrie had to endure eighteen months of lawyers, court cases, television cameras and her own grief only to return to campus where she will become the fodder for gossip and innuendo. Meeting Hunter Jensen was something Lorrie had never expected. Hoping to keep their relationship at the friendship level only-Lorrie pushes Hunter away at every opportunity only to watch him go from woman to woman when she refuses to acknowledge her feelings and emotions.

This is a story about two people whose lives are snowballing out of control. Lorrie refused to admit she was falling for Hunter and at every opportunity she would purposely push him away only to realize that in the end it was too late.

Much of the storyline follows the emotionally draining back and forth of a growing relationship that was destined to end in tragedy and disaster. And Hunter’s big secret-well, it will become the last brick in a wall that has been slowly building since the beginning of their friendship-a wall of secrets that will find our couple spiraling out of control and lost.

Priscilla West has written a storyline that is gritty, emotional and painfully heartbreaking. It is also a story that is predictable as are many of the new adult storylines. The impassioned need of one man for the woman who has captured him heart and soul is tempered only by the demons and truth he refused to admit.

Copy supplied by the author through Netgalley.

Reviewed by Sandy

________________________________________

RESCUED
Wrecked #2
by Priscilla West
Release Date: February 24, 2014
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary

Rescued

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

“There would be no happy ending for us. He was too damaged. I was too broken.”

“Wrecked” should be read before this book.

Lorrie’s semester started off hopeful but ended in disaster. Now, she’s even more lost and confused than she was at the beginning of the year. As Lorrie flees to the only family she has left, she has to come to terms with how things ended with Hunter.

Hunter has fought for so long to keep the truth from Lorrie in an effort to protect her, but that has only caused more heartache and pain.

Realizing his mistake, Hunter has made a vow to get Lorrie back, but is it too late?

Will Hunter be able to overcome his own demons and help Lorrie through her pain, or are they destined to keep hurting each other?

••••••••••••••••••••

REVIEW: RESCUED is the second instalment in Priscilla West’s new adult, contemporary, romance series focusing on art student Lorrie Burnham and MMA fighter Hunter Jensen. At the end of WRECKED Lorrie ran, after receiving a letter from the man who destroyed her life, leaving Hunter alone to deal with a medical crisis that will affect both of their lives.

The storyline follows Hunter and Lorrie as they try to come to terms with Hunter’s disease and how it will affect their future-both his and as a couple. While Lorrie continues to battle her demons, Hunter is in a battle for his life. Not only does he have to deal with his illness but he must be strong for the woman who has stolen his heart.

Part of the story focuses on Lorrie and her inability to deal with what has happened to parents. When the person responsible wants to meet face to face, Lorrie is convinced she will find the answers to all of her problems but in reality, there will probably be no closure for a young woman dealing with so much hurt and anger. In this, Lorrie is an emotional wreck and does not handle her demons well. She is a difficult character to like knowing that the man that she loves will suffer until the end of his days.

RESCUED is a story about two people who must focus on the present when the past is determined to pull them under. Priscilla West has written another heartbreaking storyline of betrayal and startling realizations; a dramatic look at a young couple who have suffered more in their lives than most people in a lifetime; and of a building relationship where an intense love for one another is hindered by a future with a promise of the unknown.

Copy supplied by the author.

Reviewed by Sandy

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Wrecked by Shiloh Walker-a review

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WRECKED by Shiloh Walker-a review

Wrecked

Amazon / Barnes and Noble / The Book Depository

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release April 2, 2013

In the nineties, Abigale Applegate and Zach Barnes were the most beloved sitcom child stars in the world. Then they grew up and left Hollywood behind…

Whatever happened to Abigale Applegate?

She’s been wondering the same thing.

With her Hollywood dreams long gone, Abigale now has a nice, neat, uncomplicated life—until the day her perfect fiancé needs to talk. Dumped, a little more than shattered, and totally confused, Abigale turns to Zach, her best friend since forever, to help her pick up the pieces. He does it with a gift—a copy of Wreck This Journal. She can vent her frustrations, and sketch out a new plan. Zach just hopes he’s part of it. Because he’s been in love with Abigale his entire life.

When the journal falls into Zach’s hands, he discovers Abigale wants a new man. And fast. Nothing more than a hot distraction. Zach has a strategy, too. He’s going to be that man. It’s his last chance. Abigale might be out to shake up her life, but Zach’s out to reinvent it. Now, all he has to do is convince Abigale that life can go as planned

*********************

REVIEW: Wrecked is a storyline about two friends-Abigale and Zach-who have known each other-forever. Brought together as child stars headlining the sitcom KATE and NATE Abigale and Zach each left the Hollywood lifestyle behind when the show was cancelled. Zach went on to do bit parts but finally went back to school and pursued a successful career as a tattoo artist. Abigale filed for emancipation from her overbearing, money-hungry mother at seventeen and fled.

Abigale is one of those people who made lists- a bucket list-of sorts where she would list what she wanted to accomplish before she reached the age of thirty-marriage, children, love: and Abby thought she found the perfect man until the day he revealed he wanted KATE-the star-and not Abby-the caterer.

Throughout the story, Shiloh reveals a lifelong friendship that developed between Zach and Abby-a friendship that was more for Zach. And like many storylines, Abby was oblivious to Zach’s feelings. Zach was always there for Abby and when her fiancé dropped the bomb, Zach was there to pick up the pieces. He offered Abby a personal journal to write about her feelings, her needs and, her wants-Wreck This Journal-and Zach soon discovered that Abby wanted a torrid affair. Zach was going to make sure-he-was part of that affair.

The storyline is about two people who love each other and the realization that there is more. Everyone knows that Zach has loved and has been in love with Abby since they were children but Abby has worn ‘virtual blinders’ to Zach’s affections and feelings. Not wanting to push Abby away Zach has waited on the sidelines –forever-hoping one day that Abby would open her eyes and see the man who will promise her the world.

The secondary characters are colorful and in many ways an integral part of the storyline. From Abby’a overbearing and controlling mother to Zach’s extended family of loving brothers and co-workers at ‘Steel Ink’. There are several potential future storylines, especially as it concerns Zach’s brother and I hope Shiloh has many ideas flowing through her pen.

WRECKED is a wonderful, sometimes heartbreaking, head-nodding look at two people who belong together and the eye opening realization that everything you have always wanted may be sitting next to you, watching the late night movie, sharing tears and buttered popcorn. Congratulations to Shiloh Walker and WRECKED.

Copy supplied by Berkley/NAL through Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

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