Category: Book Reviews

A Stella Review: ROADSIDE RESCUE by Caitlin Ricci

Rating: 3,75 out of 5 stars

Roadside RescueAfter her girlfriend leaves her for an ex, Kelly takes off with her mustang, Shoni, and as many of her things as she can pack into her truck. The flip of a coin has her going west along I-70 from her home in Missouri, sending her toward Colorado. While driving through Dove Creek, she gets a flat tire on her trailer. She has a spare, but in his panic, Shoni manages to jerk the trailer enough to damage the wheel.

Her salvation comes in the form of sexy mechanic, Brigid, who owns a shop nearby. With a few days to wait for the wheel, the two get to know each other. A bit of fun isn’t all Brigid wants from her, but Kelly isn’t ready to jump into anything new so soon after her break up, and when Brigid offers her a job, Kelly doesn’t want to tie her life to someone so completely again.

Kelly is in need of some stability, and that’s exactly what Brigid is offering her. If she’s willing to take a chance on letting another woman into her life again, Brigid might be just who she needs. 

Roadside Rescue was my first Caitlin Ricci work I read, plus it was the first FF story I tried. And I have to say it was a success.

Kelly is travelling with his mustang gelding, Shoni with no idea where to go. She just wants to leave Missouri behind and she has no intention to be back. Until her truck stops in Dove Creek, population 291, where Brigid, a beautiful mechanic, lives. The attraction between the two women is clear from the first sight.  But after a bad break up with a cheating exgirlfriend, it is too soon to Kelly to be involved with someone and trust that person, right? Still, Brigid is a force of nature and pretty impossible to resist.

Roadside Rescue is very short, just 35 pages, but really well done. I liked the writing, easy to read and the characters were enough developed and with enough background, just to make the reader enjoy the story. And the little sex scene was the icing on the cake. It was sexy and lovely and real too. I liked it a lot and I’ll surely read more by Caitlin Ricci, maybe another FF.

The cover art by Natasha Snow is well done, great colors and the artist is a favorite of mine.

Sales Links

NineStar Press

        

BOOK DETAILS

ebook, 35 pages
Publication Date June 27th 2016 by NineStar Press

ISBN13 9781911153610
Edition Language English

A BJ Audiobook Review: Patchwork Paradise by Indra Vaughn and Narrator Craig Beck

Rating:    3.5 stars out of 5

PatchworkParadise_AudiobookOliver and Samuel’s relationship is fairy-tale perfect. They share a gorgeous house in Antwerp, go out with their friends every weekend, and count down the days to their dream wedding. But their happy ending is shattered one late night, and just like that, Ollie is left bereft and alone.

The months that follow are long and dark, but slowly Ollie emerges from his grief. He even braves the waters of online dating, though deep down he doesn’t believe he can find that connection again. He doesn’t think to look for love right in front of him: his bisexual friend Thomas, the gentle giant with a kind heart and sad eyes who’s wanted him all along.

When Thomas suddenly discovers he has a son who needs him, he’s ill prepared. Ollie opens up his house—Sam’s house—and lets them in. Ollie doesn’t know what scares him more: the responsibility of caring for a baby, or the way Thomas is steadily winning his heart. It will take all the courage he has to discover whether or not fairy tales can happen for real.

Usually a blurb is a taste of what happens in the book at the beginning, but this blurb seemed a bit misleading as it pretty much tells about the whole entire book. For instance, Thomas’s son does appear until well past the halfway point in the story, perhaps only in the last third it seemed.

The first third of the story was a total tearjerker, so very, desperately sad and hard to listen to. I felt so awful for Ollie and for Samuel. The aftermath of his death I felt was handled well as far as the grieving process, but I found it interesting that he had no real interest in seeing justice served on the man who had killed his fiancé.

In the second third of the story, I began to feel bad for Thomas as well. I also found myself wondered what it had been about Ollie that had him fall in love when he first met him on what he’d thought was a date, so deeply that it lasted all those years. Thomas was an interesting character, and I especially liked that he was unabashedly bisexual. Although I did connect with him and feel for him, I felt his history and backstory was a bit sketchy. And his messing around with everyone, and I do mean everyone… even a friend, and then hooking up with a guy on a trip even though he still obviously was not over Ollie rather bothered me as well.    

Aside from the moments of joy at the beginning, there was mostly angst, pain and grieving, loss and unrequited love, and problems coming from right and left for the first full two thirds of this story. Not only for Ollie (and Sam), but also Thomas, as well as their friend Chloe. Also I felt awful for Peter, the nice vet who Ollie hooked up with and used as his first sex with another man (ever) after Sam’s death. He seemed such a sweet guy, and he obviously cared. When little Milo arrived on the scene, things begin to lighten up just a bit, but even then, it was interspersed with yet more problems, drama, and angst. 

Despite that, I enjoyed this audiobook. The writing was good, and I felt that the narrator did an excellent job of bringing the characters to life, making me feel their individuality and emotions. It was also easy to listen to and understand, which is not always true when there are accents. The narration was consistent, sounded authentic to the area, was easy to listen to and held my attention. I would be glad to pick up other audios narrated by Craig Beck.

I liked the cover by Lou Harper, although the guy with the darker hair who is Thomas doesn’t seem to be larger than the other guy as described in the book.

Sales Links

Riptide Logo

Book Details:  6 hrs, 42 mins

Published July 14th 2016 by Riptide Publishing

An Alisa Review: Tagging Mackenzie by LM Somerton

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Tagging MacKenzieAchieving a Dom’s undivided attention can have unpredictable consequences.

Steele Denton’s business doing custom paint jobs for fast bikes is booming. He’s in demand and has a reputation for being a perfectionist. Tattooed and intimidating, Steele is also in demand as a Dom at his local BDSM club, Chain of Thorns. He requires perfect submission from any sub he deigns to play with.

Mackenzie Soames is desperate for Steele to notice him, but he might as well be invisible. He has no idea how to get invited into the VIP members’ area that Steele rarely strays from, so he concocts a plan to get Steele’s attention. Kenzie is a talented graffiti artist with a secret identity, known only by his tag, a pair of handcuffs. He spray-paints a BDSM scene on a wall at the side of Steele’s workshop, hoping Steele will see the security footage and track him down. However, Steele is working late and catches him in the act.

Steele recognizes Kenzie from the club and demands twenty-four hours of sexual slavery as penance for the graffiti. Kenzie has no choice but to agree and soon discovers that being Steele’s sub will either make him or break him.

Publisher’s Note: This book has previously been released as part of the His Rules anthology with Pride Publishing.

Mackenzie has been pining for Steele from afar at the local BDSM club. He feels that Steele doesn’t know he exists and takes matter into his own hands to get his attention. Steele has noticed Mackenzie, but was afraid that he would be too harsh for him has stayed away.

Seeing both of the characters points of view helps to understand their feelings, Mackenzie feels invisible while Steele feels overwhelmed with his business. When Steele catches Mackenzie he knows that the time has come for him to claim his sub even if Mackenzie doesn’t know it yet. This story gives a small glimpse into what Mackenzie and Steele’s relationship could be and the end leaves it open for their relationship to continue.

The cover art is nice and catches your eye.

Sales Links

Pridelogo


Book Details:
ebook, 34 pages
Expected publication: August 9th 2016 by Pride Publishing
ISBN139781786514455
Edition LanguageEnglish

 

A Jeri Review: Fight the Tide (Kick at the Darkness #2) by Keira Andrews

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Fight the TideYou really, really must read Kick at the Darkness first as this is the follow up book. And I am guessing (hoping?) that there will be a book three.

Fight the Tide picks up right where Kick at the Darkness leaves off. Adam and Parker are aboard a sailboat trying to survive. They have no idea where they are really going or what to do. But they want to survive. One day while Adam is on shore getting supplies, Parker is victimized by modern day pirates. Feeling like less of a man, a broken person, he puts on a brave face for Adam. When they hear a distress call, Parker absolutely does not want to help, fearing the worst. But Adam can’t leave these people with 2 children when they are sinking. And so we meet Craig, his daughter Lilly, and Abby and her so Jacob.

This installment is no longer a romantic love story, but one of survival and making your way in an unknown world. In book 1 it was Adam who was untrusting of the world. In book 2, it is Parker. That flip kept this book very interesting. Adam has a whole new “coming out” when he admits to the others that he is a werewolf.

While I really enjoyed this book, it was a bit of a hybrid of The Walking Dead and Waterworld.  There were tears, gasps, sighs and oh my gods. At times I was a bit lost in the sailing jargon, but then on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next. We still get moments of romance between Adam and Parker, but this is far from a love story.

I admit I like book 1 more, but book 2 was a necessary bridge to the story coming for us in book 3. A story I cannot wait for.

The cover is gorgeous and a perfect representation of Parker and Adam and their sailboat, seemingly alone on the open seas.

Sales Links

         Smashwords square

Book Details:

ebook, 250 pages
Published July 26th 2016 by KA Books
ISBN139781988260068
Edition LanguageEnglish

Series: Kick at the Darkness – add it to your Goodreads here

Barb, A Zany Old Lady Release Day Review: Fallow (Whyborne & Griffin #8) by Jordan L. Hawk

Rating: 4.75 stars out of 5

FallowFans of the Whyborne & Griffin series will love the fact that this story is principally about Griffin and his relationships in his hometown of Fallow, Kansas, especially his relationship with his mother, Nella.

As the story opens, Whyborne is still struggling with what he learned about himself a few months before when he touched the Maelstrom and realized he is an otherworldly being, and he’s worried about Griff’s reaction as much as he’s worried about not being human. Refusing to tell Griff, he becomes cool and aloof and actually causes Griffin more worry than if he had simply told him the truth.

When a visitor from Griff’s hometown arrives and seeks out Whyborne at the museum, they never get to find out the real reason behind the visit as the man is slain before he can even speak. And he’s slain by a man Griffin recognizes from his hometown. The mystery gets stronger when they discover the man’s roommate, also from Fallow, seems to be afflicted by the same malady as the other man. It’s quickly evident that the couple has to travel to Fallow to find out what’s really going on, and there’s no way Christine and Iskander will allow them to go alone.

In Fallow, they discover a plot to pave the way for the return of the Masters. There’s a mysterious disorder that seems to be spread by the well someone drilled on the land for which the town was named. Due to his gift of second-sight, Griff is the only one who can see the people affected by this malady, and he’s shocked to discover that the woman who married the man he once had sex with is now married to his cousin and is very definitely infected. And—she lives in his mother’s home. The mystery is even deeper than the foursome at first fear, but it appears Whyborne’s usual talents are not able to be used to rid Fallow of the menace. What happens to the foursome, as a group and individually, kept this reader riveted to the book to the end.

A nail-biter like others in the series, this story is highly intriguing, and at the same time, it’s very revealing of Griff’s past relationships and the reasoning behind his eviction from the town. How the author manages to weave such interesting, interwoven, and twisted mysteries always astounds me. In this case, I can only say that I am once again in awe.

Cover art is by Lou Harper who just took over the cover art and is redoing the series. I like it in that it’s colorful, and I like the depiction of Whyborne, though I always liked the previous images which seemed to suit his tall, gangly, awkward personality better. But I don’t like the look of Griffin at all. He seems too slight and too homely to be the man I’ve been reading about for years.

The eighth book in the Whyborne & Griffin series, I very highly recommend Fallow as I have others in the series. Those who haven’t started should pick up Widdershins and catch up to this fascinating series—as soon as possible!

Sales Links

              smashwords logo

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 210 pages
Expected publication: August 5th 2016
Original TitleFallow
ASINB01I2DQORO
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesWhyborne & Griffin #8

Love The Dragon Men Series? Here’s More! Amber Kell – Mate Call (Dragon Men Series #5)

Amber Kell – Mate Call (Dragon Men Series #5)

 
Author: Amber Kell
 
Release Date: August 3 2016


Buy Links


Amazon  All Romance  Smashwords

Series: 
Blurb
 
King Zeir had it all, a prosperous kingdom, a fated mate and the love of his people. But when his mate dies he goes half mad with grief and transforms into his dragon form. Unable to get past his sorrow, he pines for the love he never fully knew.

Colton Lanx has known nothing but travel. His parents flew from planet to planet, never settling down. Becoming a navigator was an easy choice to make until an error by his captain forced him down to the planet Dragait.

 

Two men joined by destiny have to overcome their past if they wish to build a future together.
Author Bio

 

Amber Kell has made a career out of daydreaming. It has been a lifelong habit she practices diligently as shown by her complete lack of focus on anything not related to her fantasy world building.

 
When she told her husband what she wanted to do with her life, he told her to go have fun.
During those seconds she isn’t writing, she remembers she has children who humor her with games of “what if” and let her drag them to foreign lands to gather inspiration. Her youngest confided in her that he wants to write because he longs for a website and an author name—two things apparently necessary to be a proper writer.
 
Despite her husband’s insistence she doesn’t drink enough to be a true literary genius, she continues to spin stories of people falling happily in love and staying that way.
 
She is thwarted during the day by a traffic jam of cats on the stairway and a puppy who insists on walks, but she bravely perseveres.
 
 
E-mail: amberkellwrites@gmail.com



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A MelanieM Review: Seeing Red: Scorched by T.C. Orton

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

Seeing Red- ScorchedDown the twists and turns of the London alleyways, where Chinatown meets the highstreets, lies a small venue where unknown rock bands often play to crowds of less than one-hundred.

Isaac is nineteen, living on the sofa of his best friend’s brother – Eric – after his bible-loving parents tossed him aside because of his sexuality. After two years of struggling to make sense of his life, Eric and Charlotte convince Isaac to attend Red’s gig; an up and coming rock band with a small cult following.

All hell breaks loose and Isaac is left injured, with the whereabouts of his friends unknown and his body crippled on the ground. It’s then that the four members – Troy, Nicolai, Kyle and Moss – aid Isaac by infecting him with a ‘magical’ virus that grants immortality in exchange for consuming blood.

The ‘Paranorm’ world is exposed to Isaac. Vampires, werewolves and warlocks lurk in the depths of the city he has lived in his entire life, but he won’t become one with the night until he completes his nine-month transition, leaving him in the hands of the band and at the mercy of vampire politics.

This story is part of the Omega Moon universe, but is a standalone tale.

Seeing Red: Scorched by T.C. Orton represents both a new author and a new universe for me.  I had not read any other books by this author so I was unfamiliar with the Omega Moon universe that this story is set in.  That said, its true you don’t have to have read the other novel to be able to understand or enjoy this vampire tale of romance as it has very little to do with the werewolves of the Omega Moon story except for one thin plot thread.

I think what I enjoyed best about this story was the format and interesting manner in which Isaac is turned into a vampire.  Its not an automatic process but one that takes nine months…sort of like birthing a baby. And it moves forward in increments of time just as you mark it off in a baby’s book.  I liked that sort of progress chart.  Funny, sort of ironic in comparison.  At least I hope that’s what the author was going for.  It marks the changes, inward and outward, that Isaac, really a 19 year old,  has to go through.  And that includes vampire royal politics, his old conservative family who kicked Isaac out, and so much more.  Like puppy love and maybe the real thing.

I very much liked the four members that made up the band Red –  Troy, Nicolai, Kyle and Moss.  Each individualistic enough that I wanted more of each and didn’t get enough  pages of this story to satisfy my need for that.  Kyle?  Adorable.  And Troy?  Yes, another favorite.  Moss…darkness you want to follow down every alley.  But Nicolai?  He is most likely the weakest link here yet that’s the one that Orton pairs Isaac up with.  I just couldn’t see it.

But I won’t spoil the story for so much happens that is coming as Isaac changes and matures.

But what did hold me back? Some of the more florid language.  The pulsating members…yes…the purple prose that turns a sexy scene into something that starts me giggling instead.  Luckily it wasn’t in every sex scene or I wouldn’t have made it through the book, but in enough that I snorted and snickered in certain places when I should have been fanning myself and that brought the rating down.

Still Seeing Red: Scorched by T.C. Orton had some very interesting elements as well as characters that I enjoyed.  Love a vampire romance, like a new twist or two on the vampire culture and romance?  Pick up Seeing Red: Scorched by T.C. Orton and see what you think about his  idea of vampire love and HFN relationships.  Then let me know…I’m curious as to what you think about it too.

Cover art represents Isaac well but this model is everywhere.  Cute but really overused these days.

Sales Links

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 337 pages
Published May 6th 2016 by T.C. Orton
ASINB01F9WHM5E
Edition LanguageEnglish