Saturday, August 22, 2015

ARC REVIEW Dark Screams: Volume Four

This is the first of this series I've read but I'm glad I did It has not just one but two of my absolute favorite authors and I was exposed to some other authors I will definitely keep an eye out for. This collection of horror, ghost, thriller stories gets to you I couldn't put it down.

THE DEPARTED: Clive Barker
A short touching story about what happens to a mother after she dies and is trapped grieving the loss of her son. He only hope for one last farewell is All Hallows Eve a chance to go out and see him one last time to say goodbye. Clive Barker as always weaves a beautiful and creepy tale of grief and moving on. A descriptive and unnerving look into the afterlife. Clive Barker is my stand by author for when I want strange and hauntingly beautiful stories.

CREATURE FEATURE: Heather Graham
I was hoping this was a stand-alone story not connected to her Krewe of Hunters series, sadly it was. Fortunately it really didn't matter it could be read as a stand-alone. If House of Wax didn't make me weary over wax figures this one sure as heck did. Wax figure artists gather for an expo to show off their work in a convention center that has been said to be haunted. The rumors may be substantiated when one artist ends up dead killed by her own wax figure.

THE NEW WAR: Lisa Morton
Mike Carson is a decorated war hero; his time in the retirement home was just supposed to stay long enough to recuperate, but something is keeping him there. There is a black creature tormenting the residents of the nursing home killing them off one by one. Mike has a hard time separating fact from fantasy as he experiences loss of time and visions of army buddies who've died in the war. This is a creepy and strange tale about the unknown creatures of the night.

SAMMY COMES HOME: Ray Garton
Ray Garton brings us a twisted tale of lost pets in a Twilight Zone/ Invasion of the Body Snatchers/ Pet Sematary type story. All over town pets have been disappearing and the Hale Family is no exception, Sammi, the families sheepdog has been missing for over a week; but when he shows back up looking sickly and on death's door it's only the start of something much much worse.

THE BRASHER GIRL: Ed Gorman
Probably my least favorite in this volume. The Brasher Girl is very much in the Stephen King style and I'm not big on King. It is disturbing and creepy but very dry; it didn't engage me and I didn't like the characters. The prettiest girl in town has a deep secret she has "friend" who tells her to do bad things. She acts all sweet and innocent and very much the victim luring in guys to help her but really is just as twisted as her secret friend.

Overall, this is a great collection of the strange and unusual.  


ARC REVIEW Stillwell by Michael Phillip Cash

I love a good ghost story, but it is probably one of the genres I am most picky over. I cut my adult fiction with Dean Koontz and later Clive Barker. I also love ghost story movies but like books I am very picky about this genre. Stillwell had a great start, regrettably it didn't end the same. When it came to the end it encited the same reaction out of me as the movie Insidious; "That's how you want to end it?" kind of reaction. It wasn't a bad ending it was a twist from the norm and it just disappointed me in a anti-climatic sort of way and yet still parts were very predictable.

Paul Russo just buried his wife after an agonizing battle with cancer; now he is left with three kids to raise by himself. He is also trying to get back on his game at work, being a realtor can be a real cut throat business and if you don't move quickly you get left in the dust. Desperate for a sale he accepts the house of an old friend's parents, Stillwell Manor. The house was the scene of a murder suicide and that will make it a very hard sale but Paul is determined to sell it.

His personal life is a little harder to figure out, his two oldest, the twins, are dealing with the tragedy differently while his youngest says she can see her mother's ghost in the house. Things eventually start to work out with the help of his sister and parents. But Paul despite getting the hang of being a single parent isn't sleeping, his dreams are plagued with visions of a monkey-esk demon tormenting his wife's spirit. He is drawn toward Stillwell manor and the gruesome murder and the old well on site.

Overall, it was disappointing, I was really liking it and the ending just ruined the whole thing. But the side story of the ghost haunting Stillwell Manor was fantastic full of lots of history and misadventures of love and finding peace.      

Thursday, August 20, 2015

ARC REVIEW Deep Night by Kathy Clark

Deep Night is book three in Kathy Clark's Denver Heroes series. Books one and two I loved, romantic suspense all the way; Deep Night is light on the suspense and concentrates more on the emotional side of things. It's a little anti-climatic with the suspense but really resonates emotionally. We met both Chris and Sara in the previous books, two childhood friends who drifted apart in their teens only to find each other again. This story is a little darker emotionally than the other two both Chris and Sara deal with things none of us would wish anyone to have to deal with.

Chris is from a family of  heroes one brother a cop another a fireman and here he is an EMT working to become a doctor. Chris is also not long out of the NAVY, unbeknownst to his family as a medical honorable discharge. He served with the Marines as medical support and was severely injured and spend several months in rehab before telling his parents and family he was returning home. Sara is Chris' supervisor helping train him also going to school to become a doctor is a few years ahead of Chris in classes. Sara likes to blend into the background she hates standing out and drawing attention to herself, she is also hiding a dark disturbing secret. She likes Chris but knows there's no hope for them she won't let herself get hurt that way. Chris has been living with his parents since leaving the NAVY, and finally decided it's time to move out. Sara offers her spare room. Chris starts to realize Sara is hiding something she often shows signs of suffering from PTSD, and on one particularly bad night she admits to Chris her father is stalking her. Chris also runs across a fellow soldier one whose life he saved and tries to help out the guy who is suffering from PTSD. Sara and Chris find it easy living together and working together and the sexual tension flares high when they both end up needing more of an just emotional support to deal with issues. It doesn't take long before they realize ever since childhood they have loved each other.    

I kid you not, Chris teases Sara a little a bit about the circadian rhythm she follows to help keep her sleep schedule; not a week later I came across a magazine Scientific American Mind with an article about circadian rhythms, a very interesting article. This always seems to happen, I'll read something in a fiction book and later come across a nonfiction story/article about something that was in the other.

As sad and (kinda) anti-climatic this one is, it is beautifully written and overall a good read.

Virtual Tour Undercover with the Earl by Robyn DeHart




UNDERCOVER WITH THE EARL
Brotherhood of the Sword #1
Robyn DeHart
Releasing Aug 10th, 2015
Entangled: Scandalous


London, 1838

The handsome Earl of Summersby may just be the most eligible bachelor in London, but has no interest in a wife. As a member of the Brotherhood, Bennett Haile is far more vested in his undercover duties for the crown and protecting the Queen from would-be assassins. For now he has the perfect tool with which to lure out the villains—a young woman with an uncanny likeness to the queen.

The spirited Evelyn Marington is about to live out every country girl's dream—becoming royalty overnight. Under the tutelage of the arrogant Earl of Summersby, she'll have to fool the entire court that she is, in fact, the queen. But as danger threatens from every side, Bennett realizes that his lovely little protegĂ© isn't just placing her life in his hands... She's stealing his heart.

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Excerpt #1
He looked up from the parchment upon which he was writing and assessed her. His eyes scanned the length of her and a frown settled on his brow. He beckoned her forward with a wave of his hand. “Come, we have much work to accomplish before we leave for London.”
Work. So she would finally learn of what, specifically, she would be doing. She lowered herself gingerly into one of the chairs adjacent his desk, a massive, heavily carved desk of mahogany.
“Now then, I don't know if you've already deduced what you'll be doing for us, but I cannot stress enough the importance of your discretion. No one is to know, not your family, your friends, no one.”
His was formidable, there was no denying that, but she felt no fear in his presence. Instead, she found herself fascinated with the lines of his face, the square angle of his jawline, and the dimple that settled deep into his chin. He was ridiculously handsome, but his expression seemed permanently locked in a scowl. She wondered what a wealthy, handsome earl had to be so angry about.
He leveled his blue eyes on her. “Understood?”
She nodded.
He stood and walked around to her. He picked up a stray curl that rested near her ear, the strand curled around his finger as a cat’s tail wound around your leg when they begged for attention. She shivered against his touch. What had her cousin gotten her into?
“Have people ever told you that you resemble someone?” Earl Somersby asked.
His question nearly disappointed her, though she knew not what she’d expected. She frowned. “Once or twice I suppose.”
His brows rose. “Who have they said you look like?” He moved away from her then, sat in the chair adjacent to her.
“Well, one fellow in the market said that I was the spitting image of his Aunt Gertrude, but for the most part people say I favor Her Majesty, Queen Victoria.” Evie shook her head. She was loathed to admit that as she didn’t want him to laugh, so she quickly added. “Personally I don't see it. Then again, I've never actually seen her, only seen portraits.”
“You and Her Majesty are about the same age,” he said.
“I am older, by two years I believe.”
He nodded, leaned forward and braced his elbows on his knees. “Miss Marrington, I need to know that I can trust your discretion.”
 “Yes, of course.”
“I work for the crown, as your cousin told you. I will not detail how precisely, but suffice it to say, you have been chosen to assist on a very important task. We need you to pose as Her Majesty at an upcoming event.”
Had she possibly heard him correctly? Certainly not. Charading as the monarch must be an act of treason. “I’m sorry, I thought you said that you want me to pose as the queen?”





It was a pleasure to read this book. I always enjoy Robyn DeHart books and when I heard that there was a new series of hers coming out I jumped at the chance to read it. (Thank you Tasty Book Tours for that). You can't go wrong with Robyn Dehart for historical romance and this calls to everything I like about historicals; you have a determined bachelor, a bluestocking determined not to marry, a secret society determined to protect the crown by any means, and a group determined to overthrow the Queen Victoria. Intrigue, Action, Scandal and Romance; a great read. I really look forward to more from this series.





National Bestselling author, Robyn DeHart's novels have appeared in the top bestselling romance and historical romance lists. Her books have been translated into nearly a dozen languages. Her historical romantic adventure series, The Legend Hunters, were not only bestsellers, but also award-winners, snagging a Reader's Crown and a Reviewer's Choice award. She had three releases in 2013 and 2014 will see four more, all set in the popular historical romance Regency and Victorian eras. Known for her "strong dialogue and characters that leap off the page" (RT Bookclub) and her "sizzling romance" (Publishers Weekly), her books have been featured in USA Today and the Chicago Tribune. A popular writing instructor, she has given speeches at writing conferences in Los Angeles, DC, New York, Dallas, Nashville and Toronto, among many others.

When not writing, you can find Robyn hanging out with her family, husband (The Professor) a university professor of Political Science and their two ridiculously beautiful and smart daughters, Busybee and Babybee as well as two spoiled-rotten cats. They live in the hill country of Texas where it's hot eight months of the year, but those big blue skies make it worth it. 






  

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

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.  

RELEASE DAY LAUNCH!!! An Alpha's Choice by Carrie Ann Ryan

 
It’s release day for An Alpha’s Choice by Carrie Ann Ryan! We are so excited about this new paranormal romance! Grab your copy today and make sure to check out the release day festivities!
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An Alphas Choice Cover vFinal v2 72dpi
About An Alpha’s Choice:
The Bestselling Redwood Pack continues with the Talon Pack series. A Broken Wolf. A Fractured Bond. A Fate Denied. Brynn Brentwood has spent the whole of her life protecting the Talon Pack through terrors only she will ever know. She’s never asked for more in life other than to live to take her next breath and to ensure her family is safe. Regardless of her selfless wishes and the atrocities the former Alpha committed, she has always known that fate would provide for her as it had countless others. Fate is what has carried her through with one exception—upon meeting the one wolf who could be hers, he doesn’t feel their bond. Finn Jamenson has been broken more than once, left beaten and half dead—and that was before he was an adult and Heir of the Redwood Pack. When called upon to work with their allies, the Talons, he finds himself intrigued with a woman who his wolf doesn’t claim as his own. Though he knows there could be something there, he refuses to tempt himself with a wolf who could never be his when his own mate could waiting for him. The world changed in a blink of time and now the two wolves must fight as one—ignoring the burning temptation between them—when their people are threatened. With one wrong move, their homes could be destroyed and its up to Finn and Brynn to save them all…if only they could save themselves.
Barnes & Noble http://bit.ly/1EzfCgx




Exclusive Excerpt:
“Why?” Brynn pleaded, her heart in her throat. “Why?”She staggered from the wall, careful not to touch him. Just one taste, one touch, and she was addicted. He reached for her, then must have thought better of it because he dropped his hand. Her wolf begged for him while the woman wanted to rage in agony and sweet release.
He’d kissed her.He’d freaking kissed her.He wasn’t supposed to kiss her. He was supposed to keep his distance and make it easier for her to die slowly inside. He didn’t want her; he’d proven that over the past year by looking right through her as nothing but a woman, wolf, a fighter—not a potential mate.Yet he’d pressed her against the wall and kissed her like he’d meant it, like he wanted something more than a mere kiss. Though that had been no mere kiss. That had been…everything.She’d always known when Finn wanted something he’d go for it all—as if he couldn’t help putting everything into it, putting his whole body, his wolf, his tongue. She’d heard enough stories from women who’d been in his bed. While she hadn’t clawed their eyes out for daring to touch what should have been hers, she’d listened to their tales of his prowess. Finn wasn’t a gentle lover, but he was a caring one. He fucked like he had a purpose, and made sure every woman in his bed got off until she couldn’t walk away easily. Because it was Finn who always did the walking away—apparently, on the hunt for a mate.Too bad he’d missed what was right in front of him on that search.


About Carrie Ann Ryan:

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Carrie Ann Ryan never thought she’d be a writer. Not really. No, she loved math and science and even went on to graduate school in chemistry. Yes, she read as a kid and devoured teen fiction and Harry Potter, but it wasn’t until someone handed her a romance book in her late teens that she realized that there was something out there just for her. When another author suggested she use the voices in her head for good and not evil, The Redwood Pack and all her other stories were born.
Carrie Ann is a bestselling author of over twenty novels and novellas and has so much more on her mind (and on her spreadsheets *grins*) that she isn’t planning on giving up her dream anytime soon.
Enter Carrie’s giveaway!
 

Saturday, August 15, 2015

BLOG TOUR Hot in the Hamptons



The HOT IN THE HAMPTONS Series 
Summer Dreaming by Liz Matis Summer Temptation Wendy S. Marcus Summer Sins by Jennifer Probst 



Book Trailer: bit.ly/HotintheHamptonsTrailer 








BUY LINKS:
Amazon: amzn.to/1HGw1Ak 
Barnes & Noble: bit.ly/1J7kq1T 




I’m looking for a hero. Not.

 You'd think as a new college grad I'd be looking for the perfect job and the
perfect man. Well, I'm not. Summer is here and instead of plotting my future,
I’m playing in the Hamptons with my two best friends. Sun and sex is all I’m looking for. Then I meet Sean Dempsey, my fantasy lifeguard in the flesh. But

he is more than just a hot bod with a whistle. And after he makes a daring save,
I'm thinking a hero is exactly what I’ve been looking for all along.

To the rescue…

 By day I guard the beaches in the Hamptons, by night I’ve had my fair share
of summer flings. Then I meet Kelsey Mitchell, a girl with eyes like the setting sun and I burn for more. Something I have no right to ask of her…forever.


Love burns hotter in the Hamptons. Come play.





Each book is a stand alone, it isn't necessary to read all three of them but it's nice to get the whole picture if you do. The story of this book was good it was entertaining, I just didn't care for the characters. Sex on the first date isn't really what I enjoy reading, I like the build up the sexual tension.

Kelsey is at a crossroads in her life, she just graduated and now she doesn't know if she wants to settle with a job back home or continue her education in Europe. But for now she isn't going to worry about it. She is going to spend the summer at her best friend's summer house in the Hamptons and have fun and hopefully a meaningless summer fling with the Hampton Hottie.

Sean Dempsey is biding his time as a lifeguard until the end of summer when he leaves for bootcamp, settling down isn't in his plans. It was just suppose to be a fling with the tall lean blonde, he never expected her to take a place in his head and heart. But Kelsey just buried her father who was a career Marine, now she must decide if she wants to risk her heart to Sean. 







BUY LINKS
Amazon: amzn.to/1MhtN0M 
Barnes & Noble: bit.ly/1OdYv8t 


 Meet Leigh DeGray...

 After graduating college with honors and landing the job of my dreams in New
York City, I'm off to The Hamptons to spend the summer with my two best friends.
My life seems perfect, right? It’s not. The truth is, I have a secret that may make
the future I'd planned so carefully completely fall apart. A hot summer romance is
the absolute last thing I’m looking for... Until I meet a man who tempts me like no
other and shows me a hot summer romance is exactly what I need.


 Meet Nick Kenzy...

After two years of working my ass off as a Wall Street analyst, I’m out of a job,
with no warning, no thank you, and no severance. Am I angry? You're damn right I
am. So when I head to the Hamptons for the weekend to spend time with my granddad, I plan to regroup and relax before I return to the city to hit the job
search hard. I don’t need any distractions. Then I meet Leigh. Suddenly, a
summer temptation makes me question everything I want for my future...


 Love burns hotter in the Hamptons. Come play.





I liked Leigh and Nick, I liked their whole romance and the initial meeting was classic. The story was sweet and romantic. 

Leigh had it all planned out, she already got accepted to a high end PR firm even before she graduated. But she has hit a bump in the road that can threaten to derail her whole life. She has the summer at the Hamptons before she starts her job to figure it all out.  

Nick Kenzy has worked his butt off the last two years and was just fired, now he needs to find a way to support his Grandfather until he finds a new job. He has always loved his grandfather's home in the Hamptons and never expected to fall in love with the girl who was nice enough to eat lunch with a lonely old man. But he has to work through her defenses and prove he won't let anything get in the way of their love.








BUY LINKS
Barnes & Noble: bit.ly/1Ooj42V
iTunes: apple.co/1CIu5ee 


Summer fun before my wedding...

I have one goal this summer. Hang with my besties for some much needed sun,
sand, and relaxation while I put the final touches on my idyllic wedding. I didn't
count on meeting a smart-mouthed, bad boy biker whose gaze burns hotter than a
beach bonfire. I never planned to lose myself, body and soul, and question my
entire future. Now, I have to make a choice that’s tearing me apart, and could
shatter the lives of the two men I love...


Turns into summer sins....

I have one goal this summer. CHILL. Do nothing. Nada. I need simple before I have
to head into Manhattan to take on a high powered position on Wall Street. I didn't
count on a dark haired, inky- eyed spitfire who'd spin my world upside down, or
make me burn for things I never thought I wanted. I vowed to make her my
summer fling, but had no idea she was claimed by another. And now that she
possessed not only my body but my soul, the stakes are too high for me to lose
her...


Love burns hotter in the Hamptons. Come play.





One of my favorite authors so go figure this is my favorite of the three. Storme and Holden are a perfect fit, if Storme would let it happen. I loved the story, I was afraid it would be too much like her other book Searching for Always, it's not it's practically the opposite.

Storme and Philip are best friends, always have been, and with pressure from their parents it seemed logical that they get married. Storme wanted the summer in the Hamptons with her friends with Philip in California she was finalizing up last minute details for the wedding. But Storme is torn, as much as she loves Philip as a friend she really doesn't want to be married to him and she really doesn't want to run the family winery, Storme's passion and talent lies with fashion. She never counted on a sexy beach bum to awaken a passion in her she has never experienced before.

Holden is on a break from work and is spending the summer at a friends house being a beach bum; and that is exactly what Storme sees when they first meet. Holden can't get the luscious brunette out of his mind, but when he finds out she's engaged he's pissed. Then she offers a summer fling before she gets married, his passion vetoes his common sense. Storme and Philip both expressed concerns about their relationship and agreed the summer a break to decide. (concerning Philip I called it). Now Storme must make the decision heart over family.


All three of these books are well worth reading.










ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Connect with Liz Matis


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