ARC REVIEW Hope for Christmas by Stacy Finz

A little bit of Christmas Reading for your ever growing TBR list...

A Nugget Christmas story, book 10, more like novella. If you know the series, and you know the second book Finding Hope you can probably glean from the title what this one is about and you would be right. My big take away from the story was, YAY Clay wasn't a complete ass in this one. He was very sweet and understanding of the whole situation.

Emily has lived with the fact that her daughter is gone for the last seven years. She has started over remarried with a new baby and two step sons who adore her and a devoted (although kind of an ass sometimes) husband. As they get ready for the babies first Christmas Emily receives a disturbing letter about her daughter, and a couple days later a disturbing phone call. Clay is pissed and just like everyone else convinced it's just a sick joke, but Emily has hope, she's never going to give up on her daughter.

Overall, a very emotional story and so sweet. I absolutely love this series and this is a nice conclusion to Emily's story.

ARC REVIEW Deck the Halls by Donna Alward

A little bit of Christmas Romance for your ever growing TBR list...

Back to Darling, VT for a novella length Christmas Romance. No one in Darling deserves a HEA more than George. This was an emotional and sweet romance. George was until recently homeless, until he was given a chance by Aidan and Laurel now he has a job and a place to stay. George's homelessness was sort of self imposed after coming home from service he had so much guilt he couldn't deal with it and his life started on a downward spiral. He finally feels like he can move on and rebuild his life but the sudden appearance of his best friend's twin sister in Darling has him all confused and even more guilty. Amy and her family were given only the barest of details when it came to her brother's death and she has spent the last couple of years waiting for George to show up and give them some answers. Amy finally tracked him down and now she wants answers. She never expected how hard it would be for George to relive what happened that day. 

George and Amy have a long way to go before everything is alright but together they can do it. George is so sweet and Amy when she realizes the severity of things with George understand completely and is willing to stand with him while he deals with it. Overall, it was a good read a great emotional and heartwarming read with a good bit of Christmas cheer.      

ARC REVIEW Inked Memories by Carrie Ann Ryan

Oh you Montgomerys! So this is the last book for this branch of the giant Montgomery family tree. Not only does this book wrap up these siblings but it introduces us to the next batch of siblings who are going to get their books and a hint as to how big the family is (They aren't kidding when they say they have like 45 cousins). So Wes and Jillian, there is nothing like falling for your twin brother's former friend with benefits, can you say awkward. Maybe just for Wes and Jillian, Storm and everyone else saw it coming.

Wes and Jillian can't help but argue with each other, verbal foreplay, they don't know how to handle their attraction to each other any other way before you know it they are making out. Now that Jillian is working for MI her proximity to Wes just increases her desire. The same can be said about Wes the more time her spends with her the more he realizes his first assumption about her was wrong. Falling in love was the easy part it's dealing with everything else is what causes problems from a family crisis to "random" back alley beatings.

Overall, Wes and Jillian are so great together, they have more in common that you would think but once they allow themselves to let the other in everything falls into place. I absolutely loved this read.  And yes it is a very...

ARC REVIEW Dreaming of a White Wolf Christmas by Terry Spear

A little bit of Christmas Romance for your ever growing TBR list...

I'm dreaming of a white wolf Christmas
Just like the one Terry Spear wrote
Where the werewolves glisten and children howlin'
To see the full moon in the snow.

I'm dreaming of a white wolf Christmas
With every word that she writes
May your nights be steamy and hot
And may all your Werewolves be white.

Okay enough of me butchering Irving Berlin's masterpiece. Terry Spear's newest Heart of the Wolf novel is the start to a new spinoff. It is also a good starting point for some, while there is a little bit of backstory it's only there so you get to know the characters, this book can be read as a standalone. For those new to Terry Spears this is a great book and a wonderful series. All the guys are strong loyal and devoted. The women are smart and strong, everybody has a bit of baggage they work to deal with and one of my favorite things they don't have sex until they are sure they want each other as mates, they can do other things so there is lots of fun sexual chemistry and tension going on before they make that choice. 

Candice Mayfair  use to go by a different name until one camping trip and a little nip on the finger by a werewolf pup turned her life upside down. Now Candice is a full time romance writer, writing about shifters. Owen Nottingham and his partners are private investigators who have all been bitten. They uprooted their lives and moved to a place where seeing an arctic wolf wouldn't be conspicuous and became a pack. Ever since moving out of Seattle the business has been internet based until now they finally have an office again and their first big gig is to track down an heiress. Owen tracks her down via an ex-coworker who told him she changed her name to her pen name and moved away. 

It's been two years since she first shifted, that first night she thought she dreamed seeing another white wolf. But when the P.I. looking for her shows up at her door she realizes that wolf wasn't a dream he's standing right in front of her. The pup that bit her is part of his pack and he wants her to join the pack and hopefully mate with him, he has been dreaming about her since that night they saw each other. Owen also wants to help her get her inheritance, she didn't even realize her parents left her anything considering she thought they disowned her. But when another P.I. claims he found the real Clara Hart and Owen and Candice need to rush down to Texas to prove otherwise despite the full moon and Candice isn't in full control over her shift yet. With a call to Dallas they get help from the panther shifter friends there. Once there Candice gets a big surprise about her uncle. 

Overall, this was another great shifter romance from Terry Spear.  

ARC REVIEW Christmas at Two Love Lane by Kieran Kramer

A little bit of Christmas Romance for your ever growing TBR list...

 Christmas at Two Love Lane is the start of a new series for Kieran Kramer. Two Love Lane is the name and location of Charleston's most elite matchmakers. It could be that they have a great algorithm for matchmaking or just maybe it could be that they have their own little cupid. Macy Frost comes from a long line of matchmakers, one of them even claiming to be a descendant of Cupid himself. Two Love Lane reminds me of another matchmaker series I read by Jennifer Probst, three woman matchmakers each with a unique and different personalities with one having a special matchmaking talent. It's all good. I love matchmaker romance.

Macy was looking forward to her typical Charleston Christmas until he walked into her office. Deacon Banks was just visiting, making sure his aunt was settling into her new house alright and spend Christmas with her. Aunt Fran raised Deacon after his parents died, Fran is a well known talk show host newly retired and decided to settle in Charleston. At the request of his Aunt Fran Deacon agreed to "settle down" but what he really plan to do is go on a couple of dates and show that he's at least trying, but not really. Deacon goes to Two Love Lane to find some dates. Initially Macy turns him down but something about Deacon intrigues her and it's not just that New York accent of his and Macy ends up reluctantly agreeing but she's still not going to stop from trying to find a soul mate for him.

It turns out Aunt Fran is Macy's newest neighbor and so she starts seeing a lot more of Deacon than she planned and the more time they spent together the more they like each other. Deacon just thinks it's just because he's fascinated with Macy and when the other woman he has dates lined up with find out they manipulate the whole situation so Macy ends up going on all those dates with him. By the time she finds out what he did he's fallen completely in love with her and will do anything to prove it to her. Macy has her own hang ups when it comes to love and falling for Deacon pushes her to her limits.

Overall, it was a good romance. In the beginning Deacon is a little bit of a prick and pushy, and toward the end Macy is a bit immature. I liked the side story with the missing treasure of Two Love Lane . The secondary characters are a hoot especially Aunt Fran. 

ARC REVIEW Just A Little Christmas by Janet Dailey

A little bit of Christmas Romance for your ever growing TBR list...

Just a Little Christmas by Janet Dailey is book three of her Cowboy Christmas series.You know that old adage, once burned twice shy? That pretty much sums up the romance in this book. Ellie and Jubal fell in love in high school but Ellie's aspiration for getting out of their tiny town broke them up. She left for college and vowed never to come back. Jubal was heart broken all he ever wanted was his family's ranch he knew his love for her wasn't strong enough to keep her from her dreams. Ellie was working on her dream when she put it on hold for a man she met and fell for, they married and now after that disastrous marriage Ellie is back home and very pregnant. Jubal moved on as well unfortunately his wife died and left him to raise their little girl, Gracie, on his own. Jubal was so caught up in his grief and his daughter to notice his father running the ranch into the ground and now he has to find some way to come up with the money or lose the ranch.

Even with the attraction still simmering between them Jubal is scared that she Ellie will leave again or that her ex will come back and claim his family. Ellie is worried that Jubal won't give her another chance after the way she broke his heart the first time. They try to keep their distance but between Gracie and the little tea-cup poodle, Beau, falling in love all over again was inevitable. Gracie latches on to Beau and in turn Ellie and as much as she tries Ellie falls for the charming little girl right back. Jubal is a strong stubborn man who likes to handle his problems on his own but he knows needs Ellie, and even if he doesn't take her advice he still needs her input and understanding and together they deal with the issue and know that they can handle what ever else may come.

Overall, this was really sweet. I've never read Janet Dailey before and this made quite the impression on me so it definitely won't be the last. She has the right amount of romance, heartache, humour and mystery to keep me hooked and wanting more.

ARC REVIEW Bound to a Spy by Sharon Cullen

Book two in Sharon Cullen's series All the Queen's Men can easily be read as a standalone. I'll be the first one to admit I'm weird, I love historical romance and I love history, but I don't like political machinations and all the double crossing and back stabbing drama but I love spy novels. I usually tend to avoid books with actual historical figures as main or secondary characters in them honestly I don't really know why I guess I like my fiction to remain fiction. That being said I really enjoyed this one. Sharon Cullen is a fantastic writer enough that I overlook my weird reading tendencies.

Mary the Queen of Scots and her boorish husband are still at outs and with the baptism of their son looms closer and closer there is a plot afoot to kill the King. Unfortunately for poor Rose Turner she just happened to overhear the conspirators talking and now she conflicted. While he is the King and morally no one should be murdered she can't help but think that maybe he deserves it because she has been on the receiving end of his unwanted attentions.   

Rose isn't the only one aware of the plot Will Sheffield was there too and for some reason he feels like he has to protect Rose from the dangerous situation she unintentionally got herself into. The more Time they spend together trying to figure out what to do the more they fall in love. Will however doesn't want a wife, because he loves his job as a spy and it has no place for a wife, or atleast that what he tells himself Rose knows the real reason he resists her and even though he's nothing what she wanted for herself she falls in love with him for the man she knows he is underneath the exterior.

Overall, it was a really good read. My only issue is that it ended abruptly, it was a good ending it was fine that it stopped there but it just stopped, I was left wanting a little more.   

ARC REVIEW Dark Horse Comics: Harlequin Valentine by Neil Gaiman

Harlequin Valentine

by Neil Gaiman

Art by John Bolton

Dark Horse Books

second edition

Harlequin finds his Colombine and on Valentines he gives her his heart, literally. But in a typical twisted way Neil Gaiman takes the Commedia dell'Arte to a whole new level. In the story the invisible Harlequin follows his Colombine around the city which leads to an unexpected twist for our clown and his love. I learned about Commedia dell'Arte in High School theatre and was glad to see a modern twist to the story especially by Gaiman. The art was fantastic, stunning really. My only complaint it that lettering was tiny, reading it on my computer I had to zoom in so much just to read the words, hopefully it is different in print.

  

RELEASE TOUR Only One I Want by Tmonique Stephens

Only One I Want

by Tmonique Stephens

Series

Unhallowed # 1.0

Genre

Adult

Paranormal Romance

Urban Fantasy

Publisher

Independent

Publication Date

October 24, 2017

  

Banned from Heaven. Escaped from Hell. They are UnHallowed.

Touched by the divine, Amaya Prince is a weapon, existing for one purpose—kill all creatures of Hell, including UnHallowed. But when the Archangel Michael approaches her with words she’s longed to hear since childhood, she can’t refuse his plea for help.

For UnHallowed Bane, nothing is more important than returning to Heaven and rejoining the Celestial Order. The former warrior angel has spent millennia on Earth atoning for his betrayal. When Michael offers him a shot at redemption, he accepts…even if it means deceiving his fellow UnHallowed.

Each with their own agenda, Bane and Amaya must put their differences aside and rely on one another in order to protect mankind from demons determined on opening the portal to Hell. But with secrets unfolding and passions flaring, humanity won’t be the only thing at stake.

Yes, Only One I Want is as good as it sounds and yes it ends in a cliffhanger. Am I mad about it, nope because the next book comes out next month. I'm excited if only a little disappointed that it ended the way it did. I am completely enthralled by Amaya and Bane and I'm desperate to find out what happens next.
Tmonique Stephens fits so much in to 368 pages but it a page turner, I didn't want to put it down. There were something at the beginning, it took me a while for Bane to win me over but by the end...oh yeah. He is a hot mess but no more than any of the other UnHallowed. The other UnHallowed, TS writes the dammed so captivating (and HAWT) you are really rooting for them and cursing Michael along with them. I really like where this is going there is a nice twist there at the end and I can't wait to see where it goes.  

About the Series

Also Available On

The UnHallowed Series

    

About Tmonique Stephens

I wrote my first novel about a reporter and a hockey player after the U.S. hockey team won gold in the 1980 Olympics. I love writing flawed characters who reflect the emotional baggage we all carry. I write complicated stories for complicated people. Paranormal romances and fantasy novels are my favorite genre. I’ll read anything about fairies, demons, or angels, but I also enjoy Stephen King and Preston and Childs.

I’m hooked on Lucifer, The Backlist, The Strain, Vikings, Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, and BlindSpot. I can’t get enough of these shows!

I was born in St. Thomas USVI, but grew up in The Bronx, New York one mile from Yankee Stadium. I love SyFy, the History channels, and Asian cuisine. But my heart and stomach longs for anything from the Caribbean.

Author Links

    

This promotion is brought to you by Pure Textuality PR.

ARC REVIEW Dangerous in Action by Sidney Bristol

Sidney Bristol's second instalment in her Aegis Group Alpha Team series. I love Sidney Bristol her Romantic Suspense are always action packed and hot as hell. Shane and Tanya are a good team once they get their baggage situated. I love that the Alpha Team isn't perfect, they work well together but personally there is some stuff going on. Tanya was well done, how her secrets were revealed in chunks and and you don't see the whole picture until close to the end.

Retired SEAL Shane Cohen has a classic case of survivor's guilt, he survived when his older brother didn't and he's having a hard time moving on from that. Shane is also one of those who has no problem sleeping with the client while on the job. He likes thing uncomplicated, straight forward so he can deal with them head on but when the Alpha Team gets pulled in on a job that on the outside should have been easy Shane can't shake the feeling that something is wrong with the whole gig.

Tanya's whole life is complicated, even as a child the daughter of a cult leader who made her do unthinkable things still hangs heavy on her shoulders. But Tanya wanted to do something about right her wrongs and now she is stuck in a horrible situation. Undercover for the last two years and the information she has can save countless lives, she just has to escape the psycho who she's been pretending to be his girlfriend/secretary and find someone she can trust before he kills her.

When Tanya is "rescued" by the Alpha Team she thinks all hope is lost, that is is as good as dead. But Shane believes her and even though she is a t first hesitant to come clean about who she is, and then when she finally does the Alpha Team is lucky enough to have plenty of resources to check her story. They are racing against the clock and trying miserably to not fall in love with each other.

Overall, so good. I loved that Shane ended up being a coddler with Tanya. I loved that Tanya is constantly saying I'm not cut out for this but nevertheless steps up and does the job.This was a great one it ranks up there with Dangerous Assignment as favorites.

ARC REVIEW DC Universe Rebirth: Batman/The Flash The Button Deluxe Edition

Batman/The Flash

The Button Deluxe Edition

DC Universe Rebirth

Issues: Batman 21-22 The Flash 21-22

Story: Tom King and Joshua Williamson
Art: Howard Porter and Jason Fabok

Story: Batman finds a strange blood stained smiley face button in the batcave. All of his analysis leads him to believe that it's not from this dimension. When a strange spark causes him to see his father he knows only one person can help The Flash. But an instant later the impossible happens The Reverse Flash appears beats up Batman, then when he discovers the button a split second later he dies. Flash arrives to find a beaten up Batman next to the charred corpse of The Reverse Flash. After Batman fills Barry in on what happened Barry wonders if the Flashpoint timeline didn't disappear like it was supposed to and together they decide it's worth a try. Batman and The Flash "travel" to the Flashpoint universe where Bruce Wayne comes face to face with his father. awwwwww. But Batman and Flash need to keep going to get to the bottom of this and find out who is responsible.

Art: Jason Fabok does the pencils and inks for pt.1 and 3 with Brad Anderson on colors and all four covers. Howard Porter's art on pt. 2 and 4 with Hi-Fi on colors. I liked the art in a whole you can definitely see the differences between the two when they are next to each other but side by side with almost the same image and you can see it. Overall I think I prefer Jason Fabok I just like his lines better, but all in all I loved the all the art.

 

Review: I know there are a lot of mixed reviews but I enjoyed this one. I liked the touch on Flashpoint and even bring in Garrett for the short amount of time that he was there. I hope Reverse Flash stays dead this time. I really do like that it appears to be DC's solution to fixing things, going back to before the Flashpoint paradox screw up and going more traditional. I am enjoying Rebirth and this tease for what's to come was great because now I'm on pins and needles waiting for what's next. As the crossover that leads up to the big event and as the tagline says the road to the Doomsday Clock starts here. 

 

Halloween Reading Recommendations

All this week I will posting books for to help you get into the Halloween spirit, or just help you find book that will creep you out and keep you up.

Normally I don't do recommendations often, but I figure for Halloween it's okay.

One book in particular I love, it's a great Halloween read. The Gingerbread Man by Maggie Shayne. A hair raising thriller that kept me wanting for more, I didn't want to put this book down. Although I did guess one element at about half way through, other than that I loved this book. The characters have troubled pasts in one way or another, an internal struggle they must deal with at the same time fight the attraction toward each other and finding the serial kidnapper/pedophile/rapist before he strikes again. And it all takes place during Halloween.






Books that are scary but not Halloween




I've always been partial to Clive Barker. Cabal and the Hellbound Heart are two of my favorites but also The Books of Blood series. There are six book in the series and each book contains a collection of the macabre that only Clive Barker could do. Yes those are my books and yes I'm missing the sixth book.






Next up on my list is William Todd Rose's Realms of the Dead, it's two connected novellas.
For me everyday day is a good day for a damn good horror novel. I had no idea what to expect from William Todd Rose, I have never read him before. I love horror but I'm picky about who I read, but the synopsis intrigued me. This book was creepy in all the right ways. It kept me engulfed in the story and the characters. Once I picked it up I couldn't put it down. I liked the science fiction/ metaphysical aspect and it blended in nicely with the gruesome games of a tormented mind. The synopsis likened William Todd Rose to King and Koontz, but I would be more willing to group him with Clive Barker. I really enjoyed this. Crossfades is more the sci-fi horror while Bleedovers is more paranormal. I liked how this was two separate novellas, even though it could have worked as a full length novel, it cut down on unnecessary filler

I newly discovered Abbie Roads. She has three books out right now and each othe them are a dark romantic suspense. Her books are dark and twisted and sexy as hell, it really satisfies my horror and romance needs. The Fatal Dreams duo also has a dark fairytale/folklore feel to it. 










For kids, always the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark series the illustrations alone can give you nightmares. For beginner readers one of my favorites growing up was one called Four on the Shore by Edward Marshall. It is a fun little book about four friends telling scary stories to each other.

ARC REVIEW Halloween Carnival Vol 5

All this week I will posting books for to help you get into the Halloween spirit, or just help you find book that will creep you out and keep you up.

DEVIL’S NIGHT by Richard Chizmar
"You’ve read about what happened that night. What you don’t know is the true extent of the damage. The papers got it wrong—and the truth is so much worse than you thought." blurb

This was a pretty good story. It was weird and a little predictable but I like the way the story played out.

THE LAST DARE by Lisa Tuttle
"Elaine hasn’t been back to her hometown in years. The house she lived in is gone. The tower house isn’t—nor are the stories of the fate that befalls whoever dares to go there." blurb

This is probably my favorite in this volume. It's creepy, creepy is good I like creepy. The menacing tower house, a ghost story, and lost memories it's a great Halloween read.

THE HALLOWEEN BLEED by Norman Prentiss
"What if Halloween... bleeds into other days? It doesn't matter when the story was written, or when you read it. What matters is that it has an effect on you. It's casts a spell." from the uncorrected proof.

It's a strange and unusual story, it makes you think and then creeps you out and leaves you questioning, "what just happened?" 

SWING by Kevin Quigley
"In Hollywood, everyone lives forever. At least that’s what I used to think . . . before Jessica. But no one seems to live long when they’re around me." burb

Yeah it was weird and creepy but the story did nothing for me.

PORK PIE HAT by Peter Straub
"When it comes to jazz, there are players, and there are legends. “Hat” was a legend. His real name didn’t even matter. Still, he had his secrets—secrets best left buried in the past." blurb

It was long and took forever to get to the point and it wasn't even that scary.

Halloween FB Mega Hop: PNR/UF Halloween Giveaway

There is a really cool multi-author Paranormal/Urban Fantasy Halloween FB Hop going on with some awesome prizes check out the kick off page here...

Halloween FB Mega Hop: PNR/UF Halloween Giveaway: PARANORMAL ROMANCE

ARC REVIEW Halloween Carnival Vol 4

All this week I will posting books for to help you get into the Halloween spirit, or just help you find book that will creep you out and keep you up.

THE MANNEQUIN CHALLENGE by Kealan Patrick Burke
"For some, office parties are the highlight of the season. For others, they can paralyze with dread. Theo is determined not to let his anxiety stop him from attending—though maybe he’s right to be afraid." blurb

I hated this one. It was mean and sad and it's the kind of story a bully would tell because he thought it was funny. It's not. There was absolutely nothing wrong with how the author wrote it he has a great style but just the content alone was just mean.

ACROSS THE TRACKS by Ray Garton
"The candy’s always better on the other side of town, even if it means crossing paths with bullies. But a rich house with an unlocked door might just be too good to be true. . . ." blurb

Once again bullies. This book left me with the distinct feeling of WTF was that. 

THE HALLOWEEN TREE by Bev Vincent
"Every town has one: a house or a field or an old tree that just gives off a bad vibe. Of course, those feelings are just silly superstition, nothing to take seriously. Right?" blurb

Entertaining and fun, there is always that one tree that creeps you out and in this case they have reason to be.

PUMPKIN EATER by C. A. Suleiman
Peter loves Halloween, pie as long as it's dutch apple, and pumpkins. His hobby of building concrete pumpkins started years ago and gradually they have increased in size. Lucky for him this years are bound to be the biggest, big enough even for his lying cheating wife.

Peter, Peter pumpkin eater, had a wife and couldn't keep her. My favorite out this anthology. It was dark and twisted and a great ending

WHEN THE LEAVES FALL by Paul Melniczek
"Haverville always seemed like a typical town to me: a place where people work hard, and no one ever really leaves. Until the night I went to Graver’s Farm—and discovered what Haverville was really hiding." blurb

This is definitely the longest one in here starting just before 50%. It was just ok, there were things I liked about and other things that fell flat. I liked the concept of it but the execution didn't work for me. It had such a exciting build up toward the end but an almost anti-climatic ending.

Overall, my least favorite volume.