BLOG TOUR ARC REVIEW Hidden Ink by Carrie Ann Ryan

Hidden Ink

Montgomery Ink Book 4.5 

  The Montgomery Ink series continues with the long-awaited romance between the café owner next door and the tattoo artist who’s loved her from afar. 

Hailey Monroe knows the world isn’t always fair, but she’s picked herself up from the ashes once before and if she needs to, she’ll do it again. It’s been years since she first spotted the tattoo artist with a scowl that made her heart skip a beat, but now she’s finally gained the courage to approach him. Only it won’t be about what their future could bring, but how to finish healing the scars from her past. 

Sloane Gordon lived through the worst kinds of hell yet the temptation next door sends him to another level. He’s kept his distance because he knows what kind of man he is versus what kind of man Hailey needs. When she comes to him with a proposition that sends his mind whirling and his soul shattering, he’ll do everything in his power to protect the woman he cares for and the secrets he’s been forced to keep.

   

  Now Available: 

  Amazon US 

  Amazon UK 

  Amazon CA 

  Amazon AU

Now Available in Print: 

  Amazon 

  

This was a perfect novella. It was the right length with everything it needed in it and without the feeling that something was missing or feeling rushed. I could not see this novella any longer or as a full length. It is perfect as it is.

The story is a heart breaking one, between both Hailey and Sloane's past it's a sad story but one so worth the read. Not only because after years of dancing around the fact that they were attracted to one another and not doing anything about it but because the meaning behind it. A message that beauty isn't skin deep and strength isn't just muscles on your body, and that scars on your body and your soul don't define who you are and that you can move past the horrors of what has happened and live in the now. 

Due to Hailey flirting with some random guy Sloane finally stepped up and asked Hailey for a date. Hailey already knows she is in love with Sloane and has been for a while but she's scared the scars she carries on her body will frighten him off. Sloane has loved Hailey from the beginning but keeps her at a distance never thinking he's good enough for her that his black soul would taint her. Can they each get past their insecurities and have their HEA?

Soon she found herself with only one drink on her tray along with a single cherry and cream cheese pastry.His favorite.
Behind Maya’s work area sat another station.
Sloane Gordon’s.All six-foot-four, two hundred something pounds of muscle covered in ink, his light brown skin accented perfectly by the designs. The man was sex. All sex. Sloane had shaved his head years ago. She was convinced he kept it shaved just to turn her on. He kept his beard trimmed, but that and the bald head apparently jump-started a new kink in her.
Who knew?He was a decade older than Hailey, and though he didn’t speak of it, she knew he’d been through war, battle, and heartbreak.And she loved him.Only he didn’t see her. He never took a step toward her. He also looked as if he were ready to growl at her presence most of the time.Much like he did now.“Thought you’d forgotten me,” he said, his voice low and gruff.She shook her head then raised her chin. “No, I have yours here.” After she had handed him his drink and pastry, careful not to brush her fingers along his, she glanced down at his client, who was in the middle of getting his back done.While Sloane looked dangerous and battle worn, this guy looked gentler, but not soft in the slightest. His hair was longer on top and flopped down over his forehead and into his eyes, but the sides had been clipped short. He had a short beard and a smile that looked as if it came easily. His green eyes sparkled, and Hailey could only smile back.“Hello there,” he drawled.
Oh, my. A southern accent—just a hint of drawl but not too much. If she hadn’t been in the presence of the one man her body and soul had chosen for her, she might have gone weak in the knees at the sound of it.
“Hi,” she said back, well aware that Sloane was staring daggers at her.“What’s your name?” the stranger asked. “I’m Brody.”
“Hi, Brody. I’m Hailey. I own Taboo next door.”
His smile widened, showing a bit of dimple. “I’ve walked by there a few times, but now I know I need to go inside.”She shook her head on a laugh. “I see. You scent my baked goods and now you’ll come inside.”“It wasn’t your baked goods that made me want to step inside.”What was she doing? Flirting with another man in front of Sloane like this? And why did she care? He wasn’t hers. He never would be. She would never have Sloane Gordon in her life beyond a few curt words and grunts of thanks. She was young, healthy, and alive. She should be able to flirt whenever she wanted.  

 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.

  Connect with Carrie Ann: Newsletter Facebook 

  Twitter: @CarrieAnnRyan 

  Instagram Goodreads Pinterest 

  Tumblr Google Plus Email 

ARC REVIEW Killer Curves by Naima Simone

Guarding Her Body book two, Killer Curves, is another exciting story from Naima Simone. Now honestly it wasn't as great as the first book but I loved Sloane; beautiful overweight, fear of failure and all, she is an easy character to relate to. Ciaran is a horn dog (mostly just for Sloane) but dedicated to his job and damn fine. The story and action/suspense were good, it kept me entertained well enough if not a little slow in parts (internal monologues can get tedious if redundant). The red herring was obvious and the actual perpetrator a little predictable, but all the events leading up to and the progression of the romance made a good story.

Sloane is the black sheep of the family; she, instead of being the socialite and trophy wife like her mother and sister, became a teacher. Sloane is overweight and as much as she tells herself that she accepts her weight no one else does, from backhanded compliments from her mother to the outright hateful things her ex-fiance would insult her. Finally getting a backbone and leaving him, Sloane still feels the sting of his words now almost a year later. Sloane is also unhappy in her job, her father pulled some strings and got her a job at a prestigious private high school full of entitled brats, who think they can buy their grades and threaten her job. Lately even weirder things have been happening, strange phone calls and emails. Things escalated and her tires were slashed, thought it wasn't until her house was broken into and she was attacked that she finally does something about it.

Ciaran Ross wasn't looking for love, in fact he didn't want anything to do with it he didn't feel worthy of it. But one look at the killer curves of Sloane and lust hits him square in the chest. When she comes to his security firm for protection Ciaran knows he should hand off the case to someone else because his personal feelings for Sloane but he can't relinquish that responsibility, he feels that only he can protect her. And protect her he does, he also proves to her that she is desireable and that sometimes risks are worth taking.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable read. Can't wait for more.

ARC REVIEW Hanover House by Brenda Novak

I haven't read Brenda Novak before and I thought what a perfect time to start then with the prequel novella to a new series she is starting. Hanover House is the perfect origins story, it fills you in on everything you need to know about the characters. I love the idea of doing a prequel like this it was a great little tease of a great story to come.

The psychological aspect of this story is very in depth and the main character, Evelyn Talbot has a out of the box way of thinking and is determined to find out the why and how of serial killers, rapist, and sociopaths so that way people have an early warning sign and can be found and stopped before they can hurt anybody. Evelyn has been the driving force for the Hanover House; it's a place where she and her fellow doctors can study and work with the worst of the worst to find the method behind their madness. So far the only place willing to let her open her madhouse in their town was the tiny village of Hilltop in Alaska. But not everyone is welcoming, during the current stages of construction Evelyn is having to deal with vandalism aimed at her. Alaskan State Trooper Benjamin Murphy, aka. Sgt Amarok who was initially against Hanover House, but accepted the fact that he can't do anything to stop it. Amarok also is strongly attracted to Evelyn and vise versa. But Evelyn has demons of her own that she battles constantly. The whole reason Evelyn got involved in this career choice and made this her life's mission was the fact that her high school boyfriend murdered her two best friends and kidnapped, tortured, and raped her for three days before she managed to escape. He was never found. Now as Evelyn hand picks her subjects she has to deal with the construction of HH and showing the people of Hilltop they have nothing to worry about and unbeknownst to her she is being stalked by her own worst fear.

Overall, this was a great intro to HH, Hanover House, Evelyn and Amarok, and a nice peak at what is to come in the first book Whiteout, coming out later this year (2016).

 

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.   

ARC REVIEW Ashley Bell by Dean Koontz

I have been a fan of Dean Koontz since I was in my early teens. I stopped reading reading his books for a while and picked them up again after Odd Thomas. Ashley Bell reminds me of all the reasons why I love Dean Koontz. It gives you strong emotional ties to the characters, a dark story with an evil mastermind behind it all and a twist worthy of M. Night  Shyamalan. The writing is beautifully written and fast paced and pulls you in so the rest of the world fades away. I can see this being a new series to follow in line like Odd Thomas. But if not I'd be perfectly happy with this as a stand-alone.

Bibi Blair is a unique person, a published author and only twenty-two years old and she has just been diagnosed with cancer. But Bibi isn't one to just give up, the doctor says she has less than a year and Bibi views that as a challenge. Two days later Bibi is cured. She claims that a man with a dog came into her room and cured her. Bibi's parents are a bit of the new age hippies buy an appointment with a psychic. The psychic doesn't deal with your typical mediums, she works with scrabble tiles, and in the tiles she finds the phrase "to save a life" and when asked who? It gives the name Ashley Bell. From that point strange things start happening. Bibi is on the run from the unknown  mysterious "wrong people" who are every where and seem to know everything. Now Bibi must try and figure out who Ashley Bell is and why she needs saving and saving from what or who.

I loved the characters Bibi is a great strong female lead and her fiance, a Navy SEAL, they have a connection so strong he knows something is wrong with her even from half a world away. I even liked the sadistic villain. I ,in particular, love the twist I wasn't expecting it, in fact I didn't know what to expect from from this book so I was pleasantly surprised with everything. It really was reminiscent of his earlier works, every good aspect of them was in this one. I love the insertion of the golden retriever, it's become trademark Koontz; it's almost like it's his way of of putting Trixie in his books.

ARC REVIEW The Realms of the Dead by William Todd Rose

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.

In the first novella, Crossfades, we meet Chuck Grainger. Chuck is just a normal man who you would never notice walking down the street. What makes Chuck so extraordinary is his job, he helps the lost souls who get trapped in the space between cross over. The mechanics of the organization that recruited Chuck in college is vast and very secretive. All he knows is the dead often get lost and through technology they created he can astral project himself into the crossfades, it's not that hard. But on one fateful day he gets handed a job that will either get him promoted or fired, depending on how well he handles it. A twisted spirit has corrupted the crossfades, manipulated into his own heaven but a nightmare for all the lost souls he has taken. Chuck alone with the help of a woman, whose soul has enchanted Chuck, are the only one who can set things right.

Bleedovers, the second novels takes place sometime after Chuck's first adventure. Chuck is now a legend in the industry, but all he wants to do is fade into the woodwork. Something is happening the organization is experiencing a bleedover, a spirit has managed to cross back over into the living realm and basically become a  ghost. Chucks superiors have charged him, Control and a young girl with special abilities, Marilee, with taking care of the spirit. The spirit soon escalates and is obviously targeting Chuck. Chuck assumes he knows who the malevolent ghost is, but as the attacks escalate the harder it is to trap and only Chuck and Marilee can take the ghost out, forever.

Overall, 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.        

ARC REVIEW Fixed in Fear by T. E. Woods

This is book FIVE in T.E. Woods outstanding Justice series, this is one of those series where it is best if you've read all the books prior to this one, otherwise you will more than likely get lost. So if you are interested start at the beginning it is so worth it. As always T.E. Woods delivers a suspenseful and thrilling journey for Mort Grant and The Fixer.

Mort's daughter Allie is back and finally showing her true colors to Mort and the rest of her family. She shows up after killing her abductor and later lover a Russian Crime boss and asserts herself in to his seat of power. Allie wants to be part of her family's life, but with everything she has done in the past she is resorting to blackmail to get them. Allie even tries to blackmail Lydia to helping. Lydia is trying to give up being The Fixer but things keep happening to keep her in the game. Allie thinks she knows Lydia and tries to manipulate her, but Allie doesn't know just how dangerous Lydia can be when backed into a corner.

 Mort has once again found himself in the middle of a mystery this one however involves his best friend and an old murder. Larry is Mort's oldest friend he is a renowned author and scholar, Larry's wife was murdered very early in their marriage and it has greatly affected his life. His wife's uncle and Larry grew very close after her passing so when the uncle turns up dead along with four other people Larry specifically asks Mort to help with the investigation. Sheriff Rita Willer is a new character and a very welcome addition to the Justice series, I hope to see more of her in the future. This mystery was very satisfying; I was able to guess the end result but it took nothing away from the entire thing being enthralling.

Overall, this series just keeps getting better and better and I really can't wait for the next one.