The Chase by Elle Kennedy

College/New Adult romance may very well be my favorite genre. That being said, I like to think I know a good NA author when I read one. Elle Kennedy is in my eyes one of the best out there. I feel like I say this a lot when I post but she is definitely one of my favorite authors. There's enough love to go around! Her Off-Campus series is one of my go-to rereads. She has a knack for making you feel. Love, laughter, light, happiness, and humor are all woven into her writing. She manages to do all that and put a serious undertone in all her books. She even addresses serious issues that need more spotlight. Any writer that does that will always have a spot on my bookshelves. I love that so much.
The Chase had me from hello. The blurb pulled me in and held my mind captive. I read it and thought to myself "I have to have it!". At first I fought to look for something else. I need to find more authors to read and branch out a little. So I spent 30 minutes reading though blurb after blurb trying to find something, ANYTHING that sounded as good. My mind was stuck though. I had already decided what I wanted. After a hefty sigh of defeat I went back and bought The Chase. Let me tell you, I tore into this title with such vigor that had it been a paper copy I would have seriously risked damaging the pages in my excitement. I felt like a kid in a candy store. The blurb promised everything I love in a good book. And I'll tell you right now, IT DELIVERED.
It had a tattoo covered dreamy hunk of man meat.
It had the "opposites attract" thing going for it that I love.
It had a good love triangle moment.
It was so hot the pages sizzled.
PLUS I'm adding bonus points for the brothers friend angle.
It. Had. EVERYTHING.
The Chase was everything!
She even took it deep in some places addressing sexual assault in universities, stereotyping, and learning disabilities through her characters. She showcased that not all football players are dumb jocks and not all pretty girls are self centered "fluff". Things everybody should already know but the world can always use a reminder of. "You are not stupid you just learn differently" hit me right in the feels. SO many people need to understand that learning disabilities do not make a person stupid. Don't get me wrong the book was funny and lighthearted but she still managed to get her more serious points across.
The actual story itself was great. The characters were people you would want as friends. The love story was something you'd want for yourself. Summer and Fitz had chemistry that jumped off of the pages. I fell in love with them as they fell in love with each other. I would 110% recommend this book to any one of my friends. It earned its 4.5/5 out of 5 Stars. I would have given it a 5/5 but it just wasn't one of those book I couldn't put down. It was good. It was great! But when it came down to it, I could put it down. That's the only reason it didn't get 5 Stars.

Happy Reading! The link to buy The Chase is posted below.



https://www.amazon.com/Chase-Briar-Book-Elle-Kennedy-ebook/dp/B07G6M9HDV

Wicked Wish by Sawyer Bennett

Several years ago I got on this very blog to give a rave review of a book titled Wicked Lust by Sawyer Bennett. Since then, I've embarked on an amazing journey reading all of the Sawyer Bennett books I can get my hands on. All of them excluding this spin off series, The Wicked Horse Vegas. Not because I didn't want to read them. Mostly, because I'm a giant nerd and wanted to save them for myself. I figured I would save WHV and read it when I was in a bit of a book slump. Well, here I am several years later after I finally remembered I was saving this for later.
Now...I read the first book Wicked Favor a few days ago and thought "OK OK I could potentially get into this but mmmm". My first worry was that while I did love Wicked Favor I just didn't think it was as good as the original Wicked Horse books. I think that stemmed from me not enjoying the characters as much. While I liked Jerico and Trista, (to an extent) I felt that their personalities were almost immature? My second issue was that I feel most of the conflict in the book could have been avoided had they just been open with eachother. That was a major face-palm for me. Like, be adults and practice being honest and open. That's most likely where I felt the immaturity, if I'm being honest. However, I loved the rest of the book and its characters. If I were reviewing it I would still give it a solid 3.8 Stars. Not that it matters because we're here to discuss a completely different book. I'm getting distracted and off topic OOPS. Back to my original thought which was...I read Wicked Favor and was worried that this series wasn't going to end up being as good as the original. I almost didn't continue reading because I didn't want to ruin one of my favored authors for myself. However, I bought Wicked Wish after reading the blurb regardless of my concerns. Let the record reflect that I am a sucker for a "brothers best friend" romance. I honestly can't pass one up. After purchasing my ebook, I let it sit for a few days. Then today at around five PM I sunk into my couch and became immersed in the sinful, sultry world of the Wicked Horse: Vegas.

From the minute I opened my Kindle app I was consumed. Sawyer Bennett killed it with this one. When Jorinda Pearce is invited to The Wicked Horse by a good friend for a masquerade party she can't say no. And why would she want to? After finding out about her husband cheating on her I think she probably adapted the thought "To get over one man, get under another".  They arrive to discover that someone is demonstrating a new sex toy. A sexy someone. He invites Jorie up to play. Little to her knowledge thanks to his black leather mask, that sexy someone is her brothers best friend Walsh. They get into it and after its already too late he recognizes Jorie. After he reveals himself to her and tells her that can never happen again she decides it wasn't enough and she wants more of what Walsh has to offer. Honestly, who wouldn't? The way he's described I even want more. After that she decides to seduce him. I'll leave the rest for you to read. 100% this storyline is obviously a favorite of mine. That is part of the reason I loved this book so much. Jorie is probably one of my top 5  Favorite Sawyer Characters and that helps too. Walsh I like. And he is sexy as sin. But he's the whole reason I'm giving this book a 4 and not a 5. 

Not because I didn't like his character. That's not it at all. It's something his character did. And if/when you read this book there's very good chance you'll know exactly what I'm talking about the minute it happens. There are two big reasons why it bothered me to the extent that I'm taking a star away from this title. Without giving it totally away, the first reason I'm bothered is because I would be genuinely disgusted and embarrassed in that situation. The second reason I am docking a star is because CONSENT CONSENT CONSENT. I understand that being in a sex club there are a lot of things people are OK with or into. However! Being in a sex club does NOT excuse not getting express verbal consent from a partner to take pictures, videos, voice recordings, or anything of that nature. Obviously, security cameras may be in the club and members may have to sign a consent form for that. That doesn't mean someone doesn't have to get consent to take personal pictures or whatnot. For that very reason I give Wicked Wish 4 Stars. I do however highly recommend it, especially to all my kinky friends out there. When they say mature audience only, they definitely weren't playing. Happy reading!

The San Francisco Sullivan's series by Bella Andre

Have you ever gone into a book series expecting it to be "Meh OK" then gotten so sucked into the story, the characters, and the all around charm that you couldn't stop reading? That's exactly what happened to me with Bella Andres San Francisco Sullivan's. I kid you not, I read one book after the other. Kind of like when you're watching a movie and you're absent mindedly eating popcorn one fist-full after the next and then you look down and you're popcorn is gone and you have no clue how it happened. Sound familiar? No? Ok, so maybe that's just me but that's exactly like my experience with this series. I swear, I was going to review this series one book at a time but I couldn't find a good place to stop reading in between these books to sit down and write a review...or clean...or cook for myself...or get out of my pajamas...or even get out of my house! That was not fun to explain to my friends when asked why I didn't make it out with them this weekend. Apparently "I was reading" is not a good excuse.
I was in a book-coma. There is no coming out of a book-coma until you finish the series that put you there. Bella Andre writes one hell of a series and it's sure to put you in the exact same predicament.
This was my first Bella Andre book/series and I don't know why I was so surprised but I have a theory that it's because when I read sibling series, I notice a steady decline in the quality of the books. The last one is never as good as the first and the ones in between normally gradually take little steps down. Especially in longer series with 8 or 9 books in them. Few authors for me have been able to pull it off and do it well. One of those authors is Susan Mallery, another would be Linda Lael Miller, and a few others but now I can add Bella Andre to my list. Happily. I can't wait to dig into the Seattle Sullivan's series.
I think the worst part of this for me is I've had the books for well over a month and I kept passing them up because, as I've said, I half expected them to be "Meh OK". Take my advise please, and do not pass these books up! Everything about this series screams charm and sensuality, and it drips with romance and sweetness. Every character lives up to your hopes and more, and every book is as good as the last. In fact, I believe every book gets BETTER than the last and I didn't think that was possible. I will definitely be reading more of her books. I'm addicted now.


This series gets a 5/5. Hands down.

WELL DONE BELLA ANDRE! ❤

Alphas Challenge by Lauren Dane

Have you ever been really excited to read a series so you start your book right away, get halfway through, then realize it's not the first book to the series? I have! Actually, I do it all the damn time and this series is no exception. But I have to say I'm not all that broken up about it because this particular series is like a bunch of stand-alone books that kind of fit into eachother but have their own story-lines. I'm finding that I really like it! I've read books like this before but not out of order like this so I didn't realize how much easier it makes it to kind of read these stories at your own pace instead of one after the other. Kudos to Lauren Dane for choosing this approach for this series. It certainly made it easy for me to jump right in with Alphas Challenge.
As I first started reading Alphas Challenge I had an idea of what to expect but in all reality it's not what I got so I must say this is a pleasant surprise for me because I was expecting just your run of the mill, slightly interesting but sort of sloppy C rate paranormal romance. Which, in all honesty I get a hankering to read sometimes. I would not however, rate this book a C by any means. There were parts of this book that caught my interest for sure.One, the Tri-Bond ritual. Now...basically what the essence of the Tri-Bond is summed up to is that when a wolf finds their life-mate they have to create a Tri-Bond with another male wolf so that if something happens to the life-bonded male his female counterpart can draw on the strength of the Tri-Bonded male to survive. Show of hands, how many think this is sexiest??? That's a shame. I think it's just plain sexy. Not having just one, but two strong sexy hunks to draw strength from? Sign me up please! Two? The strength of the life-bond is just...wow. Like you meet a guy and ten minutes later you have to do the do?I'm unsure of how I felt about this. But hey it made for interesting reading material. Three? The actual storyline of this book was so good. Evil brother, evil drug, lots of evil that had to be taken care of. I fully enjoyed it.
There were some downsides to the book. It was too short, and I looked at some of the other books in the series...they just get shorter. This is disappointing to me because I feel like these books can be better developed and easier to fully understand if they were longer. Not only that but the charaters were hard to relate to. And I was hoping to see more of the male charater that Cade and Grace Tri-Bonded with.
I will however be reading more of the Cascadia Wolves series.
Rate: 3.5 Stars

Her Web Master by Normandie Alleman

So. Ummm...yeah. I think we all know why I first expressed interest in this book. Would you just look at that cover??? Hard body with pecks like that? Mhmmmm. What woman with a pulse and a fully functional libido says no to that??? To say the least it's a sexy as hell cover and well...sex sells. This book was raw, somewhat strange at times, and also kind of scary. You know how a train wreck happens and it's horrible but you can't look away? That sums this book up pretty well.
Not that the book was horrible. It just wasn't for me.
It was filthy.
It was erotic for sure.
It was interesting. In a morbid kind of way.
To say the least it had my attention. I should state that before I even received this book I read the warning. Oh, yeah. The warning. "Warning: If you’re not a fan of dirty talk or dominant alpha males, “Her Web Master” may not be for you, but if you're looking for a filthy online boyfriend who will make your toes curl, meet Sophie’s mysterious Dom. ***If name-calling is not your thing or if you dislike graphic language, please do not review this book.***" The book comes with a friggin warning guys. So I did read the warning and I still picked up the book. Because honestly a book with a warning is bound to be more interesting right? Also because 1. I am a fan of dirty talk 2. I happen to like dominant alpha males and 3. I have never been bothered by name calling. None of these things normally bother me. I will say the name calling was more excessive than I expected. Normally, I'm a rather open minded person and someone calling a woman his filthy little slut or something like that whilst they bump ugliest is...whatever. Not a total turn on for me but not a turn OFF either. In this case though it bothered me some because it was SO excessive and not well done. It did seem more degrading than most books I have read, but if degradation is your thing you might like it. Go for it! I don't judge. Just the amount of it bothered me. It wasn't a simple name here or there. It was like a whole lot all at once and seemed poorly done. It was almost tacky the way it was executed. Quentin, the male lead seemed kind of like an ass but I seem to be really attracted to those so that never bothers me and he really did have some sweet moments so that softens me towards him a bit. The lead female character Sophie was not a character I liked. There is a fine line between submissive and doormat. Don't be a doormat. Her husband Spencer cheated on her for two years of their marriage and she just took it??? You either get the hell out or you get even, unless circumstances don't allow. That's just one persons opinion but I've always been more a fan of strong female leads that don't take shit from no man. If you give your life to a man just to have him throw it away so he can have sex with random chicks....I don't see why you should stay and if there is some reason you have to, I don't see why you should be faithful (unless the circumstances could be dangerous for you, which is not the case here). Then he tells you he wants a divorce over text and you let him get away with that? Hell no. Ignore the text then bake him a cake. With enough viagra in it for fifty men. The treatment for an erection lasting longer than four hours isn't pleasant for a man.
But her and Quentin seem good for eachother in a fucked up kind of way.
Be warned though that when I said this book is raw I meant it. This book is not for the faint of heart and it even put me off a bit and I can read Den of Vipers and Maya Banks books and not blink. This book is more than a little spanking so don't pick it up if you're not looking for any more than that or if you think it's like Fifty Shades. Probably would have seemed less meh had it been well written.
My overall rating is 2 Stars, because even though most of it was weird and confusing it was still funny, and kept me on my toes. I would only recommend this book to people really into BDSM. Also, remember the warning.
An advanced readers copy was provided to me by the publishers in exchange for a honest review. This has in no was effected my rating on this book or the overall review.

Isbella by Patricia M. Jackson

When I first started this book I thought for sure I was going to hate it. Not because of what you might think. The first peak at the story intrigues you and pulls you into the book. But because about 20 pages in there was one scene that really disturbed me. And in this scene Chad did not call the cops. When someone is about to do what these men were going to do to this young lady...you call the friggen cops. I understand that in this particular part of the story Chad is just 16 years old. Guess what? 16 is old enough to call the cops when you see something you know is wrong. Even if they didn't go through with it or whatever the case may be...one report to the cops can change everything. Not only that but even if charges aren't brought on these persons of interest...having them dragged away in handcuffs or even taken in for questioning in a case like that creates an awareness for women even if these men were to not have been convicted. Moral of that speal? He should have called the cops.
The other problem that I had with the book was how hard it was to keep track of how much time had passed throughout the story. I think it would have had more impact with me if I had known the time frame along with the other details of the story. And sometimes it was hard for me to distinguish what characters view I was reading through because it wasn't labeled like most other duel POV titles I have read in the past.
Aside from those small things the story itself was really enjoyable. Chad was actually a very humourous, feeling, and charming character. I love that he had red hair. All the romance books these days have the females with red hair, but never a man. He really stood out to me among the other characters. Izzy was a compassionate, loyal,and giving character herself and she was awesome in understanding Chads disability. Dyslexia is a horrible thing for people to have to go through and because reading is such a big part of my life when I heard about or read about someone that can't read it makes me want to cry. And sometimes I do. Even if it is just a book character. Because even though it's a book character...somebody somewhere is going through that. Somebody somewhere is struggling to get by because they can't read what things are in the grocery store or they can't read well enough to graduate college...or even high school. Look me in the eye (or screen I guess) and tell me that isn't heartbreaking. The point I'm making is that this book made me feel. This book might not have been something I would necessarily read again or something I was completely taken with but the way the book made me feel made up for it. I think I'm going to go back and read the first book in the series because from the flashes of that book that I got in Isabella I think I may enjoy it.

4 Stars

Built by Jay Crownover

Jay Crownover is by far one of my favorite authors to date. Her books are edgy, sexy, relatable, and fun to read. They keep you interested and keep you wanting more, time and time again. Not only that but when I first read Rule from her Marked Men series I thought for sure that it was going to be one of those series where the first book was the best one, and no book by her after that would measure up to Rule. We've all been there, right? I call it first book syndrome. This was not the case at all. Every book in the Marked Men series is just as good as the first. Not only that but some of them are even better. So as you could imagine when she announced the Saints of Denver series would hit the shelves about a year ago I was so elated I was practically vibrating with excitement. This was just what I needed. Exactly what I'd been waiting for. Then I read the most resent books of the Marked Men series, met Sayer Cole, and got a brief glimpse of Zeb Fuller before Built came out. I was beyond excited, already half in love with these characters, and even more pumped for the series. I finally got the chance to buy the book this weekend and I finished it by the end of the night. I think the fact that I read it in less than 12 hours says kind of a lot, don't you?
While I love Jay and her books I went into Built with a clear mind and I would like to just say that I don't judge books written by my favorite authors any easier or give unfair advantages just because I enjoy their writing in other books and series. If anything I may judge a little harsher because I know what they are capable of. I don't settle for less when I know they're capable of more.
The book was everything I had hoped it would be and more. Zeb was the exact kind of man I had imagined him to be. Sayer came out of her shell, blossomed into herself, and embraced her life with all she has. She went from meek and shy to something more and bolder. Still a version of the shy sad girl we came to love at the end of the Marked Men series. Just better. You understand the depth of her character far more. But it was more than just that. More characters were introduced that I can't wait to learn more about, things took a turn that I didn't expect, and Zeb and Sayer were explosive together. They brought out the best in eachother and discovered so much. I love when I can feel the chemistry between the characters and watching it getting stronger and blooming into something less sex focused and more love based...is what takes Built from your average "I'll read this in my free time because it's sexy and I'm bored" type of book to something more "I would live and die for these characters and who really needs sleep anyways I can't stop reading now" kind of book. I love a good plot twist and I love that Jay uses both the male and female protagonist POV in all her books. Being inside both characters heads takes all of her books to the next level. It really worked for Zeb and Sayer because they both keep a lot to themselves and process a lot internally. I feel like without being in both of their heads a lot of the story would be missing. I just wish we got to know Hyde more than what we did. It would have been nice to know more about this child that seemed so big a part of the story but had a much smaller part than deserved. In all I can't wait to read more of this series. It's captivating and addictive.
The next book, Leveled is much anticipated. This was a 4.5 Star read for me!

Secret Pleasures by Lora Leigh

Lora Leigh is so much more than just a writer. The way she weaves her stories and captures her readers hearts makes her so much better than that. She is a true author. To me that means so much more than what it sounds like. In my opinion a true author is someone that cares about what she (or he) is writing. Someone that puts their heart and soul into the words that they put down on a page. It's someone that makes people laugh and cry and jump for joy. Someone that makes people ache to the very bottom of their souls with sorrow, feel their hear drop into their gut, and makes people wish for the kind of love their reading about. That is the kind of  author that Lora Leigh is. So much can be said about someone as talented as this woman very clearly is. Everything that makes Lora Leigh so great is no doubt what makes her books so entrancing. Secret Pleasures is no different.

Everything about this title pulled me in from start to finish. Everything about these characters made me wish I knew them. And everything about this storyline broke my heart even as it was being put back together. With every page I was feeling. Feeling everything to the very depths of my soul. That's the kind of books Lora Leigh writes and I am so grateful to have been able to read this advanced copy. Nothing could have prepared me for how I would feel reading Alyssa's struggle with everything she is put through. Nothing could have prepared me for the heartbreaking way Shane and Sebastian splintered apart. And nothing could have prepared me for how full of joy my heart was when they all got their happy ending.

The emotions in this book are just the half of it. So much greatness fits between these pages. The action scenes were explosive, the raw sensuality was hypnotizing, and the writing itself flowed perfectly across the page in an almost poetic fashion. There is so much more that could be said. I am going to keep my trap shut about the rest though. Somethings you just have to read to believe. I do 110% recommend this book and I give it a full 5 Stars no doubt. Read it, love it, and then read every other Lora Leigh book you can find.

An ARC was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.

The Callahans series by Lora Leigh!!!

Lora Leigh has done it again folks! I am blown away by this sexy, smoldering, seductive series. It was enticing. It was captivating. AND it was hot as hell. The last book was every bit as good as the first, and every book in between kept up with the pace. Although, I strongly recommend this book for mature readers because the birds and the bees both fly freely throughout Lora Leighs books. This series is not an exception. Ladies, be sure to do laundry and keep plenty of fresh panties on stand-by. Trust me when I say you will need them, and possibly some batteries. Hey, no judgment here. The ink practically boils as you flip through these pages the books are so hot.



All three Callahan men and Archer Tobias are strong willed, dominant, broody, and sexy enough to make you wish you were the lucky little lady between their sheets. I have read some other reviews that almost upset me, of readers saying one or all of these male characters are abusive. I assure you that is not the case. There is a huge difference between abuse and stubbornness. Not so much as a mean name was called, nor were unwanted hands put on anyone else's body. These men are stubborn, sometimes abrasive, and have a tendency to be over barring. Crowe, Logan, and Rafer are all retired military and Archer is police chief. I believe they seemed like quite honorable men.



The suspense in the series was great. The stories of the couples are great, as is the back story of the Slasher. You definitely do have to read these books in order or it will ruin the build up to the big reveal of who the Slasher is. DON'T RUIN THE BUILD UP! All four books are filled with plot twists, interesting characters, and charming intellect. The female characters Cami, Skye, Anna, and Amelia have all had rough lives in one way or another and are strong female leads. Although I will say, 3/4 of them were virgins when they were with their male counterparts. Is there something wrong with a woman who is more experienced? Or at least one that doesn't wait for a man that isn't waiting for her. Go out and get some girl.



I am a personal fan of Lora Leigh. All four books in her The Callahans series have earned 4.5 stars from me! I only docked half a star because...there is a lot of sex and it seems excessive at times. I would recommend this book to anyone mature enough to handle that and fans of Heather Grahams suspense novels.

On Her Six by Christina Elle

I'm super excited to tell you about this read. The first thing that caught my interest was obviously the cover. What female in her right mind doesn't pause while scrolling for a chiseled chest such as that one? Hmmm? After reading the back cover of the book I decided to request the title. Boy, am I glad I did. This book literally had it all! Out of all of it though, I have to say my favorite thing was...the meddling old ladies. Everytime I read a book with meddling old people I just always seem to laugh! I love old people. They are just the sweetest. On top of that, the way our female protagonist was with them was just the best. Samantha was the ideal female character. Funny, spunky, independent, fearless, spirited, and much more. She was the perfect match for our male protagonist Ash. I want an Ash of my own. He's just yummy. And sweet. He's like chocolate. Addictive, melt in your mouth, and something you just can't help but want more of. Have you ever seen anyone just eat one M&M? No? Didn't think so. Together they were just completely explosive. Another thing I really liked is that while they were good people before they found eachother, they made eachother even better. That is how every relationship should be in my personal opinion. Not only was the romance in On Her Six fantastic, the suspense kept me on the edge of my seat. Everything with Sams dad kept me intrigued and turning pages as fast as I could. Between that and Heinrich and the whole Ashs Ex-Lorena thing...this title wowed me. There is so much more I want to tell you but at the same time I don't because I want you to read it for yourselves  and I don't want to give anything away. I urge you to read it!

This title was an advanced readers spy provided to me by the publishers in exchange for a honest review. This has in no way affected my review of this title. 

Fighting Dirty by Lori Foster

I am very excited to talk to you about Fighting Dirty today. This is the first book in this particular series that I have read but I have also read other books by Lori Foster. I must say she never disappoints! I would highly recommend reading her books to anyone, she is a personal favorite of mine. Armie and Rissy are characters that have appeared in other books to this series (so I can't wait to get my hands on those), but it isn't just those two that catch your attention though out this book. Every character has charm and charisma and they make you want to get to know each and every one more. Most of those characters have books out already or coming soon and I can't wait to devour them. Fighting Dirty is definitely a read that keeps you on your toes, between Armies past, Rissy and whatever is going on in her life at that moment, and the relationship the two find with eachother. It's great to see how that all plays out mixed in with the drama and suspense from whatever danger either one is in at any given point in the book. Armie did come off to me as a little bit too much at times. His playboy ways seemed overblown to me in places and the overall sensuality he was exuding in the story seems a bit much, but he is still a very loveable male protagonist. And he is still kind of adorable even with all that going on. Plus, I think that just part of how the character is supposed to come off. Rissy was also a great character. I have to say, I really liked that she has a backbone. Too many female characters these days are painted as helpless and not being able to stand up for themselves. I have not once run into that with a Lori Foster book, so major kudos to her!!! The names of the two seemed...odd to me but that's no big deal. It did get on my nerves just a little while I was reading for some reason. But when I started to change Rissy to Rissa in my head while I read and that worked 100% for me!

One of my favorite series by Lori Foster is her Men Who Walk the Edge of Honor series and for me, while this book was really enjoyable it didn't quite hit that level yet, but I also haven't read the first three books so I'm keeping my mind open. It very well could still hit that level with the back stories on the other characters. I will continue reading the Ultimate series, going backwards since I started from the last book. I can't wait to read the books I haven't read yet. I will also wait for the new series to be released about some of the other characters that gained my interest in this book. Leese in particular! I'm so excited about his book I'm practically shaking.

My final score for this book is 4 Stars! This book was a wonderful read that kept me on the edge of my seat, warmed my heart, and engaged my mind all at once.

An advanced readers copy was provided to me by the publishers in exchange for a honest review. This has in no was effected my rating on this book or the overall review.

The Dark Vampire by Kate Baxter

An advanced readers copy of this title was provided to me by the publishers in exchange for a honest review. This has in no way affected my review of this title. 

This title was my first book by Kate Baxter. I've been looking for a while for a new paranormal romance author to read because I've been through pretty much all of my Kresley Cole books and I have to say...Kate Baxter really measures up! I'm really very impressed with her writing style. I love that she writes from a duel POV. It takes a lot of skill to pull that off as flawlessly as she does in this book. I also like that it did this through the whole book, not just one or two chapters here and there. It really gave the right mood to the book. I loved her characters, specifically Jenner and Chelle. Chelle really has such a small part in this book but they way it's done leaves a big impression of her and I can't wait to read her story. Because I haven't read the first few books in this series I'm going to be working my way backwards through the books to get to know some of the other characters a bit better. I'm specifically curious about Naya. The white witch mated to a vampire thing really makes me wonder about her and Ronans history. Was he disappointed to me mated to a witch? Was she familiar with vampires before or was this a huge change for her? Things like that. I'm definitely going to be reading that title next.

As for the actual story line itself...I really enjoyed that as well. There were so many things in this book I couldn't foresee. I love that because normally I can tell what's going to happen in a book and when it will happen. The Dark Vampire had the ability to take me by surprise with some serious plot twists that I didn't see coming. I would give examples but I really don't want to give anything away. I loved the way Jenner and Bria were with eachother after they finally got with the program (and you'll know exactly what I mean when you read the book) but they left me feeling really frustrated with them at times in the beginning. Admittedly, Bria could act out a smidgen sometimes. Like at the end...when that one thing happpened....and she totally over reacted....because I mean...he was just trying to protect her. But it's something that is easily overlooked and isn't very bothersome at all.

The Dark Vampire is sexy, interesting, captivating, and so much more. I urge you to pre-order the title now or buy it when it's out on May 3rd. You won't regret it. Overall I would give it 4.5 Stars. I'm shocked and disappointed that I didn't discover this author sooner than now. It is very difficult for me to find paranormal romance authors that I can really enjoy and I'm sure I've found one with Kate Baxter. I can't wait to dive into more of her books!

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: Kristen Ashley!

So at the beginning of the month I was going through my goodreads stuff online. This is something that's a normal everyday task for me. When going about this particular task I don't normally pay very much attention to my reading recommendations due to the fact that I already have around 300 books on my "to-read" shelf. That's a pretty hefty amount of reading material as it is, so the last thing I need is to see books I might actually like and add another 300 to the list. Plus, I have this habit of adding books I might actually never want to read because they have cool covers. But this time while I was on goodreads I decided it was perfectly fine to venture into the danger zone. I was in quite the reading slump and I was sure nothing on my "read-to" shelf was going to be what pulled me out of it. So I ventured forth into the unknown.
Best. Choice. Ever. 
Let me tell you why! It was the best choice because after going through my Chick-Lit, Humor, and Paranormal shelves I finally came to my Romance shelf. HUZZAH!!! Nearing the end of that very shelf...was a book with a pink cover that I would never read. But out of curiosity I clicked on it. Reading the description of this book I decided to throw caution into the wind. I got the book to see what the fuss is about because it seemed to have good reviews, it sounded ok from the description, and author seems like someone I would normally read. I wasn't overly excited, but it had me curious. I opened the book (on my kindle of course because I needed a book right away), I read the first chapter, and then...I read the second. And the third, and the fourth, and the tenth, then the twentieth. By nightfall that day I finished my last page deciding I had never read a book quite like this one.
I then started the next book in the series. Within two weeks I had finished the whole Rock Chick series, with reading a few other books in between. Then I read series after series by Kristen Ashley. Choas, the Unfinished Hero series, then The Three series, the Dream Man series, and currently The 'Burgs series. Some I liked more than others, some I flat-out couldn't put down, and some had my emotions raw. I loved every series in it's own way. After finding this to be the case, I have come to one conclusion...Kristen Ashley must be some goddess sent to earth to gift us all with her books. No joke. That might be a crazy theory but one thing is for sure...Kristen Ashley has a forever fan in me and I will continue to binge read the shit out of her books until I've read every last one.
This is why she is my author spotlight and quite possibly one of my new top three favorite authors ever. Happy reading :) I hope for your sake you pick up something by Kristen Ashley soon because if you don't, you'll regret it.

Black Iris by Leah Raeder

So sorry for the wait between posts! It's been a busy month and I'm not going to lie after the last book I posted about I had a major book hang-over and I had trouble picking up a book for a little while but here I am! So on with the review.

For me this book was good and terrible. I'll start with why it was terrible for me that way this review ends on a good note so hopefully less people will hate me. I had three major problems with this book.
For me this book was good and terrible. I'll start with why it was terrible for me that way this review ends on a good note so hopefully less people will hate me. I had three major problems with this book...

1. Why all the jumping back and forth in time? I can't stand all the hopping around on the time line. It confused things for me and made it harder to understand things that were already confusing enough! Would it be so horrible to just put the events in the order of which they had happened??? Jumbled time lines hurt my brain.
2. I spent about 50% of my time reading this book either confused or trying to catch up on the order of events. I'm sure other people kept up fine and understood perfectly what was going on...but not me!
3. I actually liked Armin. And now I can't like him anymore. I'm sad. Let me morn this loss...*moment of silence* nope still not over it. Going to take me a while to heal from this one. I need band-aids for my heart. You'll understand my pain if you read this book.


There were also things I really loved about this book. There is no doubt that Leah Raeder is a phenomenal writer...

1. The way this book is written...it could be poetry. No...it is pure poetry. The vivid use of words really catches attention. Leah Raeder is screaming Look at me!!! and we as readers are looking. She has definitely captured an audience and I will be reading more of her books because of this.
2. I am not a lesbian. Nor am I bi-sexual. Yet, this book makes you really understand what goes on inside the head of someone that is. Not only that but it was HOT!!! Going into this book I was curious. Consider that curiosity satisfied. I love that this author is openly herself. She wrote a book that supports others that are going through what she once did. For that I applaud her.
3. This story is dark, twisted, messed up, depressing at times, and definitely a mind trip all around. It was wonderful! So I've got a mentally unstable side. Sue me. Love it!!! The 50% of the time that I wasn't confused I loved it!!

Overall I give it a good 3.5. Stars.
this book because even though you might hate it you'll still love it. Trust me on this. I know that might seem a little confusing but hey, it's no more confusing than the book can get.

Heavens Sinners by Bella Jewel

Urgh!!! So I'm 60% through this book right now and I just can't with the sister thing. Here. This should clear that up a bit...

"Spike knows tragedy, he knows that feelings are better left hidden. He refuses to put his heart out there again, it's a pain he's not willing to feel a second time around. He's accepted he's going to spend forever alone. That's all he deserves. But then there's Ciara, the sister of his deceased wife. She's beautiful and damned determined to throw herself into his life in hopes they can reform an old friendship, but Spike won't hear of it, and Ciara refuses to give up."

I'll be damned if I would ever forgive anyone for revenge fucking me to get back at my sister. Yeah, they don't tell you about that in the description of the book, huh!?!? So much for friends!! I sure as hell wouldnt be trying to "reform an old friendship" with someone that would do that to me. She was a virgin too, you asshole! And you couldn't even be bothered to kiss her while you were with her for her first time. WHAT THE HELL? What kind of man does that? I wanted to like Spike after the first book in this series but what a dumb ass! I am a little disappointed. Not only do you not do that to someone that is supposed to be a friend, you don't do that to anyone period!! EVER!!! And Cheyenne....ok so this bitch...who let's someone get away with doing that to their sister?!?!? Who the hell thinks.."hey he fucked my sister for revenge against me and split her heart into pieces...hmmm I think I'll yell at him a little and then marry him!".
That is a shitty sister. A shitty human being. And Spike is even shittier for going for Cheyenne in the first place. Can pepole really be that stupid? Urgh. Just URGH!!! I wanna hit something. I need a drink. And a bubble bath. People need to just let dead people stay dead and have some dignity for themselves. Needless to say I liked the first book but this was disappointing. Ciara needed to find her backbone and not be doormat, Spike needed to just not be a fucking asshole the whole book, Cheyenne...well let's just say I'm not to sad about that loss, and I feel ripped off by the whole book. I am going to keep reading it purely because I really want to see if Spike apologizes for revenge fucking Ciara at all. Because so far he said he shouldn't have been so rough but hey it was totally cool that he only fucked her to get back at her sister right?? UGHH!!! I feel like I'm punishing myself by reading the rest of this book. At least the sex scenes are hot.

I'm going to need to be drunk for this.

Toodles I have to go down a fifth of something strong.



P.S. This is in no way is me saying I don't enjoy this authors writing. I love most books by Bella Jewel, Heavens Sinners really is just an exception. Bella Jewel has a wonderful writing style and I truly enjoy reading her stories. Just something about these particular characters rubbed me the wrong way. Please do not let this discourage you from picking up any of her books.

Dirty by Kylie Scott

Hell. Yes.

Literally so happy right now!

I was approved for an ARC of this book less than 24 hours ago. I woke up to the email saying I had an ebook copy waiting for me to read. Words cannot describe my excitement. I happy danced, had tummy flutters of excitement, and I was squealing in all around fan-girl mode. Because being able to read one of my favorite authors books before it even hits shelves? Definitely fan-girl worthy.

"But how could anything measure up to the greatness that is the Stage Dive series?" some may ask.
"How could it possibly meet all the impossible standards I had set for this book after reading Kylie Scotts previous books???" others may inquir.
To which I would say...
"I had briefly had these concerns myself. I assure you Dirty is a work of art and no one should ever doubt Kylie Scott because the woman has mad talent!!!"

I devoured every word on every page in less time than it takes to cook a Thanksgiving turkey. I laughed, I cried, I met new characters that captured my heart, and I met some that I wanted to stab a few times. Putting my anger issues aside now...I want to know more about all of them. All traits of a hell of a good book if you ask me. The amount of happiness this story brought me is off the charts. Kylie Scott isn't just an author...she's a bringer of laughter and light. Any reader that picks up a book by her is bound to be hooked.

This book is a solid 5 of out 5 Star read.

READ THE BOOK PEOPLE. JUST READ IT!!!

Black Lies by Alessandra Torre

WWWOOOOOOOOOWWWWWW.
WOW, WOW, WOW!!! 


Black lies was a dark, sexy, twisted, and addictive surprise. Brant and Lana are amazing characters, their chemistry leaps off of the pages and makes you really understand their relationship. Then we meet Lee who is rougher around the edges and that somehow just makes him more appealing. If Brant and Lana leap off the pages then Lana and Lee race past the charts. Just a personal opinion, as you can tell I'm team Lee. Between the three of them I'm surprised my book didn't catch itself on fire.




My mind raced through this book with thoughts of who she would choose and which male character was my favorite. Brant was rich, smart, hot, kind, and many other good qualities but he has a secret that comes between he and Lana somehow. Lee was rough, crude, hard working, tough, sexy, hard to get along with, and confident...among other things. My thought process through this book was that Lee eventually is going to want Lana to choose. Besides that what if they get caught?? And then when you don't think it gets much better...



PLOT TWIST FROM HELL!!! The best kind. Everything ties in perfectly, the whole book builds to this crescendo, and it's best ending possible for this book. Everything feels right and complete and as it should be. The only reason I took one star away is I personally don't like how the book jumps back and fourth between times. It's not drastic just enough for me to get frustrated. But! Brava to Alessandra Torre!!!! This book is great, if you're thinking about reading it I strongly recommend Black Lies. 

My overall score for this read is a 4 out of 5 stars. That's pretty damn good coming from me because I am a tough critic. You just haven't seen my bad side yet. I'll get to that eventually. One Page At A Time.

Emotional Turmoil.

So. It seems I have a wee bit of a problem. What is that problem you may ask? Oh! Well, I get way too emotionally invested in my books. Which you wouldn't think would be a problem right? Wrong. How is this a problem? Apparently, when you get as emotionally invested in words on a page as I do...you start to take things a bit too personally. Someone dies? Endless tears. Someone gets engaged? I am practically checking my mail for an invitation to a fictitious wedding between two characters from a book that's aren't real but feel totally real to me. Also, not only do they feel like real people, but they also feel like my friends. So why wouldn't they invite me to their wedding??? One character cheated on the other character? All hell breaks loose. Hell hath no fury. It's funny because you'd think I was the woman scorned. I am really starting to wonder if this is healthy. If I went to a therapist I'm sure they would ask me how this makes me feel. EMOTIONAL!!! IT MAKE ME FEEL EMOTIONAL!!!
Another question a therapist might ask is: Does this affect your daily life? Hmmm. Well...let me just think. YES.
How does it affect your daily life you may wonder? Well, I get angry at people for things that characters in my book do. Like when a guy cheats on a girl in a book, I get mad at my boyfriend because it feels like I was cheated on. I ignore people, my phone, and even meals all because I'm in the middle of a book I can't put down. Oh and when something happens in a story I laugh, cry, and slam things around in public as a reaction. Which makes the people around think I'm schizophrenic.

This what emotional turmoil feels like.

Sweet Ruin by Kresley Cole

" Vampirism did have benefits. No running out of toilet tissue, no flu, no periods."

Where do I sign up? So Kresley Cole is a favorite author of mine and she is one of the few authors I have found that writes Paranormal Romance like she herself is a goddess. I kid you not. I absolutely love her books and I was super excited to have the opportunity to read this book for review. I literally happy-danced. 

My first compliment is...this is a stunning cover. Absolutely breathtaking. Simply gorgeous. Second...Kresley Cole knows how to torch the words right off of the pages in every book of hers I've read to date. It is some seriously hot reading. It really makes you wish otherworldly beings like that existed because let me tell you mmm mmm mmm. Yummy. One thing I look for in books are good charaters. It's important for me that I like the charaters, or at least a few, that I'm reading about. No one wants to know about people that don't even like. Some of my favorite characters come from these very books. Nucking Futs Nix the Ever-knowing Soothsayer is definitely one of them. She is a reaccuring character in just about all of the Immortals After Dark series, I can't wait for her book. The male protagonist in this book Rune was not my favorite at times (and if you read this book you'll know exactly what times I'm talking about, trust me) but he still had something about him that made you want to understand him. His initial role in this bool is to kill Nix, which I was not pleased with. Josie on the other hand, was kick-ass! And sassy. And sarcastic. And I loved her spunk. If she were a real person I would definitely force her to be my friend. She reminds me of me!




The story itself was engaging and interesting but it was a little slow at times, but nothing too alarming. Honestly I read it in less than half a day, while doing laundry, cooking dinner, and cleaning house. So obviously it was good or there is no way it would have kept my interest through all that. I love Thad, Jo's brother. He does appear in other books so I guess as you read on in the series the characters that appear in more that one book, you tend to form more of an attachment to. His is another book I'm excited to read when it comes out. The book starts with him and Josie both in being homeless at a young age and Jo caring for the both of them with a little help from MizB a local librarian that sometimes feeds them and looks after Thad for an hour or so. Then one day Josie is shot and killed while Thad is with MizB. After that things get rough for Jo and she's forced to leave her brother behind. Not knowing anything of The Lore she grows up confused and alone, not even knowing what she is. Then she meets Rune...while he's having a Nymph orgy. Interesting, no? Obviously this is something Nix has to meddle in! Nix just can't help herself. After Josie and Rune team up (something Josie insisted on...in a unique way), Nix leads them on a rather extensive wild goose chase. And the rest, as they say, is history. Nix is probably the best matchmaker I know.

My overall rating is 4 Stars! I left a lot out so read on minions, read on!!!
This Advanced Reading Copy was provided to me by the publishers in exchange for an honest review.