ARC REVIEW Fighting Redemption by Sidney Bristol

Texas SWAT #1, A brand new series from Sidney Bristol does fall into the Aegis World but only by some familial connection. Ransom Texas is experiencing a population boom like much the rest of the DFW area and the once quiet little town of Ransom has worked its way to being city. I really enjoyed this one it has a nice balance between the romance and the suspense. The characters are wonderfully done and beautifully flawed really brings them to life. The active setting I have no problem with I live in the DFW area I know exactly where Ransom is suppose to be I can picture that very easily in my head. I really enjoyed the plot. Jena fears there is one of two things wrong with her, she either is suffering from delayed PTSD from her time as a combat medic or she has a stalker. It was small things at first things moving, then things disappearing, and the strange feeling that someone is watching her. It's gotten to the point that she wakes up in the middle of the night and feeling like someone is in her house. She's losing sleep and it's becoming obvious that something is wrong.

Alex Meyers is the team leader for his SWAT, Jena part of his team not as a member of SWAT but as it's medic. Alex has always been aware of Jena he tries to ignore her but he always knows exactly where she is, he does this because he knows it's against department regulations to date anyone on your squad. Jena has had a thing for Alex since she started working with SWAT, it's easy to flirt and kid with the other guys because it means nothing but the fact that Alex avoids her she thinks he doesn't like her, she's satisfied just naming her vibrator after him. But when Alex catches her mid freak out she confides in him her problem. Alex takes it seriously to the point he offers her his spare room so she doesn't have to home alone. This gives them the opportunity to finally open up to each other about their feelings. This also causes Jena's stalker to escalate and everyone finds out about them and Jena's stalker they are put on administrative leave until it's all resolved. It doesn't matter to Alex he is willing to risk his job just to protect Jena.

The relationship between Alex and Jena gets pretty hot and heavy it moves pretty fast but it's been slowly building for years. At the start Jena is worried about her sanity and the fact that this may all be in her head, but Alex reassures her nothing about this is in her head. Alex has as kept something from Jena not that it's a secret just about everyone in town knows what happen to him and why he moved to Texas from Detroit, Jena didn't come back to her hometown until after the hype died down. But Alex is still afraid to tell her because he's worried she will think differently about him. 

Overall, this was a fantastic way to start off a new series. It had some nice intros to the different characters and I look forward to them.  

ARC REVIEW DC Universe Rebirth Teen Titans vol 2: The Rise of Aqualad

Teen Titans

The Rise of Aqualad

DC Universe Rebirth

Story by: Benjamin Percy

Art by: Khoi Pham, Wade Von Grawbadger, Phil Hester, Trevor Scott, Pop Mhan

issues #6-7, #9-11 and #13-14

Story: Jackson Hyde is tired of hiding who he really is, he tired of hiding his powers and of his Mom not telling him the truth of who his Dad is and why he can control water the way he does, being gay doesn't make it any easier. Jackson goes to the only place he thinks he will be welcomed, Titan Tower. It started with a prison break out an entire section of inmates went missing soon afterwards people started to go missing all disappearing in and around the ocean. When Beast Boy is giving an interview out in front of Titan Tower and the reporter disappears into the water right in front of him shortly after that King Shark comes on T.V. announcing his wicked intentions. Jackson shows up and proves his worth with the Titans when he helps take down King Shark. But the story is far from over when Jackson's Mom shows with the truth about who he really is and why she hit it from him. King Shark was only the beginning.

Art: The art is pretty much what I expect when reading a comic.

It's well done, nice lines, and great action sequences. I liked that each of the conversation bubbles for the characters were unique to them so you knew who was talking and when.

Review: Overall, it was a good read. I love the Titans and each unique quality lends to the group and makes them stronger as a group. Starfire, as long as she's been on Earth still is naive and her innocence in that aspect lets her believe in the good of everyone. It was also nice to see her take charge when Damian was acting like a brat. Beast Boy who loves attention and getting famous in Hollywood only made it worse, and it has been hinted that it will lead to something bad. Raven keeps her distance because her empathy, but she gives great insight when needed. Her understanding of having a horrible father connects her to Kid Flash and that gives them a bond with romantic inclinations. And Beast Boy with Starfire, yeah I don't see that. And then there is Damian, he was raised to lead but being taught by R'as and then Batman he doesn't always understand working with the team and leading them. I like where this is going and I like Jackson.

ARC REVIEW One Lucky Cowboy by Caroline Brown

Lucky #2, A Rerelease of  Carolyn Brown's Lucky series. This was a little disappointing, I loved her Lucky Penny Ranch series and all the other book I've read by her but this one, I don't know it just didn't flow the same way. The banter between Slade and Jane was fine at first but all their arguing got real old real fast. Slade is an idiot especially there at the end, I swear he's got his head stuck up his ass most of the book. Jane's not that bad she's actually more relatable even though she's uber-rich and has an assassin after her, her attitude and work ethic are commendable and how she handles the situation is understandable. I liked Jane, I loved Nellie and Ellen - Slade's Grandmother and her sister they were a hoot. The book did seem never ending, when I thought it was close to the end Slade acted like an ass and it kept going. Just when you think it's getting close to end with Jane's issue something happens and it keeps going. 

Jane Day appeared one day with Ellen at the Double L Ranch, Ellen needed help in the kitchen feeding the ranch hands and keeping up with the housework. Slade automatically hates her, he thinks she's there to rob Ellen blind and he just really doesn't trust her in fact he's pretty sure Jane Day isn't even her real name. He's only partial right on that Jane is her real name but Day isn't. Jane is on the run her step father wants to control her family's legacy and is willing to have her killed for it. Jane's "fiance" is really a hired assassin and plans to collect not just the money from her stepfather but also the life insurance policy they took out on each other. If Jane hadn't of overheard him talking and making out with the woman who was supposed to be his sister she would have never known so she ran, she ditched her phone and went as far west as she could on what money she had on her allowed. Nellie finds her at the bus stop and offers her a job Jane just needed to disappear for six more weeks until her inheritance kicks in and she has controlling interest of her family's legacy and can expose her step father. In the meantime Jane tells no one  

Eventually Slade gets over thinking Jane is a con woman and they even kind of become friends and admits to himself he finds her very attractive and likes her, but he still can't shake the feeling that she's hiding something. With two weeks to go flyers start to show up with a horrible picture of Jane on them saying she's an escaped mental patient. Jane is ready to run but at the insistence of Nellie Slade takes her he also calls the FBI, since the people looking for her are saying they are FBI Slade wants to make sure. But they don't get away easily and for the next two weeks they are trying to outrun an assassin who seems to know their every move. 

Overall, I think if Slade had been less of an asshole it would have been a much better story, I really can't see how Jane liked him.  

  

ARC REVIEW Forbidden Stranger by Megan Hart

The Protector Series #3, Megan Hart's sci-fi-ish series takes place in a futuristic place that puts me in mind of Philip K. Dick, where at first appearances it's very Utopia like but under the surface lies a dark side that threatens to unravel it all. If you are going to read this one I really recommend reading the first two books in the series first because the events in those books rely heavily on what happened previously. If you are interested in the other books I'll post my Goodreads reviews links below. My main issue with this book is that after two books with the back and forth I love you/I'm angry at you and never want to see you again between Nina and Ewan got old. The events in this book felt paltry compared to the other books and the external conflict was so short and underwhelming. Keeping with the theme of the other two books the first half of the book was Nina and Ewan falling in love all over again. I kind of wish it was switched that the romance part was much shorter and the external conflict with Jordan and the other enhanced lasted longer. 

Due to the events of the the previous book Nina has no memory, it's been several months since Ewan and Al found Nina and since then they discovered not only did they take her memory they activated a self destruct type switch in her programing. (For those of you who don't know, Nina was a soldier who died in battle and was brought back using nanotech now she is enhanced. She's stronger, faster, an all around better soldier but when the world found out about it they ostracized her and the fourteen like her and they weren't allowed to be soldiers anymore so they went into private detail which is how Nina met Ewan.) The bad guys activated that switch so when ever Nina tries to remember what happened when she was kidnapped the self destruct coding gets activated and she tries to kill herself. She has already failed at such attempts, she was lucky Ewan was there with his team of doctors to save her. Now she's on an isolated island protected from the world while she tries to figure things out on her own without killing herself. 

As much as it kills Ewan to not tell her he loves her for fear of everything that can happen he tries to keep Nina at a distance. Although Nina might not be able to remember she still loves Ewan, she just thinks it is wrong to lust after your boss that way. Nina works up the courage to make a move and Ewan isn't strong enough to turn her away. While they maybe enjoying their island paradise Ewan keeps getting reports the one by one the other enhanced are commiting suicide. Ewan has his people working on it as fast as they can but he's not the only one a former friend and now bitter enemy is working to figure out the coding too. 

Overall, I did enjoy it the story fell a little flat for me especially the ending. 

For my reviews on the first two books check out Goodreads Dangerous Promise and Wicked Attraction 

ARC REVIEW Flight of the White Wolf by Terry Spears

White Wolf #3 Heart of the Wolf #24, Don't let the 24 fool you each of the different spin offs of the original series can be read separate from each other, in fact this can be read perfectly fine as a stand alone as well. The new turned white wolf shifters and private investigators Gavin, Owen, Cameron and David came to Northern Minnesota so their wolves wouldn't stick out. The Prologue to this book takes place before Gavin turned, he's on the hunt for stolen puppies. He tracks them to Alaska where he meets Amelia. But that's not the first time they have met, Amelia realizes right away that they have met before in Seattle when he was still a cop and her boyfriend robbed a jewelry store and hijacked her plane she crashed the plane on purpose and managed to get way only after having to kill her boyfriend before he could kill Gavin who was injured in the crash. Gavin doesn't remember Amelia, he knows her face but he can't place her, he soon forgets and goes about his job of finding the missing puppies. 

Seven years later, Gavin's newest job takes him out into the wilderness, not that he minds he loves being outdoors and camping. His newest client wants proof her husband is cheating and he's going on a Team Building kayaking trip not to far from where he is, the only thing is to catch up to the husband he needs to fly out to the same drop location. Ever since Gavin was in the plane crash in Seattle he's been afraid to fly. By pure happenstance his pilot is Amelia. Amelia and her family moved from Alaska to escape the, what seems like forever, winters. Amelia is delighted that Gavin is now a wolf and a white wolf too. But disaster strikes when they experience electrical failure and the plane crashes, only thanks to Amelia's quick thinking do they survive the crash and thanks to Gavin who manages to salvage most of his equipment from the plane before it completely sank; his canoe survived too. To top it all off Amelia had her foster dog, Winston, with her on the plane. Due to the heavy rains they are stranded where they are until it stops. In that time Gavin and Amelia talk about why the plane went down and the fact that only foul play could have caused every system to go down even the back-up system. 

Between talking about all conspiracy plausibility of who and why of the plane sabotage Amelia and Gavin get to know each other. Amelia finally reveals how Gavin recognizes her and after a brief bit of anger they both forgive each other. Most of the time spent is them getting to know each other and bonding Gavin is pretty certain he's found his mate but  hey agree to take it slow and get to know each other more and meet each other families. But the tangled web of the whodunnit to the plane and the not quite so simple cheating husband case and the reappearance the certain dognappers from seven years prior make this a tangle web of lies and deception only Gavin and Amelia can untangle.

Overall this was another great instalment into the Heart of the Wolf series. The romance was pretty easy between Amelia and Gavin the book concentrated more on them building their romance and the many plausible and implausible theories that they are faced with in this book. I can't wait to see what Terry Spear's has in store for David and now Amelia's brother Slade.       

ARC REVIEW A Rogue of Her Own by Grace Burrows

Windham Brides #4, The last of the Windham's finally gets married. Charlotte Windham is certain she is going to maintain her spinsterhood. She feels the only way to get out of her family's matchmaking is to create a little scandal that will make her an undesirable. She feels that Lucas Sherbourne is the perfect man for the job, but Lucas doesn't have a simple dalliance in mind he wants marriage. She thinks about it and turns him down; during their goodbye kiss, however, they are interrupted by Charlotte's Aunt and Uncle and Charlotte marries Lucas. The romance between Charlotte and Lucas is fairly easy, Charlotte knows her mind and once she realizes she loves Lucas there is no stopping her; Lucas is a little slower on the uptake. Charlotte and Lucas have quite a bit in common despite the difference of the parentage and that she is from a well titled family. Lucas sometime feels guilty for marrying her seeing as he's so far beneath her but Charlotte shows him she is happy where she ended up she wants to be the perfect wife for him and with his mines in the works Charlotte sets it in her mind she's going to know everything he knows so she can help. Her talent with numbers helped a great deal with the mud slide and double checking the numbers. 

Charlotte has always been very headstrong and independent, she keeps herself apart from everyone even her own family. In school she had a very good friend, a vicar's daughter, who after school was able to get enough money for a season in London. Charlotte's friend was seduced, lied to, used, abused, and then abandoned when she found out she was with child and then died from a complicated childbirth. Charlotte never knew the name of the man who did this to her friend but she vowed if she ever found out who this titled "gentleman" was she would ruin him. This also lead Charlotte on her charitable endeavors of helping young woman who found themselves in the same situation. Charlotte has told only one person this story and that was Lucas and he tells her he would help her ruin the man. That is until they find out that man is the same man who just bought into a partnership with Lucas for his mine and is being thoroughly annoying. Charlotte and Lucas have their first real argument and as much as Charlotte loves Lucas she can not forget that he is choosing business over her. Lucas must find a way to set things right with the wife he loves and not lose any money.

Overall, this was a very light and easy romance, and charming. Lucas and Charlotte were perfect for each other and it was obvious in the last book. This book may be the fourth in this series and a spinoff of another and Lucas and Charlotte may have meet in the previous book this can be read as a stand alone. Book 3 does have quite a bit of background on Lucas but where it leaves off with Charlotte and him is where this book picks up and everything you need to know is wrapped up in a nutshell. The series and the book are wrapped up in a nice little bow everyone is happy, well almost everyone the bad guy is not.     

ARC REVIEW The Woman Left Behind by Linda Howard

It's been a while since I've read a Linda Howard book, most of the ones I've read were from the '90s- early '00s. Reading this book reminded so much of Demi Moore's G.I. Jane movie back in '97. Jina is a computer geek, she works communications for a paramilitary organization. When her boss grabs her and a few others like her and tells them he has a special job for them working with the GO-Teams and they can either go along with their new jobs or quit. Jina doesn't know the meaning of the word quit, she is determined that no matter how hard they push her she won't quit. The team she gets assigned to decides to take a hands on approach to her training, as the only female of the new recruits they are determined to push her harder than the others. They basically put her through boot camp/CRT (combat ready training) mixed all into one. The hard they push the harder she tries and everyday she earns their respect more and more. Levi the team leader personally wouldn't mind if Jina quit, because that means he could ask her out. Levi the one who nicknamed her Babe, doubted her abilities, she was after all just a computer geek the boss was forcing on them. Her job is to control the drone as their eye in the sky and keep a lookout in combat situations but to go into combat she has to be trained. Jina pushes herself harder than she ever has before and even when it scares her shitless she gets up and does it again. 

Jina's training takes up about half the book, she finishes her training a couple weeks before the other recruits. Meanwhile a powerful Congresswoman who has it out for Jina's boss set into motion a trap to destroy the organization starting with taking out one of his teams. Levi and his team just happen to be the team sent out into the ambush, luckily Jina and her drone are in place and spot the ambush but unfortunately it's not enough and now the team has left to the rendezvous thinking Jina didn't make it, now she has to find her way to the pick up location or risk being stuck in Syria with no way home. Levi is torn he knows he has to put the lives of his men first, but the thought of leaving Jina even though he thinks she's already dead doesn't sit well with him and once he gets his men on the chopper he's going back for her. 

The sexual tension between Levi and Jina is great, they think they are being subtle about it but some of the other guys on the team already guessed it. The entire time Jina is training you see the comradery build with her and the team, it goes from open hostility to grudging respect to treating her like a little sister. I loved this book Jina is my girl crush, she is my hero very GI Jane and Levi much like Viggo's Master Chief you want to hate him for everything he puts her through but really she wouldn't have been as good as she ended up being if he and the others didn't push her that hard. The respect and admiration between the two of them is pretty constant throughout the book even when he's pushing her he respects the fact that she keeps pushing back. This book is a definite keeper.