ARC REVIEW Demon's Mercy by Rebecca Zanetti

Dark Protectors #9, Logan! Finally Logan and boy does he meet his match, toe to toe practically the whole way Mercy is no push over. Even as number 9 in the series it can be read as a standalone but if you want more background for this story arc you would really only have to read the one before it, Vampire's Faith. This story arc deals with one very very big bad one that has the potential to end so much but before he breaks out and spreads havak the super secret group, The Seven, that put him away in the first place must replace it's missing members and finally kill big bad. One has been filled, Garret Karys, he barely made it through the ritual and now they are just waiting for the perfect opportunity to have Logan Kyllwood go through the same ritual and hope he too makes it through alive.

The Seven are about to face a foe they have never fought before, instead of just fighting the Kurjans and their high priests the Cysts who are hell bent on freeing big bad they are now fighting the Fae nation. It's not as intimidating as it sounds their numbers are far fewer but they also have technologies and abilities no one in the Realm has seen before. Mercy O'Malley doesn't agree with the way her people are handling this, so she kidnaps Logan instead of outright killing him and tries to explain what the Seven is doing is wrong but in typical Zanetti fashion everything goes FUBAR. One touch, one bite, one sip of his blood and suddenly Logan's mating mark is burning his hand and demanding he take Mercy as his mate.

One positive thing about reading the previous book, especially the spin-off Realm Enforcers, is you really get to see what fun loving and a jokester Logan is and you get to see how finding his mate and fulfilling his destiny matures him. Logan goes full on Alpha male "Me Tarzan, You Jane" kind of moments and it's funny and aggravating all at the same time to have Mercy fighting with him almost the whole way. The whole Fae Nation is pretty obstinate and it makes Mercy's stubborn look open minded. Fucking Fae.

Overall, I really enjoyed Mercy and Logan. If you are already a fan of Zanetti you'll enjoy it and if you are new and you have a thing for a Neanderthal-ish main character and a loyal and adamant fae who's going to do her own thing anyway mixed with lots of fight scenes, a few double crosses, and some really hot romance there's a really good chance you'll enjoy this one. I have been a fan of Zanetti's for a while now and I always enjoy her writing she writes her action and suspense so well, she really know how to build the tension and her romance and sex are so freakin' hot. I can't wait for the rest of the series, Garret is going to be just like his dad and I'm anxious to find out about Hope and the rest of her story.        

ARC REVIEW Best of Luck by Kate Clayborn

Chance of a Lifetime #3, I have been impatiently waiting for this book since the characters were introduced to each other in the first book. This can be read as a stand alone but I really recommend reading the first two books to get the whole picture. This is written in third person with alternating perspectives of Greer and Alex. I loved this book the story and the characters so emotional.

Greer, Kit and Zoe buy a lottery ticket never expecting to actually win, so far Kit followed her dream and bought a house and fell in love, Zoe quit her job and went on an amazing path of self discovery and fell in love too. Now it's Greer's turn who was finally able to follow her dream and go back to school. She's almost got her degree when they tell her she short credits for art.

Alex Alverin, Kit's older brother, is a world renowned photojournalist his plan to come to his sister's wedding and then take off again has to be revised when his debilitating panic attacks get worse. With the urging of his agent and Greer, who caught him in the middle of one during the wedding, he takes some time off. But he won't be idle on his time off Greer recruits his help with her art credit. Greer's only hope to get the art credit she needs is to take a photography class subtly using Alex to get the teacher to agree was aggravating but easy. Greer also gets Alex to agree to go see a therapist while he's here. Alex was always attracted to Greer but the more time he spends with her the more the attraction builds into something more, and vise versa, and the more he learns about her the more he's tempted to try and stay. Greer may have fallen in love with Alex but she knows him to well and is just waiting for him to leave again. Alex's fears are so deep rooted he doesn't know if his love for Greer is stronger than his wonderlust. 

Overall, this is my favorite of the three. Both of the character's histories play a part in why they act they way they do and how their budding relationship gives them a new perspective and allows them to look at their lives differently and finally be willing to change for the better. There is such deep emotion and fear that Kate Clayborn really puts you through the ringer with this one.   

ARC REVIEW The Highlander Who Protected Me by Vanessa Kelly

Clan Kendrick #1, Spin-off of The Highlander's Princess Bride this picks up a couple of months after the conclusion of that book. This is a standalone from that book but for background on the characters the whole Kendrick family, and because it's an awesome book, I would recommend reading The Highlander's Princess Bride first. Kelly has a wonderful way with words she builds such fantastic, beautiful settings that set the mood and transport you to the Highlands; and situations that can be humorous and heartbreaking.

Royal Kendrick has always been the protector, ever since his mother died in childbirth he has taken it upon himself to protect his brothers even following his older brother into war. Only it was Nick who saved Royal when he was left for dead on the battlefield. Royal ended up with one leg badly damaged and is almost in constant pain. One woman makes him forget the pain, makes him think about the future and starting a family, unfortunately she wants nothing to do with him.

Lady Ainsley Matthews is a diamond of the ton, she has her pick of suitors but they are all sycophants and she wants nothing to do with them, except one man and infuriating highlander who can be so rude but it sets him apart from everyone else. Unfortunately Ainsley's father has other plans and arranges her marriage to a horrible man who does a horrible thing that send Ainsley running to Scotland. To protect her baby Ainsley, not able to trust anyone in her family, must leave the child in Scotland. She asks Royal to take her baby and claim her as his own.

It takes a bit to get to the external conflict everything up until that point is Ainsley and Royal finding their place together and Ainsley doing some serious soul searching to figure out exactly where she belongs and learning how to deal with Angus. It's all Ainsley with the internal conflict because Royal already knows he loves her and will do anything for her he's just waiting for her to figure it out. Overall, it was a great romance I loved the banter between the characters and the conclusion was heartbreakingly bittersweet. I can't wait for the next books in the series.    

ARC REVIEW Beyond Reason by Kat Martin

Beyond Reason is the start of a new series from Kat Martin, Texas Trilogy. It was a nice step away from the Brody's series. It was a good read very typical Kat Martin, which is a good thing, good romance, good plot, and well paced. My only complaint is that Lincoln was too much of the cliched billionaire playboy. It was a nice change to have a book take place in Texas and not be about cowboys, thank you very much, we are not all cowboys, oil tycoons, or mexican labourers. The trucking industry is big and it's nice to see it getting some attention for a change (that I know of).

Carly Drake has so much to make up for, she knows just how much her Grandfather did for her she feels guilty for not being here for him sooner. Now that he's dead she's going to make Drake Trucking once again into one of the best trucking companies in Texas, but the cards are stacked against her and if it isn't one thing it's another and here she is five weeks after her grandfather's death her best driver was shot down and hijacked and the police aren't very hard to find out why. Lincoln Cain owes so much to Joe Drake, after he got out of prison Joe was the only one who gave him a chance and it was that one opportunity that lead Lincoln on the path to being as successful and rich as he is now. Lincoln made a deathbed promise to Joe that he would take care of Carly after Joe's death. Lincoln heard so much about Carly and expected her to be polished and spoiled, his plan was to buy the company from her for enough money to set her up for life and she wouldn't have to worry about money any more. What he got was an insanely beautiful and determined woman who said no. Lincoln isn't the only one who she said no to, Carly also said no to a local drug lord and now she's in over her head, top it off with company money disappearing and the death of her best driver. Lincoln is bound to help her whether she wants it or not but once she realizes who the drug lord is she's willing to accept help to take him down.

Overall, this was a good read it has some good side stories going on, the character development was nice with the background information on Lincoln. The romance aspect was enjoyable, like all playboys once he has his girl, Carly, she's the only one that matters. and I'm looking forward to Beau's, who is Lincoln's business partner and childhood friend, story.

ARC REVIEW You Will Pay by Lisa Jackson

You Will Pay is a stand alone (as far as I know) book by Lisa Jackson. I'm big on Lisa Jackson, I have read a bunch of her older stuff. You Will Pay reminds me of a couple of things the video game, Until Dawn, and the movie, I Know What You Did Last Summer. (it's way better then the movie but the video game is so good it's hard to compete with it.) The main difference between these two and this book is that revenge is a dish best served cold, very cold, twenty years cold. It is very complicated story that has you guessing and a decent twist at the end, it also kind of dark, I like that. Unfortunately the pacing and character introduction was not to my liking, it was interesting how she did it, it not unusual for LJ to do the flip flopping between past and present, alternating to different POVs in the past to get the different sides of the story, it was nice but there are seven to nine different POVs to keep track of and I just had a hard time getting into the story especially since most of the characters are really annoying.

It starts off with a young woman standing on the edge of a cliff ready to commit suicide, she's a very religious and young with no idea what to do she has her epiphany and chooses not to go through with it, just then someone comes out of the woods and pushes her over. Her body is never found. A day later two more people disappear, many lay the blame of the disappearances at the hands of the convict that escaped and went missing. This all happened on the grounds of a religious summer camp and the three people who went missing were all camp counselors. Twenty years later remains are found on the beach.

Lucas was there that summer, he was a counselor and is the son of the preacher who ran the camp. He dated the first girl who went missing, it was a very bad summer for him and he prefers not to remember it, but he's a sheriff's deputy and with the skeletal remains showing up on the beach he knows it's all going to come up again. Bernadette was also a camp counselor back then and she fell in love with Lucas but after what happened she wanted to put it all behind her and never contacted him again, but now not only is the Sheriff's department asking her to come in for questioning about what happened back then but an independent journalist, who also happened to be one of the kids at the camp that year is also hounding her for questions. Jo-Beth was the self appointed leader of the counselors back then she devised the story everyone would tell, a story she devised to cover her own ass in the prank she played on one of the other counselors, because after all Monica deserved it but then Monica herself went missing. The secrets are all coming out whether people want them to or not and old romances are being revised.

Overall, it was a good read, not my favorite of her but it was a good read. I didn't predict the ending but it wasn't all that surprising.        

ARC REVIEW The Undoing by Shelly Laurenston

Book two of the series Call of Crows The Undoing was entertaining. Once again I love Norse mythology, basing it an Urban Fantasy on my favorite mythos of course I'm going to read it. Like the first book I loved the storyline, thankfully the characters were not as annoying as in the first, I think in part that I just understood them better. What got me this time, it touched a little in the first book but more so in this one, the personalities and representation of the Gods. Odin cut out his own eye to gain knowledge, and wandered the Earth in search of knowledge, I have a hard time believing he would pick strippers as his valkyries. Tyr and Odin both share the mantle of God of War ( like father like son) and Try is known for courage and wisdom he doesn't act like it. And while I will agree Marvel's Thor is a complete idiot there are stories in the Edda that show he was very cunning. With books that use mythology as a base I have to constantly remind myself that I have to allow for artistic license because it is a work of fiction and sometimes you have to tweak reality to make a better story.

Jace Berisha is probably the black sheep of all the crow sisters. Where everyone else is rambunctious, loud, and just all out drama queens you will more than likely find Jace hiding under the house reading a very dark and depressing book. When she was alive she was the rebellious wife of a sick and twisted cult leader with illusions of grandeur. He killed her and when she asked to choose death or crow by Skuld, Jace choose crow and in turn almost killed her husband, it's a shame she didn't succeed. In her new life Jace swore never to have to live like she use to so she avoids anything social unless she absolutely has too. It is suggested that Jace find a job and do something with her second chance and with her affinity with languages she takes a job translating books for Tyr's Owls. She fits right in with the quietly fierce book snobs. Ski Eriksen is the Protector for the owls. He is the one who offered the job to Jace knowing her affinity and also kinda having a crush on her. Jace is oblivious to Ski's interest until he plainly states it, from then on it a smooth romance for them. They are like two peas in pod.

The conflict, very exciting more brutal human sacrifices and it turns out the unkillable goddess wasn't dealt with like they thought in the last book she is out and on the loose ready to kick off Ragnarok.   The other pantheons (like super ninja nuns and the four horsemen of the apocalypse) tell the crows deal with it before it sets off a chain reaction to all of the other apocalypses. To top it all off Jace's religous nut of an ex is out of jail and is set on getting her back but what he finds at the Crow's House has given him the idea to cleanse them from this world and "attempts" to kill them all (LOL).

All in all setting aside my feelings for how the gods are portrayed I really did like this book. It had great humorous moments and great action and fight sequences and a really sweet romance.  

ARC REVIEW Kill without Mercy by Alexandra Ivy

Another exciting book from Alexandra Ivy Kill without Mercy is the start of a new series Ares Security.

From the hellhole of a Taliban prison to sweet freedom, five brave military heroes have made it home—and they’re ready to take on the civilian missions no one else can. Individually they’re intimidating. Together they’re invincible. They’re the men of ARES Security.

Each man with different backgrounds, personalities, talents, and specialties in different fields have been bonded together through trauma. I have great hopes for this series, each of the guys when introduced you almost immediately sympathize with them. They are protective of each other and would do anything for each other. Rafe Vargas is the heart of the group, he is the one that brought them all together with the idea of starting their own company. This band of men is the only family Rafe has ever really had. He had loving parents but his grandfather disowned his father for joining the ARMY. The old man is dead now leaving Rafe everything he had, which was a whole lotta nothing; the man was a hoarder. Either way Rafe still had to go and clean out the house before the realtor can sell it. 

Annie White never wanted to return home but she has been having dreams that scare her, dreams that tell her woman have been disappearing again and being murdered. As impossible as it sounds because the manner of which they have been taken is the same as the Newton Slayer and that man has been dead for years. Annie returns afraid of what she might find, hoping that they are just dreams; she never expected her dreams be to true and to be swept of her feet by Rafe. Rafe fell hard and fast for the pretty honey blonde woman, a woman who needed to be saved from her past and her present; a woman with a past even she didn't know about. Rafe together with his Ares brothers help save Annie and expose the truth.

Overall, this is typical fantastic Alexandra Ivy.   

VIRTUAL TOUR Do You Believe in Santa? by Sierra Donovan

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DO YOU BELIEVE IN SANTA?

DO YOU BELIEVE IN SANTA

Evergreen Lane #1

Sierra Donovan

Released Sept 29th, 2015

Kensington: Zebra

Miracles don’t just happen on 34th Street. They can happen right in your living room—if you’re willing to believe…

What grown woman claims to have seen Santa Claus? Mandy Reese, for one—on a very special Christmas Eve when she was eight years old. These days, Mandy works at a year-round Christmas store in Tall Pine, California, where customers love to hear about her childhood encounter with Saint Nick. But when Jake Wyndham arrives in town—charming, gorgeous, extremely practical—Mandy faces a dilemma. Deny what she saw, or let Jake think she’s sugarplum crazy?

Jake scouts hotel locations all over the country, but he’s never met anyone quite like Mandy before. Her warmth and sparkle are irresistible, but…meeting Santa? Really? Jake’s no Scrooge but he’s definitely skeptical. Then again, there are all kinds of things Jake never experienced until he came to Tall Pine. Like autumn snow. Mind blowing kisses. And the magic of falling head-over-heels, madly in love…

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I  could so picture this book as a Christmas Movie! It was so freakin' cute and a great message about the christmas spirit and children's belief in Santa. The first in Sierra Donovan's Evergreen Lane series, I look forward to more. All the characters are intriguing and the older lot are a hoot. This is such a sweet read.     

Mandy is a great character, she is a dreamer but she is strong, she never let the disbelief of her friends and family stop her from believing what she saw. She loves Christmas and what it represents and she even works in a year round Christmas store. Even though she was teased tremendously for her adamant belief the town still loves her and she is such a big part of why people visit especially for their kids. Jake is a realist as a location scout for a national chain of hotels if he can't see it he doesn't believe it. But his perception on life all changes when he meets Mandy. 

Jake was just there to see if the tiny town of Tall Pine would be a good location for the chain of hotels he works for. Meeting Mandy made him work twice as hard to prove to the town that letting in one National chain wouldn't ruin the town but help it. But even more he wants to be in Tall Pine longer to be with Mandy. Jake loves everything about Mandy and Mandy loves Jake too especially since he has never heard about her past and the fact that she believes in Santa. Mandy is scared that once he finds out he'll think she is a loon and leave, but the longer she keeps it a secret the guiltier she feels but it finally comes out and her secret is revealed and Jake doesn't leave. Jake doesn't believe but he's not going to try and change her, he loves her as she is and he is willing to go to great lengths to prove it.   

Overall, this is such a sweet and feel good book.    

When Mandy Reese was eight years old, she saw Santa

Claus.

She slipped out of her room on Christmas Eve after her mother went to bed. As Mandy tiptoed down the hall, trying to be silent, she thought of the poem: Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. . . .

The Christmas tree was still lit up in the living room, as if it, too, were waiting. The nighttime cold of the house bit through her flannel nightgown, and Mandy wished she’d grabbed her robe and slippers. But she didn’t want to risk going back down the hall and waking her mother. So she pulled a heavy blanket down from the back of the sofa and curled up under it. She laid her head on the arm of the couch to get a good view of the tree at the end of the room near her head, and the fireplace at the other end, down by her feet.

Barely daring to breathe, she waited.

The lights from the tree were bright enough to show the time on the clock over the mantel: almost eleven-thirty. Mandy’s vigilant eyes drifted from the fireplace to the tree and back. She knew there was no way she’d fall asleep.

But it felt as if some time had passed when something made her sit up.

The only light in the room still came from the tree, yet somehow it seemed brighter in here. Her eyes darted to the fireplace. And he was there.

He did wear a red suit, although it was a darker red than she’d seen on the Santas at the store—the ones she’d always been told were just helpers for the real Santa. His beard was full and white, his eyebrows were bushy, and his eyes were blue. Not quite twinkly, a little more serious than that, but warm and friendly as they met hers. She’d heard that watching for Santa could make him pass you by, but that hint of a glimmer in his eye told her she wasn’t in trouble.

Mandy opened her mouth to speak, but she couldn’t think of a single word to say. The whole room felt hushed, as if time were standing still.

She couldn’t be dreaming because her heart was beating so fast. But she remembered to pinch her forearm, hard, just to be sure. It hurt, all right.

He took a step backward, toward the chimney, and raised a black-gloved finger. At first Mandy thought he was going to put it to his lips, signaling her to be quiet. But he rested it alongside his nose, just like the poem, and nodded.

The room brightened, and Mandy had to shut her eyes against the glare.

When she opened them, the light in the room had returned to the normal Christmas-tree glow, and he was gone. She heard the clock on the mantel ticking; she didn’t remember hearing the sound while Santa was in the room. The hands showed it was just after midnight, although she knew for certain she hadn’t heard it chime.

She pinched her arm again. Once again, it hurt. When she looked down, she saw a small red mark forming right next to the spot she was pinching now.

Under the tree, she couldn’t see any difference in the number of presents. But she remembered what her mother always told her: Santa Claus was about more than presents.

“I saw him,” she whispered.

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Sierra Donovan is a wife, a mother of two and a writer, though not always in that order. Her greatest joy is helping people find true love on the printed page. She is a firm believer in Christmas, classic movies, happy endings and the healing power of chocolate. Sierra’s first novel, Love On The Air, was a Holt Medallion finalist. Her 2014 Kensington debut, No Christmas Like The Present, won the Golden Quill Award for Sweet Traditional Romance. Her 2015 novel, Do You Believe In Santa? marks the beginning of Sierra's new Evergreen Lane series. You can email Sierra at sierra_donovan@yahoo.com, or visit her website at www.sierradonovan.com.

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ARC REVIEW Heat of the Moment by Katie Rose

The Boys of Summer are back! Yeah, I love this series. Katie Rose brings us a new player, Gavin King traded from the Dodgers to the Sonics because an injury. The injury if not treated properly can end his career; good thing the Sonics have Jessica Hart one of the best Physical Therapist in the biz. I love these two they had such a great romance. As always Katie Rose writes wonderfully it pulls me in and I don't want to leave even after I finish the book.

Gavin King just got traded, and even before he was officially told it was on twitter. The Dodgers just couldn't risk and injured player on their team and had no trouble trading him to the New Jersey Sonics. The Sonics had faith in him, that he would get better with the right PT and be even better than before. It was a bit of culture shock for Gavin Jersey being so different from southern California but his new team mates welcomed him like family and even PT looks promising.

Jessica Hart swore off baseball players, you know what that means right, you swear something off and sure enough it's going to happen. Jessica had a bad boyfriend, he's a girl in every city kinda guy and when she caught him cheating it was from the newspaper. Jessica loves sports comes from a family of athletes and the only girl which makes her brothers very protective especially after the last guy. So far Jessica has had no problem keeping the players at a distance, even though one of them is very insistent, until Gavin. Their is an attraction between Gavin and Jessica but Gavin has a girlfriend back in Cali and Jessica's strict no baseball player rule. That all goes up in smoke when the girlfriend breaks up with him after admitting to cheating and Jessica's bad ex-boyfriend shows up again wanting her back. After an emotional encounter with the ex, Gavin is their a shoulder to cry on and needing comfort and wanting to feel wanted Jessica and Gavin have a very heated encounter. Gavin has come to the realization that Jessica is like no other woman, and he won't stop until she admits she wants him just as much. He just has to convince her that she is worthy of being loved for who she is and that he is the right guy for her. Things never run smoothly they have their bumps in the road and Jessica runs scared but Gavin doesn't give up.

Overall, this was another great book for the series it mentions past characters and see how their HEAs are going.    

ARC REVIEW Ever After by Odessa Gillespie Black

Ever After is the first book in the Cursed Series by Odessa Gillespie Black. A curse that spans across time, a vengeful ghost and star crossed reincarnated souls
So I really don't know what to think about this book. It was a really interesting story. I really liked and empathized with Allie but Cole got on my nerves.
It was beautifully written and creepy in all the right spots. It gives you just enough hints throughout the book that you can piece together what's really happening. It draws it out to a "big" reveal at the end. *Sigh* the end was a little disappointing no real conclusion, it ended, it concluded but to me it didn't feel satisfactory. Thats all I'll say about the end I don't want to spoil it. Everything that happens either is a wonderful sexual tension or freaking you out in one manner or another. Looking up this book on Goodreads and Amazon there isn't a description (as of now).

The description on the inside of the book reads...

In order to fully inherit a millionaire's fortune, Allie Knowles must survive a month on her property—easier said than done when the enormous house is haunted by a violent ghost who claims to know Allie. But the true mystery lies with Cole Kinsley, the handsome groundskeeper. Cole and Allie have never met, though he's been driving her wild in her dreams for years. Yet now, every effort to get closer to him pushes him further away… 

 Cole has only ever loved one soul and that love has endured for centuries. Now that soul rests within Allie's body and it takes everything in his power not to confess the truth. For her presence has put them both in mortal danger. Racing against the clock, Allie will have to break the ghost's curse—or history will be doomed to repeat itself.

Allie is the heir to a complete stranger, she thinks it's all a big misunderstanding. The employees of the mansion she finds herself living in are distant not sure what her plans are they are scared for their future, all except Thomas, the head groundskeeper,who seems to be the only one to welcome her with open arms, he also seems like the only person who knows why she is there. It becomes quite obvious that their is something wrong with the house almost hours after being there Allie is injured, rescued by the rude and sexy Cole, nephew to Thomas. Cole confuses Allie with his hot and cold attitude and it upsets her because it is not stopping her from falling in love with him.

Between the strange happenings in the house and the horrifying dreams Allie has been having since moving in has lead Allie on the mission to find out the truth behind the it's mystery. Aided by two sisters,  psychic twins, who know the truth behind it all but promised the late mistress of the house only to reveal certain things at certain times. The twins believe Allie is the one who will finally break the curse. Cole is another mystery Allie is wanting to solve but the truth of his nature and the history of the house may be too much for one girl to handle.

Overall, I liked it, I loved the progression of the story. The twins got annoying every now and then. But the ending just left me unfulfilled.    

ARC REVIEW On The Hunt

On the Hunt is a collection of four novellas by Alexandra Ivy, Rebecca Zanetti, Dianne Duvall, and Hannah Jayne. All the stories have the same theme of hunting or being hunted. I loved three out of four of these the last one just isn't my cup of tea, I really didn't like anything about it.

On the Hunt: Alexandra Ivy

An in between novella for the Sentinel series. Mika has always loved Bailey. But for reasons of her own, aside being very head strong, parts ways from Mika. Years later Mika is tracking down a boy and it leads him straight to Bailey's front door. After all those years no matter how hard she tried Bailey could not forget Mika and her love for him and his sudden reappearance is doing things to her head. When the runaway boy leads Bailey into a trap by a psycho looking to live forever Mika is her only hope and she knows it's only a matter of time before he does.

I love this series and I am always happy to see another HEA to come out of the universe. On the Hunt is an action packed and feel good romance. I love a good second chance romance.

SCORPIUS RISING: Rebecca Zanetti

Disregard what the the goodreads.com blurb it is very wrong, the only thing right is their is a strange pandemic going on and it's not killing everyone but mutating some. Nora Mendina just started her well deserved vacation when a bunch of government agents basically kidnap her. The man behind it is her ex-husband Deacan MacDougall. Deacan has very much changed since she left the damaged military man she once knew the only thing that hasn't changed was his feeling for her. Unfortunately getting back together wasn't the reason for her abduction. A meteorite landed in the Nevada desert and the group of students who found it got sick with some kind of alien bacteria. As one of the world's leading Microbiologist and her best friend the are racing to find a cure. While trying to find a cure her assistant is contaminated and goes crazy and starts spreading the bacteria. Deacan is determined to stop the pandemic and convince Nora she still loves him.

I loved this story it was a brilliant beginning to the new series. It's exciting and romantic, and so in depth detail wise. It reminded me a little of The Andromeda Strain mixed with Fated. Great story I can't wait for more

PHANTOM EMBRACE: Dianne Duvall

Yuri Sokolov has lived a long time as one of the Immortal Guardians, and as such he has special abilities even when he was human he could see and talk to ghosts. Cat Seddon haunts the home of the Immortal Guardians, her brother is the only connection she had to the mortal plain and since he's an Immortal Guardian that's where she stays. Cat has become fascinated with one of the Russian guardians, she follows him and watches him, never knowing that he could see her too until one day he spoke to her. From them on out they created a close friendship than soon developed into something more. They even found a way to visit each other in Yuri's dreams. But with dangers unbounding against the immortals and Yuri getting more reckless. Cat is afraid he is injuring himself on purpose, he is but not for the reason she thinks. The more injured he is the longer his healing sleep is the more time her has with her.      

This was a very bitter sweet one for me to read. It takes place before and during Night Unbound and if you've read it, you know what happens to Yuri at the end of the book. The entire thing made me want to cry it is such a sweet and romantic story that doesn't seem like it should have a happy ending, but it had me crying like crazy.   

STAKE OUT: Hannah Jayne

Unlike the rest of the Underworld Detection Agency, this one is told from Nina's point of view. Nina has made her break in the fashion world and is now getting rest for Fashion Week in New York. Until some pretty stiff competition shows up and starts showing up Nina. Next thing she know the model she just fired for hitting on her boyfriend winds up dead in her studio, and then undead and running amok and changing the rest of the models. Nina, her photographer boyfriend, and her nephew try and track down the bite happy model and find out who is behind it all before it ruins Fashion Week and her career.

I just didn't like this one. I didn't like Nina or any of the other characters, the story seemed bland nothing about it really stuck out to me as special. It just isn't my personal preference.     

  

ARC REVIEWS Going Home and Starting Over by Stacy Finz

I thought it appropriate to review Going Home and Starting Over together as they are the first and most recent books of the Nugget series; and they center around brother and sister, Nate and Maddy finding love in the sleepy little town of Nugget California. I really enjoy this series, I love small town romance and for the most part these are second chance at love stories. Each character has a past that has jaded them and it creates a very believable and likeable characters (for the exception of Clay from Finding Hope I still don't like him).

Maddy needed a place to start over after her disastrous marriage and divorce and Nugget California was the perfect place. She convinced her brother into buying the old dilapidated Lumber Baron and turn it into a Bed and Breakfast. Although she isn't exactly welcomed with open arms she is slowly working over the locals. The owners of the local motel are self important and keep finding ways to try and keep Maddy from opening the Inn.

They say you can't go home but going home was the only option for Detective Rhys Shepard. It was only suppose to be temporary, take care of his father until he recuperates. But the longer Rhys is there the more he realizes his ailing father is worse off than he thought. The town is dangling the Sheriff position to keep him there he is torn between a father he never got along with and a town that wasn't very welcoming when he was younger or the promotion to Sergeant and a six figure raise back in Texas. The choice was easy until he found out about the two siblings he never knew about and is now he is responsible for them and the closeness he has started to feel toward his father after realizing all the sacrifices that were made for Rhys. The sexy new owner of the Lumber Baron Inn isn't helping matters.

It was all just suppose to be temporary, the position as Sheriff, staying with his father, and his affair with Maddy. Rhys realizes lots of things during his stay in Nugget but it takes but it takes Maddy almost killed by a meth head looking for his stash for him to realize where he belongs.  

Back again in the quaint little town of Nugget California. In the last book Second Chances we are introduced, quite dramatically, to Samantha Dunsbury and almost immediately you see sparks fly between her and Nate Breyer. Nothing really bad happens in this story for the exception of the cook leaving the Lumber Baron Inn with no notice, the Abernathy's still trying to sabotage the Baron, and the stubbornness and blind dislike Nate has for Sam.

Nate has his reasons for not liking Sam, but those reasons are erroneous. Nate was in love once she was from a well off family, stupid rich, and she was flighty, flaky, and seriously something wrong with her psychologically, not that Nate realized any of that he was blinded by love. But when she left him and ended their engagement he applied that stereotype to every woman from a rich family. When Sam showed up in Nugget and was given the job of events planner by Maddy, Nate figured it was just a passing phase for a socialite like Sam and she would quit as soon as she got bored just like his ex.

Samantha Dunsbury blew into Nugget and instantly won the hearts of all the locals, for the exception of Nate. Sam needed a place to start over and Nugget seemed like just the place. She drove off the night before her wedding after overhearing some truly hateful words her fiance, a man who proclaimed to love her, said about her everything just seemed to click into place that the path she was going on was the wrong one and if she continued down it she would be miserable. So off she drove until she was all the way across the country from her overbearing father and unfaithful fiance. The job as events planner for The Lumber Baron is the perfect job for her and with Maddy on maternity leave she is having to deal with Nate a man who doesn't trust or like her. She is determined to prove Nate wrong that she is there to stay.

As much as Nate doesn't want to like her the more time he spends with her the more he likes her. When things start to go wrong Sam is there to see things through and succeed, Nate is forced to realize she is nothing like his ex. The attraction is there already so the romance and love falls in line pretty quickly. The admittance and sharing of said love is a little more complicated.

Starting Over is a fun and witty read, overall, it's a great book.  

ARC REVIEW Wedding Matilda by Heather Hiestand

Book six in the Redcakes series by Heather Hiestand, Wedding Matilda, doesn't quite have the same magic as the other books. I love this series I have read all of them, as much as i enjoyed the idea of this book the characters and the plot this one seemed really drawn out almost like it should have been just a novella. Ewan I loved, Matilda because of the stress she was going through I can't complain because I have no idea how I would react in that kind of a situation.

Ewan Hales has been a background character for the previous books. Matilda Redcakes has faded in to the background since her major taboo by not marrying the father of her child and has since taken over the cake factory in Bristol. Ewan and Matilda know each other through work but don't work with each other very much if any at all until the quality of  the cakes in the last shipment is lower than normal. It leads back to the flower they got had something added into it.

Ewan always thought he was an orphan, he was recently visited by a solicitor and informed he is the only heir to Earl of Fitzwalter. The old man is a right bastard gives Ewan an ultimatum work for him in one of the little factories or nothing at all. Upon hearing the the problem with the Redcake cakes is the flower from the factory owned by Fitzwalter Ewan chooses that factory and solve the problem or else lose one of their best clients.

Matilda Redcakes has a hard enough time running the factory and raising her son she doesn't need the added problems of bad flower but that's just the beginning. Soon after tracing back the supplier of the bad flower her son is kidnapped. Everyone drops everything to help Matilda especially Ewan. After seeing Matilda again after herself opposed seclusion to Bristol he has felt a connection to her. From then on out the story is all about finding the boy and Ewan convincing Matilda she should marry him.

Overall, I did enjoy reading the book but I think it was too long for the storyline.

ARC REVIEW Starry Knight by Nina Mason

Starry Knight is the first book to Nina Mason's Knights of Avalon series. I really wanted to like this one unfortunately it wasn't what I expected. The blurb was just vague enough that it wasn't how I thought it would play out. I pictured a brooding recluse in a Scottish Highlands Castle and a reluctant socialite trying to start a career as a paranormal investigator. But what it doesn't tell you is that the recluse is a well known author and a string puller for the Scottish Parliament. The socialite is going to work for a vampire hunter in in New Orleans. I figured most of the story would be centered on Callum hiding the truth about who he is and Vanessa trying to figure it out as they fall more and more in love. That kinda happened, the first half-ish of the story and then the rest was annoying filler. The only really interesting is the Avalon aspect and their wasn't near enough of that in the book. I can see the potential of Avalon in the other books, but this one wasn't even a very good intro for that.

Callum died on the battlefield and was returned to the living by Queen Morgan Le Fay and used as breeding drone. After 200 years Callum was sentenced to death for only siring male children. He was aided in escape learned how to change his form. When he returned home it was all different. Hiding from the Queen he stayed in hiding and survived another couple of centuries.

Vanessa doesn't want to be a disappointment to her parents but as political family she finds no joy in it what they want for her. She wants to study the paranormal and has recently taken a job as an assistant to a Paranormal investigator in New Orleans but first she wants to uncover the vampire living in Castle Barrogill. She never expected to fall into lust so quickly with the owner. She also found the ghost that has been haunting the castle for 500 years who told her the truth about everything. Now with the information she was seeking and her newfound love for Callum she struggles with what to do.

Overall, I what I did enjoy was a couple of chapters out of the whole book. I am curious about the books to come because that has piqued my interest. This book just didn't do it for me.            

ARC REVIEW Lady Beresford's Lover by Ella Quinn

Book Seven in Ella Quinn's Marriage Games series. Ella Quinn is good about writing books in a series but also they can be read as stand-alone. I liked it it was entertaining and witty; the characters are great I love them but the story just okay. I liked the secondary story of Silvia and Nick more than I liked Vivian and Rupert story.

Lady Vivian, The Countess of Beresford, is glad her husband is dead and that her mourning period is finally over. She has plans of owning a house away from her late husbands family and the embarrassment that comes with being his widow and having one last season in London before her self imposed seclusion. She doesn't think that finding a lover is a good idea because her husband deep scorn and has disillusioned Vivian; she thinks her body to be deformed and thinks that no man will want her after they see her deformity under her clothes. So when Rupert the Earl of Stanstead shows interest she can't help but return his flirtation.

Rupert doesn't care that everyone says he is too young to settle down, he is ready. He inherited his title young and everyone still thinks him young and they keep bringing that up. (I thought, up until they said Vivian's age, that Rupert was quite a bit younger than Vivian; that is how often they they brought it up.) Rupert was interested in one young lady but she made the decision to marry someone else, and even thought his feelings were hurt he wasn't heart broken. His father told him he would know the right woman when he sees her. When he sees Vivian across a crowded room he believes what his father told him. He won't let Vivian go now that he has found her. Sporadically through the book and so little of it and it doesn't really affect the story is a young twat who is determined to trap Rupert into marriage. I think the only purpose is to set up for another story, but I could have done without it.

The secondary story is between the new Beresford, Nick, and Silvia is a second chance story about deception, lies and manipulation. I kind of wish it was a stand alone book but it ties in so perfectly with the main story. Vivian is oblivious she decides she wants to overcome her fear of intimacy due to her "malformation" and seduce Rupert under the guise of Cleopatra. At a masquerade, coincidentally, they dress as Cleopatra and Marc Antony. Vivian doesn't realize he knows it's her and she becomes jealous of her own alter ego. Rupert works hard to prove that Vivian is the beauty he sees and her husband was a fool and everything is good until Vivian's idiot of a father tries to marry/ sell her off to another bastard.

Overall, it's not one of my favorites so far but it is a good book.

     

ARC REVIEW Wicked Ride by Rebecca Zanetti

Wicked Ride is the start of Rebecca Zanetti's spin off series of The Dark Protectors, The Realm Enforcers. The witches of the Realm who are in charge of protecting the magic and keeping the witches in line. This isn't a MC romance it is so much more. It is Paranormal, Suspense, Action Packed, Plasma Ball Exploding Awesomeness. Much like Rebecca's other series the boys are Alpha, stubborn, sexy as sin and grade "A" hero material and her girls are strong, stubborn, easy to love but don't give their love easily. I loved this book, it was action packed and suspenseful with the right amount of naughty mayhem.

The dangerous mineral that was mined in Russia that has proven to be is harmful even deadly to witches has turned up as the hot new illegal drug on the streets of Seattle. Kellach Dunne his two brothers and one Council member, who is also a cousin are their trying to track down the person behind it. Vice-Cop Alexandra Monzelle is trying to track down the drug, Apollo, that if overdosed can literally burn up a person's insides. Trying to go undercover hasn't revealed much but one night when she thinks she finally has something everything goes wrong when a smokin' hot biker shows up and takes three guys out. Now Alexandra, or Lex to her friends, gets kinda of annoying at parts because she has trust issues she is always second guessing Kell, and if she would trust him when she said she did it wouldn't have... well then their wouldn't be much of a story. Instead of working together Kell and Lex butting heads the entire time, well except for when they are bumping uglies. The player behind Apollo is someone they never expected and was a satisfying turn of events. Kell is undercover with a human MC trying to find out their supplier and that is the main reason Lex doesn't trust him even when he explains everything she still has trust issues. It all routes back to her father and the reason she tries so hard to be a good cop.

Overall I have high hopes for this series, with it's predecessor Dark Protectors as good as it is I expect The Realm Enforcers to be even better and with this as to kick off the series I know it will be.  

BLOG TOUR Against The Tide by Kat Martin

Secrets—and safety—melt under a midnight sun…

Liv Chandler is running for her life, and the cops haven’t been able to do a thing to help. But there’s one man who makes her feel safe, no matter what…rugged charter boat captain Rafe Brodie.

To Rafe, Liv is a beautiful mystery, one he can’t ignore. He means to unearth her secrets, and in the process, if luck is on his side, maybe the spark between them will ignite.

But Liv’s past is more dangerous than Rafe could guess, and when his first mate turns up dead, she fears that she’s next. That there’s something else coming she can’t see. That even Rafe and the remote village of Valdez, Alaska can’t protect her forever…

Link to Follow Tour:  http://www.tastybooktours.com/2015/03/against-tide-brodies-of-alaska-3-by-kat.html

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22812429-against-the-tide?from_search=true&search_version=service

Goodreads Series Link: https://www.goodreads.com/series/126176-the-brodies-of-alaska

Buy Links:  Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Kobo

                Okay I love the Brodies and now in this third book the eldest Brodie, Rafe, meets his match with a mysterious woman, Liv, and an attraction neither of them can deny. Liv and Rafe are an engaging couple she keeps trying to distance herself from him but the more she pushes the more he tighten his grip on her. In typical Brodie fashion it is never easy when they fall in love and with each book the external conflict just gets more and more intense. What first appeared as a murder of a young man ends in an elaborate plan and in the process Rafe and Liv fall in love as Liv's secrets are revealed.

                Kat Martin is a fabulous writer and this one is an intense mystery and an emotional love story. Rafe is an alpha male who has finally fell in love and now that he has found her he is not letting her go no matter her past. Liv is a strong heroine but scared and so in love with Rafe she doesn't want to ruin his life with her problems. I think this one is my favorite so far, since their is another one coming out that will probably be my new favorite when I read it.
                         

Rafe leaned back in the booth as Olivia walked away. Beneath her light blue apron, she wore black leggings under a black skirt, and a black turtleneck sweater. She wore black a lot, he’d noticed, and with her heavy, dark hair, pale complexion, and striking features, it suited her.
The café was beginning to fill with customers, both locals and the first of the tourist crowd. Besides deep-sea fishing, the area offered helicopter sightseeing, wildlife cruises, glacier cruises, kayaking, hiking, camping, and a jillion other things visitors thought up to entertain themselves in a place so rich in natural beauty.
By the first of May, as winter slid into spring, the local hotel and restaurant businesses jump-started into high gear. So did Rafe’s company, Great Alaska Charters.
His fleet was composed of a thirty-two-foot Armstrong; a Glacier Craft thirty-five; and his thirty-eight-foot Mac, all of which worked from April through October, depending on the weather. Scotty had made a place for himself in the company, had become an important part of the business, and it was going to be damned hard to replace him.
Scott Ferris had become Rafe’s right-hand man, and more than that, a very good friend. There was no easy way to lessen the personal loss Rafe felt at Scott’s death. He needed to go see Cassie, find out if there was anything he could do to help her get through her grief.
Rafe knew from experience it was going to take a helluva long time for her to heal.
He looked over at the tall, slender woman moving around the café. She was the real reason he had come to the Pelican this morning. Just watching her eased some of the tightness in his chest. Trim and lithe, she moved like a dancer, in more of a glide than a pattern of steps, so light on her feet she was there one moment, then she wasn’t.
With her high cheekbones, wide forehead, and unusual gray eyes, Olivia was a beautiful woman. Her chestnut hair, twisted into a knot at the nape of her neck, glinted with vibrant highlights. By midmorning, a few strands escaped around her face, softening the severe appearance she seemed determined to maintain.
And there was that mouth. Lipstick was the only real makeup she wore, a glossy dark red on lips so plump and perfectly curved they could have been in a magazine ad. That mouth made him think of dirty sex and taking her to bed, or anywhere else he could have her.
Maybe she could read his mind; maybe she knew what he was thinking and that was the reason she never waited on him. And though she was always polite, she spoke tohim only if she had to and rarely by name.
For the first couple of months after she’d taken over the business, he’d figured she was just too busy to notice him. Besides, he was still dating Sally, and he wasn’t the kind of guy who cheated on a woman he was involved with.
Four months ago, Sally had moved on, and Rafe had discovered he was glad. He cared for Sally Henderson, but he wasn’t in love, never had been. He’d told her from the start he wasn’t interested in marriage. At the time, she’d convinced him she wasn’t either. But relationships changed, and Sally was ready to settle down.
Sally was ready. Rafe wasn’t.
It wasn’t until after they’d parted that he started to take an interest in Olivia Chandler. Besides her striking looks and porn-star mouth, there was just something about her, something that began to intrigue him. She was always friendly to the other customers, though according to Nell, she had no close friends outside the people she worked with, and no family in the area that anyone knew of.
At first he’d told himself he just wasn’t the lady’s type, but the more she ignored him, the more intrigued he became. She rarely went to the local pub, he discovered, just kept mostly to herself in the apartment she lived in above the café. She was a runner, he knew, having seen her jogging early in the mornings with the big, black-and-brown German shepherd she called Khan.
Every time he went into the Pelican, which was often since he was a bachelor and a lousy cook, he watched her, and eventually a funny thing happened. Over the days and weeks that passed, Rafe became more and more certain Olivia Chandler wasn’t avoiding him because she wasn’t attracted to him.
She was avoiding him because she was.
Liv Chandler was a beautiful mystery, one Rafe no longer intended to ignore. He meant to unearth her secrets, and in the process, if luck was on his side, maybe he’d discover the fierce attraction he felt for her was returned in equal measure.
Rafe damned well hoped so.
Rising from the booth, he tossed a dollar bill on the table for the waitresses’ tip jar and started for the door. Olivia Chandler was a mystery he meant to solve.
But another mystery needed solving first.
His jaw hardened. Rafe wasn’t about to let the man who murdered one of his best friends go unpunished.


Whatever it took, he was going to see justice done.

Author Info

Kat Martin is the New York Times bestselling author of more than sixty books across multiple genres. Sixteen million copies are in print and she has been published in twenty-one foreign countries, including Japan, France, Argentina, Greece, China, and Spain. Her books have been nominated for the prestigious RITA award and won both the Lifetime Achievement and Reviewer’s Choice Awards from RT Book Reviews.

A resident of Missoula, Montana, Kat is a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara, where she majored in Anthropology and also studied History. She and her author husband, L.J. Martin, spend their winters in Ventura, California. She is currently writing her next Romantic Suspense. Visit Kat at www.katmartin.com

Author Links:  Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

 Website:  http://www.katmartin.com/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/KatMartinAuthor

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/KatBooks

GoodReads:  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/49381.Kat_Martin

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ARC REVIEW Be Afraid by Mary Burton

Be Afraid book two in Mary Burton's Morgans of Nashville series is aptly named. I was so caught up in the storyline I forgot to make a guess on who dunnit, and it was surprising. Much like the first one it focuses more on the mystery and suspense over the romance aspect. This is a weird story and I love it! The bad guy, the puppet master working the strings of other killers helping them along to follow through on their psychopathic fantasies is obviously a split personality, similar to Jekyll and Hyde, one named Madness and one named Reason. They start off the book with the murder of a local real estate agent.

In the last book, which it really does not matter if you have read or not the only thing about it that pertains to this story is the introduction to the Morgan family and the fact that the name is legendary with the Nashville PD. Rick Morgan and his dog a police trained Belgian Shepherd, Tracker; were both shot in the line of duty and have had time off coming back Rick goes into homicide and even though Tracker has officially retired still comes into work with Rick. Together with his new partner Bishop, who has a chip on his shoulder the size of Boston which is where he is from originally; work are called in on a case where the remains of a child are found wrapped in a blanket and stuffed in a trash bag at the bottom of a park fountain. Georgia Morgan the baby and only girl in the family and also the forensics expert for NPD wants this case solved, and since all the forensic artist have a backlog she asks visiting artist Jenna Thompson to do it.

Jenna Thompson is on voluntary leave from her own precinct after a case that hit to close to home for her. Now she is in Nashville researching her horrible past. When she was five Jenna's entire family was murdered only she was spared and taken by the killer and locked in a closet for nine days. She remembers the incident but there's one thing she is drawing a blank on and it has to do with a second man; a man she can draw except for his eyes she half thinks it's just a phantom someone her mind created. In helping Rick with the reconstructing she starts off a series of events that entwine everything and everyone.

Rick is automatically suspicious about Jenna she is hiding something but gives her the benefit of the doubt trusting her she will tell him in time, he is also very attracted to her. Jenna doesn't want to be attracted to Rick but its an attraction that can not be denied. Strange things are happening women are being murdered and then set on fire when one of the murders is found dead of an overdose it seems to be closed cut and dry but another happens and once again the murder is found dead. The key to the man behind it all was the one who got away.

This is one I could not put down. I would recommend this to any mystery thriller fan.